Cheyenne author Amanda Cabot hosts book fair Nov. 3 and joins other local writers for a publishing conference Nov. 10

Cheyenne author Amanda Cabot will host a book fair at Barnes and Noble for her new novel Christmas Roses, on Saturday, Nov. 3. Proceeds will benefit the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and Paul Smith Children’s Village. Come on out for a delightful afternoon with Amanda and finish (or begin) your Christmas shopping at the same time. 

The following Saturday, Nov. 10, Amanda will join some of her fellow Laramie County authors for a publishing conference at the Laramie County Public Library. This conference is "designed to help you navigate the next steps toward publication of your novel." It will be held from 10:15 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Laramie County Public Library. Feel free to brown-bag your lunch or purchase it at the library cafe. The event is free. Authors will be selling and signing copies of their books. FMI: 307-634-3561. 

Wyoming Poet Laureate's book of poetry wins WILLA Literary Award

This good news comes from Nancy Curtis of High Plains Press in Glendo: Patricia Frolander's poetry book, MARRIED INTO IT, has won the WILLA Literary Award from Women Writing the West. The WILLA is named for Willa Cather, one of America's best writers. It will be presented in Albuquerque in October and Pat is going to be able to be there. High Plains Press is pleased to be the publisher.

Epiphany Magazine publishes new story by Lori Van Pelt

Lori Van Pelt sends this good news:

My short story, "Slivers," is now online at http://www.epiphmag.com/ in Issue 14 of Epiphany Magazine. You can find the story by scrolling down to "Contributors" and clicking on my name, Lori Van Pelt. This story is included in my short fiction collection, ACCELERATION, which I've just completed and am in the process of submitting to book publishers.

Wilson's Suzanne Morlock featured in March issue of Sculpture Magazine

The March 2012 issue of Sculpture Magazine includes a multi-page feature of Suzanne Morlock of Jackson. It's entitled "The Green Magic of Recycling: Suzanne Morlock," written by Katarzyna Zimna. To view the e-version, go to http://online.qmags.com/SM0312/default.aspx?pg=54&mode=2

UW's Susan Dewey co-editor of Super Girls, Gangstas, Freeters and Xenomaniacs: Gender and Modernity in Global Youth

From a UW press release:

A timely collection of essays that explores how modern youth around the world are forging new identities is the focus of a new book written by University of Wyoming cultural anthropologist Susan Dewey.

An assistant professor in the UW Gender and Women Studies Program, Dewey is the co-editor of "Super Girls, Gangstas, Freeters and Xenomaniacs: Gender and Modernity in Global Youth."  The book will be published by the Syracuse University Press in May.

The book portrays how rapidly changing economic, communication and media environments influence how today's youth define themselves. The book gives ethnographic detail that explores how young women and men in diverse societies negotiate a place -- suspended between the present and the future -- for themselves.

"My co-editor and I undertook this project after we decided that a book focused upon youth in Africa, Asia and Oceania was long overdue, particularly considering that youth constitute a majority in many countries in these geographical areas," Dewey says.

Dewey teaches the Introduction to Women's Studies course and a methods course. She is now teaching a course on sex work and sex trafficking, and also teaches a gender and global change course.

Her current research involves an ethnographic study in a homeless shelter in Denver, Colo. The study is designed to engage law enforcement officers and social service providers about their perceptions of what constitutes force and coercion within prostitution.

Dewey also is the author of "Policing Pleasure: Sex Work, Policy and the State in Global Perspective"; "Neon Wasteland: On Love, Motherhood and Sex Work in a Rust Belt Town"; "Hollow Bodies: Institutional Responses to Sex Trafficking in Armenia, Bosnia and India"; and "Making Miss India Miss World: Constructing Gender, Power, and the Nation in Post-liberalization India."

Dewey joined the UW faculty in 2010. She received a bachelor's degree (1999) at Stony Brook University; and received master's (2002) and doctorate degrees (2004) at Syracuse University.

