Cheyenne author Josh Mitchell signs copies of his new book June 10 at City News

Cheyenne newspaper reporter and author Josh Mitchell will be signing copies of his new book, My Life in Executive Session, from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, June 10, at City News, 1722 Carey Ave., in downtown Cheyenne.

A blurb from the book's promo material:

When investigative journalist Warren Bradley goes to work for a newspaper in Jupiter, Arkansas, he wants to report the truth about the corrupt politicians in the small town. But his boss is part of the local good-ol'-boys system and censors the real news. Bradley uncovers too much and is fired in an attempt to make him leave town. Instead of hitting the road, Bradley starts an online newspaper and is finally able to report the truth. Set in the rural South, the novel has many colorful characters and unforgettable scenes.

Find out more from the publisher at www.westsouthpublishing.com

Ray Troll, friend of the Casper College Tate Museum, wins Guggenheim for science writing

Alaska artist and writer Ray Troll, author of Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway, has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for his science writing. Ray was one of the presenters at the 2010 Equality State Book Festival in Casper. He is an old friend of the Casper College Tate Geological Museum and was a co-presenter of two bookfest sessions at the Tate: a book illustrators' panel along with Casper's Zak Pullen, illustrator of the children's book about “Dee” the mammoth; and the Tate's Russell Hawley. Ray also joined Casper author Tom Rea, Ilja Nieuwland and the Tate staff in a session called “Dig-it: A Conversation About Dinosaurs and Fossils.”

Ray lives in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Here's some background info on the 2011 Guggenheim awards:

On April 7, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded 180 Fellowships to a diverse group of scholars, artists, and scientists in its eighty-seventh annual competition for the United States and Canada.  Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants.

Image: Ray Troll's illustration for "Crusin' the Fossil Highway."

"One of the most admired novelists in the world" addresses Mountain West Arts Conference

Not in Wyoming, but within striking distance:

As a teen, Chris Abani was imprisoned by the Nigerian government for his writings. Abani now teaches at University of California Riverside and will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Mountain West Arts Conference May 5 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley City, Utah. The event includes the Governor’s Leadership in the Arts Awards ceremony. FMI: 801-236-7550, kwoslager@utah.gov, http://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/resources/professional_development/conferences/index.html

More about the keynote speaker:

Chris Abani is one of the most admired novelists in the world today. He is also an evocative speaker whose talks -- near musical in their fluidity, heartbreak and joy -- mix the personal and the political. His luminous and very funny insights are a vital statement on the redemptive power of art to battle tyranny and to remind us of our common humanity. "Happiness," he has said, "is learning to live with difficulty and grace." Abani is the recipient of the PEN Freedom-to-Write Award and many other prizes. His bestselling novel, Graceland, about an Elvis impersonator in Lagos, won the Hemingway/PEN Prize. His other works of fiction include The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, and the award-winning Song For Night, about a child soldier who has lost his voice. All three were named a New York Times Editor's Choice.

Friends of the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library present author James Grady

FMI: Sheridan Co. Library System

Noted religion author and editor selected as keynote speaker for Casper conference

Religion writer Phyllis Tickle is the keynote speaker at Episcopal Church Women's Spring Conference in Casper, April 29-May 1. Tickle, a highly sought-after lecturer, will be making her first appearance in Wyoming at the annual conference themed “Walking with Jesus.” The Episcopal Church Women's event will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

Tickle, founding editor of the Religion Department of Publishers Weekly, is recognized as an authority on religion in America. In addition to her popular lectures and numerous essays, articles and interviews, Tickle is the author of more than two dozen books on religion and spirituality, most recently "The Great Emergence," "How Christianity is Changing and Why" and "The Words of Jesus, A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord."

Registration for the full conference is $100 and open to all. (A special rate of $75 is available for those who wish to participate on Saturday only.) The event is drawing participants from throughout the Rocky Mountain region because Tickle's travel schedule is very limited.

The ECW conference will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Casper, 701 South Wolcott. A block of rooms has been set aside for conference attendees at the Quality Inn (307-215-9951 or 866-974-9802) at 821 North Poplar. Mention “ECW” to get the special diocesan rate.

FMI: Call Pamela RW Kandt, ECW Communications, at 307-377-7763 or email PamelaKandt@gmail.

