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May, 2006
1. REDBIRD WRITERS' SHOWCASE
2. NEW GROUPS STARTING
3. YOUNG AUTHOR SUMMER PROGRAM
4. NEWS OF REDBIRD WRITERS AND
FRIENDS
5. OTHER PLACES/FACES
1. REDBIRD WRITERS' SHOWCASE Don't
Miss This!
Join Redbird writers and friends in the Social Room at the Marian
Center, scene of many St. Mary's Academy student recitals, for a presentation
of fine writing. Starting at 6:30 pm, featured members of our roundtable groups
will read selected excerpts from published and in-progress novels, short
stories, essays and poetry. Robert Vaughan will emcee this special event.
Thursday, April 27 6:30-9pm Open to the public Free (we'll pass the hat)
Marian Center Social Room (Rm. 210 on the main floor)
Readers: Tom Biel, Felicity Librie, Kirk Farber, Les Huisman,
Doug Jacobson, Jon Olson,
Nick Petrie, Jeannee Sacken, Jean Scherwenka, Elaine Schmidt
and Carol Wobig.
(A congratulatory note: If you see a change in the lineup, it's
because Karen McQuestion and another Redbird Writer, John Wallace, are
accepting awards in the Shepherd Express-Schwartz Bookshops short story reading
at Schwartz on Downer. See info below. And yes, next year we'll coordinate our
calendars when we schedule these fine events. )
2. NEW GROUPS
STARTING
See the web site for course descriptions. www.redbirdstudio.com
POETRY WORKSHOP with John
Lehman. A new "home
port" for poets.
First Thursdays May 4, Jun 1, Jul 6, Aug 3 6:30-8:30pm $85
At last, the perfect chance for poets (new and experienced) to get
the feedback and guidance they need to write well. This is the first set of
monthly workshops to be held in the studio and led by Rosebud founder and
Wisconsin Academy Review poetry editor, John Lehman.
"GROUND FLOOR" WORKSHOP with Jo
McReynolds-Blochowiak. On
the first floor; beginners welcome.
2nd & 4th Thursdays May 11, 25, Jun 8, 22 12:30-2:30 pm $85
(Rm 103, Marian Center)
Another "At Last!" -- A Redbird workshop on the ground floor, easily accessible
via feet or wheels, perfect for beginning or experienced writers. Learn more
about forms your writing might take including: family stories, memoirs, poetry,
creative nonfiction, personal essays, reminiscences and fiction. Experiment
with these or focus on a project of your choice. No prerequisites. Bring a
notebook and pen.
New and continuing
ROUNDTABLE CRITIQUE GROUPS with Judy Bridges
and Robert Vaughan
Thirteen years and going strong. These groups are for serious writers who have attended Shut
Up and Write! or have other experience with writing and critique. The
roundtable groups are a great place to get supportive feedback and build a
network of writing friends. See
"How to get the most out of the roundtables" on the Redbird web site.
Tuesday Afternoons with Judy Bridges 12-2:30 $85
Session #3 - May 9, 23, Jun 13, 27 (almost full)
No meetings - July-August
Session #4 - Sep 5, 19, Oct 10, 24
Session #5 - Nov 7, 21, Dec 5, 19
Wednesday Evenings
(The Inkslingers) with Judy Bridges 6:30-9
$85
Session #3 - May 3, 17, Jun 14, 28 (almost full)
No meetings - July-August
Session #4 - Sep 6, 20, Oct 4, 18
Session #5 - Nov 1, 15, Dec 6, 20
Thursday Evenings with Robert Vaughan 6:30-9 $85 (one per month)
Session #2 - May 25, Jun 15, July 20, Aug 24 (almost full)
Session #3 - Sep 14, Oct 19, Nov 16, Dec 14
Friday Mornings with Robert Vaughan 9:30-12 $85
Session #3 - May 12, 26, Jun 16, 30 (almost full)
No meetings - July-August
Session #4 - Sep 15, 29, Oct 13, 20
Session #5 - Nov 3, 17, Dec 1, 15
SHUT UP AND WRITE! with Judy
Bridges (Summer-Fall Schedule)
This is the flagship course at Redbird, taught by studio founder
Judy Bridges. It is Ideal before entering critique groups, as a way to get
going, switch gears or tune-up your writing skills. See full description on web
site: www.redbirdstudio.com
Summer Session: Mondays, June 19, 26, July 10, 17, 24, 31,
6-9pm, $345 (almost full)
Fall Session: Mondays, Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Nov 6, 13, 20,
6:30-8:30, $345 (space available)
Register now. Classes are filling.
3. YOUNG AUTHORS SUMMER CAMPS -- For Kids Who Like to Write
Gives young authors the time, space and support they need to
nurture their passion for writing.
