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SUMMER, 2008
Our newsletter, Wavelength, is published four times a year and is mailed directly to all current members of the CCWC. If you would prefer to read it online, please send us an e-mail to let us know. We would appreciate your contribution to our being "greener."
REGISTER TODAY FOR THIS YEAR’S WRITERS CONFERENCE!
DO NOT MISS OUT ON THE COURSES YOU WANT.
THERE ARE MANY CHANGES IN THE REGISTRATION PROCESS, PLEASE READ THE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE PAGE ON WWW.CAPECODWRITERSCENTER.ORG THROUGH BEFORE FILLING OUT THE FORM.
WE ARE ALLOWING REGISTRATIONS BEYOND THE DEADLINE, BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WE HAVE REQUIRED ADVANCE REGISTRATION, BUT GET YOUR REGISTRATION FORM IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO GET INTO THE CLASSES YOU WANT. MEMOIR IS CLOSED AND OTHERS WILL CLOSE ON MONDAY, AUGUST 11.
IF YOU ARE TAKING A FIVE-DAY WORKSHOP YOU MUST PAY A CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE OF $35 TO RECEIVE A SPECIAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION BADGE. PLEASE WEAR IT AT ALL TIMES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CONFERENCE REGISTRATION BENEFITS.
IF YOU ARE COMING IN FOR INDIVIDUAL CLASSES ONLY, THE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE OF $35 IS NOT REQUIRED.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU ARE A CURRENT MEMBER, THERE IS NO CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE. YOU WILL BE GIVEN A SPECIAL REGISTRATION BADGE WITHOUT PAYING THE FEE.
PAYMENT OF THIS $35 REGISTRATION FEE OR MEMBERSHIP IN THE CAPE COD WRITERS' CENTER ENTITLES YOU TO BENEFITS: ACCESS TO THE MANUSCRIPT EVALUATIONS AND MENTORING, AN INVITATION TO ATTEND THE FACULTY RECEPTION AT WIANNO ($32), AND COMPLEMENTARY DAILY BOX LUNCH BRIEFINGS. THEREFORE, BEST BET: BECOME A MEMBER, GET CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FOR FREE, AND ACCESS THE BENEFITS.
Our handsome conference program brochures, enhanced by the photography of our friend Ken Brynildsen, have been mailed to members and last year's attendees, and the full program is listed on the Conference Schedule page of our website (www.capecodwriterscenter.org).
Meanwhile here are some highlights of the evening programs:
Our Monday evening speaker is a journalist who has written a memoir about the last two weeks of her husband's life- the renowned Eleanor Clift, Contributing Editor to Newsweek and longtime member of the McLaughlin Group. After speaking she will sign Two Weeks: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Politics, available in the conference bookstore.
Get your copy Sunday evening when the conference bookstore opens.
On Tuesday evening, David R. Godine, who established his unique publishing house in Boston 40 years ago, and whose high quality books and firm continue to win awards of distinction, will speak in the Tabernacle. On Wednesday, he will represent the publisher in our mock editorial board meeting, as part of the five-hour Master Class on publishing (2:30 to 8:30 with an optional casual dinner with the chance for attendees to mingle with the panel). David Godine will discuss the role of the acquiring editor; acquiring editor for Godine and specialist in marketing and rights Sue Berger Ramin will address aspects of publishing she finds authors most commonly ask. Publicity guru Lissa Warren, V.P. for Da Capo, a member of Perseus Book Group, and an acquiring editor; and assistant director of the Editorial Institute of Boston University, Frances Whistler, will give their perspectives on what writers need to know about finding literary agents, working with editors, and having patience during the process of seeing their manuscript become a book, and get distributed and marketed. NYC literary agent Adam Chromy and a bookseller will round out the panel.
FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
The first conference registration for 2008 to come into the office was faxed from Tokyo! We have a new member from Beijing. Geraldine Mills returns to the Cape from Ireland as a faculty member with the support of her country's Arts Council. Our new website is getting global attention, and we see unlimited possibilities in this multicultural participation. Traditionally, there is cultural empathy among writers, but there is no substitution for personal interaction and friendships to broaden perspectives and mend misunderstandings among nations. We hope as writers to contribute in some small way to a more peaceful world.
The progress in negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. regarding nuclear developments, coincidental with the performance of the New York Philharmonic in that country, is considered a miracle by some. But we know the healing power of art, and a lasting world peace may come yet out of the work of writers around the world sharing values.
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The winner of the question asked in this column in the winter newsletter, "How many writers are there on Cape Cod?" is Dianne Finney, for being the only CCWC member to attempt an answer! We still do not have a final number, but continue to work with our friends at other arts organizations to define the potential growth of our organization, and should be able to announce an approximate number soon.
As we research these statistics, and embark on a campaign to grow our membership and attendance at the annual summer conference, I invite your thoughts on how we might do a better job of marketing both.
SHORT COURSE AT SUMMER CONFERENCE, MONDAY AFTERNOON
Before you take in Monday evening's speaker, Newsweek Contributing Editor Eleanor Clift, attend Cape Cod's own Larry Brown's three-hour workshop on column-writing. Brown, a columnist for the Cape Cod Times and teacher at Cape Cod Academy, has published hundreds of editorials over the years on economics, faith, and politics. When he could not find a geography textbook from which to teach, he wrote his own, and Addison-Wesley published parts of it under the title, Thinking About the World. He has also published a book on being Hindu in Western society, which he is. His Bodhi Beautiful: How to be a Hindu in America, explains Hinduism in Western terms. An experienced sailor, he has written three books and scores of articles on yachting.
In his workshop for CCWC, Larry addresses the interests of the student, and also looks back on his 22 years of column writing and changes in America and journalism during that time. He will address concerns of the columnist about offending readers, showing anger appropriately, realizing the columnist’s responsibilities with respect to community causes, and other challenges, including how to write most effectively in 700 words.
Larry is a fascinating man, from whom you will learn much more than just column-writing in three hours with him.
LET US HELP YOU TO SELL YOUR BOOKS AROUND THE GLOBE
At the May, 2008 Board of Directors meeting, a decision was made to offer CCWC members an opportunity to take advantage of the global attention our new website has been receiving. Any Patron with an active annual membership now may target our international community of readers and writers by linking his or her website to ours. The earliest ones to do this will also be profiled in our newsletter.
Sell your books around the globe!
The new Patrons Page will be up soon.
NEW PATRONS
 Linda Leblanc has become a Patron member of the Cape Cod Writers' Center in celebration of her many successes as a poet, which she attributes in part to her participation in CCWC summer conferences. On Trains is the title of her first poetry collection, from which she has been invited to read at the Joiner Center Writers Conference in June.
Poet Afaa Michael Weaver, a former faculty member of CCWC's summer conference, writes of On Trains, "The eyes in the window of this train are deeply sympathetic, and give us this treaty made by a disciplined heart with beauty and ugliness. On Trains is LeBlanc's succinct and sculpted faith in our world, our lives."
Linda, who lives on a cranberry bog in Marstons Mills, holds an M.A. in British Literature, and taught high school English and creative writing for 26 years. She began writing poetry in 1999, and has previously published in the Aurorean.
Finbarr M. Corr has upgraded his membership to Patron, as well. He is the author of A Kid from Legaginney, Bridges from Legaginney, The Many Loves of Joe Carroll [a memoir] and Living, Laughing and Loving thru Marriage, all reflecting on his life journey from country priest in Ireland to married life on Cape Cod by way of Columbia University, where he earned his doctorate.
Dr James D. Murphy, Chair of Franklin Forum, Eastpointe, Palm Beach Gardens, FL describes Finbarr's Bridges from Legaginney as "the story of powerful life change by a priest from an Irish Catholic family of generations of priests. Finbarr Corr shares the challenge and emotion of his transition from pastoral leader of a vibrant parish community of 1800 families to a married lay professional, forced to start a new career alone as a marriage and family therapist. Dr. Corr’s story is ultimately about the comfort and joy of reaching out to others as the secret to sustaining a personal spirit."