Filming begins in late April on Longmire pilot based on Craig Johnson's novels

Here's some news about the TV version of Craig Johnson's Wyoming-based mystery novels (from Craig's Post-It e-mail newsletter):

I guess this is the big moment a lot of people have been waiting for -- we have a pretty damn fine cast for Warner Horizon and A&E's television pilot, Longmire. Filming of the pilot (which has to test well before the network picks it up to be aired, so it's not time to uncross your fingers just yet) begins in late April down in the Las Vegas/Taos/Santa Fe area of New Mexico, since it was deemed that Wyoming's weather was too unstable for shooting a series and had too much snow to appear to be spring.

It's pretty much been a Cinderella story all along with Emmy-winning Greer Shephard (The Closer, Nip/Tuck, Trust Me) and Mike Robin (The Closer, Rizzoli and Isles, Nip/Tuck, NYPD Blue) executive producing and John Coveny (The Closer, Trust Me)and Hunt Baldwin (The Closer, Trust Me), writing the script and also executive producing. People keep asking me why my experiences have been so different from almost everybody else's, and my response remains the same -- it's the people you're working with, you either trust them or you don't. From the get go, I was aware that there were probably going to be changes in the Absaroka County of my books and the one that hopefully makes it to TV. I knew it was a collaborative effort and what works in some mediums might not work in others. The first revelation on that front was when they told me that they wanted to make Walt a little younger.

"Why?"

They nodded their heads apologetically. "Because if the show runs for ten years, we really don't want Vic doing all of Walt and Henry's leg work."

I had a hard time arguing with that.

Other changes are moving Cady back to Wyoming so that she could have more interaction with her Dad; besides, most actresses don't want to sign a long-term contract just to talk on the answering machine.

They changed Turk's name to Branch because Turk sounds too much like Ferg when spoken out loud.

That was the majority of it.

The changes are no where near major-I'd call them infinitesimal and certainly were made for good reasons -and, of course, the stories will be different, picking up and borrowing chunks of the novels, but following their own tales because of the amount of stories they need to tell and the time constraints in which to tell them. If the series gets picked up, then they'll need about a dozen stories for the first season alone (let alone the ten years we're hoping for), and I, gentle reader, have only written seven books. They don't want to serialize either as it has been proven that series that have a beginning, a middle, and an end in each episode do better; of course, this doesn't mean that the characters lives don't have complications. Just like the books.

There will be more characters cast down the road (don't look for Lucien, Dorothy, or Dog in the pilot), but I wanted to get this out to you guys so you could be a part of the thing as it develops.

There is not a perfect world where the A&E series is going to line up precisely with the image in my or your heads, but boy this crew has been killing themselves in an attempt to get it right, even going so far as to hire my good buddy Marcus Red Thunder along with me as a creative consultants on the set. Why? Because they love the books; they love the characters, the place, and what the novels have to say.

I hope you'll appreciate the hard work they've done on my behalf and yours.

More later about the cast.

Casper College hosts Matteo Pistono

Novelist Craig Johnson on the road again

Novelist Craig Johnson of Ucross hits the road April 9 and doesn't return for quite a long time. Here's the schedule:

April 9, Saratoga Museum, Saratoga, WY

April 12, Nantes, France

April 13, Poitiers, France

April 14, Limoges, France

April 15, 16, Clermont-Ferrand, France

April, 18, 19 Brussels, Belgium

April 20, Namur, Belgium

April 21, Liege, Belgium

May 22, WYO Theater ‘High Noon’, Sheridan, WY, 7:00 PM

May 27, Ranchester Branch Library, Ranchester, WY, 5:30 PM

The release date for HELL IS EMPTY is June 2

The release date for JUNKYARD DOGS paperback is May 31

May 31, Blue Heron Books, Casper, WY, 7 PM

June 1, Buffalo, WY, The Office Book Shop, Buffalo, WY, 4:30 PM

June 1, Sheridan Stationary, Sheridan, WY, 6:30 PM

June 2, Barnes and Noble, Billings, MT, 7 PM

June 4, Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop, Mechanicsburg, PA, 4 PM

