Faculty Feature: Daniel Mueller

Daniel Mueller will be teaching a Flash Fiction Weekend Workshop this year at the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Find out more here.

"I am thrilled to have learned so much in such a short time. Dan is so knowledgeable and organized. He makes every minute count. He’s also funny and sensitive to the feelings and opinions of students. I wouldn’t hesitate to take another workshop with him." – 2012 Workshop Attendee

Daniel Mueller is the author of two collection of stories, How Animals Mate (Overlook Press, 1999) and the forthcoming Nights I Dreamed of Hubert Humphrey (Outpost 19, March 2013). His stories have appeared in Joyland, Joyland Retro, The Missouri Review, The Iowa Review, The Cincinnati Review, Gargoyle, Prairie Schooner, Surreal South, CutBank, Another Chicago Magazine, Story Quarterly, Story, The Mississippi Review, The Crescent Review, Playboy, and elsewhere.  He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Henfield Foundation, and Iowa Writers’ Workshop.  He directs the creative writing program at University of New Mexico and teaches at the Low-Residency MFA Program at Queens University of Charlotte.  

Editor Jane von Mehren Joins Us for the 15th Annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference

We are excited to announce that editor Jane von Mehren will be joining us this summer. 

Ms. von Mehren will be offering individual consultations at the beginning of the Conference, from Monday, July 15, through Wednesday, July 17. 

 

Jane von Mehren spent more than 25 years as an editor and publisher at Random House, Penguin, Houghton Mifflin, and Crown Publishers. An accomplished editor of fiction, the award winning and bestselling novelists she has worked with include Jamie Ford, author of HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET; Susan Vreeland, author of numerous novels including GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE; Gwyn Hyman Rubio, author of the Oprah Book Club selection, ICY SPARKS; Jessica Hagedorn, author of the National Book Award finalist, DOGEATERS; and Jonis Agee author of numerous critically acclaimed novels including SWEET EYES and THE RIVER WIFE. Jane has also edited a great deal of nonfiction including such bestsellers as Susan Faludi's BACKLASH, Deborah Rodriguez's THE KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL, Dave Ramsey's FINANCIAL PEACE, and numerous books from the Harvard Negotiation Project including DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS as well as such critically acclaimed books as WHEELS FOR THE WORLD: Henry Ford, His Company and a Century of Progress by Douglas Brinkley; LEARNING TO BOW by Bruce Feiler; ONE NATION AFTER ALL by Alan Wolfe; and the National Book Award Finalist PLACES LEFT UNFINISHED AT THE TIME OF CREATION by John Philip Santos. In response to the rapidly developing e-book marketplace she conceived and spearheaded Random House Readers Circle Deluxe e-books, an innovative e-book program targeted to the book club market. In addition to her editorial experience, Jane's expertise is in helping authors position themselves and their work for today's challenging marketplace.  

Visit our website to register for a consultation.

Participant Accomplishments: Teddy Jones Receives Grant from The Elizabeth George Foundation

Teddy Jones received a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation this month to complete archival research for the purpose of refining her manuscript The Goods, workshopped last summer with Summer Wood and an excellent workshop group. Not only will the supported research enhance the background material in the novel, but it will also enable her to complete a non-fiction piece on the Sanctified Sisters of Belton, TX, the group whose existence stimulated the fiction that is The Goods. She hopes to complete her research this spring.

Elizabeth George is a novelist known for her mysteries set in England. Her foundation supports new and emerging writers in their efforts to gain publication. 

Congratulations, Teddy!

WC&C Scholarship Competition deadline reminder

WC&C Scholarship Competition

AWP offers two annual scholarships of $500 each to emerging writers who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. The scholarships are applied to fees for winners who attend one of the member programs in AWP’s Directory of Conferences & Centers. Winners and four finalists also receive a one-year individual membership in AWP.

Eligibility Requirements
• Former or current students of the judge are ineligible. Previous recipients of WC&C scholarships are also not eligible to submit.

