SAVE THE DATE for 2012! WordFest 2012 is April 20 and 21! 

For questions about WordFest, contact carla_barber@sbcglobal.net, subject line: WordFest, or call 620 241 8464.

SCROLL DOWN FOR SCHEDULE , SESSIONS, and PRESENTER INFO

ABOUT WORDFEST:

WordFest 2011, April 8th & 9th:

MacWriters, a McPherson area writing group, and McPherson Museum & Arts Foundation invite you to join us for a weekend getaway to listen, learn, and share about the writing in your life.

Enjoy sessions from writing instructors and published authors, including former Kansas Poet Laureate, Denise Low-Weso; Pushcart Prize nominee, Bill Sheldon; Coe College Writing Center director Bob Marrs; and our keynote speaker, multi-published children’s author, Phyllis Root. Not to mention two PBS-quality films about William Stafford.

Take time to soak in the inspirational beauty of this charming city’s parks and architecture. We begin and end the conference in a 1920s home turned Museum, a destination sure to whet your creativity. On Saturday, all sessions and meals will be held in the beautifully restored 1800s opera house, with time available to see other’s books and information, as well as share your own.

Nourish your body as well as your creativity with delicious catered meals from some of our excellent local culinary masters.

Seating is limited. Reserve your space now!

SCHEDULE:

Friday, April 8th
6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
At the McPherson Museum
Registration, hors d’oeuvres, networking,
wander the museum.
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.: Open Mike - come prepared!

Saturday, April 9th
At the McPherson Opera House
7:30 to 3:00 p.m.: Registration
8:00 to 9:30: Breakfast and keynote address by
Phyllis Root
9:30 to 10:30: General Session
10:30 to 10:45: Break
10:45 to 11:45: Choice of Sessions
Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Lunch and film:
Every War Has Two Losers
1:45 to 2:45: Choice of Sessions
2:45 to 3:00: Break
3:00 to 4:00: Choice of Sessions
4:00 to 4:15: Break & head for the Museum
At the McPherson Museum
4:15 to 5:00: Open Mike & Wrap Up

Please Note: If you sent a writing sample to Bob Marrs for critique, please check at the registration table for your one-on-one conference time.

Session Descriptions:

Ongoing Session: one-on-one critiques with Dr. Robert Marrs
will be scheduled throughout the day.


9:30 to 10:30: General Session


1A: In opera house theatre: Film: William Stafford and Robert Bly: A Literary Friendship (58 minutes)

A lively and engaging exchange between two gifted poets as they explore and share their insights on the craft of writing, the art of teaching, poetry and much more.

Introduction by the film’s creator, Haydn Reiss.

10:30 to 10:45: Break

10:45 to 11:45: Three sessions available

2A: In opera house theatre: Discussion on the film shown at session 1A

No poet has contributed more to the Kansas voice than William Stafford. In form and subject he left us an authentic poetry offering the simply crafted deep insights of a profound mind. Time for sharing thoughts about Stafford and his impact upon Kansas writers.

Panel: Moderator and former Kansas Poet Laureate Denise Low Weso; film maker Haydn Reiss; Stafford experts Steven Hind and William Sheldon.

2B: In Rose Morris Room: A Few Good Words

 
A brief guide to writing for children with a look at form, language, and emotional resonance.

Presenter: Phyllis Root

2C: In NCRA Room: How it is Really Possible to Write a Good Novel Even if You have no Idea How to Begin, plus a freebie, Blogging a Novel

This session will explain how to approach writing a novel using scenes.  This is an introduction that can get you started on producing that novel you always wanted to write, plus a secret about how to focus the storyline, plot, and theme.  In addition, consider the option of blogging an entire novel. Here’s how to get started. 

Presenter: Lionel Alford, Jr. 

Noon - 1:45: General Session & Lunch

3A: In Ballroom: Film: Every War Has Two Losers (32 minutes)

Film shown during lunch, after which there will be time available for discussion.
Introduction by the film’s creator, Haydn Reiss. Discussion led by Denise Low Weso.


PLEASE NOTE: Attendees need not purchase a lunch in order to see the film; however, food is not allowed to be brought in from elsewhere.

1:45 to 2:45: Three sessions available

 
4A: In NCRA Room: The All-Stafford, All-The-Time-Channel: The Call-In Show (Metaphorically)

Discussion on the life, works, and impact of poet William Stafford. Time for sharing your thoughts about Stafford and his impact upon your reading, writing, and insights.