Suzette Martinez Standring, a Patron member, is the author of The Art of Column Writing: Insider Secrets from Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill and Other Great Columnists (Marion Street Press, 2008). Over 50 award-winning newspapers columnists are featured with advice, tips, and techniques on how to convey a story or message vividly in 700 words or less. Memories, opinions or skills can be parlayed into a column with the right guidance on this special genre. If you blog, you’re a columnist.
Marion Street Press, Inc. is a journalism trade publisher. The Art of Column Writing was picked up as required reading by DePaul University and The University of Southern Maine. Suzette is a syndicated columnist with GateHouse News Service and is the past president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She writes humor, religion and lifestyle columns and teaches writing workshops nationally. Visit http://www.readsuzette.com or email her: suzmar@comcast.net
 
Shirley Pieters Vogel has joined the CCWC as a Patron. (www.shirleyvogel.com.) She says, "My writing is inspirational and based on what I'm living and learning about God's love and faithfulness in all kinds of challenges. I'm also an inspirational speaker and this is further explained on my website. The same is true for my book, wHispers, which will be available in September.
Quite a while ago, Shirley served on the CCWC board for a couple of years. She explains, "What marvelous changes have been accomplished since I was last in touch! I've been a full time volunteer in ministry at my church for the past twenty years and that has not left much time for other personal interests. Now I have more freedom to take part in CCWC."
(Shirley's book cover will be on this page soon.)
Books of Linda, Suzette, Shirley, and Finbarr will be for sale, along with those of other Cape Cod Writers' Center members, in the conference bookstore opening Sunday night, August 17.
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE FIRST EVER MASSACHUSETTS POETRY FESTIVAL?
The Cape Cod Writers Center proposal to present a program at the first Massachusetts Poetry Festival has been accepted.
As a member of the organizing committee of the festival, I invited Alice Kociemba, poet, CCWC member, and founder of the poetry venue, Calliope in West Falmouth to co-facilitate Cape Cod Voices: Poems of People and Place, a 90-minute reading of over a dozen poets whose work has helped to raise awareness of poetry on Cape Cod and the Islands. It will take place in Lowell on Saturday, October 10. The time and location will be announced soon.
The poets representing our area will read some poems of well-known deceased Cape Cod poets as well, combining voices from the past and present, of native and wash-ashore poets who have contributed to a cultural identity and regional voice for Cape Cod and the Islands.
This celebration in the Merrimack Valley will affirm our state's position as a literary leader since Colonial days when Anne Bradstreet put her thoughts into beautiful poems. The goal of the festival is to raise the profile of poetry in Massachusetts and to help to make it part of the culture of our communities. It will include a small press book fair, poetry slams, workshops, panel discussions, and readings by well-known, as well as emerging, poets.
I believe that Cape Cod will provide an exceptional level of energy and diverse work for the size of the population of our small peninsula and little islands.
Please show Massachusetts your commitment to poetry by attending, and by donating to an event important to all writers and readers.
Anne Elizabeth Tom
Executive Director
Cape Cod Writers Center
Paul Marion, organizer of the festival and Community relations director for UMASS Lowell, addresses us below.
Dear Cape Cod Writers Center,
In 1780, John Adams of Massachusetts wrote to his wife, Abigail, saying he had to study politics and war so that his grandchildren would have a right to study poetry and enjoy the arts that lift our minds and spirits. We are a long way from the old Revolution, but the best of poetry is still revolutionary and helps keep us free. In 2008, it is time for all of us to celebrate what poetry means in our lives and to the Commonwealth we call home.