June 6, Chester County Books and Music, Westchester, PA, 7 PM

June 7, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Pittsburgh, PA, 6 PM

June 8, Books and Company, Dayton, OH, 7 PM

June 9, Regulator, Durham, NC, 7 PM

June 10, Page and Palette, Fairhope, AL, 6 PM

June 11, I Love a Mystery, Mission, KS, 2 PM

June 13, Next Chapter, Milwaukee, WI, 7 PM

June 14, Booked for Murder, Madison, WI, 6 PM

June 15, Once Upon a Crime, Minneapolis, MN, 7 PM

June 16, Book People, Austin, TX, 7 PM

June 17, Poisoned Pen, Phoenix, AZ, 7 PM

June 18, M is for Mystery, San Mateo, CA, 2 PM

June 20, Viking Rep Dinner (private event)

June 21, Boulder Bookstore, 12:30 PM, lunch stock signing

June 21, Tattered Cover (Colfax), Denver, CO, 7:30 PM

June 22, Murder by the Book, Denver, CO, Noon

June 22, High Crimes, Longmont, CO, 7 PM

June 23-26, Jackson Writer’s Conference, Jackson, WY

June 28, Red Lodge Books, Red Lodge, MT, 4:00 PM

June 29, Fact and Fiction, Missoula, MT, 7:00 PM

July 1, Seattle Mystery Book Shop, Seattle, WA, Noon

July 1, Whodunit Books, Olympia, WA, 7 PM

July 2, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, Noon

July 2, Powell’s Books (Cedar Hills Crossing), Beaverton, OR, 4 PM

July 3, Sun River Books, Sun River, OR, 5 PM

July 4, Sun River Books, Sun River, OR, private party

July 5, Paulina Springs Books, Sisters, OR, 4 PM

July 5, Paulina Springs Books, Redmond, OR, 7 PM

July 6, Rediscovered Books, Boise, ID, 7 PM

July 7, The King’s English Books, Salt Lake City, UT, 7 PM

July 8, Main Street Books, Lander, WY, 6 PM

July 9, Powell Library, Powell, WY, Noon

July 9, Cowboy Bar, Meeteetse, WY, 7 PM

July 10, Cody Library, Cody, WY, 1:30 PM

Author Karen Brennan reads from her work March 25 at WWCC in Rock Springs

Karen Brennan, author of five books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, will read from her work on Friday, March 25. The event will take place at Western Wyoming Community College in Room 1302 at 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Brennan’s books include The Garden in Which I Walk, a collection of stories published by University of Alabama Press in 2004; The Real Enough World, a collection of poetry from Wesleyan University Press in 2006, and the memoir Being With Rachel: A Story of Memory and Survival, published by WW Norton in 2002 and nominated by the publisher for a Pulitzer Prize. Her fiction, poetry and nonfiction have also appeared in numerous anthologies and journals.

Of the stories in The Garden in Which I Walk, writer Kevin McElvoy says, “They are ten triumphs in a single volume. Karen Brennan's jazz-infused fiction demoniacally crashes us into our delusions, our states of despairing satiation and of happy hungering.”  A reviewer for The Compulsive Reader adds, “Her constant question is ‘where do men and women go when they have reached the end?’ The answer may be bleak but there is no doubt about the seriousness of the quest or the authority with which the writer describes it.”

Brennan’s memoir, Being with Rachel, recounts her daughter’s efforts, with her own devoted help, to recover from a brain injury suffered in a motorcycle accident. According to writer Antonya Nelson, the book “advocates illustrates and demonstrates the superhuman power of family, its ability to triumph in the face of worst-case scenarios, institutional aloofness, bad luck, and the evil influence of conventional wisdom.” Charles Baxter praises it as a book that explores “the mystery of an unbreakable love between a mother and her daughter.”

In a review of The Real Enough World, Brennan’s most recent book of poetry, Sue Butler of Poetry Salzburg Review writes, “This is a compelling book that mines the hurt of human life to great effect. It contains tragedy and irony, splashes of humor, failure, love, insight and song…but mostly it contains bravery.”

Brennan comments on the diverse nature of her work thusly: “I am a believer in hybrid forms, fictions that shade into nonfiction, poetry that becomes story or essay. What's exciting to me is working in-between genres, not being ‘trapped’ in one genre with all its conventional expectations. I like to think that my teaching liberates my students to try new things, to find their own paths to their very distinctive and idiosyncratic materials.”