Photo: Susan Dewey, an assistant professor of gender and women studies at UW, co-edited a new book that portrays how rapidly changing economic, communication and media environments influence how today's youth define themselves. (Lorrie McNamee Photo)

Western Writers of America select Nancy Curtis of High Plains Press for 2012 Lariat Award

Candy Moulton shared this info today on Facebook:

The Western Writers of America (WWA) Board of Directors met last weekend in Albuquerque. A number of actions were taken including this one: The 2012 recipient of the Lariat Award, given to a publishing industry professional for outstanding support of WWA and Literature of the West, is High Plains Press publisher Nancy Curtis of Glendo, Wyoming. Congratulations Nancy! WWA will recognize High Plains and Nancy during the Convention June 12-16 at the Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque.

Sheridan author Abbie Johnson Taylor reflects on her new book and her role as "family caregiver"

Wyomingarts picked this up from the Wyoming Writers, Inc., listserv. Abbie Johnson Taylor of Sheridan is a long-time member of both WyoPoets and WWInc. She’s a prolific writer, singer, full-time caregiver for her husband Bill, and an activist for the visually impaired. This info is about her new book, followed by a Q&A. Inspiring reading for the holiday season:

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver is a book of poems just released by author Abbie Johnson Taylor of Sheridan and published by iUniverse. In January of 2006, the author’s husband suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. After months of therapy in a nursing facility, he returned home in September of that year. Although he still had little use of his left arm and leg, it was hoped that through outpatient therapy, he would eventually walk again. In January of 2007, he suffered a second stroke that wasn’t as severe, but it was enough to impact his recovery. In August of that year, his therapy was discontinued because he showed no progress. He has never walked since.

The first five poems in the book tell the story of how Taylor found her husband when he suffered his first stroke, detail events in the first few months afterward, and describe Taylor and her husband’s reactions. The rest of the poems in the first part were inspired by Taylor’s experiences while caring for her husband. Covering such topics as dressing, feeding, toileting, their relationship, and his computer, 
they often provide a humorous outlook. Some poems are from the husband’s point of view. Poems in the next two parts cover childhood memories and other topics. The last section of poems was inspired by Taylor’s fifteen years of experience as a registered music therapist in a nursing home before marrying her husband.

Abbie Johnson Taylor’s novel, We Shall Overcome, was published by iUniverse in July of 2007. Her fiction has appeared in Magnets and Ladders and Emerging Voices, her poetry in Distant Horizons, her creative nonfiction in Christmas in the Country and SageScript. She is President of WyoPoets and secretary of Behind Our Eyes and is involved with other writers’ groups including Sheridan Range Writers, Wyoming Writers, and Explorations in Creative Writing. She also participates in a monthly poetry critique group. When not writing or caring for Bill, she facilitates a support group for the visually impaired, sings with a women’s group called Just Harmony, and participates in water exercise 
classes at the YMCA. Please visit her blog at http://abbiescorneroftheworld.blogspot.com and website at http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver, ISBN #978-1-4620-6794-7, is available from iUniverse, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. Links to where the book can be ordered on these sites can be found at http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com/bettermousetrap.htm Copies can also be ordered from the author by calling (307) 674-6109.

Q&A with Abbie Johnson Taylor

Q. Where were you born, and where did you grow up?

A. I was born in New York City on June 1st, 1961. We only lived there for about a year. My parents had degrees in education, but they wanted to become actors. However, they realized that teaching careers would provide a more stable income. After a year in New York, we moved to Boulder, Colorado. When I was about four, we moved to Tucson, Arizona. In 1973, we moved to Sheridan, Wyoming. My grandfather died a couple of years earlier, and my grandmother needed someone to run the family’s coin-operated machine business. Since no one else seemed interested, my father felt obligated to take over. Sheridan has been my home ever since.

Q. Because of your visual impairment, were you educated in special schools?

A. In Tucson, I attended the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind for five and a half years. When my parents became dissatisfied with my education, they transferred me to a public school. When we moved to Sheridan, I completed my education in public schools.

