Total Immersion Creativity Retreats for Women

www.CommittedLiving.org Launches the "Total Immersion Creativity" retreats and workshops for business women. What Committed Living founder, Darla Anderson has done is created a specialized retreat for women that evolves entirely on the Creativity process of the "Right Brain", using exercises, tools and other activities that increases and strengthens the right side of the brain.

The premise is that once the right side of the brain is exercised on a regular basis, it becomes stronger and more developed, in turn the person has quicker access to being creative. This enables them to come up with new solutions to business problems, create new innovative products, find creative ways of doing business in today's slumping economy as well as in America's future business climate.

Committed Living takes the creativity training a step farther than most Creativity Coaching, by including other major aspects of life; culture and cuisine. Exploring and participating in regional creative culture as well as creative culinary cuisine. By adding these additional elements of the Creativity Process into the retreats, Committed Living is giving it's participants the "Total Package" when it comes to Creativity Training.

For more information on Committed Living "Total Immersion Creativity Retreats and Workshops, go to: http://www.committedliving.org/

Mar 4 2010 - Writers' Workshop alumna Leslie Jamison will read

University of Iowa Writers' Workshop alumna Leslie Jamison will read from her debut novel, "The Gin Room," at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4, in Prairie Lights Books at 15 S. Dubuque St. in downtown Iowa City. The free "Live from Prairie Lights" event will be streamed live and archived on the Writing University Web site, http://www.writinguniversity.org/.

After three decades of dissolute living, Tilly is visited unexpectedly by her niece, Stella and a powerful but fragile bond develops between them. The book has won rave reviews for Jamison's insights and the beauty of her prose.

Jamison's work has been published in "Best New American Voices 2008," A Public Space and the Black Warrior Review. She is cuurently pursuing at doctorate at Yale University.

June 10 2010 - Canadian Journalism Foundation Honours Quebec journalist

Lise Bissonnette, former parliamentary correspondent, editorialist and editor-in-chief of Le Devoir, will be awarded the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual awards gala on June 10, 2010, in Toronto.

The eight jurors on the Lifetime Achievement Award selection jury reviewed more than 50 nominations before unanimously selecting Bissonnette.

"She is a superb journalist, scholar and administrator," says Geoffrey Stevens, chair of the jury. He points to her impressive CV as proof of her lifelong ambition and achievement. "She has been recognized with no fewer than eight honorary doctorates from universities in Canada and the United States."

She began her journalistic career in 1974 at Montreal's daily newspaper Le Devoir, where she held various positions before ultimately becoming editor-in-chief from 1990 to 1998. At the time of the 1995 referendum, she took a position in favour of Yes, making Le Devoir the only newspaper in Canada to openly support Quebec sovereignty.

In 1998 she was appointed president and general director of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationals du Québec, a position she held until her retirement in June, 2009. Under her leadership, the establishment has become Quebec's largest cultural institution in terms of size and the broad range of its missions.

Juror Norman Webster remembers her as a fair and balanced reporter. "Lise is a Quebec sovereignist, but she always respects the views of others," he said, noting a Le Devoir editorial she wrote that criticized Parti Quebecois cabinet minister Lise Payette for denouncing women supporters of the "No" side as Yvettes (the name of a docile young girl in an old school manual). "It was a turning point against the separatists' cause but the natural reaction of an honest reporter."

Many times lauded for her support and promotion of Quebec culture, she has been awarded the Ordre de la Pléiade (Francophonie) and was made an officer of the Ordre national du Québec as well as a Knight of the Légion d'honneur de France. After receiving a career medal from the Academie des letters du Quebec in 1999, she was named a member in 2004.

Bissonnette joins a distinguished group of CJF Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Past recipients include: Joe Schlesinger, Sally Armstrong, Norman Webster, Knowlton Nash, Pierre Berton (posthumous), June Callwood, Doris Anderson, Trina McQueen, Doug Creighton, Mark Starowicz, Bernard Derome, Peter C. Newman, Peter Gzowski and Robert Fulford.

