Helen Schmill announces publication of three books

Helen Schmill

Casper writer Helen Schmill announces publication of three books through Xlibris:

"A Morning with God," an illustrated children's book
"Paradise Lost 2011," described as "a reading play for churches and schools"
"A Grandmother's Old Testament Hymns," a living autobiography

Order copies of Helen's books through amazon.com, xlibris.com or through http://www.wix.com/helenschmill/books#!contact

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.

Call for entries: Wyoming Writers, Inc., writing contest

Wyoming Writers, Inc., announces contest guidelines:

Hard copy entries much be postmarked by April 9, 2011.

Entry fee:  $10.00 for each entry from members of Wyoming Writers, Inc., $15.00 for non-members,

Member fee for poetry is $10.00 for 3 poems, non-members $15.00 for 3 poems. We encourage non-members to join the organization. Information and membership form are available on www.wyowriters.org. Contest entry forms are also available on the web site, and from flyers in libraries and bookstores, and in the WyoWriters newsletter.  You may photocopy an entry form.

No limit on the number of entries, but there is an entry fee for each manuscript and every 3 poems. Include one check for the total amount. No entry fees will be refunded. 

Eligibility: The contest is open to all writers. All works must be the unpublished and the original work of the   submitter. All works must be in English. Work accepted or under consideration for publication elsewhere, or entered in another contest simultaneously is not eligible. Work that has previously placed or received an honorable mention in a Wyoming Writers, Inc. contest is not eligible. Work may be submitted to other contests or for publication after the contest deadline.

Categories

Adult Fiction: (No horror or erotica) 3000 words maximum

Fiction for Children/Juveniles:  3000 words maximum

Non-fiction:  Personal experiences and Memoirs3000 words maximum

Non-fiction:  Articles and Essays., 3000 words maximum

Traditional Poetry:  28 lines maximum; up to 3 poems per submission.

Free Verse Poetry:  28 lines maximum;  up to 3 poems per submission

Prizes:   First place: $50, Second place: $30,  Third place $20. Each will get a certificate. There will be no Honorable Mentions.  Winners will be notified the latter part of May. Winners will be announced at the WWInc 2011 Conference to be held at the Ramada Plaza Riverside,Casper, WY June 3-5, 2011.

Writer and Pinedale native Kate Meadows sends greetings to Wyoming

A very talented group of Gen Y Wyomingites are finding their way in the world. Many of them are artists and writers and performers, weaned on visiting poets in the schools or Wyoming Shakespeare Company summer performances in the park or stints at the annual High School Arts Symposium. Many of them live in other states or other countries because, well, Wyoming doesn't have jobs for them. Now now, anyway.

Because the Wyoming Arts Council had a hand in some of the nurturing arts events noted above, we get many inquiries about our grants, fellowships and related programs. If you're over 18, and you live in the state, we can assist you. If you are an artist plying your trade in some remote enclave such as San Diego or Cape Cod or London, you can't apply for a WAC fellowship. But we still like to hear from you. We can also promote your work with the hope that one day you shall return to The Equality and/or Cowboy State to live and work. You may not have heard but Wyoming is an up-and-coming arts state. Skeptics may want to read the recently commissioned Wyoming Creative Vitality Index (CVI) on our web site.

So, until you come to your senses and return to your home stomping grounds of Torrington or Meeteetse, you can contact your trusty blog editors with news about your life as an artist. We had one such call today from a young woman who grew up in Pinedale. She had the benefit of growing up attending the myriad events sponsored by one of the oldest arts organizations in the state -- the Pinedale Fine Arts Council.

We'll let Kate Meadows tell her own story:

Kate Meadows is a Pinedale native and nonfiction writer specializing in journalism and personal essays. She was born in Jackson Hole and became the third generation of her family to call Sublette County home. She lived in Pinedale for 18 years, attending the same high school as her father and graduating Salutatorian of her class in 2002. She started her writing career at her two hometown newspapers, The Pinedale Roundup and The Sublette Examiner, where she launched profile sections that regularly featured true local characters. Her work has also appeared in national, regional and specialty publications, including Listen magazine, China Daily newspaper, No Body’s Perfect: Stories by Teens About Body Image, Self-Acceptance, and the Search for Identity and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks, Mom. She earned her MFA in Creative and Professional Writing through Western Connecticut State University in 2010. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and one-year-old son.