For thirty-five years, poetry has enriched my life. I want to see the power of poetry spread across our state. My passion for poetry has led me to join my friends at the Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Project to organize the first ever Massachusetts Poetry Festival, on October 10th, 11th and 12th in Lowell, Massachusetts. As we prepare our Festival schedule and line up readers and performers, we have an immediate need for your financial support to make this Festival a reality:
http://masspoetry.org/donate/
We have planned a three-day celebration of the poets, poetry, and literary heritage of this state, whose contribution to American poetry is unsurpassed in the nation. The celebration will include readings by well-known and emerging poets, workshops and panel talks, films, performance poetry, programs for children and youth, a small press fair, exhibits, literary tours, and more.
But we need to raise money for this good cause. Our goal is to raise $60,000, and we need another $21,500 to reach it. We are grateful for whatever you can give. If each person on this list gives as much as $100, we will reach our goal. Please donate today and ask one friend to support the Festival. This is a chance to be a founding donor:
Readers, performers, artists, and presenters will include Marjorie Agosin, Lucie Brock-Broido, Andre Dubus III, Martin Espada, Rhina Espaillat, Henry Ferrini, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord, Regie Gibson, Barbara Helfgott Hyett, X. J. Kennedy, Samkhann Khoeun, Eileen Myles, Joyce Peseroff, Robert Pinsky, Jeff Robinson, Ed Sanders, Lloyd Schwartz, Joe Torra, and Everett Hoagland, among others. Poetry groups from the Merrimack Valley, Worcester, Cape Cod and elsewhere will offer readings. Student poets from UMass Boston, UMass Lowell, Emerson College, and Lesley University will participate.
This is our opportunity to celebrate the transformative art of poetry. Save the date for the Festival in October and vote with your feet by coming to Lowell - but please give today so we can make the first Festival an extraordinary success. We are still finalizing our programs and venues. Tickets will go on sale beginning Monday, August 18. Your donation today will allow us to rent larger facilities, expand our reach across the state, and offer more programs for young people and for teachers.
Thank you for everything you do - for your belief in the power of poetry.
Paul Marion, Lowell Poetry Network
CCWC member and Cape Cod Times columnist, Saralee Perel, recently won an award in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists annual contest. The NSNC is the largest columnist organization in the U.S. (Dave Barry says he wins every year but uses a pseudonym.) This is Saralee's second win. Her first was in 2005. Her lucky run also includes First Place in the most recent North American Mature Publishers Association yearly contest. She has three stories in current Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Two appear in "Love Stories" and one appears in "A Tribute to Moms." Last month, it was officially announced that Saralee is now an essayist for The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Saralee encourages other writers. "Submitting to Chicken Soup is simple. Plus they take pre-published material if you own the rights. All of my stories have been published previously. An NSNC win can happen to you too. The people at the organization are wonderfully personal and their newsletters are invaluable for all writers: www.columnists.com. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions: sperel@saraleeperel.com or see further information on my new web site: www.saraleeperel.com. I know the odds are daunting in our writing submissions, but if we don't try, the odds are zero. Don't give up. What's the point in that?"
The Red Lily Pond Project dinner in Craigville is being held the night before the CCWC 46th Annual Conference. It costs $35.00 per person. Cocktail hour is on the Green at 5:30, dinner at Craigville Dining Room at 6:45 PM.
Valerie Lane, a Craigville resident explains,"We have had writers from the CCWC conference attend in past years, who happened to find out about the dinner accidentally. We would love to have anyone from the conference who calls ahead for a reservation join us. They can call me, Valerie Lane at 508-778-0507 by August 13th at the latest."
This fundraiser will provide support for the restoration of Lake Elizabeth and Red Lily Pond behind the Inn, and eventually on the herring run after the summer season is over.
STREAMLINING JOINING THE CENTER AND REGISTERING FOR THE CONFERENCE
Cape designer Sally Harvey (LondonEye Graphics) has completed work on branding the Cape Cod Writers' Center with a new logo and look for several CCWC products, and Darlene Billmair (Insite Media Design) has finished the design of our website and beautiful new conference program brochure, including a much simpler registration form than we have had in the past.
