Career Development Grant
Career Development Grant
The Loft’s Wordsmith Conference: An appropriate "next step" in my work, since I plan to complete my memoir-in-essays by year's end: I’d meet with three literary agents or editors, have a consultation with an editor/agent, and attend a genre workshop.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Karen Savage-Blue: visual artist; Karen McManus: musician, administrator at Mesabi Symphony Orchestra; Sarah Waddle: program manager for the North House Folk School, arts educator; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Drew Digby (218) 722-0952
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
My goal is to attend The Loft’s Wordsmith conference in Minneapolis Nov. 1-3, 2019, with the aim of connecting with at least one receptive literary agent or editor, a necessary step toward my ultimate goal of eventual publication of my memoir-in-essays. Funding would enable me to pay the basic conference registration fee, as well as required fees to meet with three literary agents and hold a consultation with an agent or editor. I'd also use grant funds to pay for a pre-conference workshop with a visiting writer, if space is available. Wordsmith is a unique opportunity and a very appropriate “next step” in my work, since I plan to complete my essay collection by year’s end. Wordsmith would provide me with opportunities to learn about the publication process, to meet one-on-one with literary agents and editors, and to have my work critiqued by publishing professionals. Based on that feedback, I'd then revise my essays as needed and share my work in a local reading/presentation and on KAXE. Quantitative measures: I'll list the number of literary agents/editors with whom I make contact. I'll also include the number of agents/editors who ask me to forward a writing sample to them after my pitch. I will list the number of conference workshops, consultations, and presentations I attended. Following the Wordsmith conference, I’ll incorporate what I’ve learned as I revise my work. Then I’ll record some essay excerpts for “Stay Human Radio” (KAXE-FM) and give at least one reading/presentation; I'd provide tallies of the number of persons attending the presentation(s), as well as the number of excerpts broadcast. Qualitative measures: One measure will be my notes on comments the literary agents/editors make about my project, as well as written comments from the one-on-one consultation session. If any agents/editors request a sample of my work, I also may receive feedback via e-mail. My evaluation criteria for my work: a completed, polished ms. that is publishable; and essays that are of a high quality, emotionally and intellectually compelling, and written in a clear, yet lyrical, style. Ultimately, being signed with a literary agent and landing a publishing contract will be measures of success. However, the timeframe for those outcomes probably will extend past the due date for the grant report. For the presentation(s) I give, I will provide brief survey forms for audience member comments.
The grant enabled me to register for and attend The Loft's Wordsmith conference (Nov. 2-3) as a ?next step" in my work. With grant funding, I also was able to pay the fees to pitch my memoir-in-essays to three literary agents and to have a 1-on-1 editorial consultation with an editor from Penguin Books. I received a very positive critique from the editor about my 10-page writing sample, which she'd read in advance; she wants to read the full ms. Two of the three literary agents also were receptive, requesting that I send them my query letter and a work sample. (Both are from well-regarded NYC literary agencies: Wylie and Cheney.) I've responded to their requests but have not yet heard back from either of them, which is normal, given their workload (one can expect to wait for a reply 2-4 months or more). In addition, I attended a number of conference presentations, during which I learned more about the publication process, including "Finding Your Way as a Writer," given by Richard Blanco, poet and memoirist; "Ask the Author," with a panel of writers; "Ask the Agent," presented by a panel of literary agents; "Writing About Family in Memoir," with a panel of memoirists; and an excellent keynote address by Madeline Miller, classicist and author of the novel Circe. A special feature was lunch at a "memoir table" with an agent and fellow memoirists, which prompted rich discussions. In Grand Rapids, I gave a readingpresentation and recorded essay excerpts for ?Stay Human Radio" (KAXE-fm).
Other,local or private