Panel: Moderator Denise Low Weso; film maker Haydn Reiss; Stafford experts Steven Hind and William Sheldon.

4B: In Rose Morris Room: How To Create (or Improve) a Writers’ Group, #1

Round table discussion on what it takes to form and sustain a viable writers’ group: what are your goals? What constitutes a successful collective? How do you find the group that’s write (that is, right) for you? Q&A time.

Panel: Betty Stanley: longtime creative writing teacher, Betty leads a senior citizens’ creative writing group, focusing on the memoir; Lionel Alford, Jr.: though a member of the Kansas Writer’s Association, this author is not part of a classical support group, but is part of a writers’ support group through his publisher. He’ll be offering ideas on how to find that network of support through the Internet and professional collaboration; Jay Bremyer and John Eberly: authors who have been sharing in a spontaneous writers' exchange between themselves, running for several years. They’ll discuss spontaneous writing or writing as community; Bob Marrs: as director of Coe College Writing Center, Bob is an expert on peer review, and will provide more on this in the follow-up session; Carla Barber: author and co-chair of MacWriters Group and WordFest, Carla will discuss the power of the writing community - - even a small one - - to effect change and create public culture.

4C: At The Bookshelf, 206 North Main Street (3 blocks straight north):
Bookstores Are From Mars; Writers Are From Venus

Today, publishers expect authors to self-promote. Whether you’re with a well established publishing house or self-published, learn how to introduce yourself to a bookstore. What should you expect from them? What will they expect from you?

Presenters: Store owner Linda Rounds will provide the bookseller’s point of view; author Judith Robl will share her experiences working with bookstores.

2:45 to 3:00: Break


3:00 to 4:00: Three sessions available

5A: In NCRA Room: “Who Am I Today?”: Writing the Memoir

The Romans called the actor’s mask the “persona,” from which we get “personality”: the self we present to the world. One key to a successful memoir is the persona of the writer, and in each phase or aspect of your life your voice - - your persona - - will be different. Which of your many selves should you invite to speak for you?

Presenter: Kim Stanley

5B: In Rose Morris Room: How To Create (or Improve) a Writers’ Group, #2 - "Writing Community as Ant Colony: The Role of Conversation & Collaboration." 

In this session, the focus will be on how to create a community of writers, fostering an environment in which individuals support each others’ work. 

Presenter: Bob Marrs

5C: In Ballroom: Q&A on Writing for Children

An open discussion of writing for children--bring your questions, your thoughts, your ideas. Your golden opportunity to pick Phyllis’s brain.

Facilitator: Phyllis Root

Ongoing Session: Writing Critiques

Dr. Robert Marrs (see biography, page 12) has offered to read and critique manuscripts sent to him by March 30. While he primarily works with creative nonfiction genres - - personal essays or narratives, memoir, nature writing, travel literature, opinion essays - - he is willing to read and talk with writers about all types of texts, as an educated reader. Maximum length of 20 pages double-spaced prose; poetry can be single-spaced.  Send your digital manuscripts to rmarrs@coe.edu or mail to: Bob Marrs, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
Please check the registration table for your one-on-one critique time.

Meal Fees

See registration form.

We're sorry, but after April 2 we will be unable to sell tickets for meals-only.
No one is allowed into the ballroom without full or single-session registration.
No one is allowed to bring food into the ballroom.
For meal options within walking distance, please contact the McPherson Convention and Visitors’ Bureau at 620 241 3340 or www.mcphersonks.org.

Single Sessions

 
For those wishing to register to attend a single session only, the cost is $15 per session, or $10 for students, senior citizens, or Museum members (must show ID or membership card). Need not pre-register for single sessions, but space is limited.

Display Space

We offer free table space for any full-conference, paid registered attendee to display info about your writers’ group, publications or other related topics of interest to the attendees. Please indicate your space needs with your registration.
Please Note: Displays are intended to promote writing, writers, and their written products. WordFest reserves the right to disallow individual displays. If you are uncertain about the acceptability of your display, please call or e-mail Carla Barber (see top of page).