The Lifetime Achievement Award jury members are: Geoffrey Stevens, chair (Cambridge, Ontario); Miller Ayre (St. John's); Catherine Bergman (Vancouver and Montreal); Pat Carney (Vancouver); Bernard Derome (Montreal); Dale Eisler (Denver, Colorado); Mary Lou Finlay (Toronto), and Norman Webster (Montreal)

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Bissonnette at the CJF's annual awards gala on June 10, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. In celebration of the CJF's 20th anniversary, the foundation is planning its most exciting gala yet. CBC News chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge will host the event, which features an honorary tribute to Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, co-CEOs of Research in Motion, for their contribution to revolutionizing modern journalism technology. Other awards to be presented include the Excellence in Journalism Award, the Greg Clark Award, the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, the Canadian Journalism Fellowships and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.

For more information about the gala or to purchase a table for $5,000, please contact Cindy Hipple at 416-955-0975 or e-mail chipple@cjf-fjc.ca. Individual tickets are also available for $500 each.

Creating the journalists of tomorrow

There will always be a need for professional journalists.

This fact remains a bedrock truth even as newsroom staff and advertising revenue are shrinking and business models are changing. And it's being driven by a ravenous public and its zealous appetite for news and information from diligent, objective sources 24/7.

Motivated by the urgency to help the fourth estate thrive in the 21st century, Ball State University torched -- rather than tweaked -- its courses and programs. By launching the Emerging Media Journalism track, the College of Communication, Information, and Media ( CCIM ) will produce graduates who can provide quality, in-depth news across multiple platforms and drive the necessary changes to help the media industry succeed, said Roger Lavery, dean of CCIM.

"Journalism is changing at an unprecedented pace, and I believe we'll see a shake out that will result in fewer but more relevant journalism programs in this country," he said. "At Ball State, both programs will still exist, but this new one will straddle it. This is the necessary step to emerge as a contemporary, leading program."

One New York Times editor in the newspaper's research and development lab recently said that newspapers and news organizations are not going anywhere. It's how news will be received that's going to change.

As newspaper circulation declines, in-depth news still is being sought out via cell phones and laptops. And soon more news will be coming to e-book readers and to media yet to be invented. Through Ball State's revamped courses, students will have the tools and experiences to navigate these monumental changes, Lavery notes.

"Our faculty and students understand and embrace this change," he said. "They understand that to be marketable, our students -- tomorrow's journalists -- must be able to meet the future demands of the industry by having the skills to tell stories across many platforms. They should play a key role in defining the future of news."

Students will gain these skills by learning core competencies from their first day in class. Student publications, once separate from the curriculum, now will be fused into the course work. Students also will be capable of tackling practical assignments with industry partners in their first two years and excel at even more advanced assignments as upperclassmen, Lavery added.

Academia responding to industry needs

The technology revolution on campus reflects the changes taking place in the media industry. Input was gathered from many editors and reporters from around the country to help shape the curriculum, said John Strauss, journalism instructor and adviser to The Ball State Daily News.

"When we began talking to industry professionals about the education our students would be receiving, they said this is exactly the type of graduate our industry needs," he said. "Even small newspapers looking for police beat reporters want employees who are comfortable with a broad range of new technologies. They want employees with a firm grounding in the art and craft as well as ones with the ability to be flexible to learn new technologies and grow."

This is demonstrated by a recent endorsement by The New York Times. The nation's pre-eminent newspaper has partnered with Ball State to offer an emerging media journalism certificate. Through The New York Times Knowledge Network, enrollees will be able to bolster their multimedia storytelling skills via online coursework focusing on writing, reporting, video, still photography and graphics.

Campus culture

Ball State's culture already is firmly entrenched in technology, as demonstrated by the university's Emerging Media Initiative ( EMI ), a planned $17.7 million investment in focusing the university's historic strengths in this area, accelerating benefits to the state of Indiana with media-savvy human capital.

