June 2022
“That's all we have, finally, the words, and they had better be the right ones.”
—Raymond Carver
Dear Friends,
We come to you with words about our doings! But first, we’re introducing our Department of Congratulations!
Congratulations Shawna Kay Rodenberg for her Saroyan Prize Shortlist honor! A magical high-five to Erica Plouffe Lazure on the review of her book in the New York Times. And the greenest honor goes to Cheryl Pappas who received a $5,000 fellowship award from the Mass Cultural Council as a finalist in fiction.
Here’s the video recording of June Gervais and Shawna Kay Rodenberg in conversation in case you missed the event earlier this month. And you can watch Erica in conversation with Jill McCorkle here. You can watch Cheryl in conversation with Doris W. Cheng here.
Send us your news at Birch Bark Editing. We take joy in spreading the word about your dazzling successes!
May was a jam-packed month for us as we worked with writers on their memoirs and novels, held a fabulous Mix & Meet gathering, and hosted June Gervais and Shawna Kay Rodenberg in conversation about tattooing and Eastern Kentucky, all chronicled with writing merriment.
June 7: Our next BBE InConversation is with James Tate Hill and M.C. Armstrong. JT will be reading from his nonfiction memoir, Blind Man’s Bluff and Matt will be reading from his memoir The Mysteries of Haditha. Together they will examine the art of memoir and storytelling.
The magic of Mix & Meet continues with incredibly productive writing. Prompts and prose! An added bonus: work by Mix & Meet writers is automatically submitted to MicroLit Almanac! Join us Thursday, June 16 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
You’ll find new material on our website, especially MicroLIt Almanac. We publish flash work on a regular basis. We invite you to read new work by Erika Nichols-Frazer and Judith Baumel, and a poem read in English and Polish by Danuta Hinc!
Summer is just about here, and we wish you warm writing days under sunny skies.
Cat & Max
Upcoming Events!
August InConversation with Erin Flanagan and Josh Dolezal
September InConversation with Judith Baumel and Rachel Hadas