West Virginia Writers Podcast

The West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 27 is now online featuring an interview with 2009 WV Writers Summer Conference success story Sheila "S.G." Redling. Sheila is a morning radio show cohost at WKEE in Huntington and the author of a book called Storyteller that is currently making the rounds of publishers via her literary agent. The details of how she came to be in this position are illuminated in this podcast. (We'll give you a hint: it has something to do with the 2009 WV Writers Summer Conference, not to mention a healthy dose of talent.)

Part 2 of the West Virginia Writers ConferenceCast 2010 (a.k.a. Episode 26) is now online. In it we reveal the second 1/3 of the list of presenters for the 2010 Summer Conference. We'll also have information on the guest editors who will be there as well as on the pitch sessions and one on one critique sessions they are offering. We also run down important registration details and reveal the Saturday Entertainment for the Conference.

Now that we're a wee bit past the mid-way point for the 2010 WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, we thought it would be prudent to check in with our contest coordinator, Steve Goff, to find out how things are going and answer some more of your frequently asked questions, discuss the list of contest judges and reveal some of the categories in which your odds are better for winning this year.

Now that we're a wee bit past the mid-way point for the 2010 WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, we thought it would be prudent to check in with our contest coordinator, Steve Goff, to find out how things are going and answer some more of your frequently asked questions, discuss the list of contest judges and reveal some of the categories in which your odds are better for winning this year.

Our 8th bonus show is extry short, but is important if you're going to be in the Charleston area on February 13 and if you're interested in improving your writing. The Writer's Toolkit event will be taking place at the cultural center, featuring free writing workshops for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and nonfiction research. The event is brought to you by the WV Division of Culture and History in collaboration with the WV Library Commission. You can find specific details about it at our BLOG, but get an overview by listening to the bonus show. Plus you get to hear the host of the show play his brand new cigar box guitar and the cohosts of the show supply their critique.

Our 7th bonus show is an extry-long entry into our Recorded Live Reading series. (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Ahhhh, mind your Ps and Qs, Mack.") This live reading was recorded at a poetry reading given by Salvatore Buttaci at the Princeton Public Library on December 3, 2009. Sal is the author of A Dusting of Star Fall: Love Poems, Boy on a Swing and Other Poems, Sun Sparks The Day and Sal Buttaci's Greatest Hits 1970 - 2000 published in the Pudding House books Greatest Hits series. He is also the author of Painless Poetry, which is a workshop for educators teaching poetry appreciation and creative writing. His most recent book is called A Family of Sicilians: Stories and Poems.

"It’s with a heavy heart that I write to you today, for we have lost a great friend and performer, Keith Pitzer. Keith passed on this morning after a courageous fight with cancer. His wife Joan, and his four grown sons mourn the loss of their loved one, as do I, Bobbi, and anyone who knew Keith." -- Pops Walker This is the opening paragraph from a letter written by Keith's friend and our podcast composer, Pops Walker. Written on December 22, the day Keith passed, it is how many of us first learned the news. Keith was not only a friend of this podcast, but he was a friend of our organization as well. I thought for today’s special double-sized podcast it would be nice to speak with Pops in tribute to Keith. I wanted to get Pops' perspective on Keith the man and hear about his tireless work with Friends of the Cheat, and also hear of his skill as a musician. We'll also hear some of the outtakes from my interview with him last June, including some of the amazing music he made alongside his wife Joan. DOWNLOAD (Right click and Save Link Target As) West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 24 http://www.wvwriters.org/podcast/WVWPodcast-Ep24-01-15-10.mp3

Part 2 of our gargantu-sized two-part episode called THE CONTESTCAST, serving as a primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, which began accepting entries mere days ago. Joining us for the podcast are WV Writers President Terry McNemar and Adult Contest Coordinator Steve Goff.

For our first new episode of 2010, we're doing a gargantu-sized two-part episode called THE CONTESTCAST. That's right, this is your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, which began accepting entries mere days ago. Joining us for the podcast are WV Writers President Terry McNemar and Adult Contest Coordinator Steve Goff.

This week we're rebroadcasting Episode 9 of the podcast in honor of the recent passing of musician Keith Pitzer. We spoke with Keith last June in preparation for he and his wife Joan's appearance at the WV Writers Summer Conference. Unfortunately, Keith and Joan were unable to make it because of a sudden turn in Keith's health, caused by the cancer that eventually took him. He died December 22, 2009. The WV Writers Podcast will soon have a brand new episode dedicated Keith Pitzer, celebrating his life as both a performer and an amazing human being.

Our 6th WVW Podcast Bonus Show features a recorded live reading from Lee Maynard's appearance at the WV Book Festival, in October. Mr. Maynard reads the first chapter of his new novel-in-memoir-form The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press. Be sure to check out Episodes 21 and 22 for our podcast of the conversation between Lee and Cat Pleska.

Episode 22 of the West Virginia Writers Podcast continues with Part 2 of the conversation between WV Writers 1st Vice President Cat Pleska and Lee Maynard. Lee is best known as the author of the book Crum, and its followup Screaming with the Cannibals. He has a new novel-in-memoir-form called The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press. This week some of the topics covered include the truth layered in a fictional memoir; the true threat of retirement; fictional violence in service to story; influences; and the answer to the question "What two things do you know for sure?"

Episode 21 of the West Virginia Writers Podcast features a conversation between WV Writers 1st Vice President Cat Pleska and Lee Maynard, author of the book Crum, its followup Screaming with the Cannibals and his new novel-in-memoir-form The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press. As those of you who've attended Lee's workshops at previous WV Writers Summer Conferences well know, he's an extremely talented writer who specializes in gut-level writing. This week's part of the conversation explores some of that as well as his writing discipline, his philosophy on truth in memoir vs. storytelling and his feelings about West Virginia.

Our 5th WVW Podcast Bonus Show features a recorded live reading from the October Literary Tea series at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. The reader in question is Tim Armentrout, WV Writers Region 3 Representative. Tim reads from his book-length work in progress poem entitled Someone Screaming Out.

Episode 20 of the WVW Podcast in which we speak with poet Cheryl Denise, author of the collection I Saw God Dancing. We talk to Cheryl about her upbringing in Canada as well as the origins behind some of her poetry. And, of course, we hear her recite some of that poetry.