January, 2010

1. THE BIRD'S NEST Judy Bridges

Flying high...
A Redbird writer I haven't heard from for awhile emailed from his home in New Orleans and asked if I'd take a look at his new novel. I said I really needed to stay focused on my own book. He sent the epilogue anyway, which I read and commented on, starting with, "Okay, you asked for it."

The first note back from him was, "I love you. More later."

His "more later" note began, "When I read your short review, I felt like I had returned home after a long absence and there was either a warm fire in the fire place, or the house was on fire; I can't remember which." He then posted two other scenes from his book that are just brilliant. I can't do it now, but if he wants to wait awhile, I will help. How could I not?

For the six months since we split Redbird into two and I moved out of Rm. 429, I've felt like a bird flying around looking for its nest -- so many opportunities, so many good looking trees. I'm driving those who love me a little nuts as I move from one spot to another, launch into this exciting idea and the next, act like I'm all settled and then flit off again.

Between flights, I work on my book (I'm on chapter 11 of 12), plan irresistible events (see below), and enjoy the wonderful people who fill my life. I know some of the things I want to do with this new and precious decade, but not all. I'll work it out soon enough and in the meantime, figure that after sitting in the same nest for 16 years, it's okay to fly high for awhile.

We sound great...
Mitch Teich interviewed Kim and me at the WUWM studio for a Lake Effect program that aired in December. Listen to: http://www.wuwm.com/media/lake_effect/le121709_c.mp3

Private Studios Available...
Imagine having a room of your own at the Marian Center. Climb the stairs, sit at your desk, stare out the window at the lake, and when the muse strikes, write your head off. Sounds appealing? Call me.

2. REDBIRD STUDIO PROGRAMS
details on the website:
www.redbirdstudio.com

SHUT UP & WRITE! -- The Seminar
with Judy Bridges
Develop your skills. Build confidence. Get moving!
Winter Session: Jan 21-23, 2010 (plus follow up meeting or critique)
Spring Session: Mar 25-27, 2010 (plus follow up meeting or critique)
Thurs and Fri evenings plus 9:30-3 on Sat.
(Register with Judy. $345)

START YOUR NEW YEAR RIGHT
with Roi Solberg
Create Your Best Year Ever
Thurs, Jan 14, 2010, 6:30pm
(RSVP to Judy or Roi. Goodwill donation $10 at door)

WRITING LIFE STORIES
with Carol La Chapelle & Judy Bridges
Find Your Voice. Tell your story.
Sat, Feb 27, 2010, 9:30am-4pm
(Register with Judy. $95)

THE REDBIRDS PRESENT
(A joint Redbird Studio/Redbird-RedOak Event)
GETTING PUBLISHED IN 2010:
FRESH APPROACHES TO TODAY'S MARKET
with authors Kirk Farber, Karen McQuestion,
Shannon Jackson Arnold and Doug Jacobson
Panel moderated by Judy Bridges
Thurs. March 11, 6:30pm
(RSVP to Judy or Kim. Goodwill donation, $10 at door)

CREATE A CIRCLE OF SUPPORT
with Judy Bridges
A "Power of the Pen" program at Fox Valley Tech, Neenah, WI
Saturday, March 20, 2010
(Register with Lisa Bell at FVTC)

THE HAIRSHIRT
with Judy Bridges
Women's Writing Retreat at St. Clara Convent
April 22 - 25, 2010
(Register with Judy)


3. REDBIRD-REDOAK PROGRAMS
details on the website:
www.redbirdredoak.com

FOR ADULTS

WRITE 'TIL YOU'RE BLUE IN THE FACE
A writing exercise workshop with Kim Suhr. $85/session
4 Tues evenings, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Session I - Jan 5, 12, 19, 26
Session II - Mar 2, 9, 16, 23
(Register with Kim. $85)

ROUNDTABLE CRITIQUE GROUPS
(Register with Kim. $85)

Tues afternoons w/Jeannee Sacken, 12:00 - 2:30 pm
Session I: Jan 12 & 26, Feb 9 & 23
Session II: Mar 9 & 23, Apr 13 & 27
Session III: May 11 & 25, Jun 8 & 22

Wed evenings w/Laurel Landis, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Session I: Jan 13 & 27, Feb 10 & 24
Session II: Mar 10 & 24, Apr 14 & 28
Session III: May 12 & 26, Jun 9 & 23

Thurs evenings w/Robert Vaughan, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Session I: Jan 21, Feb 18, Mar 18, Apr 15
Half Session: May 20, June 24 ($45)