Conference Hotel

Best Western Holiday Manor has reserved a block of rooms providing newly renovated, beautiful spaces to relax at the crazy-low discounted price of $62.99 plus tax per night. To check them out, go to www.bestwestern.com/holidaymanor or call 888 841 0038 or 620 241-5343 to make reservations (be sure to mention the group rate for WordFest). Most rooms are non-smoking. All rooms offer free high-speed Internet.
Hurry! This rate expires on 3/25/2011!
For a complete list of McPherson hotels, contact the McPherson Convention and Visitors’ Bureau at 620.241.3340, or go to www.mcphersonks.org.

Travel Directions

To reach the Museum from North or South: Take exit 60 from I-135. Stay on Kansas Ave. to Maxwell; turn north 1 block. Turn west (left) on Euclid. Museum is on the left, 1130.
From East or West: Hwy 56 becomes Kansas Ave. in McPherson. Follow it to Maxwell St., as above.
If coming to Opera House only: follow Kansas Ave. to Main; turn S. 2 blocks, on left corner, 219.
Conference Hotel is also on Kansas Ave., just west and north of I-135, exit 60.


ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Breakfast Keynote Address

Phyllis Root:  The Poetry of Picture Books

The poetry of picture books: where language and heart connect. Phyllis will share some thoughts gleaned from thirty years of writing for children.

Phyllis Root was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Valentine's Day, 1949, and grew up among green grass, gardens, trees, open fields, and books, books, books. Her father said he remembered Phyllis reading in her high chair. She used to make up stories in bed at night when she couldn't sleep and her parents had caught her with her book and flashlight. Of course, she was the heroine in all those stories. Her cousins loved the ghost stories she would tell them. By fifth grade she knew she wanted to be a writer, but didn’t start writing books until she was thirty, when she took a class that taught all those tools of writing she had never encountered before: tools like character, setting, plot, tension, dialogue, and so on. Phyllis has been writing for thirty years and still loves messing around with stories. In those years, Phyllis has published forty-five books, starting with Moon Tiger in 1985. In 1997 Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble, an original tale about a female trickster, won the Minnesota Picture Book text award. What Baby Wants was cited as a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year in 1998. Big Momma Makes the World won the 2003 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for picture books. Lucia and the Light won the 2006 McKnight Award. Her most recent books include Creak! Said the Bed (picture book fiction), Big Belching Bog (picture book non-fiction), and Lilly and the Pirates (middle-grade novel). Phyllis is currently teaching in the low-residency MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program of Hamline University, and currently is one of the bloggers on thestorytellersinkpot. She and her two cats live in Minneapolis with numerous butterflies in season, amid prairie plants, trees, lakes, and books, books, books. In her spare time she loves canoeing, sailing, gardening, and of course reading.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

Haydn Reiss has been producing documentaries for nearly 20 years, beginning with "William Stafford & Robert Bly: A Literary Friendship" in 1994. His award-winning film, "Rumi: Poet of the Heart" has aired nationally on PBS and screened in festivals around the world. Clients include organizations working on the front lines of education, the environment, culture, human rights, politics and health, including PBS, Pacifica Network, The Learning Channel, Civic Ventures, Omega Boy’s Club, Mosaic Multi-Cultural Foundation, The Shanti Project, The Buck Institute for Age Research, Marin Education Fund, Marin Women’s Center and many others. Reiss was assistant to producer, Alex Ho on the feature, 'JFK', directed by Oliver Stone, and worked for director Adrian Lyne on the feature ‘Jacob’s Ladder’.

Robert Marrs is the Esther and Robert Armstrong Professor of Rhetoric, and Director of the Writing Center at Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bob holds a B.A. in English, Kansas State U., M.A. in English, Washington State U., and a Ph.D. in American Studies, Washington State U. Among other topics, Bob annually teaches Memory and Memoir, The Essay, and Environmental Rhetoric. His Nature Writing course at Coe’s Wilderness Field Station is based on daily canoe trips near the Field Station and into the Boundary Waters, and his Writers Colony class involves 25-day expeditions to such places as New Zealand, Inner Mongolia, and the Lake District in England. Bob’s unique course experiences include working for 3 weeks with the 4 national universities in Syria, teaching a theatre course in London for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, spending 3 weeks living in farm houses and cottages in the Lake District, doing a 3 week road trip on Route 66, teaching a course on baseball that required seeing 21 major league games in 21 days in 9 different ball parks, and amazing trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area with his Nature Writing classes.
Bob enjoys reading, gardening, reading, watching Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central, reading, preparing for trips, reading, traveling with his wife, and reading while traveling.