Meadows is the author of Tough Love: A Wyoming Childhood, a collection of personal essays that recounts her experience as an only child growing up in rural Wyoming. The essays explore how Meadows was influenced, both by the rugged and remote landscape and by the raw and gnarly characters that call Sublette County home. The collection probes what it means to be tough, especially in the sparse and lonely environment that is the true modern West. She is currently seeking a publisher.

Kate also said that she received her first writing award from Wyoming Writers, Inc., earning first place in the organization's annual statewide writing competition for her children’s poem, “The Winterland Fairy.”

She is obviously a talented writer. If you're a publisher and want to publish Kate's book -- or are an old Sublette County friend and want to say hi -- drop us a line at mshay@state.wy.us or lcoatn@state.wy.us and we'll make sure Kate gets the message.

Bell, Box and Jenkins at Albany Co. Library Oct. 13

Laura Bell of Cody, C.J. Box of Cheyenne and Laramie's Mark Jenkins are featured at "Wyoming Writers" event on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 5-6:30 p.m. at the Albany County Public Library in Laramie.

The event is free but pre-registration is required.

FMI: Marjorie Daley at 307-721-2580 x5456.

"Eay, Pray, Love" in a cabin by a Wyoming creek

“She’s touched the hearts of so many people around the world,” Ucross Foundation president Sharon Dynak said of Gilbert. “To think she was sitting in a little cabin by the creek here, we’re thrilled.”

Sharon was quoted in an Aug. 13 Casper Star-Tribune article about Elizabeth Gilbert's 2004 Ucross Foundation residency during which she wrote the first draft of the best-selling memoir, "Eat, Pray Love." To read the entire article, go to http://trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/article_f8ef4aec-8fab-5d7a-abb6-630f5c4e855c.html

Sudanese novelist Valentino Achak Deng at Teton County Library Sept. 16

From the Teton County Public Library in Jackson:

An evening with Sudanese author and refugee Valentino Achak Deng on Thursday, Sept. 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Valentino Achak Deng is a Sudanese refugee whose amazing life story is told in the best-selling novel, "What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng," by acclaimed author Dave Eggers. Tickets to this FREE talk are available beginning Aug. 16 at all local bookstores, including Valley Bookstore, Jackson Hole Book Traders and Main Event. Presented by InterConnections 21, Wyoming Humanities Council, Tatiana Maxwell & Refugees International, Teton County Library Foundation and Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. Cost: Free. Location: High School Auditorium.

Contact: InterConnections 21, 307-699-2787 or jenna@ic21.org.

Book signing June 30 in Sheridan for Jamie Lisa Forbes

Come to Sheridan Stationery Books and Gallery, 206 N. Main in Sheridan, on Wednesday, June 30, 11a.m.-1 p.m. for a booksigning with Jamie Lisa Forbes. Come down to get a copy of Unbroken and have it signed and personalized.

Jamie Forbes was raised on a family ranch in southeastern Wyoming. She obtained degrees in Philosophy and English from the University of Colorado, Boulder where she graduated with honors in 1977. She then spent a year in Israel studying and working on a kibbutz. She returned to Wyoming in 1979 where she ranched and raised a family for the next fifteen years. In 2001, she graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and now practices in Greensboro, North Carolina. She enjoys spending time with her grandson and playing old time Appalachian fiddle. With her Arabian horse, Cody and her cattle dog, Reb, she still devotes part of her life to the outdoors.


From Unbroken, by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Ranching is a life of extremes, perhaps even more so on the high plains near Laramie, Wyoming. And no one knows that better than Gwen Swan, who married both her husband Will and his family ranch where she works hard beside the men and struggles to raise her two children. Meg Braeburn, who has broken away from her family's ranch, expects unrelenting hard work when she takes a job on the place neighboring the Swans'. She and her son face an uncertain future, but she is determined to leave the past behind and make a good life for them. Gwen, who understands the corrosive effects of isolation better than Meg, includes Meg in her family and community and wins Meg's gratitude and support. But there is little time for reflection on anyone's part as the wheel of the seasons grinds relentlessly onward bringing disasters and triumphs and a rough road for all concerned.

