May 3 - 5, 2013

Back for a fourth year, Spring Writes 2013 will combine workshops, panels, performances, and public events featuring local experts & artists.

We've grown to encompass more than 30 events this year, all listed in the calendar below. Just click on the event title for more information. (Event participants, times, and locations subject to change) This year we even have "pre-game" and "post-game" events that extend the fest from May 2 to the 12th!

And while you're enjoying the fest, don't forget about the Friends of the Library Book Sale!

SPRING WRITES 2012

PRE-GAME: Thursday, May 3rd

7:00 - 9:00 pm
Lot 10 Lounge
Trampoline Thursday w/ Buffalo
Street Books
The festival gets an un-official early start with a night of competitive storytelling where the public is invited to share their tall tales. Each contestant will be given 5 minutes to share their story and enter for a chance to be crowned the first ever Trampoline Story Champ.

DAY 1: Friday, May 4th

12:00 - 2:00 pm
 Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner West)
Workshop: Writing About Parenting ($)
Susan Henninger, professional freelance writer and parent of three teenage boys, will share some basic information about how to come up with story ideas, steps to take to turn these into interesting articles about your family, and tips for getting published. Participants will have the opportunity to begin writing their own articles and to receive constructive feedback from the group. Anyone who would like to write about their experience as a parent (past or present) is welcome. Just bring a pen, paper, and your enthusiasm!

5:00 - 9:00 pm
McCormick-Cowdry House
Arcades Project
An historic downtown mansion (and future Inn) is transformed into an experimental marketplace of literature, art, and design when several local and regional independent presses, makers of art books and editions, conceptual artists, video installation artists, and indie craft vendors will convene to offer visitors an alternative and thought-provoking shopping experience.
More at arcadesprojectithaca.wordpress.com

5:00 - 6:00 pm
Buffalo Street Books
WSKG's "Off the Page"
Everyone is invited to join Bill Jaker as he hosts a live recording of WSKG radio's weekly program. The topic will be the immigrant experience and the influence it continues to have on individuals, on American society, and on life in the Finger Lakes region. Along with the invited and drop-in guests at Buffalo Street
Books, the panel will feature: Stephen Yale-Loehr, Esq., organizer of the "Green Card Stories" project; Gail Holst-Warhaft, current Tompkins County Poet Laureate.

7:00 - 9:00 pm
Lot 10 Lounge
Lyrae, Mary & Friends ($)
Join poet Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, musician/writer Mary Brett Lorson, and others for a cabaret of poetry, prose, and music at Downtown Ithaca's newest hot spot.
(cover charge at door may apply)

7:30 - 9:00 pm
Fall Creek Studios
Ithaca Shakespeare Company presents "Five Acts Of Shakespeare"
by Aoise Stratford ($)
This staged reading features five interconnected short plays that take us on a metatheatrical romp behind the scenes of the Bard's works, in the company of Hamlet, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Yorick, and a number of other characters who can't seem to help making trouble for their creator. Followed by a talkback with the playwright and cast.
(tickets available at the door)

DAY 2: Saturday, May 5th

7:00 - 8:00 am
Friends of the Library Book Sale
Troubadours at the Waiting Line
Local actors will serve as troubadours, reciting the works of The Bard for the eager book shoppers waiting for the popular used book sale to open its doors.

10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Comics for Collectors
Free Comic Book Day
The annual tradition continues! Free Comic Book Day is the perfect opportunity to introduce family and friends to the "coolness of comics." From super-heroes to science fiction to action/adventure & manga, FCBD offers something for everyone. Drop in any time today for your free issue!

10:00 - 11:30 am
Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner East)
Panel Discussion: "Why We Write: Reaching Young Audiences"
Five very accomplished writers of works for young and young adult readers will share their expertise and experience, focusing on the inspiration(s) that drive them. Featuring Rob Costello, Shawn Goodman, Minfong Ho, Elizabeth Holmes, and Anne Mazer.

10:00 am - 12:00 pm
CAP ArtSpace
Workshop: "Writing in Color" ($)
Zee Zahava leads this inter-generational workshop for children, teens, and adults. Using color swatches to trigger memories and associations, this experiential workshop offers an opportunity to write and share poetry, stories, or memoir. Please bring a notebook and pen. Contact the workshop leader directly if you have any questions: zee@twcny.rr.com.

11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Buffalo Street Books
Poetry Reading: Celebrating Issue Two of Rowboat: Poetry in Translation
Jay Leeming presents poems in Swedish, French, Japanese and French from the most recent issue of his magazine Rowboat: Poetry in Translation. The poems will be read in their original languages by native speakers as well as in English translation.

12:30 - 2:30 pm
Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner West)
Workshop: Citizen Journalism Primer ($)
Led by Maura Stephens (longtime professional journalist and current associate director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College), this workshop is geared toward activist citizen journalists who are working for the common good on various issues. We'll cover the basics of writing effective letters to the editor and op-eds/opinion pieces, along with some techniques to ensure they DO get published in print and online. Bring writing materials.

12:30 - 2:00 pm
Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner East)
Panel Discussion: Life After Publication - The Fall and Rise of Writing for Others
Moderated by novelist and publishing vet Leslie Daniels, and featuring: Rebecca Barry, Nancy Holzner, Roger Stern, and Alexi Zentner. The panel will explore the sometimes wondrous, sometimes hellacious terrain of the publishing side of writing.