Q. Where did you go to college?

A. When I graduated from high school in 1980, I thought I wanted to be a rock singer. I went to Sheridan College for two years where I majored in music performance and graduated with an AA degree. I then transferred to Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, where I again majored in music performance and graduated with a BA degree after two and a half years. While I was there, a career counselor told me about music therapy, the use of music with a variety of populations including the elderly and mentally ill to achieve therapeutic goals. Since Montana State University had a music therapy program, I transferred there after graduating from Rocky Mountain College. After two more years of study and an internship in a nursing home in Fargo, North Dakota, I returned to Sheridan in 1988. Almost a year later, I found a job conducting activities in a nursing home where I used the 
music therapy skills I learned.

Q. You’re not working there now?

A. No, I quit so I could write full time.

Q. Was that when your writing career got off the ground?

A. No, I started writing a few years before I quit my day job. Several of my poems and stories were published in various journals and anthologies, and I wrote my first novel We Shall Overcome. When I 
married my husband Bill, he persuaded me to write full time.

Q. How much vision do you have, and do you use any adaptive devices to make your life easier?

A. I can see people, objects, places, and some pictures. I can read print if it’s large enough. I use a desktop video magnifier, and my computer has software that reads the screen to me in synthetic speech, allows me to navigate using the keyboard, and tells me what I’m typing. I use a white cane while walking around town.

Q. Where did you get the idea for How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver?

A. In January of 2006, three months after we were married, Bill suffered a stroke that left his left side paralyzed. He spent months in a nursing facility where he received therapy and finally came home the 
following September. At that time, I found myself writing more poems about him and the trials and tribulations of being a family caregiver.

Q. Where did you come up with the title?

A. I’ll have to give our caseworker at the local senior center’s in-home services program most of the credit for that. Several years ago, one of the aides who gave Bill his shower three days a week claimed the process of transferring him from the bed to the commode was bothering her back. Our caseworker said, “I wish I knew how to build a better mousetrap.” That’s what being a caregiver is about. You 
sometimes have to find different ways of doing things, and it can be especially tricky when you can’t see very well. You often figure things out by trial and error.

Q. Are all the poems in the book about taking care of Bill?

A. No, the majority cover such topics as feeding, dressing, and toileting. Some are from Bill’s point of view. One in particular is from the point of view of his computer which he has trouble using because of his lack of short-term memory and use of his left arm. Some poems provide a humorous outlook on being a family caregiver. Others offer a heartwarming look at our relationship. Poems in the second and third parts of the book cover childhood memories and reflect on other topics. The last part contains poems inspired by my fifteen years experience working with nursing home residents.

Q. Bill is still in a wheelchair today?

A. Yes, when he came home in 2006, we hoped that through outpatient therapy, he would eventually walk again. But in January of 2007, he suffered a second stroke that wasn’t as severe, but it was enough to impact his recovery. In august of that year, his therapy was discontinued because he wasn’t showing any progress. He may never walk again, but that doesn’t matter. We love each other, and we’ll enjoy our life together for as long as we can.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish by publishing this book?

A. If anything, I want others in my situation to know they’re not alone. Fortunately for me, Bill is still relatively healthy and mentally alert. The only great challenges I face are the physical ones involved with his personal care, and I’m thankful for the help I get from the senior center’s in-home services program. But others are harder to care for because of Alzheimer’s’ or other more serious medical problems. Their loved ones should know that help is available. Our local senior center has a support group for caregivers and other services, and I’m sure senior centers in other communities have similar 
programs. Caregivers should seek out such help and not feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities.

Julianne Couch has a new publisher for her "Traveling the Power Line" book

Very good news from author Julianne Couch, formerly of Laramie and now an Iowan:

I am pleased to announce that the University of Nebraska press plans to publish Traveling the Power Line: An Electrical Memoir in spring 2013. The book title has changed a bit since I started this project and may still change again if the marketing folks can think of something better. The delay in publication since this project has transferred from Texas Tech press to UNeb has given me the opportunity to update much of my research. I'm currently at work revising and updating my chapter on wind. I learned that there is much more wind development in Wyoming on private land on public. That's because the regulatory environment on public land(state and federal, such as BLM) is vastly more layered than on private land development. I've also revisited the 2009 Harris poll on attitudes toward energy development in the United States. In the 2011 survey, respondents say much the same thing: while only 12 percent of Americans say they are "very knowledgeable" about energy development, 53 percent say they are interested in learning more.I hope a few of those folks are regular readers! I'll continue to post some of my new findings in this blog. The publication impasse lulled me elsewhere, but I'm back!