Karen Brennan holds a PhD from University of Arizona and an MFA from Goddard. She is a Professor of English at the University of Utah where she teaches in the graduate creative writing program, and has served as faculty at the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers since 1992.  Among her awards are a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship and an Associated Writing Program award. 

In addition to her public reading, Brennan will give a three-hour writing workshop on Friday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m., as part of a one-credit Visiting Writers course.

The event is sponsored by the Arlene and Louise Wesswick Foundation and by the WWCC English Department. It is the last of four readings in the Spring 2011 Visiting Writers series, which also included journalist and historian Tom Rea, Wyoming Poet Laureate David Romtvedt, and Colorado poet and editor Maria Melendez. 

For more information, contact Rick Kempa at rkempa@wwcc.wy.edu.

Photo – Karen Brennan, author of five books of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, will read from her work at Western Wyoming Community College on March 25 at 7:30 p.m. Brennan’s visit is part of the annual Visiting Writers Series sponsored by the Arlene and Louise Wesswick Foundation and the WWCC English Department.

Cara Lopez Lee starts book tour for "They Only Eat Their Husbands" March 20 in Cheyenne

Colorado author Cara Lopez Lee will talk about her book "They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away" on Sunday, March 20, 2 p.m., at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne. The event is free and open to the public.

Here's some info about the the author and the book:

Most new authors have one thing in common: no marketing budget, zero, zip, Zip A Dee Doo Dah, nada. But Cara Lopez Lee is turning her budget book tour into an opportunity to reinforce her memoir's themes: running away is underrated, the hardest journeys are the most rewarding, and going it alone leads to new friendships.

From March 20 to April 16, Cara is hitting the road with her new book, They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away (Ghost Road Press, November 2010). And I'm hitting it Girls Trek Too style...
Cara will stay in hostels and surf couches, as she drives her rattling '95 Honda Civic Hatchback through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. "I had a shoestring budget when I left Alaska to backpack solo around the world," she says. "So it makes sense to travel on a shoestring as I share my book about that experience." Although she's preparing a loose itinerary, she's leaving room for spontaneity. She hopes locals will suggest a few unexpected events. "Part of the fun will be in the surprise element, in getting people to ask, 'Where's Cara?' That's what my book is about: not having answers, but asking questions. Once your basic needs are met, life should be an adventure." 

If you're interested in learning to plan your own independent adventures, Cara will offer free Girls Trek Too workshops at several of her stops. If you want to know "Where's Cara?" during her Book Tour Adventure, please check her Events page. You can also follow the wanderings of  @CaraLopezLee on Twitter or on the Facebook Fan Page for They Only Eat Their Husbands.

New novel by Jackson's Deborah Bedford

Deborah Bedford, Jackson resident and long-time faculty member for the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, has a new book, co-written with Joyce Meyer. It's entitled "Any Minute" and here's a description:

Sarah Harper is driven to achieve success no matter what the cost. She wants to do good and not hurt the people she loves—especially children and her husband, Joe—but her desire to succeed in her career too often leaves little time for family.

One cold, autumn afternoon, all of that changes when Sarah's car plunges off a bridge and into a river. She is presumed dead by those on the "outside," but Sarah's spirit is still very much alive. What she discovers on the other side transforms everything about Sarah's view of life—past, present, and future.

When Sarah is revived, she is a changed woman. And the unsuspecting world around her will never be the same again.

Info: Faith Words publishing, $14.95 US, ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58253-7

Order at Valley Bookstore in Jackson. Valley Bookstore no longer offers online ordering. Order Deborah's books by phone 307-733-4533 or email them.

March book signings at Sheridan Stationery Books & Gallery

March book signings at Sheridan Books and Stationery, 206 N. Main, Sheridan:

"Living Waters: Writings from the Heart of a Christian"

"Have worry and stress left your life parched and dry? Do you thirst for the peace of the Lord? Then join Dorothy Lansing as she reveals the words that the Lord has spoken into her life." Dorothy will be at Sheridan Stationery March 19, 2011, to sign her book "Living Waters". She will be giving a short talk on her work before signing from 11:00am-1:00pm.