Fri mornings w/Robert Vaughan, 9:30am - 12:00 pm
Session I: Jan 8 & 22, Feb 12& 26
Session II: Mar 12 & 26, Apr 9 & 23
Session III: May 7 & 21, Jun 4 & 18

SHOWCASE READINGS
Fixx Coffee House, Thurs. Feb 4, 7pm
Spring Showcase, Marian Center, Thurs. Apr 29, 7pm

FOR YOUNG WRITERS
Sunday Afternoon Writers' Circles
Gr. 4-6 w/Kris Jaeger (1 - 3 pm) Jan 31, Feb 21, Mar 21, Apr 25
Gr. 7-8 w/Pam Parker (12:45-2:45 pm) Jan 10, Feb 7, Mar 7, Apr 18
Gr. 9-12 w/Kim Suhr (1 - 3:30 pm)
Session I: Jan 10 & 31, Feb 7 & 21
Session II: Mar 7 & 21, Apr 18 & May 2
(Register with Kim, $65)

4. NEWS ABOUT REDBIRD WRITERS AND FRIENDS
Note: "R.W. and Friends" either attended Redbird workshops, or taught them, or support the studio in some special way. If you sent information and it did not appear, please forgive and send it again. Web sites are listed but not linked.

David Baldwin unveiled the Wall Of Honor, for Wisconsin fallen military from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the Newsroom area of the Safe House in Milwaukee. David donated the space and design for the installation.

Jo McReynolds-Blochowiak was a guest speaker at the Cudahy writers group, Writers Ink.

Stephen Boehrer won the National Best Books 2009 Award from USA Book News for his most recent novel, Purple Culture .

Ludmilla Bollow Four of Ludmilla's award winning plays were published under the title Saving America and Other Plays , available at Samuel French online store. She writes that the first play, Saving America, has already caused some controversy, and might cause more, because it deals with health care and the elderly. Winner of the Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors, Alan Woods, Ohio State University Professor and Contest coordinator gave this written comment: "Ludmilla Bollow's Saving America succeeds as ironic satire, pushing the general discomfort with the aged and the aging process to the point of savage extreme. . . Bollow does so with passion, economy, and rich inventiveness." (Note: As an occasional playwright myself, I'd give my eye teeth to write with the "passion, economy, and rich inventiveness" of Ludmilla Bollow.)

Ken Brosky is doing a fiction blog for the Shepherd Express web site.

Peggy Brown was featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Award-winning board game designer takes a turn on her own." Peggy won a Tagie award for excellence in game design from the Toy and Game Inventors Expo. She also won the top award for toy design for one of her creations, the Zhu Zhu Pet.

Mary Lee Croatt joined a group of seniors writing memoir for a reading at the main Milwaukee Public Library.

Kirk Farber is bubbling over this year. He writes from his home in Colorado: "Lots of 'firsts.' Forgive me, but I must share the excitement, since all of this began at your roundtables. It's all your fault! Those Redbird Showcases got me ready for this past weekend. I presented my first talk--about getting published--to over 40 people at Authorfest of the Rockies, a conference here in nearby Manitou Springs. Last week, I also did my first trade show--the MPIBA (Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association). So I got to sign books and give them away to indie booksellers in the region. Really fun. I also got to give my first blurb for a book coming out--a short story collection called Freshwater Boys by Adam Schuitema, who lives across the lake in MI. And finally, my first essay was published in a book called The Great Lakes Reader , edited by (my Postcards editor) Carl Lennertz, on Delphinium Books and distributed by HarperCollins. It should be in the indie bookstores now, as part of the proceeds go to the GLIBA (Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association). My essay is the second one in, "The Many Sides of Wisconsin." I'd send one to RB, but I only got one copy so far. Whew. Kind of crazy times. Now I just gotta write that next novel."

(Note. Kirk's debut novel, Postcards From A Dead Girl, will be released by Harper Perennial in March, 2010. He'll be in Milwaukee on book tour, reading at Boswell Books on March 10, and at Redbird for the program on "Getting Published" on March 11.)

Eric Hansen reads his essays regularly on WUWM's Lake Effect show. In October, he read "Harvest Moon." In December, "Copenhagen, Climate Change and Common Sense Conservation in Wisconsin." The Copenhagen essay also ran in the Madison Capital Times and the Green Bay Progressive online magazine.

Jean Harlan is working on the 10th edition (imagine that!) of her book, Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years . David and I had the privilege of visiting at her home in Columbus, Ohio and seeing the Chihuly Art Glass Exhibition at the Franklin Park Conservatory where Jean is a docent. David posted a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J-iXl77EuA

Judy Illes A photograph of Judy and her dog Cowboy appeared in The Bark Magazine.

