Congrats to Rachel Furey and Tim Marsh!

Rachel Furey (MFA '09, fiction) and Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction) both appear in the new issue of Waccamaw Journal!

Congrats to Rachel for the publication of her story "When Your Wet Suit Fails" and to Tim for the publication of his essay "Mile One." In addition, an essay by Ira Sukrungruang appears in the issue (Ira was an SIUC undergrad and an editor of Grassroots during his time in Carbondale).

LINK:

Waccamaw

Congrats to Kerry James Evans!

A note from Kerry James Evans (MFA '09, poetry):

Allison,

New Letters accepted three poems: "Blanket Party," "Burial" and "Volcano."

All the Best,
Kerry James Evans

Congrats, KJE!

LINK:
New Letters

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

I can't keep up with Travis's (third-year, poetry) honors and pubs (since they come so frequently), so this is a two-in-one post! Congrats, TM!

Allison,

Aside from finding out I'm a finalist for the Southwest Review's Morton Marr Poetry Prize, I just got news that my poem "Only Then" will be featured in the Cigar Lounge section of the The Smoking Poet (an online journal for lovers of cigars and literature). Ha!

Thanks,

Travis

LINKS:
Morton Marr, Southwest Review
The Smoking Poet

Congrats to Ethan Castelo!

Fiction alum Ethan Castelo (MFA '06) announces the beginning of a brand-new project:

Anson Everett Castelo was born yesterday at 2 pm. He was 7 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. Everyone is doing fine.

Congrats, Ethan and family!

Congrats to Shawn Mitchell!

Cool news today from first-year fiction writer Shawn Mitchell:

Hi Allison,

Good news!  I just found out my short story "It's Not the Heat So Much As the Jelly" will be republished in Torpedo's Best of Anthology at year's end.  The story originally appeared in Torpedo Volume 4, which was a tribute to Richard Brautigan.

Best,

Shawn Mitchell

Congrats, Shawn!

LINK

Torpedo

Poemspotting: SIUC Poetry Alums in New Issue of Roger

Poems by Renee Wells (MFA '06) and Kerry James Evans (MFA '09) appear in the new issue of Roger, the national literary journal published by Roger Williams University. Renee is represented by the poem "Swan Creek Township, Ohio" and  Kerry James has "How to Avoid an Ambush" in this issue. 

The editors at Roger are currently reading for their next volume; find out how to submit at 

Roger

In-House Reading: Wednesday, October 28

This Wednesday, October 28, will be our last In House Reading of the semester.  The reading will be in the Missouri River Room on the second floor of the Student Center from 4 to 5:30.

And here's the line-up of readers:

1) Sarah McCartt-Jackson (2nd year Poetry)
2) Shawn Mitchell (1st year Fiction)
3) Jung Hae Chae (1st year Poetry)
4) Charlie Lemmink (2nd year Fiction)

We hope to see you there.

(Thanks to Janelle Blasdel for the update)

Ben Percy: Recent Publications

Recent publication news from Ben Percy (MFA '04, fiction):

"Go the Distance: What Rocky Taught Me About Submission" in Poets & Writers, Nov/Dec 2009 (print edition only)

"The Disrespected" an article about Stephen King and his new novel Under the Dome, in the Nov/Dec issue of Esquire

"The Tree" in the fall 2009 issue of Ecotone

Oh, and the graphic novel adaptation of Refresh, Refresh -- co-authored by James Ponsoldt and illustrated by Eisner-nominated artist Danica Novgorodoff -- came out this October with First Second Books (a division of Macmillan).

 

Congrats, Mr. Percy!

 

Kevin McKelvey's (MFA '04) chapbook now available for pre-order

MFA poetry grad Kevin McKelvey's chapbook Dream Wilderness is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press!