The Wyoming Arts Council played a small part in Julianne's book research, okaying an Individual Artist Professional Development grant to her a few years ago. If you're a writer, artist or performer requiring some funding for the next step in your career, call Mike Shay at 307-777-5234 at the WAC for more info.

University of Wyoming MFA student Callan Wink publishes short story in The New Yorker

A year ago, Callan Wink submitted a short story to The New Yorker and waited to hear back from the weekly magazine's editors. A long wait ensued before the University of Wyoming student heard back, saying his piece was rejected. 

But the editors of the long-running publication, known for its illustrated and often topical covers, commentaries on popular culture and eccentric Americana, told Wink they liked his style and asked if he had any other works worthy of submission. The New Yorker has more than one million subscribers and is published 47 times a year.

It was encouraging for Wink, a second-year student in UW's nationally-recognized MFA Program in Creating Writing. He had just completed a short story, "Dog Run Moon," which he quickly submitted to The New Yorker's editors. They bought his short story and the piece was published in the Sept. 26 edition. He also was interviewed in the magazine (link:http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/09/this-week-in-fiction-callan-wink.html )

Not bad for an aspiring writer who calls himself a "fly fishing guide in real life."

"This was the most recognition I have received," Wink says. "The New Yorker is one of the few publications that still regularly runs short fiction -- and pays -- so it was quite exciting to have my work appear there."

MFA Program in Creative Writing faculty member Brad Watson says being published in The New Yorker is quite an accomplishment for a young writer.

"Callan is an all-around good guy who also happens to be a terrific fiction writer, one of the best we have had through this program. He has taken his own raw talent and worked very, very hard and this is a great reward for him," Watson says. "A story in The New Yorker really can help launch a publishing career for a young writer. And, of course, it's great for the UW program for roughly one million New Yorker readers to see one of our writers in that magazine."

Watson says many of the program's young writers are publishing fiction, poetry and essays in prestigious national journals and magazines, winning national contests.

"This high-profile publication -- well-deserved -- by Callan only adds to our pride at how well our students are doing, and have done, in the six years we've had our MFA program," Watson adds.

"Dog Run Moon," is about a sawmill worker who steals another man's dog.

"Usually when I'm working on a story I save it on my computer using just a few words that seem to be indicative of where I want the story to go," Callan says. "In this case, those words, ‘Dog Run Moon', ended up sticking as the title."

His New Yorker piece follows Sid, a man who recently experienced a rather painful relationship breakup who moves to a different town and begins working at a sawmill. He ends up stealing another man's dog and is then pursued by the man and his accomplice, through the desert -- at night, naked and on foot.

"It is a fairly straightforward chase story in which the main character runs and thinks about his problems," Wink says.

Wink was born in Michigan but considers Montana his home, residing in Livingston the past eight years. He received his B.S. degree from Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman where he started honing his writing skills. He has had a few of his non-fiction essays published in small magazines, but none as prominent as The New Yorker.

After graduating from MSU, Wink wanted to find a writing program that could help take him to the next level. He was attracted to UW's MFA Program in Creative Writing because of its national prominence and the potential to receive funding.

UW's creative writing program recently moved into the top 30 programs nationally, according to Poets and Writers Magazine's yearly list. UW also was the top-rated program for student/teacher-ratio.

"I decided to come to UW's MFA program initially because of the funding they offer. Factoring in cost of living, the program here is one of the best-funded programs in the country," he says. "Besides that, when I came to visit, I was struck by the enthusiasm and talents of the faculty members. The opportunity to work with writers such as Brad Watson, Beth Loffreda, Alyson Hagy, Rattawut Lapcharoensap and Joy Williams factored in to my decision. Also, location was a large issue for me. I knew I wanted to stay in the west."

When he completes UW's creative writing program, Wink will return to his "real job" as a fly fishing guide, but will continue to write.

"My goal is to revise my story pile into a book-length collection within a year," he says. "After that, a novel, hopefully before I'm 30.  And then, of course, the goal is to find someone crazy enough to publish these things."