To stay abreast of the ever-changing software, Internet and social media landscape, the technology courses will be nimble, explained Susan Smith, assistant professor of telecommunications.

"Our students have always had nearly unlimited access to the latest technology," she said. "With the new curriculum, they will be learning core competencies rather than specific programs. This will allow us to focus on skills needed for existing platforms as well as explore new programs and new media as well."

Journalism and telecommunications have played key roles in the university's EMI by leading efforts in news convergence and developing content for small screen devices. And the students have the added benefit of being surrounded by the latest technology of the David Letterman Communication and Media Building, the Art and Journalism Building and the Ball Communication Building.

The philosophy

To begin the process of creating the program, the two departments first defined a unified core philosophy.

"Delivering the news, at its foundation, is serving the public's right to know as guaranteed by the First Amendment; it's encouraging news coverage without fear or favor, promoting resourceful, accurate and ethical gathering and presenting of news," Lavery stated. "Once we identified the shared mission of the two departments, our faculty members were able to build a program to deliver quality news in technologically advanced environments."

To learn more about this program, visit the Emerging Media Journalism Web site or contact CCIM at 765-285-6002.

By Layne Cameron, Associate Director of University Communication

Mar 11 2010 - Staged Reading of Rediscovered Early 20th Century Plays by Women

The NYS Writers Institute's Authors Theatre program will present staged readings of rediscovered short plays by notable women playwrights of the early 20th century, including "Kurzy of the Sea" (1920) by Djuna Barnes and "The Rib-Person" (1918) by Rita Wellman on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. [NOTE EARLY START TIME] in the Assembly Hall, Campus Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. Directed by W. Langdon Brown, and performed by equity actors, the plays are highlighted in the new volume "Women Writers of the Provincetown Players" (2009) by Judith Barlow. The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute in conjunction with Women's History Month.

The one-act play "Kurzy of the Sea" follows the fortunes of a young fisherman in his unreasonable quest to "catch" the perfect wife ("a Queen or a Saint or a Venus"). The play explores problems with contemporary ideas about marriage and wifely virtues. Djuna Barnes, legendary bohemian born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, and an early feminist who helped to shape modernist and avant-garde sensibilities in American and English letters, is best known for her 1936 novel, "Nightwood," which featured an introduction by the poet T. S. Eliot. Beat author William S. Burroughs proclaimed it "one of the great books of the twentieth century."

"The Rib-Person: A Farce-Satire in Two Scenes" lampoons the exploits of Zelma, a would-be "modern woman" who rejects the traditional roles of marriage and motherhood, but who remains happily dependent on the men in her life.

A playwright and fiction writer who explored new social and professional roles for women in her work, Wellman was the first member of the Provincetown Players to have a play produced on Broadway: "The Gentile Wife" (1918), a drama that examined issues of marriage and anti-Semitism at the turn-of-the-century.

Judith Barlow's new book, "Women Writers of the Provincetown Players" features thirteen short plays written by women and performed by the Provincetown Players theatre. The plays included in the book range from naturalistic tragedies to poetic allegories to witty satires. Together they provide a valuable look at women's concerns during a period just prior to the granting of female suffrage. Barlow is Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University at Albany-SUNY. Her previous books include "Plays by American Women: 1930-1960" (1994); "Final Acts: The Creation of Three Late O'Neill Plays" (1985); and "Plays by American Women: 1900-1930" (1981).

Enormously influential in American drama, the Provincetown Players theatre is remembered primarily for productions of Eugene O'Neill's plays, but also featured work by such notable women playwrights as Susan Glaspell, Djuna Barnes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Louise Bryant. From their beginnings on Cape Cod in 1915 to their disbanding in New York City in 1922, the Players staged nearly one hundred dramas, roughly a third of which were composed by women.