Details here (scroll down):

Finishing Line

SIUC MFA Program highlighted in The Southern

Thanks to Codell Rodriguez for his article in The Southern about the SIUC MFA Program in Creative Writing:

The Southern

Ten Questions With Rodney Jones

Not sure these are the ten questions I'd ask Rodney, but the answers are pure Jones:

Rodney

Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival: Schedule and Author Bios

Thanks to Andrea Hahn in SIUC University Communications for this Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival roundup:

Festival Schedule

SIUC writers in Poets & Writers

Ben Percy (MFA '04, fiction) compares the writing life to the boxing life in the November/December 2009 issue of  Poets & Writers, but you can only read his column in the print edition.

Adrian Matejka (MFA '01, poetry)  talks about inspiration in the "Writers Recommend" column:

Adrian in the mix

SIUC's MFA in Poets & Writers

SIUC's MFA Program in Creative Writing has been ranked among the nation's Top 50 programs by Poets & Writers:

Top 50 MFAs

More Kudos from Glimmer Train for SIUC writers

This just in--Shanie Latham (MFA '08, fiction) was named an "honorable mention" in the August 2009 Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers for her story "What Memories Are." Looks like Glimmer Train likes us.

Congrats to Desiree Dighton!

This one is a bit of old news, but still worth posting and celebrating! Desiree Dighton (MFA '07, fiction) was chosen as a finalist in Glimmer Train's June 2009 "Best Start" contest:

Glimmer Train

Congrats, DD! Better late than never!

Upcoming Literary Events in Carbondale: Week of October 19, 2009

Grassroots, SIUC's undergraduate literary and art journal, invites you to a Bonfire and Reading Party on Wednesday, Oct 21st at Giant City State Park at 6 pm.  Bring something spooky to read aloud and enjoy delicious s'mores and apple cider. For directions or a for a ride, e-mail grassrootsmag@gmail.com

On October 23, the Graduate Writers Forum of SIUC welcomes writers from the University of Missouri.  The reading will take place at 5:30 pm at the Mississippi Room, SIUC Student Center, second floor. The reading is free and open to the public. The readers are:

Jessica Garrett, poet and author of Fire Pond (winner of the 2008 Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry, published by University of Utah Press in April 2009)

Stephanie Carpenter, fiction writer whose work has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, St. Ann's Review, turnrow and Avery Anthology

Robert Long Foreman, essayist whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Massachusetts Review, Alimentum, Under the Sun, Harper Palate and North Dakota Quarterly

and

Stephanie Wortman, poet whose work has appeared in Yale Review, New Orleans Review and Smartish Pace, among  other journals.

Congrats to Nathan Beck (MFA '07)

This good news comes via our department chair, Dr. Michael Molino:

"Tony Williams (SIUC film professor)  and Nathan Beck, one of our MFA graduates, wrote articles for a recently published collections of stories on Charles Coleman's Sergeant Back Again. What is not apparent from this image is that Tony was approached to write the screenplay for the film project. Tony recommended Nathan for the job, so Nathan now has a contract to write the screenplay. Congratulations and thanks to Tony. Good luck to Nathan."

Congrats to Nathan, on both the publication and the contract to write the screenplay!

LINKS:

Website for Coleman's novel

Congrats for these writers!

Acceptance season is in full swing, and SIUC writers are getting their share!

From second-year poet Mark Brewin:
just got a happy little note in my e-mail. my poem "On Peeling Skin" has been accepted for publication in Iron Horse Literary Review. nice.
Congrats, Brewin!
Iron Horse

From alum Justin Hamm (MFA, fiction, '05):
Just wanted to drop a line to let you know that I'll have new fiction,"The Secret of Healers and Monsters," in next month's Hobart online.
Congrats, Justin!
Hobart

Upcoming Literary Event: Bending the Bow: A Celebration of African Love Poetry

Event Schedule Here:
Bending the Bow

Congrats to Tim Marsh!

Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction) sends word about an upcoming publication:

My essay "Mile One" will appear in Waccamaw Journal at the end of the month.

Best to all,
Tim

LINK:
Waccamaw Journal

Congrats to Tim, who's sitting pretty in Bali still!

Reminder: In-House Reading Today!

On Wednesday October 14, we will be holding our third In-House Reading of the semester from 4-5:30 in the Missouri River Room, located on the second floor of the SIUC Student Center.