For more information, ask for the Young Author brochure or see the
Young Author pages at www.redbirdstudio.com
Kim Suhr, Joan Boyce, Katie Lance, Pam Parker, Robert Vaughan,
Judy Bridges and others
Mon-Fri
9am-2:30pm
$325 ($100 deposit)
Students entering: Grades 4-6 July 24Ð28 (waiting list)
Grades 7-8
July 31ÐAug 4 (space
available)
Grades 9-12 Aug 7Ð11 (space available)
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 necessarily linked.
Kris Babe's commentary appeared in the Shepherd-Express Letters to the
Editor, Thursday, April 20. She also guest-blogged on Anne's Landre's www.threadingwater.wordpress.com,
which is receiving national recognition.
Anne Bingham's article on estimating business writing, "Flat Fees vs.
Hourly Rates," appeared in the April 5 edition of the e-newsletter
WritersWeekly. Anne is president
of Working Writers, a confederation of three dozen full-time, experienced
freelancer writers in southeastern Wisconsin.The article can be read at http://www.writersweekly.com/ Click on the Articles link at the top
of the page.
David Blank (aka Wonderful Husband) put a new shine on our website. Take a
look. www.redbirdstudio.com
Ludmilla Bollow's play, "Choke Cherry Corners -- Tavern & Dance
Hall" will receive a platform
reading by The Actors Group, Sunset Theatre, on May 24. They plan full
production in 2007. She says there's no need to put the following in the
newsletter, but how can I pass up the opportunity to draw attention to the fine
dramatist we have in our midst? Look at this performance list.
"In The Restroom at Rosenblooms" - Sun City Theatre
Group - Georgetown TX (Feb 1- l1)
"The Beach Club" - Victoria, Australia (Teamed with
AlanAyckbourn's play) (Feb 23-26)
"Flickering Dreams" (Reading) Cornerstone Theatre Feb.
13.
"Flickering Fireflies" (Reading) at Wisconsin Women's
Press Club Conference in Oshkosh, April 22
"TV Brides" Valley of Danville Scottish Rites (Danville
IL) Dinner Theatre - May 12 & 13.
"Choke Cherry Corners -- Tavern & Dance Hall" - The
Actors Group, Sunset Theatre (listed above)
"In The Restroom at Rosenblooms" - The Gallery
Theatre, Anaheim Ca - June 9, 10 & 16,17
"Saving America" (Won First Place in Eileen Heckert
Senior Drama Contest for Short Plays - 2005) will be printed in the Spring
"Senior Theatre League Bulletin", which part of American/Educational
Theatre Association.
Author Appearances scheduled for the novel - "DR.
ZASTRO"-- CreekSide Books for Cedarburg Strawberry Festival,
in June.
John Lehman's note needs to be published as written: "A few months ago I
was asked by Wisconsin Public Television to go to a location they thought would
be interesting with a camera crew and record a segment for their ÒIn WisconsinÓ
program. The idea was for me to write some poems that would be used as a voice
over. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at SpreckerÕs Tavern in Leland,
Wisconsin to discover it is a bar that sells rifles and pistols. As one of the
patrons said, ÒWhatÕs great is you can buy a beer and a gun here at the same
time.Ó The result will be aired several times this week. I hope you catch it.
Now you can get beer, guns and poetry in one place." The interview was
aired on ÒIn WisconsinÓ Thursday, April 13th (all stations): 7pm, Easter, April
16th (all stations except the Milwaukee area): 5:30 and 9:30.
David Lerman's article "Not all Palestinians are Hamasnicks" appeared
in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle March 28, 2006.
Karen McQuestion placed third in the Shepherd Express -- Schwartz Bookshops short
story competition with her story, ÒSaturday Night Fever.Ó Also, her essay, TV's Ancient History,
appeared in the March 29th edition of the Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0329/p18s04-hfes.html In the kind of comment we love to
hear, Karen wrote: "I'm thrilled to have found Redbird. The quality of the
writing and feedback at the Tuesday Roundtable is far better
than anything I've experienced at any other critique group or workshop.
And I've been to many." Karen will be the featured guest at the Writer to
Writer discussion group at Martha Merrell's Books and Cafe in Waukesha on
Saturday, May 13th. Her topic: Humor Writing. Phone Martha Merrell's at
262-547-1060 for more information.
Mel Miskimen is a regular on "Single Married Widowed Divorced," a
podcast that spotlights real women's relationship stories. There are two ways
to listen to the podcast. Visit http://singlemarriedwidoweddivorced.com
and click on the podcast link. Or listen through the iTunes music store; from
the music store home page, click on ÒpodcastsÓ then enter Single Married
Widowed Divorced. Like most podcasts, Single Married Widowed Divorced is free.
New episodes are automatically downloaded when a user hits the subscribe button
in iTunes. Mel writes: "Judy, no one out there would give me a regular
radio gig, and then this Podcasting thing came along and viola! We have a
segment called Storytime where we record an essay, read by the author which
sort of sets the tone for the show. If any Redbird writers think that they may
want to submit a piece they can email me at
mmiskimen@wi.rr.com"
There you go.
