Starting April 16, the Rocky Hill Public Library will host a weekly workshop offered by the Company of Writers. The group will be limited to ten participants and meet from 6.30 to 8.00 PM. Each session will be led by one of our faculty and offer supportive discussion of participant work and insights into modern publishing. Watch this space for details!
We are delighted to announce that warrior-bard Clifford Brooks III, old-school poet, man of letters, and Southern gentleman, has joined our merry band of pranksters. Herewith his bio:
Clifford Brooks was born in Athens, Georgia. His first poetry collection, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, nominated for the 2013 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Poetry as well as a Pulitzer, will be re-issued by Kudzu Leaf Press in 2018.
His full-length collection Athena Departs: Gospel of a Man Apart as well as his limited-edition poetry chapbook Exiles of Eden were published in 2017, also by Kudzu Leaf Press.
Clifford is the founder of The Southern Collective Experience, a cooperative of writers, musicians and visual artists, which publishes the journal The Blue Mountain Review and hosts the radio show Dante’s Old South. He currently lives in northwest Georgia.
Congratulations to Blanche McCrary Boyd on the huge success of her first novel in twenty years! She was at work on it when she joined us in Brooklyn a few years ago. From these reviews, it was obviously worth the wait.
“Tomb of the Unknown Racist is a thrilling novel set in the shadow of the Oklahoma City bombing, the subculture of white supremacy, and deep state government. A family drama set against political and racial struggle, it is a tour de force end to a trilogy by a stunning writer whose work has offered a resonant survey of politics and activism across the American experience.” AMAZON, designating it a Book of the Month
“In this suspenseful novel, the last in a trilogy, Boyd gives a chilling portrait of the white terrorist network in the US during the time of Timothy McVeigh, convicted of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Ellen Burns is watching TV with her mother in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1999 when she recognises her niece Ruby’s face in a news flash. Ruby’s two children have been kidnapped in New Mexico. Ellen’s brother Royce left Ruby and her Vietnamese mother in the early 1980s, when he disappeared into the white supremacist underground. He was killed in an FBI shootout in 1984. Ellen, who has her own radical past, risks her sobriety – and her life – as her search for Ruby’s children leads to unsettling revelations about her country, her family and herself.” BBC Book of the Month review.
The polymaths at Stuff to Blow Your Mind have released their summer 2018 reading list--and two of the twelve books were written by director Terence Hawkins. For those unacquainted, Stuff to Blow Your Mind is the science podcast of the How Stuff Works network. It regularly presents thoroughly researched, incisive discussions of topics at the intersections of technology, science, and philosophy. In this episode they discuss the role of Julian Jaynes' theory of the bicameral mind in Hawkins' The Rage of Achilles and Neanderthal-human interaction in American Neolithic.
We're proud to announce that Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruins of Ymir by faculty stalwart John Crowley has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. JC is no stranger to the honor, having received it for Little, Big, as well as the Best Novella laurels for The Great Work of Time. Watch this space!
Congratulations to polymath and Company of Writers stalwart John Crowley on the recent publication of Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr. As anyone familiar with his work would expect, this latest combines a lyric imagination with encyclopedic knowledge.
And as though that weren't enough, Louis Bayard will soon publish Courting Mr. Lincoln, an historical novel about the Railsplitter's days as a young lawyer riding the circuit.
"One of the most rewarding workshops I have experienced. Terry has a knack for creating a rich environment for writers to come together, share ideas, help one another improve their manuscripts, and have a great time. Everything about the weekend was positive!"
--Bettylynn McIlvain, New Hope PA
“A wonderful weekend in the fantastic Dumbo neighborhood with (Super)fine food and finer company, studying and discussing both our own work and the legendary books and authors to which we aspire, including the very instructors in our sessions!
--Laura Boswell, Washington DC
The Company of Writers conference offered a singular opportunity to workshop with two successful novelists who are also great teachers. Not to be missed. Even the host is a novelist!
--Scott Woods, New Haven CT
I know the title sounds like a venue where a couple of guys would pass around a bottle of warm gin before curling up in their cardboard boxes, but Dumbo--like many New York nabes, like SoHo and TriBeCa, a realtors' acronym--is in fact one of the hottest and hippest areas in the City. This weekend, eight writers met in a Dumbo loft with novelists Louis Bayard, John Crowley, and Terence Hawkins.
Mary Ellen Connor Smith made the trek from Phoenix for a weekend in Brooklyn in January. Apparently she thought it worth while:
"With the Manhattan Bridge overpass traffic drumming above us, we gathered around a laden table at Superfine, a neighborhood bar and restaurant in Dumbo. What lay ahead of us was a week-end repast of writing nourishment: for starters, a seminar with Colum McCann on Saturday followed by the main course, a workshop of our current manuscripts on Sunday led by Blanche Boyd. McCann's teaching was fine and magnanimous, Boyd's workshop, keen and productive, but I most valued sharing the table in fellowship with other writers. I traveled from Arizona for the week-end and plan on doing it again anytime Terry Hawkins rings the dinner bell!"
This from New York lawyer Michael Weinstock:
I really enjoyed my weekend with the program. Blanch is an extraordinary writer and an even better workshop instructor. She took the time to thoroughly read my submission and provide me with exceptionally valuable feedback. Colum and Terry were both very helpful towards helping me understand the mechanics of the book industry and how to find the right agent. While the Internet is a great resource, there's no substitute for communicating with accomplished professionals in the industry ... and this program gave me that opportunity. And lastly, the location was absolutely remarkable. I don't know which is better, the beautiful cobblestone streets of DUMBO or the imagery of the Brooklyn Bridge at dusk. Both are exceptional.
January 16th through 17th saw a master class with Colum McCann followed by a workshop led by Blanche Boyd. The toaster oven for Most Miles Traveled goes to London's Gaylene Gould. Apparently Gaylene thought it was worth the trip, because she writes as follows:
"Thanks for an inspiring few days. The session really helped to get under the hood of my novel and I feel a much more competent writing mechanic as a result. The fact that it's two intense days means that I could fit this training easily into my life even with a 3000 mile flight !
"The structure was great - the mix of formal and informal gatherings, the great convivial space provided by Superfine Restaurant and Berls Poetry Shop and the level of writing mastery in the room from facilitators and participants."