The readers this time are
Rick Pechous, second-year fiction writer
Katie Zapoluch, second-year poet
Brenna Lemieux, second-year poet
Janelle Blasdel, second-year fiction writer

Readings are free and open to the public!

Congrats to Lane Kareska!

Congrats to second-year fiction writer Lane Kareska!

Hey Allison, just wanted to let you know my short story "God Water" was just reprinted in Columbia College Chicago's first issue of its new "Zine Columbia." With art (not my own)!
Best, Lane

Congrats to John Flaherty (MFA '09)

John Flaherty has had a story published in a very unique venue. I'll let him explain:

Hi, Allison -

My story "The Dog-Gone Dog is Gone" appears tomorrow Wednesday 10/14 on cellstories.net. If you go to the website, it will tell you to pull up the page on a web-enabled phone (turns out there is even an app for Flaherty!). So, to read the story you must do so on a phone -- it's, like, their thing.

Yes, it is semi-hip. And yes, it is slightly annoying. I apologize. Think of it as reading a really long and really well-written text message from me.

My story is up all-day Wednesday and this weekend in the weekly recap.

Hope all is well,

John Flaherty


Congrats, John!

LINK:
Cell Stories

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Looks like Travis Mossotti (third-year, poetry) will be joining Brenna!

Allison,

Just got the news I'll be joining Brenna in an issue of Salt Hill. My poem "My ignorance astounds me far too often" was accepted for publication.

Thanks,
Travis

Congrats to you both!

LINK:
Salt Hill Journal

Poetry Readings for Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Love Poetry

Dr. Frank Chipasula, poet and SIUC professor of Black Studies, invites you to these events in celebration of his anthology Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Love Poetry:

October 15, 2009
Community Poetry Circle, 3-5 pm
Poetry readings with community poets
Rustle Hill Winery, Makanda, IL

Bending the Bow Poetry Reading, Book Signing and Refreshments
6-9 pm, SIUC Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium

October 16, 2009
Bending the Bow Museum Reception with Lawrence Sykes, artist
4-7 pm
Gallery talk by Lawrence Sykes at 5 pm
SIUC, University Museum, Faner Hall

Poets participating during the celebration are Daniel P. Kunene (professor emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Rashidah Ismaili (widely anthologized author of short stories, plays and poetry). Father Joseph Brown (director of Black Studies at SIUC and author of a new poetry collection, The Sun Whispers, Wait) and Allison Joseph (director of the MFA Program at SIUC).

Beth Lordan plans Irish Studies conference

SIUC fiction writer and current director of the Irish and Irish Immigration Studies program Beth Lordan has planned an exciting conference for Oct 16-17:
Details here:
Irish Studies conference

NB: Beth sends this correction to what appears in the article above: "Just in case you're dying to attend the poetry reading on Friday night, it's actually in the Harry T. Moore Auditorium, rather than in the Glove Factory."

2009 Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival Schedule

2009 Devil’s Kitchen Literary Festival
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, October 29 - 31


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29
8:00 - 9:15 p.m.
Readings by Sebastian Agudelo and Fred Leebron
Student Center Auditorium

9:15 - 10:00 p.m.
Festival Reception (sponsored by the SIUC Dept. of English)
Student Center J.W. Corker Lounge


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
- panel discussions, Student Center Auditorium -

10:00 - 10:50 a.m.
Poetry Panel featuring Sebastian Agudelo, Eugene Gloria, David Kirby, and William Notter

11:00 - 11:50 a.m.
Fiction Panel featuring Jane Alison, Fred Leebron, L.E. Miller, and Donald Ray Pollock

2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
Readings by William Notter and L.E. Miller
Student Center Auditorium

3:15 - 4:30 p.m.
Reception and Booksigning featuring all festival readers
Student Center Old Main Lounge

5:00 - 6:15 p.m.
Readings by Donald Ray Pollock and David Kirby
Student Center Auditorium


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Readings from the new CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, “Color Wheel: Cultural Heritages in the 21st Century”
Student Center Auditorium

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Readings by Eugene Gloria and Jane Alison
Student Center Auditorium