Photo: University of Wyoming MFA Program in Creative Writing student Callan Wink. 

Schedule announced for Sept. 22-24 Casper College Literary Conference

Kristen Elias Rowley

Schedule for the Casper College Literary Conference (all events at Casper College unless noted otherwise). Notice that the Wyoming Arts Council fellowship reading will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, in the Goodstein Foundation Library lobby:


Thursday, Sept. 22

• 2-4:30 p.m., CE 217 South – 
  Laurie Kutchins workshop: "Uprising in the Creative Writing Process."
  Invite an uprising, a revolution, a transformation into your personal story. Start something new or bring a draft of something that needs an infusion of the new and unprecedented. Working closely with the energies of uprising, transition, and subversive imagination, this workshop will offer generative exercises for new writing or for a radical revision of an existing piece. 
• 5:30 p.m., Summit Elementary School – 
  Poetry and Potluck with Naomi Shihab Nye

  

  Naomi Shihab Nye

  
  The Wyoming Humanities Council is bringing this award-winning poet, writer, and educator to Wyoming to culminate a year-long Civility Matters! initiative, supported in part by the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources through funding by the Wyoming State Legislature. Out-of-town conference attendees can bring fast food or just themselves to the potluck.

Friday, Sept. 23

• 8:30-11 a.m., CE 217 South – 
  Pam Houston workshop: "Into the Deep End: Getting a Piece of Writing off to a Running Start (w/o Boring Yourself to Death First)."
  The blank page is a bad mo' fo'. And sometimes we are so afraid of it we fill it up with a whole lot of throat clearing that, in the best case scenario we end up cutting later, and in the worst case scenario derails whatever energy sent us to the blank page in the first place. In this class we will talk about (and practice) getting the good stuff down first. The most salient image, the most memorable bit of dialogue, the white hot story moment that we are most terrorized by... We will worry less about trying to keep everything under control and more about getting all those electrically charged particles on paper. 
• 8:30-11 a.m., CE 217 North – 
  Patrick Madden workshop: "The Double Perspective in Memoir and Personal Essay." 
  The most effective way to make individual experience interesting to a readership of strangers is to universalize it by reflecting from a current writerly perspective on past events lived in relative ignorance. This workshop will offer a brief theoretical framework and several examples of the double perspective, then give participants the chance to split their viewpoint on a piece they've written before (please bring at least three pages of your own memoir/personal essay to the class).
• 12-1:45 p.m., CE 217 North – 
  Kristen Elias Rowley workshop: "Getting Published: Everything You Need to Know About Finding – and Getting – the Right Publisher for Your Book." 
  Whether you've finished your manuscript, or are just getting started, this workshop will help you focus in on how to find the right publisher for your book. For fiction and nonfiction writers alike, this session will cover how to pitch your book to editors, how to identify which publishers to approach, how to make yourself and your manuscript appealing to publishers, and the pitfalls to avoid when submitting your material. A crash course in dealing with editors and publishers, this session will provide for plenty of Q&A time so that attendees will come away with a firm grasp on how to get noticed by an editor for all the right reasons. Participants are encouraged to bring a sample proposal or cover letter.
• 2-4:30 p.m., CE 217 South – 
  Laurie Kutchins workshop (continued)
• 5-7 p.m. – 
  Dinner at Poor Boys
  739 North Center Street
• Free Public Talks/Readings
• 7:30 p.m., Durham Recital Hall, Aley Fine Arts Center – Laurie Kutchins: "Words From the Wind"
• 8:30 p.m., Durham Recital Hall, Aley Fine Arts Center – Patrick Madden: "The Infinite Suggestiveness of Common Things"

Saturday, Sept. 24

• 8:30-11 a.m., CE 217 South – 
  Pam Houston workshop (continued)
• 8:30-11 a.m., CE 217 North – 
  Patrick Madden workshop (continued)
• 11 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., CE Vista Lounge – 
  Manuscript critiques by Kristen Elias Rowley 
  Proposal and manuscript sample of a chapter or two (50 pgs. max.) should be emailed on or before Sept. 1 to Kristen at krowley2@unlnotes.unl.edu with header clearly stating "Casper College and ARTCORE conference submission." Exact times for individual critiques will be posted in CE.
• Free Public Talks/Readings