New blog post from Page Lambert -- of horses and landscape and Wyoming memoirs

Great to hear from one-time Wyomingite Page Lambert about her recent Literature and the Landscape of the Horse Retreat at the Vee Bar Ranch in Albany County. For an overview, and some insight into the new memoir by Cody writer Laura Bell, go to http://pagelambert.blogspot.com/2010/06/claiming-ground-with-snort-and-buck.html

New book by Laramie mother and daughter

From a UW press release:

A new book describes a Laramie mother and daughter's trek from stroke through rehabilitation and their return home.

Stacy Gupton suffered a stroke in 2003 while working on an art project. Stacy and her mother, Mona, said at that time they lacked the resources to deal with stroke and all the complications and said they wrote "A Piece of Her Mind" to help others.

"We felt Stacy's story could give someone else hope of finding life after tragedy," said Mona, who works in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. "We did not write this book to simply tell a sad story. We want others to know that life truly does go on, and it is up to each of us how we choose to live each day.

"Once a day is gone, we can't get it back. We can laugh or cry. I tell Stacy all the time that every day she has now is a bonus."

Mona said she realized writing the book would be emotional.

"It actually took me nearly three years to complete the manuscript. There were times when I wrote with such anger and pain that it was exhausting," she said.

Writing was therapeutic. "By going back and reading my journal entries and Stacy's, I was able to visualize exactly how far she had come and how we had grown together as a family," said Mona.

Stacy said she's glad she wrote the book. "I had to relive everything, and that wasn't easy. Even though it was really hard, I am glad we did this because it showed me how much I have improved," she said. "On bad days, it made me remember why I never give up."

Order the book through your local bookstore or at amazon.com at http://tinyurl.com/ylm3wz9

Register for "Rural America" book discussion

Registration is underway for the Wyoming State Museum-hosted reading and discussion series, “Rural in America.”

A part of the Wyoming Humanities Council’s Reading Wyoming program, “Rural in America” is a discussion group scheduled to meet January 20, February 17, March 17 and April 21 at 6:30 p.m., at the Wyoming State Museum.

The program is free and open to the public. However, participants are asked to register as the group size is limited to 20. Rose Wagner will lead the discussions.

To register and borrow books, contact Sarah Ligocki at 777-7021. Participants are encouraged to register soon as the first book must be read by January 20.

Participants will read and discuss “The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry; “Winter Wheat,” by Mildred Walker; “The Egg and I,” by Betty McDonald; and “A Painted House,” by John Grisham. All of these books offer both romantic and realistic views of rural life.

The program is offered by the Wyoming Humanities Council. Reading Wyoming provides reading and discussion series’ to nonprofit organizations around the state and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

FMI: 307-721-9243 or www.uwyo.edu/humanities.

"Riding the White Horse Home" -- from the written page to the CD

Grady Kirkpatrick on KUWR's "New Music Wednesday" featured a song with a familiar-sounding name. It was "Riding the White Horse Home," written and performed by Salt Lake City musician Kate MacLeod. Wondered if it was based on the fantastic memoir of the same name by Laramie County, Wyoming, native Teresa Jordan (now in SLC). Grady noted on-air that indeed this was the case. But wyomingarts needed more info so looked up Kate MacLeod, which is the kind of stuff the Internet is for. We found this:

The song Riding the White Horse Home is based on the book by the same name. It is a memoir about rural family life in Wyoming, written by artist and author Teresa Jordan.

The song is on MacLeod's new CD, Blooming. Another amazing fact: the cover art was done by Denver artist William Matthews who also illustrated the first edition of Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx, back when she lived in Wyoming.

What would we do without real books by real writers?

Record an interview for StoryCorps' National Day of Listening on Nov. 27

This comes from Wyoming Public Radio:

Wyoming Public Radio encourages listeners to record an interview with a loved one for StoryCorps’ second annual National Day of Listening on November 27, 2009.

On the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2009, Wyoming Public Radio and StoryCorps are asking all Americans to start a new holiday tradition: Set aside one hour to interview a friend, a loved one, or someone in their community about his or her life.

The process is simple: select an interview partner, create a question list, and sit down to record a meaningful conversation. StoryCorps has created a free Do-It-Yourself (DIY) interview guide with step-by-step interview instructions, equipment recommendations, and sample questions available online at nationaldayoflistening.org.

Sponsored by Corporation for National & Community Service, American Library Association, National Public Radio and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.