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- Sebastian Agudelo

Sebastian Agudelo was born in Mexico City, and he earned his MA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His poetry collection, TO THE BONE, was selected by Mark Doty as the winner of the Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize in 2008, and he is also the author of the artist collaboration book ON COLLECTING, published by Shandy Press. His poems have in appeared in numerous periodicals including LUCID STONE, BELLINGHAM REVIEW, MUVFAGGE, and KARAMU, and his translations of Robert Lowell and Frank O’Hara have been published by EDICIONES EL EQUILIBRISTA. Agudelo has taught at Temple University, Drexel University, and The University of the Arts, and this Fall he’s offering a poetry workshop for the MFA program at Rutgers.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- Jane Alison

Jane Alison was born in Canberra, Australia, and spent two years in Australia as a small child, growing up mainly in the United States as a child of diplomatic parents. She attended public schools in Washington, D.C., and then earned a B.A. in classics from Princeton University in 1983. Before writing fiction, she worked as an administrator for the National Endowment for the Humanities, as a production artist for the Washington City Paper, as an editor for the Miami New Times, and as a proposal and speech-writer for Tulane University. She also worked as a freelance editor and illustrator before attending Columbia University to study creative writing.

Her first novel, THE LOVE-ARTIST, was published in 2001 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and has been translated into seven languages. It was followed by THE MARRIAGE OF THE SEA, a New York Times Notable Book of 2003. Her third novel, NATIVES AND EXOTICS, appeared in 2005 and was one of that summer's recommended readings by Alan Cheuse of National Public Radio. Her latest book is a memoir, THE SISTERS ANTIPODES, published in 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It was a PEOPLE Magazine Editor's Pick and has also been published in Australia and the Netherlands. Her short fiction and essays have recently appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES; INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE; TRIQUARTERLY; YOU Magazine; and FIVE POINTS. She has also written several biographies for children and co-edited with Harold Bloom a critical series on women writers. She teaches in the MFA Creative Writing Programs at the University of Miami and at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- Eugene Gloria

Eugene Gloria was born in Manila, Philippines, and raised in San Francisco, California. He earned his BA from San Francisco State University, his MA from Miami University of Ohio, and his MFA from the University of Oregon. He is the author of two books of poems: HOODLUM BIRDS, published in the Penguin Poets Series in 2006; and DRIVERS AT THE SHORT-TIME MOTEL, which was selected for the 1999 National Poetry Series and the 2001 Asian American Literary Award. Gloria’s poems have appeared widely in journals, including PLOUGHSHARES, PRAIRIE SCHOONER, and THE GETTYSBURG REVIEW. He has received a Fulbright Fellowship, an artist grant from the San Francisco Art Commission, 96 Inc.’s Bruce P. Rossley Literary Award, and the Poetry Society of America's George Bogin Memorial Award. He has been a scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and a resident at the Vermont Studio Center, the Mary Anderson Center for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Fundación Valparaíso in Spain, and at Le Château de Lavigny in Switzerland. He currently teaches creative writing and English literature at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- David Kirby

David Kirby is the winner of the 2009 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Poetry for his collection of poems THE TEMPLE GATE CALLED BEAUTIFUL. He is the author or co-author of twenty-nine books, including the poetry collections THE HOUSE ON BOULEVARD ST.: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS, THE HA-HA, THE HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHT, and THE TRAVELING LIBRARY, and essay collections, including WHAT IS A BOOK? and ULTRA-TALK: JOHNNY CASH, THE MAFIA, SHAKESPEARE, DRUM MUSIC, ST. TERESA OF AVILA, AND 17 OTHER COLOSSAL TOPICS OF CONVERSATION. He has received many honors for his work, including the Brittingham Prize in Poetry and his work appears frequently in the BEST AMERICAN POETRY and PUSHCART PRIZE volumes. David Kirby has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Florida Arts Council. His poetry has appeared in many publications, including THE KENYON REVIEW, THE SOUTHERN REVIEW, and PLOUGHSHARES. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, Kirby also writes regularly for THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, and CHICAGO TRIBUNE. He currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida, where he is a member of the creative writing faculty at Florida State University.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- Fred Leebron

Fred Leebron has been a faculty member at Gettysburg College since 1997. He is also program director of the master's in fine arts in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves as curriculum director of the Tinker Mountain Writers' Workshop at Hollins University, Virginia.