"Sloe Eyed Sentinels"

"Meridith Stevens, a young academic, is in Yellowstone National Park searching for her wayward niece, a seasonal employee. Along the way, Meri is stalked by as unknown person and she and her niece confront professional and personal crossroads in each of their lives." Author Patricia Jones will be joining us at Sheridan Stationery for a booksigning March 26 from 1:00-3:00pm. Come down to get a signed copy of this thriller based in our home state.

"Cold Wind"

"When Earl Alden is found dead, dangling from a wind turbine, it's his wife, Missy, who is arrested. Unfortunately for Joe Pickett, Missy is his mother-in- law, a woman he dislikes heartily, and now he doesn't know what to do-especially when the early signs point to her being guilty as sin. But then things happen to make Joe wonder: Is Earl's death what it appears to be? Is Missy being set up? He has the county DA and sheriff on one side, his wife on the other, his estranged friend Nate on a lethal mission of his own, and some powerful interests breathing down his neck. Whichever way this goes . . . it's not going to be good." C.J. Box's latest release "Cold Wind" will be out in hardcover March 22, 2011. He will be coming to Sheridan Stationery on April 7 for a signing. We encourage you to purchase or place a hold on a copy of "Cold Wind" ahead of time to have signed on the 7th.

FMI: 307-674-8080

"Religion Versus Science" author at Second Story Books on Feb. 25

Dr. Ron Frost, author of "Religion Versus Science," will be at the Second Story Book Store, 105 Ivinson Avenue in downtown Laramie on Friday, February 25, 6:30-8 p.m. for a book signing. FMI: (307) 745-4423

Alaska dog musher and author Pam Flowers will tell stories and sign books Feb. 20 in Meeteetse

From the Meeteetse Branch Library in Park County:

Pam Flowers made an extraordinary mid-life career change in 1981. She became an Alaskan dog musher and broke records in the process.

Flowers will be at the Park County Public Library in Cody on Sunday, Feb. 20, to share photos and stories from her 2,500-mile solo expedition above the Arctic Circle.

The family-oriented free public program begins at 1:30 p.m. in Grizzly Hall. Flowers will devote plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Flowers has written award-winning books about her unique expedition and her dogs.

Still based in Alaska, she has undertaken many additional projects, including producing videos and, in 2008-2009, hiking the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail with her dog, Ellie.

Flowers will sign books upon request and has brought Ellie on this current tour to greet audiences who want to meet her.

Sheridan Stationery hosts book signing for author of "The Lycanthrope Virus"

Sheridan Stationery, 206 N. Main St., Sheridan, will be hosting a book signing with local author Robert Lee Vine, author of "The Lycanthrope Virus", the conclusion to his "Warriors of the Earth" trilogy. Robert will be signing books from 10:00 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Feb. 26.

FMI: Sheridan Stationery Books & Gallery. (307)-674-8080. Fax-(307)-674-8456. bksmith@actaccess.net. http://www.sheridanstationery.net

Shop Locally!

Author Victor Villasenor speaks at Teton County Library Feb. 10

On Thursday, Feb. 10, 6-7 p.m., the Teton County Public Library presents a talk by author Victor Villaseñor.

He will discuss "Family and Quality of Life: Pride in Heritage, Family, and the Power of Personal Achievement through Vision, Education and Perseverance."

Mexican-American writer, Victor Villaseñor, best known for the New York Times bestselling novel "Rain of Gold," speaks in a heartfelt manner, about the strength of family, pride in heritage, and the dedication to education and personal achievement. Presentation is geared towards inspiring teens and parents. A book signing with titles available for purchase will follow. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Free. Latino Programs Coordinator, Patty Rocha, 733-2164 ext. 237, procha@tclib.org.

In Spanish with simultaneous interpretation to English.

During the author's trip to Teton County, he will also speak to students at Jackson High School. On Feb. 7-8, Villasenor will be at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. 

Tim Sandlin's fourth book in the GroVont saga due out in April

Tim Sandlin sends news "that the GroVont Trilogy is back in action in anticipation of Lydia, the fourth GroVont book, which will be out in April. After a long coma, Sex and Sunsets, Western Swing, Skipped Parts, Sorrow Floats, and Social Blunders may be once again bought at your local bookstore. Buy a set from Valley Books in downtown Jackson and receive a signed copy of The Pyms: Unauthorized Tales of Jackson Hole for free." 