• Submissions in fiction and poetry will be considered. Separate submissions in each genre are permitted.

Guidelines
• Writers’ names must not appear on submissions. A separate cover sheet must accompany submissions and include the following: name, address, phone number, email address, title, and genre. Please bind submissions by staple, binder clip, or paper clip. If you wish to be notified that your manuscript was received please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard.

• All manuscripts must be single-sided and typed. Prose must be double-spaced. A maximum of one short story (or novel excerpt) up 25 pages or 10 pages of poetry will be considered. Each new poem must start a new page.

• You may enter in more than one genre, and you may also enter multiple manuscripts in one genre, provided that each manuscript is accompanied by its own entry fee.

• A $10 reading fee, either as a check or money order in U.S. dollars made payable to AWP, must accompany each submission. Submissions are accepted between December 1 and March 30 of each year and should be mailed to: WC&C Scholarship Competition, Association of Writers & Writing Programs, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 1E3, Fairfax, VA 22030, WC&C Scholarship Competition.
Winners will be notified by May 15. Two winners will each receive a $500 scholarship to attend a WC&C member program. Funds are paid directly to the selected program. (Member conferences reserve the right to determine participants in their programs; winners select a first choice and two alternates.)

You can find additional  information here.

Participant Publications: Teddy Jones - Halfwide

Congratulations, Teddy Jones, whose novel she workshopped at the Taos Summer Writers' Conference, has been published. Available here.

Find out what people are saying on the Halfwide Facebook page. 

Halfwide: A Novel

Dorothy Faye Bell feels like a criminal.  Her part of the scheme that is her husband’s latest adventure is to pose as a visitor in several West Texas hospitals to justify parking their only dwelling, a twenty-eight foot travel trailer, on the hospitals’ visitor parking lots—free.  After thirty-three years of marriage, Dorothy Faye does what she usually does, what she thinks a good wife should.  She jokes as they give away their furniture.  She quits her job as a care attendant, packs her New York Times Crossword Puzzles book  and not much else, and hits the road, smiling even when she’s irritated.  Along the way Harold’s adventure becomes a quest for knowledge of his father and for Dorothy Faye, a journey of discovery.  She finds a person she had forgotten, or never really knew, herself.  The people she meets and the lessons she learns during their odd trip in summer 2000 puzzle her, challenge her and leave her with a new awareness of purpose in her life.

Participant Publications: Cully Perlman Wins Creative Loafing Tampa Fiction Contest

CL Fiction Contest Winner: The Tabaquero's Squirrel

by Cully Perlman | January 03, 2013

You can read Cully Perlman's piece here

Congratulations, Cully!

Wally Lamb Workshop - Waiting List

If you are interested in being placed on the waiting list for Wally Lamb's class, please email us at taosconf@unm.edu. The office reopens Wednesday, January 2.

We recommend taking a look at the other fiction workshops that are being offered. We are proud to announce that Laura Brodie is again teaching a novel-in-progress workshop for intermediate and advanced writers, while Frank Huyler will be offering one for beginning writers. Pam Houston will also be joining us again in 2013, as will Robert Boswell and Demetria Martinez. Do not miss Priscilla Long's Prose Style workshop, which has become an annual favorite. You can find more information here.

Class Updates and Holiday Hours

Registration for the 2013 Conference opened December 3. There are currently three spots open in Wally Lamb's class and John Dufresne is opening a waiting list. You can still submit for Jonis Agee, Antonya Nelson and Summer Wood if you are interested in a novel master class.

This year we are offering two novel-in-progress workshops one with Laura Brodie (int/adv) and one with Frank Huyler. We are also offering two memoir classes, one with BK Loren and one with Brent Spencer.

Check the workshops page for more information. Be sure to read instructor letters which are linked to each instructor's page for detailed class information.

Our office will be closed until January 2, 2013 due to the UNM Winter Break. We will be checking e-mail sporadically and the "open space" numbers may not be accurate.