He has received several writing awards, including a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener Award, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship and an O. Henry Award. Leebron received a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, a master's from the Johns Hopkins University and a master's in fine arts from the University of Iowa.

Fred Leebron is the author of three novels: SIX FIGURES (which was made into a movie featured at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005), IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS, and OUT WEST. He also co-edited POSTMODERN AMERICAN FICTION: A NORTON ANTHOLOGY and co-authored CREATING FICTION: A WRITER’S COMPANION. His work has also appeared in magazines and anthologies such as TIN HOUSE, DOUBLETAKE, GRAND STREET, PLOUGHSHARES, NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, TRIQUARTERLY, FLASH FICTION, MORE, and REDBOOK. A new long story of his, “Life in Wartime,” has been optioned, and he is currently working on its novelization so that it can be made into a feature film.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- L.E. Miller

L.E. Miller has published short fiction in THE PEN/O. HENRY PRIZE STORIES 2009 (for her story "Kind," which was originally published in THE MISSOURI REVIEW); SCRIBNER'S BEST OF THE FICTION WORKSHOPS 1999, edited by Sherman Alexie; and twice in CALYX. Miller holds an MA in fiction writing from the University of New Hampshire. She lives in Newbury, Massachusetts, and is at work on a collection of short stories.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- William Notter

William Notter won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award for his collection HOLDING EVERYTHING DOWN, which was published by Southern Illinois University Press in Fall 2009. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Nevada Arts Council, and Sierra Arts Foundation, and was awarded the Walton Fellowship twice from the University of Arkansas program in creative writing. His chapbook, MORE SPACE THAN ANYONE CAN STAND, was published as the 2001 Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize winner from Texas Review Press. His poems have appeared in ALASKA QUARTERLY REVIEW, AGNI ONLINE, ASCENT, THE CHATTAHOOCHEE REVIEW, CONNECTICUT REVIEW, THE MIDWEST QUARERLY, SOUTHERN POETRY REVIEW, WILLOW SPRINGS, the anthology GOOD POEMS FOR HARD TIMES, and on NPR’s THE WRITER’S ALMANAC. He received a BA from the University of Evansville and an MFA in poetry from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and he has taught writing at Grand Valley State University and the University of Nevada, Reno.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE -- Donald Ray Pollock

Donald Ray Pollock is the winner of the 2009 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Prose for his collection of stories KNOCKEMSTIFF. His work has appeared in, or is forthcoming in THE NEW YORK TIMES, THIRD COAST, THE JOURNAL, SOU’WESTER, CHIRON REVIEW, RIVER STYX, BOULEVARD, FOLIO, and THE BERKELEY FICTION REVIEW. Donald Ray Pollock was born in 1954 and grew up in southern Ohio, in a holler named Knockemstiff. He dropped out of high school at seventeen to work in a meatpacking plant, and then spent thirty-two years employed in a paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. Currently, he is a graduate student in the MFA program at Ohio State University and still lives in Chillicothe with his wife, Patsy, a high school English teacher. He hopes to someday teach fiction writing.

He is currently at work on a novel set in 1965, about a serial killer named Arvin Eugene Russell.


The festival is sponsored by GRASSROOTS, the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Department of English’s undergraduate literary magazine. The Devil’s Kitchen Fall Literary Festival is made possible through funding from the SIUC Fine Arts Activity Fee, the SIUC Creative Writing Program’s Visiting Writers Series, and CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW.

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Third-year poetry MFA student Travis Mossotti has more fine news:

Allison,
Hunger Mountain has accepted my poem "Alice" for publication.
Thanks,
Travis


Congrats, Travis!
LINK:
Hunger Mountain

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux!