Deb Karpek's article, "Facing the illusions of fear" appeared in The Reiki Digest , Saturday, November 28th..

Carol LaChapelle is leading workshops based on her book, Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories, at The Feltre School in Chicago and The Kenosha Public Library. On Saturday, February 27th, she'll pair up with Judy Bridges for "Writing Life Stories" at Redbird Studio.

Laurel Landis submitted two stories to Rosebud magazine's Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly Award for imaginative fiction. Both stories made it into the finals. One, "Tombwatcher's Tale," was a runner-up for the award and will be published in the Spring Issue of Rosebud .

John Lehman released a CD for writers. 10 things I think I know for sure about getting your writing published is available from Amazon .

Felicity Librie's interview with Tracy Chevalier ( Girl With a Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures) appeared in the January issue of The Writer magazine. Felicity is also a guest essayist on WUWM Lake Effect 89.7 FM. Her most recent essay was about how adults learn and what she's learned about herself in the process of returning to grad school at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Karen McQuestion's novel, A Scattered Life , was heralded as the first self-published Kindle book to be acquired by a film production company. Producer Eric Lake optioned the rights for L.A.-based Hiding In Bed. A Scattered Life is one of several books Karen published on Amazon Kindle that not only earned her a few bucks, but helped develop a fan following for her writings.

Barbara Manger and her co-author Janine Smith have been out and about signing copies of Mary Nohl: Inside & Outside, the new book about local artist Mary Nohl. Milwaukee author Martin Hintz called it, "A keenly fascinating journey into the mind of the sometimes misunderstood but always marvelously creative Milwaukee painter, sculptor, and potter, Mary Nohl. Manger's text has recreated Nohl's life as it deserves to be presented." (Note: If you saw the magical sculptures in the yard on Lake Michigan, you saw the work of Mary Nohl.)

Mel Miskimen's essay, "He's Got a Ticket to Cheat" appeared in More.com in December. She has also been reading essays on WUWM Lake Effect.

Pam Parker's short story, "The Silence of Harold," was accepted the the online journal, the Foundling Review .

Maria Rivera is writing two newsletters and short stories, including some science fiction

Jean Scherwenka's article about how Chinese herbs help canine athletes (agility dogs, etc.) appeared in the December issue of Clean Run Magazine . Another article entitled, "Remedies from the Plant World--Improve your dog's health with Chinese and Western herbs," appeared in an annual, Natural Dog 2010 . And here's more in Jean's own words: "The other article I emailed you about last month was in the September/October 2009 issue of The Herb Companion , titled "Ancient Herbs for Today's Dog." I love that magazine but would have never pitched a dog article to them. The editor saw one of my Chinese herb articles in Dog Fancy , liked my writing, and contacted me! Now that's what I want more of! When she happened to read my article in DF , she got what she thought was the brilliant idea of having a similar article in The Herb Companion . She contacted me one week before she needed the article. She asked if I could do it in that short time, and of course, I said "Sure!" I was also working on the Natural Dog article deadline, and didn't really know if I COULD do it, but I must have thought so from some place in my body. Those two editors asked me for article ideas for their 2010 line-up, so I'm hoping to get some assignments from both of them." (One word. Wow!)

Diane Smith of Grey Sparrow Press announced the release of the nonprofit corporation's first title, In the Silence of this Room .

Roi Solberg's article on intuition was published in Spiritside magazine. She will bring copies of Spirit of Archetypes:Cards of Spiritual Guidance to the command-performance, second annual presentation of "Start Your New Year Right" at Redbird, January 14th.

Kim Suhr received an honorable mention from Wisconsin Regional Writers Association for "The Right Place at the Right Time," a short story she workshopped at the 2009 Hairshirt Retreat.

Marilyn Taylor's new book, Going Wrong: Poems was published by Parallel Press.

Carol Wobig received an Hon. Mention in the 78th Annual Writer's Digest contest for her short story, "The Good Wife." Another short story, "The Visit," is online in greysparrowjournal.net, Nov. '09 issue.

Judith Zukerman won an honorable mention for a poem with a Chicago theme from Poets and Patrons, a Chicago, Illinois group. She will be participating in the 16th Annual Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon & Benefit, Saturday, Jan 30, in the 2 to 3 o'clock hour and in the Winter Festival of Poets at AVOL's in Madison on February 7th. She also participated in a reading for the WFOP Calendar and then did a reading from the 2010 Calendar on WORT on New Year's Eve. (Note: For more info on the Marathon and to sponsor Judith and/or Woodland Pattern, see www.woodlandpattern.org.)