Pam Houston

• 2 p.m., Goodstein Foundation Library lobby – Pam Houston: Contents May Have Shifted: "A Reading and Conversation About Places and Moving Between Them." 
• 3 p.m., GFL lobby – 
  Wyoming Arts Council – Fellowship winner announcements and readings
• 4 p.m., GFL lobby – 
  Kristen Elias Rowley: "Book Business: Publishing with a University Press."
• 5 p.m., GFL lobby – 
  Free reception, all invited. 
• 9 p.m. – Metro Coffee Company, 241 S. David, downtown Casper, 
  Open readings and poetry slam, 
  – Emceed by George Vlastos.

Wyoming Writers, Inc. conference good time for all

About 80 writers attended the annual Wyoming Writers, Inc. conference that took place in Casper at the Ramada Inn.

Manuscript pitches were made to Katie Dublinski of Gray Wolf Press and New York agent Peter Steinberg, and many writers were asked to send something along. That's always great to hear.

Poetry editor Chris Fishbach was there from Coffee House Press.

Keynote speaker at the Saturday night banquet was Lucia St. Clair Robson, historical fiction author, who was witty and entertaining.

There were some great readings at both open mike sessions.

The booksigning room was stocked with authors busily signing their books. Casper's "Run With the Herd" marathon, check-in was based at the Ramada, was also taking place, and a few runners visited the booksigning event.

Tom Empey closed the session on Sunday with a talk about written words and how they spark and give life to the performing arts. He had gathered several moving quotes for his theme, "Someone wrote those words."

Plans are in the works for next year's conference which will again take place in Casper.

A couple of rather new and interesting Wyoming magazines to mention.
The Wyoming Woman Magazine, based in Casper, was conceptualized by four young women -- Nettie H. Francis, Beth Worthen, Alicia Blevins and Amanda Helm. Their mission: "to connect the women of Wyoming through ideas, information, and inspiration." They accept submissions and ideas for articles and pay for the different features in the magazine. One of the nice features is the "Women at Work Directory," a list of women who are advertising their businesses -- anything from catering to travel tours. It's very reasonable to advertise there. Website: http://thewyomingwoman.com/

Wyoming's 307 Magazine, published by Celtic Media, LLC and also based in Casper, features articles and photos of Wyoming's great activities and spaces. Articles in the Winter 2011 issue: The Winter Angler, Detours (about the Continental Divide snowbile trail system), The Wiinter Time Hunting Blues, Saratoga, Cool Gear, Flint What? (about arrowheads), Mush (about the Wyoming International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race), an article on Corvettes, Born in New Jersy, Raised in Wyoming, Snowshoeing.
Website: http://www.307magonline.com/

Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference just a week away!

Here are all the links you need for information about the annual conference of Wyoming Writers, Inc., in Casper June 3-5:

2011 Wyoming Writers, Inc. Conference

June 3-5 in Casper, Wyoming

Ramada Plaza Riverside.

Presenters:

Author Lucia St. Clair Robson

Poet Chris Fischbach

Peter McCarthy, Vice President of Marketing

at Random House.

Editor Katie Dublinski, Graywolf Press

Agent Peter Steinberg, The Steinberg Agency

Go to the WWInc web site for conference brochure

JH Weekly interviews Robert Pinsky in lead-up to May 14 Teton County Library event

Robert Pinsky photo by Scott Davidson

Great interview with former U.S. Poet Laureate and "civic poet" Robert Pinsky in the 4/20 JH Weekly. On May 14, the Teton County Library Foundation will present a "Page to the Podium" reading and lecture with Pinsky. Tickets are free and available today at the library. Pinsky now is a professor at Boston University and the poetry editor for the online magazine Slate. He also is founder of the Favorite Poem Project. To read the entire interview, go to Planet News Article -- American music, American voices

New Jackson Hole Review launch party set for April 29

Matthew Irwin sent this:

I'm emailing to inform you about the re-launch of Jackson Hole Review, a biannual literary publication featuring literature and art from all over the country concerned with the American West. We're holding a launch party on April 29. We're in the midst of updating the website and the hard copies will be here a day or two before the party. Here are some of the details:

The party is 6-9 p.m., Friday, April 29, at Factory Studios, 1255 Gregory Lane, Jackson.