Denise Low, Ph.D., is the 2007-2009 Kansas Poet Laureate, and her blog http://deniselow.blogspot.com posts Kansas electronic broadsides. Her book about writing poetry in the Midwest grasslands, Words of a Prairie Alchemist (Ice Cube Press 2006) is a Kansas Notable Book. Among her ten books of poetry are Thailand Journal: Poems, a Kansas City Star notable book (Woodley 2003) and New & Selected Poems 1980-1999 (Penthe 2000).She has been visiting professor of creative writing at the University of Kansas, and University of Richmond. Her home institution is Haskell Indian Nations University, where she chairs the English Department. She and her husband Thomas Weso wrote a photo-biography, Langston Hughes in Lawrence: Photographs and Biographical Resources, with T.F. Weso (Lawrence: Mammoth Publications). Other writings appear in North American Re., Northwest Rev., Midwest Q., Kansas City Star, Bloomsbury Rev., Connecticut Rev., Studies in American Indian Literature, American Indian Q. and others. The Backwaters Press is publishing Natural Theologies: Essays about Literature of the New Middle West.
Other books by Denise: Poetry: Tulip Elegies: An Alchemy of Writing (Lawrence/Middletown CA: Penthe); Vanishing Point (Wichita/NYC: Mulberry); Selective Amnesia (in Stiletto I) (Lawrence/Denver: Howling Dog); Starwater (Lawrence: Cottonwood-KU); Learning the Language of Rivers (in Midwest Q.); Spring Geese and Other Poems (Lawrence: KU Natural History Museums); Quilting (fine-press edition); Dragon Kite (in Mid-America Trio) (Kansas City: BookMark-UMKC). Essays: 3 Voices: Prose, Paintng, & Video, with Paul Hotvedt and Josh Kendall (Lawrence: Blue Heron); Midwestern Heritage of Langston Hughes (Chestertown MD: Washington College); Words of a Prairie Alchemist (Iowa City: Ice Cube); Touching the Sky: Essays (Lawrence/Middletown CA: Penthe). Edited by Denise: Wakarusa Wetlands in Word and Image. (Lawrence: Lawrence Arts Center); Teaching Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, with Peter G. Beidler (LA: Am. Culture & Research Journal-UCLA); The Good Earth: Three Poets of the Prairie, with Robert Dana and Scott Cawelti (Iowa City: Ice Cube); Kansas Poems of William Stafford (Topeka, Woodley); Confluence: Contemporary Kansas Poets (Lawrence: Cottonwood-KU); 30 Kansas Poets (Lawrence: Cottonwood-KU).

Bill Sheldon received a BS and MA from Emporia State University and an MFA from Wichita State University. He lives in Hutchinson, Kansas where he has taught writing and literature for the past 17 years. His poetry and prose have appeared widely in small press publications, including Columbia, Midwest Quarterly, New Letters, and Prairie Schooner. He received a mini-fellowship in poetry from the Kansas Arts Commission and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His full-length collection of poetry, Retrieving Old Bones was a Kansas City Star Notable Book for 2002 and was listed as one of the Plains Humanities Alliances’ “Great Books of the Great Plains.” Recently, Oil Hill Press brought out a chapbook, Into Distant Grass.

Steven Hind, born and raised on the eastern edge of the Kansas Flint Hills, attended Emporia State U. and received his MA from the University of KS in 1970. He retired from a 36 year teaching career ending at the English Dept. at Hutchinson Community College. He has been referred to as "the most Kansas Kansas poet I've ever heard.” (Robert Stein, English Dept. Chair, Washburn U.) First published in the Kansas Quarterly magazine, he is the author of four published books of poetry: familiar ground, Cottonwood Review Press, 1980; That Trick of Silence, Washburn University Center for Kansas Studies, 1990; In A Place With No Map, CKS/Woodley Press, 1997; and The Loose Change of Wonder, CKS/Woodley Press, 2006, a 2007 Kansas Notable Book.

