William Heath and Laura van den Berg read November 8 at The Writer's Center

Open Door Reading Series: An Afternoon With Laura Van Den Berg and William Heath

Laura van den Berg reads from her story collection What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us, and William Heath reads from his novel Blacksnake’s Path.

Laura van den Berg’s first collection of stories, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us, was the winner of the Dzanc Prize (2009). Laura is currently a fiction editor at West Branch and the assistant editor of Memorious, an online journal of new verse and fiction.

William Heath, a native of Ohio, is the Libman Professor of Humanities at Hood College in Frederick, Md. He recently published the historical novel about the Northwest Territory, Blacksnake's Path: The True Adventures of William Wells. He also is the author of an award-winning novel about the civil rights movement in Mississippi, The Children Bob Moses Led.

Brock Clarke reads in DC on October 10

Brock Clarke reads from An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England on October 10 at Olsson’s, Dupont Circle, 7:00 pm



Check out the blog for the book.

White Hot Center

The “Hit the White Hot Center” Contest is sponsored by The Southeast Review and Robert Olen Butler, author of From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction. Robert Olen Butler will pick the opening sentences to a short story written by a contestant at AWP that best demonstrates his idea of “the White Hot Center.” The winning and finalist sentences will be published on the SER magazine website, and the winner will receive a copy of Butler’s most recent collection of stories, Severance. Visit The Southeast Review table—#71—at the bookfair, and try to hit the white hot center!

AWP panels not to miss

Friday, March 2
9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.
Salon D, 2nd Floor

F113. Making History: Writing Fiction about the Civil Rights Movement. (William Heath, Anthony Grooms, Deborah Wiles) Four novelists will discuss the challenge of creating fiction around historic events from the Civil Rights Movement, including the complexities inherent when writing about race relations. How do you create a fresh scene when the subject has received mediasaturation, such as the “I Have a Dream” speech? Panelists will present strategies for incorporating real-life figures into fiction and discuss their motivations and methods—field research, interviews, autobiography, and invention they wove into fiction.

Friday, March 2
3:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Crystal Ballroom, Lobby Level

F169. Exercising the Unconscious: Writing in the Moment. (Robert Olen Butler, Cassie Cross, Rebecca Soppe, Tom Bligh, Kathy Conner) Pulitzer Prize-winning Robert Olen Butler will share his alternative to technique-oriented workshops. Based on concepts from his book, From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction, Butler’s coached exercises prompt writers to invent reality from sense memories, trusting their unconscious creative powers. The objective? Fiction that moves moment by moment through the senses, devoid of abstractions and generalizations. Four former students join Butler to discuss their writing processes.

Saturday, March 3
9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.
Ballroom C, 2nd Floor

S105. Battle of the Terminal Degrees: PhD vs. MFA. (Graeme Harper, Tom Hunley, Jenna Kalinsky, Michael Kardos, Misty Urban, Jocelyn Cullity) Despite AWP’s official position that the MFA is the appropriate degree for teaching at the university level, prospective employers increasingly require the PhD. Fiction writers and poets describe pros and cons of their degrees and share tips for negotiating the job market. We discuss universities in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, pointing to some differences in attitude. We also present how a mix of publications, academic credentials, and a third, vital ingredient leads to success.

Florida State University at AWP 2007

Here's what FSU will bring to the show in Atlanta this spring

A Reading by Robert Olen Butler, Introduction by Julianna Baggott. Sponsored by Florida State University Creative Writing Program and The Southeast Review.

The Southeast Review 25th Anniversary Reading featuring Paul Griner, Ander Monson, Dorianne Laux, Beth Ann Fennelly, D. A. Powell, Lori Horvitz

Plus panels by Mark Winegardner, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Janet Burroway, David Kirby, R.M. Berry, Bob Shacochis, Tom Bligh, Julianna Baggott, and Barbara Hamby.

2007 AWP Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
February 28 - March 3, 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
Hilton Atlanta

Don't take my word for it. Read all about it here and here.

Spring fiction readings in Tallahassee

01-30-07 8 PM Warehouse Richard Bausch

02-13-07 8 PM Warehouse Kim Addonizio

02-27-07 8 PM Warehouse Roxane Johnson and Steve Watkins

03-20-07 8 PM Warehouse Mark Bibbins and Thisbe Nissen

04-03-07 8 PM Warehouse George Pelecanos

Fall readings in Tallahassee

10-10-06 8 PM Warehouse Sami Levy and Steve Kistulentz

10-17-06 8 PM Warehouse Katie Burgess and Tom Bligh

10-24-06 8 PM Warehouse Morri Creech

10-31-06 8 PM Warehouse Halloween Party

11-02-06 8 PM Werkmeister Room, Dodd Hall. Writers Harvest with Mark Winegardner and James Kimbrell. Mark Winegardner will read from The Godfather's Revenge. James Kimbrell will read from his new book, My Psychic.

11-07-06 8 PM Warehouse Janet Burroway, author of Embalming Mom: Essays in Life.

11-14-06 8 PM Warehouse Sandy Longhorn and Todd Pierce, author of Newsworld, The Australia Stories and Behind the Short Story: From First to Final Draft.

11-28-06 8 PM Warehouse Barry Hannah, author of Airships, Boomerang, Yonder Stands Your Orphan, and Geronimo Rex.