The JH Review's inaugural issue, themed "connect/disconnect," features contributions from writers, poets, photographers and visual artists from all over the country. Our featured contributor for this issue is Idaho essayist/poet/fiction writer Kim Barnes, who has generously given us an essay and submitted to an interview.

Sponsored by Teton Artlab and JH Weekly. $10 includes a copy of the Review, refreshments, entertainment and special prizes for attendees. Find out more about connect/disconnect at www.jhreview.com and at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31218906942

.
Sponsored by Teton Artlab and JH Weekly. Special thanks to the Teton Library Foundation, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Grand Teton Music Festival, Falls Printing, Valley Bookstore, Jackson Hole Writers' Conference and the Jackson Hole Public Art Initiative for making JH Review possible.

Nancy Curtis featured in spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine

The spring issue of The Wyoming Woman Magazine is out and it features a profile of publisher Nancy Curtis, recipient of a 2010 Governor's Arts Award. It was written by Saratoga writer Lori Van Pelt, winner of a 2010 creative writing fellowship in poetry from the Wyoming Arts Council. One astonishing fact from the article: Nancy was a founding member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., and WyoPoets, both of Wyoming's statewide writing groups (WyoPoets holds its annual meeting this weekend in Casper). She's also published three of Lori's books, and books by many other state and regional writers. Get more info at www.highplainspress.com

Online article: "How to Publish Your Own Kindle Book: Part I"

This looks like an easy tutorial for those writers in Wyoming interested in publishing a Kindle book. Go to How to Publish Your Own Kindle Book: Part I

Publishers Weekly Select explores the world of self-publishing

PW Select December 2010

B.J. Buckley poems in HoboEye journal

Cheyenne native and Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship recipient B.J,. Buckley has three poems featured on the online journal HoboEye. B.J. now lives in Lolo, Mont.


Read "Bitter," "Shakespeare's Monkeys" and "Cold Prairie" here.


Excerpt from "Bitter:"


Call it snow
but this dust from the moon’s basement
coats the windows of the
sky
until nobody can see out.

Rocky Mountain Land Library praises a classic book -- "Sheepwagon: Home on the Range"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library blog waxed eloquently about two Wyomingites in an 11/28 post: 

In 2001, a wonderful Wyoming publisher, High Plains Press, published one of the Land Library’s favorite books, Sheepwagon: Home on the Range. Author Nancy Weidel offered one crisp, concise reason for our admiration: “The sheepwagon is a marvel of practicality and efficiency.”

But there’s more reasons to love this book, with its stories, photographs, and sensitive appreciation for hard lives lived in a starkly beautiful land. This book makes clear that the sheepwagon provided both a bit of warmth, and a touch of home. Weidel: “Designed to provide shelter and heat, mobility, and storage, the sheepwagon was the ideal home for the herder….It could easily be moved by two horses, a most important feature.”

Yes, as you can see, every inch counted, but space also needed to be found for the unexpected. Some sheepwagons had side boxes that “came in handy during lambing, when a weak newborn might be placed there overnight to be revived by the heat of the wagon stove.”

Nancy Weidel is wyomingarts' colleague within the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. She is senior historic preservation specialist at SHPO. Nancy Curtis runs High Plains Press out of her ranch near Glendo. Nancy is a long-time supporter of the state's writers and the statewide writers organization, Wyoming Writers, Inc.

W.C. Jameson to sign books and sing songs this weekend in Wheatland and Glendo

News from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press:

Remember if you are going to be in the Wheatland area today (Saturday, noon-3 p.m., Book Nook) or the Glendo area tomorrow (Sunday, 3-5 p.m., Micke's), that W.C. Jameson will be signing his new book and performing live music. Jameson has sung with Willie and Waylon as well as being a nationally renowned treasure hunter. Ya'll come!