| SPARKS: News & Notes from
Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative
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Greetings!,
Now's the time for writers to blossom! Consider the classes, contests and retreats listed in this month's Sparks and enjoy the latest Searchlights & Signal Flares posting. If you need a l little help shaking off the last of the winter blahs, take a gander at this video:
 | | Gratitude: Louie Schwartzberg at TEDxSF |
Stick with what you love, and Keep Writing! |
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Ninth Annual Point Reyes Writing Retreat
June 7 - 9, 2013 * 6 PM Friday - 2 PM Sunday
* $180 ($170 Members)
Join Patti Trimble and Susan Bono for our ninth annual foray into the wilderness of words! This weekend writing retreat-at the remote Life Boat Station on the tip of Point Reyes-has an easy pace and community feeling. Morning workshops on poetry and essay, afternoons, participants can write and wander, and in the evenings, potluck, discussion, reading, and more writing. Sunday ends with an inspiring reading of new work. This class is open to anyone who enjoys writing about (or in) nature. Bunk accommodations included at the Point Reyes Life Boat Station.
Call for more details (415) 663-1200 ext. 373 or register online at www.ptreyes.org.
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Searchlights & Signal Flares
Tiny Lights' Online Writers' Exchange
I wish I could remember which wise (and prodigiously published) writer said, "Every writer writes 'in spite of.'" We all know that obstacles large and small factor into every writer's life. But what magic or moxie gets writers beyond the barriers and on their way to successful self-expression? You may have discovered this secret on your own, but in case you're curious, see how our Searchlights writers answered the question,
Read the revelations of Kara Panzer, this month's featured writer,
along with:
Kara Panzer is a student at Georgetown University. She has lived in Mexico, China and Egypt and one time stayed in Manhattan for a couple months when she interned for The New York Times... in the marketing department... writing Facebook posts... Check out Word Riot, Punchnel's, The Millerton News or Google her for more.
YOUR TURN, WRITERS: Add your voice to the conversation! Searchlights needs your insights! Go to the Searchlights & Signal Flares Guidelines page to find out how to send a light. These are questions only you can answer. we've adjusted the deadlines for Sparks readers like you: What is your favorite writing tool? (04/29/13) How important is community? (05/15/13)
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Your Muse/Your Time
An Artists Colony at Emandal Farm  August 23rd-27th, 2013
How's it going with your muse? Are you happy in a world of your own, or are you both feeling a little restless? Could you use some company or a change of scene? For 5 glorious summer days, you and your muse can have a room of your own, splendid meals, and ample time to write, wander and reignite your creative fires. Best of all, you'll be an integral part of a community of writers, artists and photographers with opportunities to mingle and share work in progress. Writers of all genres and levels welcome.
Susan Bono facilitates our writing program. Our massage therapists will be available. Emandal is located 140 miles north of San Francisco in the heart of Mendocino County, near Willits. Contact us for more information, or to sign up.
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Conference Dates: July 25-27, 2013
Fellowships & Scholarships
Deadline: May 1, 2013
Conference Participant Contest
Deadline: May 15, 2013
Five Under Twenty-Five Full-tuition scholarships are available for up to five young writers who live or attend school in one of five Northern California counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, or Sonoma. More info.Carmen Gabriela Etcheberry-Freund Memorial Fellowship
This fellowship, which pays full conference fees, is offered to an applicant 60 years old or older who resides on the Mendocino Coast (Westport to Gualala and inland to the Anderson Valley). More Info. Mary Bradish Memorial Scholarship
The Mary Bradish Memorial Scholarship is offered to talented women writers of limited means who are aged sixty or older. More info.
MCWC Scholarship Grants
Donations from Friends of Mendocino Coast Writers Conference provide MCWC Scholarship Grants for writers of all ages. More info. MCWC Participant Writing ContestConference attendees are encouraged to enter the annual writing contest. Cash prizes, publication, and opportunities to read at the conference! More info. Selections will be made and winners notified by May 31.
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Writing It Real Spring Contest
Contest Reading Period March 30, 2013 - June 21, 2013
At Writing It Real, we believe the writing is in the revising. In that spirit our contests are about receiving detailed response to a draft and having our entrants send revisions in for consideration by a guest editor, who chooses three place winners.
Submit 2500 words of prose or up to three poems to our contest, and Sheila Bender will respond in detail via email within a week of receiving your entry. Then you may revise the work (revisions may exceed the initial word limit) and resubmit no later than June 21, 2013.
For details go to Writing It Real.
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Flash in the Pan
Online Quarterly @ Tiny Lights
We're prospecting for gold again.
Send us your flashes.
What is a Flash in the Pan? It's life caught in the blaze of a match, a beam of moonlight, the glare of a home-made explosion. These pieces of first-person non-fiction prose (500 words or less) are like potato chips--you won't be able to stop with just one. Our gems are posted throughout the year on the Tiny Lights website. Send your jewels to editor@tiny-lights.com.
Go to:Flash in the Pan
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Read issues at www.echapbook.com See www.echapbook.com/submissions.htm for submissions guidelines. Contact Publisher Jo-Anne Rosen: echaps@wordrunner.com |
Writers Forum of Petaluma
presents
Amanda McTigue
"Welcoming Readers: Innovative Approaches to Writing"
April 18, 2013 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Petaluma Community Center, 320 No. McDowell Blvd.
$15 at the door
How are today's readers different from readers past? Can insights into their point of view help us write better stories?
These questions inspired Amanda McTigue as she drafted her debut novel, GOING TO SOLACE (Harper Davis, 2012). Having recently returned from a whirlwind of publication celebrations (including a lengthy East Coast book tour), Amanda is more convinced than ever that today's writing benefits from a closer look at today's readers.
For Info: www.thewritespot.us
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Tiny Lights Recommends: Sonoma County Free Bookmobile Help bring free books to Sonoma County residents.
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For reservations, or more information call: OCA 707 874 9392. OCA is located in Harmony Village in downtown Occidental at 4008 Bohemian Hwy.
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Since 1995, Tiny Lights has been celebrating the power of personal voice with a biannual journal devoted to short essay. The annual essay contest, which offers $1500 in prizes, provides the material for the summer issue, while the winter issue is by invitation only.
The online component of Tiny Lights is designed to catch what can't be contained in the pages of the newsstand editions. Lights Online provides a venue for additional voices, information about Tiny Lights and resources for writers of personal essay. Sparks: Email News & Notes is our free monthly electronic newsletter.
Print editions of Tiny Lights, which includes original art:
Current issue: $5 each
Back issues: $3 each
Checks payable to Tiny Lights Publications, P.O. Box 928, Petaluma, CA 94953
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 Susan Bono, Editor
Tiny Lights Publications
P.O. Box 928, Petaluma, CA 94953
(707) 762-3208
www.tiny-lights.com |
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