W. Langdon Brown is a fellow of the New York State Writers Institute and a University at Albany English Department faculty member. He is director of Authors Theatre for the Writers Institute where new plays by Bill C. Davis, William Kennedy, Lisa Thompson, Warren Leight, Frank Pugliese, and David Rabe, along with Brown's own adaptation of Richard Russo's "Mohawk" have been workshopped. He is a former chair of the University at Albany's Department of Theatre.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

Mar 4 2010 - Author Jody Lisberger Will Share Feminist Theory on Craft of Writing

Fiction writer and feminist scholar Jody Lisberger will discuss how feminism plays a role in her writing when she speaks on Thursday, March 4, at SUNY Cortland.

Lisberger, the director of Women's Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI), will present "Writing Down the Body: Making the Invisible Visible, the Silent Spoken" from noon to 1 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. The talk is free and open to the public and one of several Women's History Month events planned on campus during March. This presentation is sponsored by the Women's Studies Program and the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies.

Lisberger will discuss the ways that feminist theory - in ways most writers and scholars would never guess - articulates crucial and concrete ideas for helping fiction and nonfiction writers improve their craft.

Lisberger's presentation will explore five particular lessons relevant to writing craft and life: refusing to be silenced; the power of the margins and the unseen; rethinking the dynamics of desire; defying linearity and narrative order; and inhabiting the space between the literal and the metaphoric.

In speaking about Lisberger's fiction, critics and book reviewers have called her stories an "artful, compromising, and moving exploration of human desire," "graceful and seductive, spare in their telling yet unstintingly powerful in their impact," a "first-rate collection… that starts out strong and keeps on accelerating" (The Boston Globe), "ten perfect tales" (The Louisville Courier), and "build[ing] with ratcheting tension, carefully nurtured thought the accretion of small details (Women's Review of Books)."

Lisberger is the author of a prize-winning collection of stories, Remember Love, published by Fleur de Lis Press in 2008, and the writer of several articles. She serves on the fiction faculty of the Brief Residency MFA in Writing Program at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. Lisberger has a Ph.D. in English and an M.F.A. and has worked as a journalist, editor and grant writer. She has taught fiction, creative nonfiction, literature and feminist theory for more than 25 years at the University of Rhode Island, Brown, Harvard, Tufts, Holy Cross and Boston University.

At URI, she teaches courses that include Postcolonial Literature, Women Writers, and Narrative Theory. Lisberger participates in the summer Ocean State Writer's Conference.

For more information, contact Women's Studies Coordinator Caroline Kaltefleiter at (607) 753-4203 or caroline.kaltefleiter@cortland.edu.

Mar 4 2010 - Authors Explore Future Of Journalism

Robert McChesney and John Nichols, authors of "The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again," will discuss their bold model for keeping a vibrant free press alive in America at DePaul University on March 4.

The lecture will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at DePaul’s College of Communication lower-level theatre space, 14 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Founders of the Free Press national media reform movement, McChesney and Nichols believe that an independent and viable Fourth Estate must be kept alive in order to preserve democracy. In their book, they provide a strong critique of the current favored solution to this crisis and argue for strong public subsidies to create a viable, independent news media.

McChesney, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his longtime writing partner Nichols, a Washington correspondent at The Nation magazine, believe the current media model, in which newsgathering is supported by advertising, is broken and cannot be fixed. They lay out a plan for revamping the traditional media landscape by turning it into a public trust, along the lines of schools and police.

McChesney and Nichols' address will be followed by a reception and book signing. To reserve a seat, please e-mail Aisha Pulido in the College of Communication at apulido2@depaul.edu or call ( 312 ) 362-7197. For more information about the lecture, please contact Carolyn Bronstein, associate professor in the College of Communication, at ( 312 ) 362-7975 or cbronste@depaul.edu

July 30 2010 - 2010 Iowa Summer Writing Festival is now accepting registrations

The Iowa Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa is now accepting registrations for its 2010 sessions. Weeklong and weekend workshops including fiction, poetry, nonfiction and playwriting will run from June 13 through July 30. In all, more than 150 noncredit workshops will be held. Visit http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/ for a full list of sessions and biographic sketches of the faculty.

