Applications Now Open for the 2016 Delaware Seashore Poetry & Prose Writers’ Retreat

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Cottages at Indian River MarinaThe Delaware Division of the Arts is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2016 Delaware Seashore Poetry and Prose Writers’ Retreat. The retreat will be held from November 3 – 6, 2016 at the Cottages at Indian River Marina, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and is open to Delaware residents over the age of 18, not enrolled in a degree or certificate granting educational program. The 2016 participation fee is $300, which includes room and board.

The retreat will allow writers the opportunity to write during the day, attend workshops in the evening, and have all meals provided. The workshops will be led by novelist, H.G. Carrillo, and poet, Diana Goetsch and are designed for participants to generate new work, explore craft, and learn from each other in a safe and supportive environment.

The application process is competitive, and participants will be selected based on the merit of their writing submissions. Work samples will be juried in an anonymous review process to select up to 22 attendees from the pool of applicants, split evenly between poetry and prose.

 

Important Dates: 
 
Monday, June 20
Applications due
Mid-August
Artists are notified
Monday, September 12
Payment due to Division of the Arts

 

Writers at all levels of experience are invited to apply. While newcomers will be given special consideration, previous attendees of the Cape Henlopen Writing Retreats are welcome to apply. In lieu of a Fellowship award for the 2016 Writers’ Retreat, one writer who is a first-time participant will be awarded a partial scholarship toward fees, based on the quality of the manuscript submitted. For more information about the retreat and how to apply, please visit our website.

 

Application Requirements:

Poetry WorkshopApplication form and up to 10 pages of poetry; no more than one poem per page

Fiction WorkshopApplication form and up to 10 pages of prose, double-spaced

 

Please note: applicants must select between poetry and prose and submit only one application. Email the application form and attach the following to the attention of Roxanne Stanulis, roxanne.stanulis@delaware.gov no later than 4:30 PM on Monday, June 20, 2016.


About the Workshop Leaders
Poet, Diana Goetsch is the author (as Douglas Goetsch) of three full-length collections of poems—most recently Nameless Boy (Orchises Press, 2015)—and four prizewinning chapbooks. Her poems have appeared in many leading journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker, Poetry, The Gettysburg Review, The Iowa Review, Best American Poetry and the Pushcart Prize anthology. She is also the author of Life in Transition, a series of 31 essays appearing from 2015-16 at The American Scholar online. Among her honors are fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Donald Murray Prize. She has been on faculty at dozens of writing programs and conferences, including, for the last 16 years, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. She resides in New York City, and her website is www.dianagoetsch.com.

Novelist, H. G. Carrillo is the author of Loosing My Espanish, a novel, published by Pantheon Books and in paperback by Anchor Books. His short stories have appeared in Kenyon Review, Conjunctions, The Iowa Review, Glimmer Train, Ninth Letter, Slice and other journals and publications. A member of the board of directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Carrillo lives in Washington, DC, where he is currently at work on a novel. His website is www.stuartbernstein.com/hgcarrillo.html.

About the Cottages at the Indian River Marina
Participants will share accommodations in 11 cottages (two writers per cottage) in the Cottages at the Indian River Marina. Each cottage has heat and air conditioning along with 2 private bedrooms (one with a queen bed and one with twin beds), a shared bathroom, a kitchen, and a furnished screened porch. The cottages are not equipped with internet, Wi-Fi, or phones. Attendees will need to bring linens, towels, and paper products. The Cottages at Indian River Marina are located at Inlet 838, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 19971.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit artsdel.org or call 302-577-8278.

Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

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Hannah Sturgis to Represent Delaware in Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest

Hannah Sturgis, 2016 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State ChampionHannah Sturgis, a junior from POLYTECH High School, is among the 53 Poetry Out Loud champions from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands who will participate in the National Finals of Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The finals will be held at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC on May 3-4, 2016 and can be viewed on the live, one-time only webcast at poetryoutloud.org/competition/national-finals.

Hannah, a student from Smyrna, Delaware, received an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the National Finals after advancing from high school and state-level competitions. For the National Finals, Hannah will recite three poems including Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath during the Region 1, Semifinals to be held on Tuesday, May 3 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

“I love poetry because I do not yet fully understand it. I discover something new from reciting, reading or listening to it every day. It is beautiful and difficult; it pushes me to become better at it,” says Hannah.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Information on Poetry Out Loud is available from the Delaware Division of the Arts at http://artsdel.org/poetryoutloud/ and http://www.poetryoutloud.org/.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit artsdel.org or call 302-577-8278.

Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

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