Rosemary Beach Spring Writers' Conference

The Rosemary Beach Writers Conference is on the agenda for next week (May 12-13) in beautiful Rosemary Beach, Florida in the Panhandle. I am looking forward to meeting new friends and colleagues, as my Sweetheart and I try to keep up with a 7 year-old grandson who will be on his wheels (skate board and bike) with all the kids, swimming pools, and beach-side fun. I hope you can join us if you are in the vicinity or visiting in the lovely 30A area.

Here are some of the specifics:

Join us for Evening Readings and Receptions
Open to the public
ROSEMARY BEACH SPRING WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
May 12 & 13, 2011
www.conferenceforwriters.com

A popular feature of the Rosemary Beach Writers’ Conference continues this year with a series of public evening receptions and readings. Donations to the Rosemary Beach Foundation and its charitable endeavors are encouraged.

Featured faculty will read excerpts from their published poetry, fiction and short stories during the evening presentations in the Rosemary Beach Town Hall. Open to the public.

Thursday, May 12, 2011, 4:15 – 5:30 pm
Reception and Book signing at the newly opened Hidden Lantern Bookstore and Gallery, Rosemary Beach (84 N. Barrett Square) Cash bar provided by Amavida.

Thursday, May 12, 2011, 5:45 – 7:00 pm
Readings by poet and short story writer, Cindy Chinelly; novelist, William Cobb; and short fiction author, Laura Lee Smith. Rosemary Beach Town Hall

CINDY CHINELLY is a poet and short story writer, the author of the chapbook The Coralroot (Livingston University Press). She teaches creative writing at Florida International University and is co-editor of the anthology, Having a Wonderful Time: An Anthology of South Florida Writers.

WILLIAM COBB is the author of seven novels, the latest of which is The Last Queen of the Gypsies (Newsouth). His 1991 novel A Walk Through Fire (Morrow) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and his short story collection Somewhere In All This Green (Black Belt Press) was awarded the Alabama Library Association Fiction Book of the Year in 2000. He was the Harper Lee Award winner in 2007.

LAURA LEE SMITH short fiction was selected by guest editor Amy Hempel for inclusion in New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best, 2010. Her work has also appeared in The Florida Review, Natural Bridge, Bayou and other journals, and it received the Snake Nation Press prize for short fiction. She teaches creative writing at Flagler College and works as an advertising copywriter.

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Friday, May 13, 2011, 4:30 – 5:30 pm
Reception at Tommy Crow Gallery. Cash bar by Cowgirl Kitchen, Rosemary Beach (38 Main Street)

Friday, May 13, 2011, 5:45 – 7:00 pm
Readings by poet and short story author, Lynne Barrett and novelists, John Dufresne and Michael Lister. Rosemary Beach Town Hall

LYNNE BARRETT is the author of The Secret Names of Women and (forthcoming) Magpies, and co-edited Birth: A Literary Companion. She has received the Edgar Award for best mystery story and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. She teaches at Florida International University and edits The Florida Book Review.

JOHN DUFRESNE is the author of several novels [Louisiana Power & Light, Love Warps the Mind a Little, Deep in the Shade of Paradise, and Requiem Mass]. He has also written two collections of stories [The Way That Water Enters Stone and Johnny Too Bad] and two guides to writing fiction [The Lie That Tells a Truth and Is Life Like This?] He teaches creative writing at Florida International University in Miami.

MICHAEL LISTER, an award-winning novelist, grew up in North Florida near the Apalachicola River where most of his books are set. Lister became the youngest chaplain within the Florida Department of Corrections—a unique experience that led to his critically acclaimed mystery series featuring prison chaplain John Jordan (Power in the Blood, Blood of the Lam, Flesh and Blood, The Body and the Blood and the forthcoming Blood Sacrifice). His literary thriller, Double Exposure, won a Florida Book Award and is currently being turned into a feature film. Lister writes a popular weekly column on art and life titled Of Font and Film which includes reviews of film and fiction.

Hope to see you there! -CYM