A brochure is now available by mail, or registration forms may be printed from http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/registration/Registration_Form.html Registrants may sign up for only one workshop per session, but they may register for as many sessions as they wish. Payment is required at the time of registration.

The Iowa Summer Writing Festival, based at the world's premier academic center for creative writing for more than two decades, is designed to benefit writers at all levels of experience and achievement. In small groups -- festival classes include no more than a dozen participants -- adult writers of all ages from throughout the country share, read and discuss their work under the leadership of accomplished writer/educators. The atmosphere is constructive and supportive.

Many of the workshop leaders are graduates of UI writing programs and include faculty members at other prominent institutions of higher learning. The faculty roster includes widely published writers who have been winners of major awards, honors and fellowships.

Classes remain available until filled, but early registration is recommended. The cost is $560 per week, and $280 per weekend.

For additional information contact 319-335-4160 or iswfestival@uiowa.edu.

UI arts events are searchable on the UI Master Calendar: http://calendar.uiowa.edu/. Exhibitions are searchable at http://calendar.uiowa.edu/exhibitions. To receive UI arts news by e-mail, go to http://list.uiowa.edu/archives/acr-news.html and click the link "Join or Leave ACR News," then follow the instructions.

March 6 2010 - Learn What it Takes to Write, Publish & Market Your Work

Aspiring writers who are ready to turn their talent into a paycheck can spend a day with successful published writers Mike Ball, Colleen Gleason, Pamela Gossiaux and Darci Hannah learning the tips of the trade and how to make their dreams a reality. Workshop speakers will share the ups and downs of their own journeys to publication, as well as lead attendees through hands-on writing exercises with time for critiques and discussion.

The Road To Published Conference faculty are all writers who have navigated the often difficult road to getting their work published - and that's where the name came from.

Ball is a nationally syndicated columnist and winner of the Erma Bombeck Award. His book, What I've Learned So Far…Part I: Bikes, Docks and Slush Nuggets was released in 2009.

Gleason is the well known author of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, and has a new paranormal romance series under the pen name of Joss Ware. Both contracts are with major publishing houses.

Gossiaux is a motivational speaker and the author of Why Is There A Lemon In My Fruit Salad? - How To Stay Sweet When Life Turns Sour.

Hannah's book, The Exile of Sara Stevenson comes out in July. It is the first of a two-book deal with Ballentine/Random House.

Conference topics include:

- Breaking into the Writing Business

- Learn how to overcome procrastination

- Set a writing schedule that works

- Banish writer's block

- Write stronger and better prose

- Knowing your genre/niche

- Working Lunch and the Writer's Toolbox

- Writing your Query Letter

- Finding the right agent

- Researching your topic

- Public Relations and Marketing yourself

"The publishing industry is hard to break into, and no one has learned that lesson more thoroughly than myself," says Hannah, who received more than 150 rejection letters before getting her book contract. "Friends say, 'Wow, you're lucky!' Yes I am, but it wasn't all luck. I hope that by holding this workshop writers who may be discouraged by their lack of progress, or think it's impossible to break into the publishing industry, will learn that it's not impossible"

Registration is $75, or $65 Early Bird (before March 1). Go to http://roadtopublished.com/ for more information.

March 4 2010 - From Lipstick to Lipitor, Healthcare Writing Opportunities Beckon

With ever-rising healthcare spending, writing opportunities about the health and wellness industry are unlimited. "Regardless of economic conditions, writers will always have lots of topics to cover," says Sherry Shameer Cohen, President of the Connecticut Press Club. "People get sick and need treatment. Some want healthier lifestyles. With fierce competition to sell products from Lipitor and medical technology to lipstick and spa services, journalists, publicists and copywriters have more prospects than ever."
Writers, public relations experts and healthcare professionals can attend an eye-opening program on March 4 at The Norwalk Inn in Norwalk, CT. Speakers include Rebecca Shannonhouse, Editor of Bottom Line Health, Trisha Calvo, Executive Editor of SHAPE Magazine and George Pawlush, V.P., Public Relations/Community Affairs of Greenwich Hospital. Shannonhouse will guide writers on covering medical breakthroughs and specific conditions. Calvo will talk about the lifestyle aspect of health and wellness. Pawlush will discuss the role of public relations and marketing as hospitals compete for care and services.