Kim Stanley is the chair of the Department of Modern Languages at McPherson College, where she teaches poetry, British Literature, and advanced expository writing. She received her MA in Liberal Arts from St. Johns College at Santa Fe and her Ph.D. in English from the U. of Texas. She has won the Dean’s Teaching Award at the U. of Texas, the Professor of the Year Award (twice) at McPherson, and the Public Scholar Award from Kansas Humanities Council. She has served KHC in the TALK program, Stories at Work, PrimeTime Family Reading Time, and Read to Me (at Hutchinson Correctional Institution), and is currently a member of the KS Humanities Council board.

Lionel Alford, Jr. is the author of 3 historical fiction novels, Centurion (2008), Aegypt (2008), and The Second Mission (2003), and 3-volume sci-fi series, The End of Honor, The Fox's Honor, and A Season of Honor (2008). Widely traveled, Lionel is familiar with technology and cultures: he earned a BS in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Boston U., a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the U. of Dayton, and is a graduate of Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the USAF Test Pilot School. His writing explores connections between present events and history, combining them with threads of reality to bring the past alive. 

John Eberly, born in Texas in 1954, is the author of Al-Kimia: The Mystical Islamic Essence of the Sacred Art of Alchemy and Love is the Mirror: Symbolism in Sufi Poetry, as well as articles, essays, poems, bibliographies, and indexes. His artwork has appeared in exhibits and publications around the world, including paintings used for two book covers for Sophia Perennis (his own Al-Kimia and Luc Benoist's The Esoteric Path). As a professional musician and songwriter, John has released three solo CDs, Imagination (2004) on the Top Tone Records label, Retox (2006), and Beautiful Dream (2008). John resides in Kansas with his wife Katherine and three children.

Jay Bremyer is a novelist, essayist and poet. He is the author of The Dance of Created Lights: A Sufi Tale, The Chymical Cook: A True Account of Mystical Initiation and Walled-In, Soul in Nature, a synthesis of Thoreaus's Walden and the Bhagavad Gita. Jay lives on the Kansas prairie with his wife. Together with a planetary network of friends, they celebrate diversity and the emergence of the ability to think with one's heart.

Judith Robl, writer, editor, mentor and coach, is the author of the newly-released Harvest House book, As Grandma Says, a 48-page devotional gift book. Judith’s grandmother’s adages were the springboard for this effort. Each devotion begins with her adage, followed by a practical application, relevant scripture, and short prayer. Judith and her husband live in Lyons, KS, where she writes several blogs: As Grandma Says; Ephemera Captured; and Garment of Praise.

Betty J. Stanley has a 43-year history as a teacher of journalism, English, and creative writing at the high school and college levels. She was Teacher of the Year at South Plains College. As a journalism teacher, she won multiple state and national awards for layout and design in both newspaper and yearbook. She has published two creative writing magazines. Now retired, she manages the library at The Cedars, a senior living facility, and conducts a creative writing group. She has two degrees in journalism. 

Carla Barber, director of the McPherson Museum, is an author and poet born on the KS High Plains; she received her BA and MA in English from Fort Hays State U. She finished in the top 1% of contestants in a Redbook Young Writers’ contest in 1982; authored the novella-length biography, A Man for Cattle Country (1995); has served as editor for countless books and theses; and is shopping a fantasy fiction novel to agents at present. She’s currently working on a fantasy fiction novel, a chapbook of letters to men, and a book, with husband, Jerry, about living with her genius/inventor father who has Alzheimer’s. In her copious spare time, she hosts a writers’ support group and co-chairs WordFest.

Linda Rounds has owned The Bookshelf, a McPherson downtown staple, for 31 years. An avid reader, Linda enjoys encouraging authors by hosting regular book signings. In recent years, Linda opened The Hidden Closet, an upscale clothing consignment store. In her free time, Linda sometimes flies her airplane or works on her vast Victorian home, but always finds time for husband, Kelly, and her 3 dogs, 2 of whom are needy Chihuahuas. Pictured with Linda is Wink, her doggy nephew and author (yes, he has his own book). 



 Early-Bird Registration

Register by March 25 and save $15.

Registration Fee:

$75.00 if postmarked on/before March 25th
$90.00 for registration received later

All cancellations must be received by 3/25 for refund.

To register by credit card, call 620 241-8464 and tell them you wish to register for WordFest.

To register by mail, send check to:

McPherson Museum, WordFest

1130 East Euclid

McPherson, KS 67460

Save the date! Next year’s WordFest will be April 20 & 21, 2012.
Keynote Speaker will be Karen Stolz, author of World of Pies and Fanny and Sue.