W@W Conference June 23-27, 2008
Acknowledgements
From Ann Weisgarber:
Last summer I wrote telling you that my novel is going to be published by Macmillan New Writing, a division of Pan Macmillan. . . . The instructors were instrumental in helping me with this novel, and I'll be forever grateful. On the Acknowledgement Page I've mentioned Writers @ Work.
. . . My first [Writers @ Work] instructor, Robert Boswell, made me believe that I might just be able to pull a book together. My next instructor, Susan Vreeland, focused on the power of the first paragraph and that completely turned my novel around. I still refer to my notes from her class.
Another positive aspect of W@W are the students who became my friends. Gene Olson, a fellow student in Robert Boswell's class, and I cheer one another on during the hard times and during the successes. He went on to study creative writing at Bennington College. Dr. Winnie, a student in Susan Vreeland's class, is currently sending queries out to agents and he graciously keeps me up to date on that. I'm also in touch with my roommate, Colette Gill, whose chapbook of poetry will be released this spring.
My novel -- the eight-year project! -- will be released in England and Canada in June. The title is The Personal History of Rachel DuPree. It takes place in 1917 and the setting is the South Dakota Badlands. . . .
My success proves that all writers -- with or without a MFA -- can make it happen. It takes determination, the ability to listen to critiques, and a willingness to revise over and over. Along the way, it's easy to lose heart, but that's where Writers @ Work comes in. In June, writers from all over the country come together excited by the rare opportunity to be students in workshops led by much-admired, gifted writers. For a handful of days, we absorb the lessons, we have lunch with authors, editors, and agents, and we attend readings. We gather informally with our classmates and talk about our projects and about the relentless pull of the blank page. At the end of the conference, we part, going our many different directions, but all of us return to face the blank page. It's not so lonely now, though. The conference inspires us, it energizes us, and we are ready to push forward with our writing.
That is the gift of Writers @ Work. Many thanks for all that you do.
All my best, Ann Weisgarber
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From Michelle Morris:
Hi Rusty [Barnes, fiction editor at Night Train],
I met you last summer in Salt Lake at the Writers@Work conference. You made some suggestions on my manuscript and advised me to send it to the Bellevue Literary Review. I took your advice, made some changes, and sent it off to a contest they were having. Turns out I was a finalist in the contest and that the story, "Lady of the Lake", is being published in the spring issue. I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful read and your good advice. I'm feeling lucky--and inspired.
Many thanks,
Michele Morris
News Of Competition Winners
Ron Carlson teaches in Park City
Comments from Attendees
Carol Houck Smith and Dawn Marano