Fiction writer Donald Ray Pollock

Reading: February 16 at 8:00 pm Shawkey Room (Memorial Student Center)

Donald Ray Pollock is the author of two books. His first book of short stories, Knockemstiff, won the 2009 PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Third Coast, The Journal, Sou’wester, River Styx, Boulevard, Folio, Granta, Washington Square, and The Berkeley Fiction Review. The Devil All the Time is his recently released first novel, praised in reviews by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the LA Times, and others. He works and teaches in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Distinguished writer Jayne Anne Phillips

Discussion: March 8 at 3:30 pm Shawkey Room (Memorial Student Center)

Reading: March 8 at 8:00 pm in the Booth Experimental Theater

Jayne Anne Phillips is the author of eight books, most recently the National Book Award Finalist, Lark and Termite. She was born and raised in West Virginia. Featured in Newsweek, Phillips’s first story collection, Black Tickets was lauded by Raymond Carver as a collection of “stories unlike any in our literature.” Nadine Gordimer has called her “the best short story writer since Eudora Welty.” Phillips’ first novel, Machine Dreams was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of twelve Best Books of the Year.

Jayne Anne Phillips’ works have been translated and published in twelve languages. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. Her work has appeared most recently in Harper’s, Granta, Doubletake, and the Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction. She has taught at Harvard University, Williams College, and Boston University, and is currently Professor of English and Director of the MFA Program at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey.

Poet Kathryn Kirkpatrick

Reading: April 5 at 8:00 pm in the Shawkey Room (Memorial Student Center)

Kathryn Kirkpatrick is the author of four collection of poems, most recently Unaccountable Weather. She is also the editor of Border Crossings: Irish Women Writers and National Identities (University of Alabama Press, 2000).
Her poems have appeared widely in such journals as Calyx, Carolina Quarterly, Cortland Review, Epoch, The Florida Review, The Hollins Critic, Kalliope, Shenandoah, The South Carolina Review, Southern Poetry Review, Sundog and other magazines. She teaches at Appalachian State University.

Visiting Writers Series readings are free and open to the public. The Series is supported by the Marshall English Department, the College of Liberal Arts, and the West Virginia Humanities Council.

James Harms has two new collections out this year, “Comet Scar” from Carnegie-Mellon University Press in January, and “What to Borrow, What to Steal,” from Marick Press later this month. Check out news of the reading and the new books at WVU Today.

James Harms poetry reading — Mountainlair Gold Ballroom, March 8, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

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“I’m a hillbilly, a woman, and a poet, and I understood early on that nobody was going to listen to anything I had to say anyway, so I might as well just say what I want to.” — Irene McKinney

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“A Conversation with Irene McKinney” (2005) — Interviewed by her friend Kate Long. Produced by West Virginia PBS with music from Bob Webb. – http://youtu.be/3FZQq3FoHAA

Llewellyn McKernan interviewed Irene in 2010 at the West Virginia Writers Summer Conference – http://youtu.be/EZMstWB7Gu8

Listen to Irene read three poems from an hourlong presentation at the W.Va. Book Festival in 2010 —  http://youtu.be/MfrkrQX0S48

Songwriter Colleen Anderson interviews Irene about poetry and masks — Video by Fiona Smith – http://vimeo.com/23088765

“Irene McKinney remembered” by Glynis Board & John Nakashima – http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.asp…

“The contest invites participants to go to the Meijer Facebook page and create a fun football-themed poem in 30 words or less through Feb. 4 for a chance to win the ultimate fan package.”

Read all about it:
 http://t.co/aymacciB

Thirteen adult categories include stage play, nonfiction, children’s books, poetry, short story, and fiction or nonfiction book-length work. Special categories are available for emerging writers (those who are unpublished and who’ve never won a cash award in a previous WVW contest), Appalachian theme, humor, and genre fiction, as well as the Pearl Buck Award in Writing for Social Change. Adult entry fees are $10 per category ($12 for book-length); late entries require an additional $2 fee per manuscript.

Students should submit a story or poem using one of six provided prompts. There are no fees to enter the student contest, which is divided into three age groups (grades 1-5, 6-8 and 9-12). Cash prizes are given for first, second and third places in each category. Additional rules and fees may apply for out-of-state entrants. For more information, entry forms and official rules, visit http://www.wvwriters.org/contest.html or contact contest coordinator Teresa Newsome at 304-601-2460.

–Cat Pleska, president of West Virginia Writers Inc.

Steven Anthony George earned a BA in Honors English Writing at Fairmont State University and has worked as a poetry editor for Kestrel. His work has appeared in Angelic Dynamo, Apollo’s Lyre, and Eclectic Flash: The Best of 2010. He is currently writing an autobiography which focuses on the differences in perception of those on the autistic spectrum. His short plays, “Neurotic Medieval Custom” and “The Burning of Mary” were presented as part the New Mystics Arts Center’s Emerging Playwrights Series. In addition, he is a contributing writer on the Lotus Effects Art and Culture webpage.

Public parking is available near the MAC in the parking garage at the corner of Pleasant and Chestnut Streets and at the city lot behind 142 High Street (enter off Spruce). The MAC is accessible to individuals with special mobility requirements; schedule ahead at least two days prior to the event by calling 304-292-3325, or write to  info at monartscenter.com.

Morgantown Poets is an informal not-for-profit, all-volunteer community group that meets 7-9 p.m. the third Thursday each month at the MAC, providing literary enthusiasts in north-centralWest Virginia the opportunity to express themselves, share their work, network, and to connect up-and-coming writers with more established authors. New writers are welcome. Join on Facebook by entering “Morgantown Poets” in the search or join the mailing list at  morgantownpoets at gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter (@MorgantownPoets) or watch videos of past events on our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com).

– from Scott Emerson, Morgantown Poets

Listen to this best-ever acceptance speech (16 minutes and 17 seconds into the Ustream clip):

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18565428

Buy and read her latest work – “Head Off & Split”