This is the second in an occasional series on healthcare writing. Janet Carlson, Director of Beauty & Health of Town&Country Magazine spoke to the Connecticut Press Club about environmental health and shared her list of sources. Other topics include healthcare reform, food safety, medical marijuana, hospital infections, healthcare finance executive pay, labor issues and medical ethics. "In addition, we've noticed emerging trends for more writing opportunities," notes Cohen. "More multiple physician practices are marketing themselves and need writers for press releases, brochures, custom publishing, advertising and web content. Magazines have special advertising sections in issues with healthcare themes."

Healthcare spending is 17.3% of the U.S. gross domestic product, up from 16.2% last year, according to a recent report in Health Affairs, which also indicated that the total could reach $4.5 trillion by 2019. Government spending is projected to surpass private spending for the first time as the nation's ageing population qualifies for Medicare and the government tries to expand public healthcare programs such as Medicaid.

The program, which is open to the public, will take place on Thursday, March 4 at The Norwalk Inn, 99 East Avenue in Norwalk. Admission is $35.00 for members of the press club and affiliated organizations and $40.00 for non-members. Dinner is included. For reservations, call (203) 968-8600 or e-mail ctpressclub@gmail.com. Visit http://www.ctpressclub.com/.

Feb 25 2010 - Top Journalists Share Successes and Secrets of Winning More Business Coverage in the New Economy

PR professionals looking for a practical pitching regimen designed to give them, their client or company the edge it needs to secure valuable column inches, air time or digital ink in top-tier, holy grail business media should definitely attend this PR University audio conference titled: "Business Media Bailout for PR: Top Journalists Share Successes and Secrets of Winning More Business Coverage in the New Economy."

This exclusive PR University webcast tutorial takes place on Thursday, February 25, at 1PM EST (noon CST, 11AM MST; 10AM PST).

Featuring Top Business Editorial Gatekeepers:

Peter Benesh, Reporter, Investor's Business Daily (circ. 310,623)

Diane Brady, Senior Editor/Content Chief, Bloomberg/BusinessWeek (circ. 935,820)

Tony Emerson, Managing Editor, Newsweek International (circ. 4.2 million)

David Lidsky Senior Editor, Fast Company (circ. 731,991)

This 90 minute audio conference will outline the top business stories, trends and developments our panelists expect to be covering in the weeks and months ahead -- and outline how PR pros can become part of these developing stories at a time when every column inch helps to build credibility and communicate confidence to their consumers and publics.

For more details go to conference home page

Mar 3 2010 - In Business, Good Writing Matters - Free Webinar

Fear of writing ranks right up there with fear of public speaking, yet writing well is an essential skill for small business owners who want to attract attention to their services or entice investment in their enterprises.

A 140-character tweet on Twitter can't replace clear, concise, and compelling communication to customers, vendors, investors, and staff.

The basics of business communication are emails, memos, and reports. In Ventureneer's free webinar, Writing in the Age of Twitter: Why Good Writing Still Matters (Especially in Business), participants will learn how to make sure that the message they want to give is the message they send.

The free webinar will take place from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3. Each of the basic forms of business communication will be analyzed, with examples given of good writing that avoids ambiguity, and participants will be given samples that will serve as guides in their future writing.

"It's hard to overstress the importance of clear communication for small business owners … We're not offering high school English here, just tools that small business owners can use to ensure that what they mean is what they say."

This interactive webinar will be taught by Alan Siege, CEO/Owner, Small Business Management Consulting, which specializes in small business advice. He is an instructor for the NYC Department of Small Business Services Entrepreneur Boot Camp as well as being an adjunct professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and at New York University.