Taos Summer Writers' Conference wishes you Happy Holidays and a wonderful 2013. We hope to see you in July to celebrate our 15th birthday with us!

Faculty New Releases: Demetria Martinez - The Block Captain's Daughter

Demetria Martinez's newest book, a novella set in Albuquerque called The Block Captain's Daughter, has just been released. In this story Martinez paints a portrait of six characters whose lives intertwine through their activism as they seek to create a better world and find meaning in their own lives. Published by the University of Oklahoma Press, the book encompasses political themes that have long been the author's passion and the landscape and people of New Mexico from which she draws sustenance.


You can find out more about this and other books on Demetria Martinez's new website: www.demetriamartinez.com/DemetriaMartinezBooks.htm



Click here for The Block Captain's Daughter on Amazon.com

Demetria Martinez is teaching at the 2013 Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Below is her class description.

The Freedom to Write: A Fiction Workshop for Beginners (All Levels - Weeklong PM) - Demetria Martinez

Starting a work of fiction should be a joyful experience. You will have the freedom to write without knowing much about your characters or even how the story will end. Your work is to be open to surprise as your characters reveal their lives. Like a reporter you will take notes until you have the makings of a story you and others will want to read. 

In this workshop we will employ a variety of  exercises that bring characters to life. We will get to know their surroundings and their secrets, their manner of speech and what they struggle with in silence. We will write in class and read our work out loud. Our goal is also to gather material for you to take home and use to build your story long after the workshop ends.

As part of the workshop, I offer an hour of creativity coaching to each participant to discuss what it will take to keep you inspired after the workshop ends. Many people depart from a creative writing workshop lacking techniques to remain motivated. We’ll make sure this doesn’t happen.

Sharon Oard Warner Teaching Online Novella Class

Founding Director of the Taos Summer Writers' Workshop, Sharon Oard Warner, will be offering the class:
 “Writing (and Reading) the Novella,”  a three-credit graduate workshop offered entirely online.  

This semester-long, three-credit workshop will be part of the curriculum for UNM's new low-residency program, which was introduced at the 2012 Taos Summer Writers' Conference.  Credits earned will count towards an eventual degree, but the class can also be taken for personal enrichment reasons, or just to write a novella in the new year.  

Sharon Oard Warner comments: "I am intrigued by the novella form and by the opportunities it offers to teach plotting and story structure.  In recent months, I have revised and submitted a novella of my own, and in February I’ll be giving a conference presentation on the topic of teaching the novella workshop." 

You can request the tentative syllabus and policies here. This link  takes you to the tuition information at the Bursar’s Office. 

It is necessary to enroll as a non-degree student of UNM to register for the class. Anyone interested in this class should feel free to contact Sharon with questions or in order to get additional information.   

Past Participant Publications - Congratulations Larry Stillman!

Larry Stillman work-shopped a chapter of this book with Joseph Skibell in Taos a few years ago and it was just published. Larry has been awarded the I-Universe Rising Star and an Editor's Choice designation. Rope Catcher is available through amazon, B&N, and of course, your local bookstores.

Congratulations, Larry!

It is April of 1942, and twenty-eight-year-old Jimmie Goodluck leads an aimless existence on the Navajo reservation, where he knows only poverty, prejudice, and lack of opportunity. Everything changes when he hears a US Marine Corps recruitment message on the radio. Without a second thought, Jimmie heads out toward what he hopes will be a new and meaningful life.

As a marine recruit, Jimmie becomes a code talker. He and his small, all-Navajo platoon develop a highly-classified code using the Navajo language—the only code in World War II the enemy cannot break. For the first time ever, Jimmie experiences equality, respect, and even admiration—everything he’s dreamed about all his life. But it is only when he returns home four years later that he discovers the devastating truth about what can happen after your dreams come true.

Hope, disillusionment, and redemption line Jimmie’s journey of self-discovery as he immerses himself in a world war and in the turbulent changes that sweep across the Navajo reservation—forever changing his own destiny.