Chris Roerden's 10th book of nonfiction, "Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24
Fiction-Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Turning Up D.O.A."
is now available from the publisher: sales@bellarosabooks.com
Soulstice Theatre Company announced the receipt of an Einhorn Family Foundation
Grant for the start up of STArS (Soulstice Theatre Arts School) for children
during the summer of 2006. Call Char Manny at 431-3187 or visit the Soulstice
website:www.soulsticetheatre.org
for a list of classes.
John Wallace won first place in the Shepherd Express-Schwartz Bookshops short
story competition. The prize is a $200 gift certificate to Harry Schwartz
Bookshops, publication in the Shepherd Express and a public reading at Schwartz
on Downer, April 27. He workshopped the story, "Teddy," in the
Wednesday evening roundtable group.
Jason Waltz is switching to online publication of the newsletter, "The
Custer-Hawk Gazette." You can
access the current issue through the web site www.operation-wwii-remembered.com
Doreen Zeller's book, "Chance Encounter With A Dandylion" is being
shown in a spring table display at the Boerner Botanical Gardens gift shop,
9400 Boerner Drive, St., Hales Corners, WI. 53130, 414-525-5600. (Go there. Buy
one.)
6. OTHER PLACES-OTHER FACES
Alverno College -- Telesis Institute -- 21st Annual Great Lakes
Writers Workshop
June 23-24. email nancy.krase@alverno.edu
Broad Vocabulary, 2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee 53207, 414-744-8384
Offers workshops and special programs in the bookstore, www.broadvocabulary.com
The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI (Door County)
Full catalog of opportunities: www.theclearing.org
"Women's Writing Retreat" led by Judy Bridges, Sept
10-16
Council for Wisconsin Writers Annual Awards Banquet
Saturday, May 6, 11 am at the Wisconsin Club, Milwaukee. Open to
the public. See registration form at www.wisconsinwriters.org
This year, CWW is awarding $7,000 in cash prizes to Wisconsin
writers -- one for lifetime work, one for support of fellow writers, the rest
for work published in 2005. Awards to: Bruce Taylor, Richard Roe, Dean
Bakopoulos, C.J. Hribal, Margaret Benbow, Mark Galanter, Karen J. Coates, John
Gurda, Jerry Apps, Jim Hazard, Kurt Chandler, Tom Davis, Katherine D. Rill,
Alison Townsend, Susan Elbe, Susan Firer, Robin Chapman, Karl Elder, Dale
Ritterbusch, Danielle Dresden, Betty Diamond, Sheila Cohen and Mary Beth
Lorbiecki.
University of Wisconsin, Madison, sponsors:
Write-by-the-Lake Retreat, June 19-23
The Writers' Institute conference, July 13-14, 2006
School of the Arts at Rhinelander, July 24-28, 2006
Contact Christine DeSmet, cdesmet@cds.wisc.edu
Or, www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/writing
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- Fourth Annual Spring
Writers Festival
April 28-30. (www.sce-arts.uwm.edu click on Programs, then Spring Writers
Festival)
Weekend conference includes presentations by A. Manette Ansay,
Jerry Apps, Martha Bergland, Judy Bridges, Liam Callanan, Kurt Chandler, Sharon
Miller Cindrich, Traci Clark, Katie Dublinski, Chris Fischbach, Jeffrey N.
Gingold, Kelly James-Enger, Maurice Kilwein Guevara, C.J. Hribal, Stewart David
Ikeda, Ron Kovach, Alec Yoshio MacDonald, Joanna MacKenzie, Jeff Muendel, Eva
Augustin Rumpf, Mary-Jeane Smoller-Phillips, Marilyn Taylor, Carolyn Kott
Washburne and Yolanda White.
Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP)
Opportunities for poets include Spring Conference and Museletter www.wfop.org
Wisconsin Regional Writers Assn. (WRWA) Spring Conference
Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, Appleton, May 6. (wrwa.net)www.wrwa.net
Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee
Workshops and special events: www.woodlandpattern.org
WriterÕs Ink, a support group for local writers, meets at the Cudahy location
on the first and third Mondays of the month. Some meetings feature speakers and special programs while
others are devoted to manuscript critique and discussion of marketing and
publication. For more information,
call 414-425-4066.
7. HOW TO HELP, CONTACT US, REPORT
NEWS or GET OFF THE LIST
TO HELP: Distribute flyers.
Tell people about Redbird. Contribute to the Young Author Scholarship Fund.
May we suggest:
-- A gift to the Young Author Scholarship
Fund in your name, or as a tribute to someone special.
-- A Redbird gift certificate for your
favorite writer (for full or partial registration.)
-- Books by Redbird Writers and Friends. See
the list on our website.
-- Books, period. First choice is to
purchase from your local Independent bookstore.
-- If you are purchasing books from Amazon,
you can help Redbird by ordering through our site.
-- Purchase "Redbird Writers" tee
shirts for your writer-friends. $12 plus postage.