Writing contest | Oregon Writers Colony

Stumptown Lit Workshop to Feature Morning, Afternoon Workshops

July 17, 2015 By Jan Bear 6 Comments

The 2015 Stumptown Lit festival featured a morning and an afternoon workshop for writers to hone their skills and increase their odds of success. Stumptown Lit happened Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, at at Crowne Plaza, 1441 NE Second Avenue, in Portland.

Join us in 2016 when we again support writers with more workshops to help them hone their skills, and help them acheive the success of their dreams.

Morning Workshop: Steps to Success

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., $75

Mary Rosenblum, aka the Literary Midwife, will present “Steps to Success: Self-Publishing and Small Press Done Right.” In Steps to Success, she will give an overview of the three key elements you need in order to achieve success as an author.

Mary will put various book publishing options into perspective so that writers can make informed decisions and avoid some of the pitfalls of nontraditional publishing.

Handouts will include a questionnaire to help determine the best path for a particular book and for a successful career.

Mary will also provide guidelines for contract negotiations, particularly valuable to new authors.

Afternoon Workshop: Readings for Writers

1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., $75

At the afternoon workshop, Cindy Brown, author of the comic mystery MacDeath, along with veterans of the Thrill of the Quill Toastmasters club, will present Readings for Writers.

The workshop will help writers in any genre better prepare for public readings and presentations. OWC member and Portland author Cindy Brown will introduce topics and tips, and Thrill of the Quill veterans will provide exercises and insights.

Any and all who get queasy and clammy handed before stepping up to a podium to share their work will benefit from this session.

To attend one or both workshops, sign up below to pay by credit card, debit card, or Paypal. If you would prefer to pay by check, you may download the registration form and mail your payment.

Food:

There will be water available throughout the day and evening. Nonalcoholic beverages will be for sale.

There will be coffee at the morning class and iced tea, hot tea and coffee at the afternoon class.

Reception/Celebration – $25

5:30-7:30 p.m. Reception/Celebration A gala for mixing and mingling, enjoying delicious treats and sweets (not a full dinner), no-host bar, offering beer, wine and other alcohol beverages and reading by first-place winners of the OWC writing contest.

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David Levine Will Judge the Fiction First Chapter Contest

June 10, 2015 By Jan Bear Leave a Comment

David D. Levine, author of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories, will judge the Fiction First Chapter category of the Oregon Writers Colony writing contest.

Levine is the author of Arabella of Mars (Tor 2016) and over fifty SF and fantasy stories. His story “Tk’Tk’Tk” won the Hugo, and he has been shortlisted for awards including the Hugo, Nebula, Campbell, and Sturgeon. His stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Analog, F&SF, multiple Year’s Best anthologies, and his award-winning collection Space Magic.

David Oates to Be Final Judge on Short Story, Narrative Nonfiction Contest

June 10, 2015 By Jan Bear Leave a Comment

David Oates, poet, nonfiction author, and teacher, will be the judge for the Short Story, Narrative Nonfiction, category of the 2015 Oregon Writers Colony writing contest.

David Oates writes about the wildness of nature, culture, and creative process. His poetry has appeared in many journals and in Peace in Exile: Poems (Oyster River Press). He won the Badonnah Award (Bitterroot Poetry, NY) and was finalist for the Pablo Neruda Award for the long poem (Nimrod International).

He is also author of four books of nonfiction, including Paradise Wild: Reimagining American Nature (OSU Press). His poetry and prose are currently being featured in the German journal Wortschau (Düsseldorf).

In Portland he teaches the Wild Writers Seminars and he offers workshops around the United States and occasionally in Europe.

Nancy Slavin will judge the Short Stories, Fiction, contest

June 8, 2015 By Jan Bear Leave a Comment

Nancy Slavin, teacher, poet, and prose writer will judge the Short Stories, Fiction, entries in the 2015 Oregon Writers Colony writing contest.

Nancy Slavin is a long-time English literature and writing instructor at a small rural community college in Oregon as well as an educator for a non-profit working to end oppression and violence against women. Her novel, Moorings, was published in 2013 by Feather Mountain Press, and more of her work can be found in Rain Magazine, Barrelhouse, hip mama, Literary Mama, Oregon Humanities Magazine, and Chicago Literati. Nancy lived on the north Oregon coast for over 20 years and has recently relocated to the Portland area.

C.B. Bernard is the final judge for the Nonfiction First Chapter Category

June 8, 2015 By Jan Bear Leave a Comment

C.B. Bernard, author of Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now (Lyons Press), will be the final judge for the 2015 Oregon Writers Colony writing contest, in the Nonfiction First Chapter Category.

Chasing Alaska was a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Travel Pick, National Geographic top book choice, and a finalist for a 2014 Oregon Book Award.

He has worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist, among other writing-related jobs. His work has appeared on Gray’s Sporting Journal and the Utne Reader.

Born and raised in New England, he lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and a temperamental bird dog named Shakespeare.