Published:

11/12/2012

Format:

Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)

Pages:

376

Size:

5.5x8.5

ISBN:

978-1-47595-552-1

Print Type:

B/W

WC&C Scholarship Competition Application Deadline March 30, 2013

Taos Summer Writers' Conference is a member program!

WC& C Scholarship Competition

AWP offers two annual scholarships of $500 each to emerging writers who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. The scholarships are applied to fees for winners who attend one of the member programs in AWP’s Directory of Conferences & Centers. Winners and four finalists also receive a one-year individual membership in AWP.

The WC&C Scholarship Competition, which runs each year between December 1st and March 30th, is now accepting submissions! Winners apply their $500 cash prizes toward attendance at the WC&C member program of their choice.

Last year WC& C received 49 poetry entries and 77 fiction entries--so it's a relatively small competition, but a great way to spread the word about the wonderful writing centers, conferences, festivals, residencies, and retreats that make up WC&C.

Here is a link to the AWP page: https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/wcc_scholarships_overview

Conference Synergy Once Again Inspires Published Works!

The Winter 2012 issue of El Palacio magazine includes a beautiful essay by Brenda Mantz, "Canned Corn and River Water." Brenda has regularly attended the Taos Summer Writers Conference and another participant, Cynthia Baughman, solicited this piece for a special food issue that was put together in conjunction with a show opening (Friday, December 7) at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, "New World Cuisine: The Histories of Chocolate, Mate y Mas."

You can find Brenda's piece here: www.elpalacio.org - 
http://www.elpalacio.org/articles/winter12/cannedcorn.pdf

R. Flowers Rivera Publication News

Troubling Accents, the collection Raquel Flowers Rivera work-shopped during the Taos Writers' Conference with Valerie Martinez, has been accepted for publication by Xavier [University] Review Press in New Orleans.

Find out more about Raquel Flowers Rivera at her website: http://www.promethea.com

We Will Miss Kit Ward

Kit Ward came to the Taos Summer Writers' Conference in 2011 as a publishing consultant. Her gracious manner and encouragement of everyone she met and worked with was so appreciated. 

WARD, Christina L. (Potter) Of Weymouth, formerly of Lowell and Scituate, passed away on Monday, Nov. 19th, 2012 at the Leahy Clinic in Burlington after a brief illness. She was 59. She worked as an acquiring editor at Little Brown Publishers in Boston before founding Christina Ward Literary Agency. She later became co-owner of The Ward & Balkin Agency, Inc. She had a special interest in working closely with writers and was a guest faculty member at several writers' conferences throughout the United States. Beloved wife of George W. Ward of Weymouth and mother of Devin T. Ward of Milwaukee, WI, and Gareth M. Ward of Malden. Daughter of Thomas V. and Betty Hamlin Potter of Weymouth. Sister of Stephen Potter of Georgia, Van Potter of Arizona and Rebecca Hulbert of Plymouth. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Mrs. Ward was an avid gardener and reader and had a wide and varied interest in literature and poetry. She was a loving wife, mother and daughter. A Memorial Service will be conducted on Saturday, Nov. 24th at 1 PM at the Old Ship Church, 90 Main St., Hingham. Visiting hours and flowers omitted by request. Rather than flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Old Ship Church, Access to Education Fund, 107 Main St., Hingham, MA 02043. The interment is to be private. For online guestbook, pleasevisit www.downingchapel.com.

From Boston.com

U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey, Keynote Reader for 15th Annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference

We are proud to make the following announcement:

On Sunday, July 14th at 8 p.m., our newly installed U.S. poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey, will give the keynote reading for the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference (July 14-21, 2013).  

Trethewey's reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing and reception.

Natasha Trethewey, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of three collections and a professor of creative writing at Emory University in Atlanta. Ms. Trethewey, 46, was born in Gulfport, Miss., and is the first Southerner to hold the post since Robert Penn Warren, the original laureate, and the first African-American since Rita Dove in 1993.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/books/natasha-trethewey-is-named-poet-laureate.html