The webinar will be useful to anyone who writes emails, memos, or reports for business -- in other words, just about everyone. And, yes, Siege will even throw in some tips for effective tweeting.

"Let's face it; most of us want to write as few words as possible; that's OK (especially for Twitter) but in the marketplace everything you do (and write) reflects back on to you and your business so it's super important to write it well," say Siege.

"If you missed English comp or aren't comfortable with writing, this webinar will really help," says Stengel. "It's about the basic skill you need to make your point clearly and quickly."

For more information about this webinar or to sign up, visit Ventureneer's website.

New Writing Lessons Available Online

New writing lessons online now! Begin writing your life story today. Visit http://www.islandsofrecall.com/ to get free coaching on writing down your First Memory, stories about your parents and your childhood, and even more.

Have you ever thought to yourself "My life would make a great book"? Have you ever resolved to write down your memoirs "one of these days"? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back to the past and re-live one precious moment?

Well then it's time to start writing!

http://www.islandsofrecall.com/ is dedicated to helping people to write the stories of their lives. Based on the methods of Author Louise Cabral, Islands of Recall Online is an introduction to Lifewriting, a form of autobiographical and personal writing that teaches writers to actually re-live their memories.

Ms. Cabral has been teaching writing classes in the Los Angeles area for over twenty-five years. The online class is based on her Lifewriting seminars and her book Islands of Recall, now in its seventh printing. Lifewriting teaches students to reach back into the past and dig up old memories, assembling little stories from childhood and maturity piece by piece, putting together their autobiographies. Along the way, the class encourages writers to examine how events in childhood have shaped their lives, and to take a fresh look at them. Thousands of students have taken the Lifewriting classes with Ms. Cabral, and many have gone on to write published autobiographies and novels.

Reynolds Journalism Institute Hosts 67th Pictures of the Year International (POYi) Contest

Pictures of the Year International (POYi), the oldest and most prestigious photojournalism program in the world, will judge more than 45,000 images for the 67th annual POYi contest. The judging, taking place Feb. 14 – March 5 at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI), will be shown live on the Web.

"RJI is honored to host another year of compelling photojournalism," said Pam Johnson, executive director of RJI. "Photojournalists bring the written word to life from Main Street to battlegrounds around the world. Many photographers risk their lives to keep us informed, and POYi is one way we can honor their achievements."

POYi, which recognizes documentary photography, multimedia and visual editing, will add two new categories to this year’s contest. The “Civil Defiance” category focuses on the Iranian elections, and the "U.S. Economy and the Human Toll" category is a multiple-picture story category.


Along with 36 category winners, POYi will also award:
• Documentary Project of the Year
• World Understanding Award
• Global Vision Award
• Community Awareness Award
• One Week’s Work
• Best Photography Book Award
• Angus McDougall Excellence in Editing
• Photographer of the Year – Freelance/Agency
• Photographer of the Year – Newspaper

"POYi is committed to engaging citizens worldwide with great photojournalism, so we are excited to be able to share the judging portion of the contest with the public via the Web," said Rick Shaw, director of POYi. "The public will be able to listen and comment as some of the year’s best photos are shown to a panel of international photo judges."

The winning photos will be displayed at The Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles from June 26 – Sept. 19. Prior to the 12-week exhibit, the winning photographers will be at Annenberg for an education seminar and awards program from June 24 -25.

For more information visit http://www.poyi.org/

Mar 26-28 2010 - Writers Learn to Blast through Creative Blocks and Stay Inspired with the Help of their Dreams

Sue Grafton, Ann Rice, Stephen King, and Isabel Allende have all used dreams to inform their lives and inspire their best-selling stories. Writers are invited to learn how to do that and more at Decipher your Dream-Discover your Story Writers' Retreat. Held March 26-28, at The Rensselaerville Institute Conference Center, near Albany, New York, the retreat is led by Paula Chaffee Scardamalia, a creativity and book coach and author of the award-winning, Weaving a Woman's Life: Spiritual Lessons from the Loom.