5. OTHER PLACES, OTHER FACES

Alverno Telesis
A variety of writing classes including The Great Lakes Writers Workshop
telesis.alverno.edu

ArtDoozle
Arts Events List for Milwaukee and Wisconsin
No memberships, logins or registrations required
redbirdstudio.com/artdoozle

Arts Wisconsin
Arts Advocacy group
artswisconsin.org/

Avol's Bookstore
Independent used bookstore. Promotes the local poetry scene.
315 W. Gorham, Madison 608-255-4730
avolsbookstore.com

Boswell Book Co.
Independent bookstore (formerly Schwartz Books)
2559 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee
boswellbooks.com

Cool Plums
Interactive webzine for writers (John Lehman)
CoolPlums.com

Council for Wisconsin Writers
Recognizing Literary Excellence Since 1964
Sponsors annual contests for published work of Wisconsin Writers
Submission period for work published in 2009 ends on January 31, 2010
Awards banquet: Saturday, May 15 at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee
wisconsinwriters.org

The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI (Door County)
Folk school in a natural setting in Door County
Presents a variety of short and full-week programs
(See classes with Judy Bridges May 30-Jun 5 and Oct 3-9)
theclearing.org

Fox Cities Book Festival
Third Annual Festival, April, 2010
focol.org/bookfest/index.asp

Fox Valley Technical College
"Power of The Pen" March 20, 2010
(See classes with Judy Bridges and other Redbird writers)
fvtc.edu/neenah

Green Lake Christian Writers' Conference, Green Lake WI
Contact janwhite@glcc.org; 920-294-7327
glcc.org.

Interlochen College of Creative Arts, Interlochen, MI
Screenwriting, Poetry, Prose & Paint, Retreats
Kristin Celeste Hills
interlochenorg/college

Lost Playground Studio
Thea Kovac offers at home and studio art classes
(She got me scribbling around at the easel. She can do it for you!)
theakovac@sbcglobal.net

Milwaukee Book Festival
Celebrates literary arts of all genres with readings, workshops, talks and panels
aomeara@uwm.edu

Milwaukee Public Library
Email newsletter alerts you to great selection of current readings and events.
mpl.org.

Next Chapter Book Shop
Independent bookstore in Mequon. (formerly Schwartz Books)
nextchapterbookshop.com/

Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts
Mineral Point, WI
shakeragalley.com

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, Wisconsin SCBWI-WI
Professional organization for writers and illustrators
Workshops, networking, resources.
scbwi-wi.com/

Soulstice Theatre
The Marian Center, Bay View
soulsticetheatre.org

Still Waters Collective
Resource network for language artists and enthusiasts
stillwaterscollective.com

The Inspired Writer
Creativity coaching and workshops
theinspiredwriter.org

The Marian Center, Bay View
Home of The Two Redbirds and dozens of dedicated nonprofits
mariancenter.net

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, School of Continuing Ed
Spring Writers Festival, March 5-7, 2010
4.uwm.edu/SCE/course.cfm?id=13682

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Div. of Continuing Studies
Writing classes include Write by the Lake Writers' Institute and Rhinelander School of the Arts summer program
Phone 608-262-7942,
dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/writing

Waupaca Community Arts Co-Op
200 North Main Street, Waupaca
waupacaarts.org

Windhover Center for the Arts
Fond du Lac, WI
windhovercenter.org

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters
Publishes Wisconsin People & Ideas
Sponsors Short Story and Poetry Contests
wisconsinacademy.org

Wisconsin Book Festival
Book Festival in Madison and other locations each October
wisconsinbookfestival.org

Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP)
Statewide network for poets. Contests and information.
Publishes Museletter and annual Poet's Calendar
Annual Student Poetry Contest.
New Chapbook Contest for Wisconsin poets
wfop.org

Wisconsin Regional Writers Association (WRWA)
Contests, conferences, writers' groups, excellent newsletter
Florence Lindemann Humor Contest and Al P. Nelson Feature Writing Contest open Jan 1st
2010 Spring Conference in Manitowoc, May 1st
wrwa.net/

Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee
Outstanding poetry resource, plus readings and workshops
woodlandpattern.org

Working Writers
Association of full time professional independent writers based in S.E. WI.
Members serve business clients, non-profit organizations, publishers and authors.
workingwriters.org

Writer's Ink, Cudahy
Writers' group welcomes all levels, all styles, all genres. Meets first and third Mondays, 7pm,
in the lower-level meeting room of Chase Bank in Cudahy. Dues $3 per year.
Contact Gail Torpe: gtoe@aol.com or 414-744-9664