If this newsletter arrived by mail, you have seen that it has a new shape and size as well, all part of the new look.
Our business manager Kathryn Basille is ordering newly designed conference tee shirts, travel mugs, and book bags with the new logo and color scheme, for sale in the conference bookstore and later at our events. Buy this summer for the holidays and help the Cape Cod Writers' Center.
REGISTERING FOR THE CONFERENCE
Our new conference registration form is simplified and straightforward. You may download it on-line or clip it out of the conference brochure without losing any important information.
JOINING CCWC ONLINE
PayPal is now on the Membership page of the CCWC website. If you do not know the status of your membership, I encourage you to check with us, so that there will be no delays in completing your registration.
We have a larger quantity of conference program brochures and coordinated members' brochures than usual, so please let us know if you belong to any groups to whom you wish to distribute them. The more registrants and new members we add, the faster we will be able to move towards a space all our own, where members can meet and write! It may take a few years, but we will get there. Thank you for any help you are able to give to the Center.
| Eventide Arts recently presented a staged reading of the winning play of the Second Annual Playwriting Contest, well-cast and directed by John Schofield. |
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The 2007 Kaplan Prize Went to Winner David Kucher for his "Sequel."
David is shown in the center of photo above with (left to right) Eventide Artistic Director Ellis Baker, Sequel Director John Schofield, and Eventide Executive Director Vivien Cook.
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Sequel
Written by David Kucher
Directed by John Schofield
Sponsored by Eventide Arts, Cape Cod Writers' Center, and the Kaplan Foundation.
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Writers Group Updates:
There are many opportunities to join writers groups sponsored by the CCWC.
Membership in CCWC is a requirement of participation, after a trial period of up to three weeks.
Four groups are currently open to new members:
The Nonfiction Writers Group meets at the West Falmouth Library on the last Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm. Open to those working on a memoir, history, nonfiction articles or other nonfiction projects. Facilitator is CCWC president Sheila Whitehouse. Contact the CCWC office writers@capecodwriterscenter.org if you would like to join this new group.
The Evening Writers Group, working on an eclectic mix of prose projects, has moved from the Sturgis Library to Heatherwood in Yarmouthport. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 7 to 9 PM. Contact Facilitator Stephanie Boosahda boosahdas@hotmail.com for details on this group, including directions to the new location.
The Advanced Writers Group meets every Tuesday, from 10 am to noon at the Osterville Methodist Church, Pond Street, Osterville. This group includes novelists, short story writers, essayists, poets, and playwrights who are serious about their writing, most working toward publication. Facilitator is Jack Chalfin. Interested writers are invited to show up for a meeting.
Screenwriters meet at Community Media Center, Whites Path, South Yarmouth (Exit 8 off of Route 6) from 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday nights. Please contact facilitator Jacqueline Loring for specifics about the structure of this group. jmljake@capecod.net
Claire Cook, author of Must Love Dogs and Life's a Beach, a longtime friend of the Writers' Center, sent us news of Family Circle magazine's Fiction Writing Contest. Details of the 2008 competition are in the March issue of Family Circle, or can be found at their website, www.familycircle.com. The grand prize of $750 includes publication in Family Circle. Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2008.
These listings are meant to share information with our members and do not reflect an endorsement by CCWC. Please go to the direct source of these opportunities and events to confirm details.
Do you have news of interest to share with our members?
Recent publishing deals or promotional appearances? Please send your notices to Kathryn Basile, CCWC Business Manager writers@capecodwriterscenter.org or fax 508-420-0212. We will spread the word, as time and space allow.
Making it easier to be green.
Having our members' e-mail addresses, and willingness to receive occasional news blasts from us, would help to cut down on paper waste. Please remember to send us your e-mail address updates too.
From time to time, an event of interest to our members comes up between newsletters, and we send out a brief e-mail notice. Writers Night Out events are exclusively publicized by e-mail due to the time frame. The savings in time, postage and paper can't be denied!
The Cape Cod Writers' Center is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
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