Solnit to guide map-making course at UW

Author Rebecca Solnit will be at the University of Wyoming for a month long teaching residency. The MFA in Creative Writing program hosted a luncheon/talk with Rebecca today. Jeff Lockwood began the dialogue by holding up a map of his journey throught the UW library in locating Rebecca's books, which were on five floors, the only they were not on was the administrative services--access denied floor. His first question--do you know of any other authors who have books in five different areas of a library brought a resounding second question--is there a grand plan to your [Rebecca's] writing, and if there is, how important is that plan?

"One thing leads to another. It's a very organic process," Rebecca answered, but there was much more to her answer than I could hope to write down with my simple pencil on my simple mini legal pad. She takes many aspects of place into consideration. Researching a book, she began to walk everywhere; but it was much later that she considered writing about the actual walking as part of the story, or as another story completely, when she realized the different--weird, subversive and multi-dimensional--cultures she encountered while she walked.

One student asked her about the communities that are formed by online connections. Does place have to be physical? She said, "You have to be able to use what's before you effectively. It can be used detrimentally." She made an interesting observation. The revolt in Burma was organized and reported about on Facebook. She said, "Facebook is good for revolutions." But the face to face doesn't take place online--no one chats on ebay, yet there is face to face interaction at, say, the farmer's market. She expects a backlash away from the online community at some point.

We all experience place and space in different ways. One questioner asked how important is place, or placelessness, for that matter, in her writing. Assumptions are different about the sense of space and place. Place does matter and we carry that with us wherever we go. She talked about New Yorkers and how they think their experience is universal, but for most people, their experience is very specific. It is probably the most pedestrian place in the U.S. She said growing up in the West felt colonial to her. Culture and history came from the east and the west was thought of as a colonial nowhere.

I don't communte to Laramie for classes anymore, and so I noticed a few of the changes to the landscape on today's drive. There's now a billboard that wasn't there last year. It reads, "It's only 1,759 miles to New York City." Now there's a concept.

A short bio on Rebecca:

Rebecca Solnit is the author of thirteen books, including 2010's Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas; 2007's Storming the Gates of Paradise: Landscapes for Politics; 2005's A Field Guide to Getting Lost; 2004’s Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities; and 2003’s River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West, which won a Guggenheim in its research phase and several awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism after publication. An activist and a longtime San Franciscan, she writes about landscape, cities, and other geographies, the environment, politics, and visual culture. A contributing editor to Harper's, columnist for Orion, and frequent contributor Tomdispatch.com, she is also a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award.

Winners announced for Blanchan/Doubleday awards

The Wyoming Arts Council is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Blanchan/Doubleday writing awards.

Recipient of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for nature writing is Patricia Frolander of Sundance. She will receive a $1,000 prize for a series of poems entitled “Married Into It.” Honorable mentions in this category go to Jane Dominick of Laramie for “Cottonwoods” and other poems and Darcy Lipp-Acord of Weston for her creative nonfiction entry, “Homework: Lessons from Allison.”

 
Recipient of the Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award for women writers is Edith Cook of Cheyenne. She will receive a $1,000 prize for her prose manuscript, “A Cold Day in Hell.” Honorable mentions go to Lynn G. Carlson of Cheyenne for her creative nonfiction entry, “With All Due Respect” and Darcy Lipp-Acord of Weston for “Homework: Lessons from Allison.”  

Judge for this year's competition was Ohio poet and fiction writer Jeanne Bryner.

The competition is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council and funded by artist and arts patron Neltje.

For more information about the Wyoming Arts Council’s programs for individual artists, contact Michael Shay at 307-777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us.

Wyoming State Museum looking for readers with "True Grit"

Registration is underway for the Wyoming State Museum book discussion series, “Exploring the Western Novel.”

Beginning on February 16, members of the discussion group will meet to discuss a series of four western novels. The series is free and open to the public; however the group size is limited to 20 participants.

The four western novels are “Lonesome Land” by B.M. Bower, “The Big Sky” by A.B. Guthrie, “True Grit” by Charles Portis and “Leaving Cheyenne” by Larry McMurtry. Participants are responsible for providing their own books; however, each of the books can be purchased in the State Museum Store at a reduced cost.

The discussion group will meet on Feb. 16, March 23, April 20 and May 18 at 6:30 p.m., at the Wyoming State Museum.

FMI: Sarah Ligocki at 777-7021.