Second-year MFA student Brenna Lemieux has some celebrating to do:

Hi, Allison --

I just found out that my poem "Limen" will be appearing in the next issue of Salt Hill. I have no idea when it's coming out, but I'd guess next spring or summer or something.

EEEEEEEE!

Brenna

Congrats, Brenna!

LINK:
Salt Hill

Storyspotting: Nick Ostdick

First-year fiction MFA student Nick Ostdick's story "The Blackbirds in Lime Rock, Connecticut" is appearing now in Staccato Fiction:
The Blackbirds in Lime Rock, Connecticut

Also, check out Nick's story "Brothers" at Annalemma:
Brothers

Congrats to Leslie Adams!

First-year poetry MFA student Leslie Adams writes with this good news:

Dear Allison,

Two of my poems, "This is Not to Say" and "Portrait from a Negative, 1979," were accepted for publication in New South. They should appear in the spring 2009 edition.

Thanks so much!

Leslie Adams

Congrats, Leslie!

LINK:
New South

Adrian Matejka Update

SIUC poetry alum Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) will read alongside famed poet Terrance Hayes at Manhattan's Bowery Poetry Club on October 7:
Cave Canem fundraiser

In-Town Literary Happenings: week of October 5, 2009

Open Mic Poetry Night, sponsored by Underground Arts and Women Interested in Sigma Lambda Gamma. Bring material to read and share. Event open to all.
When: October 6, 2009
Time: 7-9pm
Where Big Muddy Room, SIUC Student Center

This month Reading and Drinking, aka R&D, goes tribute mode. Did you know that Randy "Macho Man" Savage is a graduate of SIU? Pay him homage on Oct 7 at 7:30 pm at the Mississippi Flyway. There will be the usual literary readings, trivia contests, and drink specials. Mississippi Flyway is in the Murdale Shopping Center (1925 W Main, Carbondale).

SIUC Faculty Poets Read in New York and Indiana

Our beloved Rodney Jones will read from his work on October 7 at SUNY Brockport, near Rochester:
SUNY Writers' Forum

Allison Joseph will read from her poetry at the University of Indianapolis on Oct 7:
Kellogg Writers' Series

Upcoming Readings: In House and Writers on the Road

On Wednesday October 14, we will be holding our third In-House Reading of the semester from 4-5:30 in the Missouri River Room, located on the second floor of the SIUC Student Center.

The readers this time are
Rick Pechous, second-year fiction writer
Katie Zapoluch, second-year poet
Brenna Lemieux, second-year poet
Janelle Blasdel, second-year fiction writer

Visiting on October 23, 2009 will be writers from the graduate program in creative writing at the University of Missouri. That reading will take place in the SIUC Student Center's Mississippi Room at 5:30 pm.

(Thanks to Janelle for this information!)

Congrats to Renee Evans (MFA '09)!

Congrats to Renee Evans (fiction, MFA '09) on the publication of another story!

To Say Nothing

Congrats Renee, and thanks to Kerry James for posting word of this new publication for Renee! Love to you both!

Upcoming Reading: Joanna Beth Tweedy

The Sallie Logan Public Library, 1808 Walnut Street, Murphysboro, will host an evening with Joanna Beth Tweedy on Friday, Oct. 2 from 6-8pm.

In this reading and presentation, author and editor Joanna Beth Tweedy will discuss with readers and writers not only the publishing process but also the promotion process that takes place before and after the contract is signed, sharing tips on everything from gaining the attention of an agent or editor, selecting a press, getting a book into stores, and conducting readings and signings. She will also read from her novel, published this year by Southeast Missouri University Press and titled The Yonder Side of Sass and Texas.

Tweedy is a native of Murphysboro, and her poetry and fiction have been published in literary journals and anthologies and have received honors from Glimmer Train, the Southern Women Writers Conference, Alsop Review, the Ray Bradbury Creative Writing Contest, among others. She has taught creative writing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at the University of Illinois Springfield, and she is presently an associate dean of academic affairs at Benedictine University in Springfield, where she is also the founding editor and host of Quiddity International Literary Journal and Public-Radio Program.