"Dreams are a tool writers have used for centuries," says Scardamalia who used dream techniques when writing her own book, and now uses dreams and symbol systems when coaching her clients in both fiction and nonfiction. "Unfortunately, too many writers don't know how to really mine their dreams for all the creative wealth and power within them."

At the retreat, attendees will learn basic techniques for remembering, recording and working with dreams. Specialized dream techniques for working with Muses and other creative helpers, and writing from a dreamlike state for creative flow will also be taught. Lecture and discussion will alternate with shamanic dream work, dream sharing, and time for reflection, journaling and writing amidst the rural serenity of the Catskills.

Paula Chaffee Scardamalia has taught writers how to use their dreams since the late 90's, leading workshops for the International Women's Writing Guild and for smaller groups around the country. Her CD, The Tower in the Woods: Dreaming Your Creativity Awake is a product of her years of teaching. Her business, Divining the Muse, empowers screen writers, playwrights, novelists and nonfiction writers to move from inspired idea to polished manuscript and beyond. She loves inspiring and supporting creative women with one-on-one coaching, private retreats at her home and custom creativity essential oil products. She also publishes a free weekly e-newsletter, Divine Muse-ings. Visit her website for more information.

http://www.diviningthemuse.com/

Mar 27 2010 - Sharpen Your Writing Skills and Succeed in Business at Raleigh’s Writing Boot Camp

With all the buzz on the Internet about the latest marketing fads, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of repetitive information. The battle for people’s eyes and ears grows ever more intense as the quantity of information swells and attention spans shorten.

When asked what prompted writers Alice Osborn and Dave Baldwin to hold the boot camp Alice replied, "Our Writing Boot Camp came about from my students requesting a class that would sharpen their grammar, style and flow. Writers in today's business climate want the confidence good grammar provides."

Dave went on to say, "One thing I've noticed about beginning writers is that they tend to focus on the wrong problem. It's the reader's point of view, not the writer’s, which ultimately dictates the success or failure of any writing. In other words, it's not a question of what to say. It's a question of what you want the reader to hear."

The areas to be addressed are: Sales and Marketing, Branding, Social Media, Business Writing Skills and Everyday Communication Protocols.

The Writing Boot Camp, Co-presented by Alice Osborn and Dave Baldwin is being held at the Holiday Inn Brownstone, 1707 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27605 on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 8:00am – 4:30 pm. Open networking and continental breakfast at 8:00am. Class will begin promptly at 8:30. A gourmet pasta lunch is provided. The fee for The Writing Boot Camp is $249.

For more info and to register go to http://WritingBootCamp.eventbrite.com/

Free Teleseminar Reveals Strategies to Help Aspiring Nonfiction Authors Write a Compelling Book

Anyone with determination and a message to share can write a book. But without the skills and knowledge of how to write it in a powerful, meaningful way, their story will fall flat. On February 10, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. EST, Melinda Copp of The Writer's Sherpa, LLC, will present a free teleseminar on how to write a book that fulfills the author's purpose and communicates their experience in a way that inspires readers.

"Many authors have come to me in various stages of the writing process because they don't feel like their book 'works'," said Copp. "They're embarrassed to put their name on the cover because the book doesn't seem to flow, it doesn't hold attention, and it just seems boring. Even though they can't seem to put their finger on it, the answer is usually a few simple fixes away."

This free call will cover:
• How to get to the heart of what your book is really about, and who you're really writing it for.
• How to hook readers right away, and keep them engaged and interested, all the way to the last page.
• How to write with energy--every time.
• And many other strategies aspiring authors can use as they write.

Anyone interested in writing a business, self-help, or nonfiction book can sign up for this free call at www.writerssherpaprograms.com/freecall.html . The teleseminar will be recorded, so those who miss the call at the scheduled time will receive a free downloadable recording.