1:30 - 3:30 pm
Buffalo Street Books
Workshop: The Struggling Writer's Heart Stopped When She Saw the Workshop That Would Change Her Life Forever: Working With and Against Cliches to Make your Manuscript Shine- and Sell! ($)
Accomplished romance novelists, Ellen Hartman and Sophie Gunn, lead this workshop on scrubbing those clichés out of your work in a simple three step process. A must for fiction writers of every genre. Be prepared to write!

3:00 - 5:00 pm
Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner West)
Workshop: Writing Speculative Fiction (Fantasy & Sci-Fi) ($)
With tangible prompts and seasoned advice for imagining future, parallel, or other worlds, Dr. Katharyn Howd Machan will lead participants to create the beginnings of new speculative fiction or add to SF works-in-progress. Writers of both prose and poetry are welcome; her prompts are shaped for use in either genre. The workshop will be prefaced by inspiration: brief readings by Shannon Moloney, Haley Rowland, and Victoria Weber (author of the just-published novel, RISING SUN), excellent writers who also happen to be students at Ithaca College.

3:00 - 4:30 pm
Tompkins County Public Library
(Borg Warner East)
Panel Discussion: Plays Well With Others - Editing and Writing
Facilitated by novelist and publishing vet Leslie Daniels, and featuring: Bob Colley, editor, and authors Eric Griffith, Eleanor Henderson, and Jeanne Mackin. The discussion will range over the touchy (and not necessarily "feely") relationship between writing and editing.

3:30 - 5:00 pm
Buffalo Street Books
Panel Discussion: Critics and Critiques - Writing About the Arts
Facilitated by Ithaca College writing professor and theatre critic, Barbara Adams, this panel takes on the tricky task of balancing the subjective with the objective when writing about music, theatre, dance, and exhibits. Featured panelists include Jim Catalano, Luke Fenchel, Wylie Schwartz, Bryan Van Campen, Arthur Whitman, and Danielle Winterton.

4:00 - 5:30 pm
First Baptist Church
Ithaca Community Orchestra Concert - America!
This concert features music from American composers and about America, celebrating diverse history from different eras.The History Center in Tompkins County will collaborate with an exhibit. There will be readings from Dear Friend Amelia: the Civil War Letters of Private John Tidd.

5:30 - 7:00 pm
Felicia's Atomic Lounge
Writer's Cafe #3: Selected Readings
5 writers read on (loosely) "Therapy."
(please note: this is not five loose writers)

8:00 - 9:30 pm
Community School of Music and Arts
Staged Readings: Wolf's Mouth
Theatre Collective
Wolf's Mouth will present readings of five short plays, either works-in progress or brand new pieces by local playwrights: It by David Guaspari; Great Wall of China by Belinda Howell; Get Out of the House by Kathryn Russell; The Kiss by George Sapio; and Little Faith by Kit Wainer.

DAY 3: Sunday, May 6th

10:00 am - 12:00 pm
CAP ArtSpace
Workshop: Memoir Writer's Toolkit ($)
Jill Swenson leads this workshop to help you find your "hook," P.O.V., and narrative thread. Discover the basis of structure, set parameters, storyboard scenes, and identify turning points. Work on character development, dialogue, and pacing. Learn how and when to break these rules of convention for intentional effect.

12:30 pm -3:00 pm
CAP ArtSpace
Workshop: Fact or Fiction? Yes, Please! ($)
Have you ever tried to write a memoir or personal essay and were tempted to embellish details? Did you ever have the urge to make up facts about a topic you were writing about? What are the ethical implications and aesthetic opportunities in blending fiction and fact in literary writing? Join Danielle Winterton and David Pollock of the journal Essays & Fictions for a workshop in which you'll read and discuss some classic genre-bending texts, try your hand at "breaching" these forms yourself, and share your work with others for feedback.

2:30 - 3:30 pm
Buffalo Street Books
Flash Fiction: Cornell MFA Writers
This reading, featuring students in Cornell's graduate creative writing program, has a twist. Similar to the 48 Hour Film Project, each writer has been randomly assigned a genre, character, prop, and line of dialogue. The audience will get to hear the constraints, and see how the writers incorporate or explode them in dynamic, original short-shorts composed specifically for the festival.

4:00 - 5:30 pm
Buffalo Street Books
Works in Progress Reading
Buffalo Street Books hosts the latest in this popular series of readings. The local writers participating in this non-juried reading have a work-in-progress that is a thematic collection of poems or body of prose (a novel, memoir, collection of short stories or essays). There will be a reception after the reading. Participants include Pat Carlson, Nancy Holzner, Emily Rhoads Johnson, Jeanne Mackin, Nicky Morris, Linda Myers, Tish Pearlman, Roselyn Teukolsky, and Doris Wright.

5:30 - 7:00 pm
Finger Lakes Wine Center
Ithaca's Waters: An Evening of Poetry, Prose, Music and Art
Tompkins County Poet Laureate Gail Holst-Warhaft coordinated this presentation of readings, music, and art all around the theme of "Ithaca's Waters." The program will include readings from published poets as well as highlights from poetry projects done by students from South Seneca and Ithaca's Lehman Alternative Community School, a video installation from artist Ben Altman, and musicians from the Cornell Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Music Ensemble.

7:30 - 9:00 pm
Fall Creek Studios
Ithaca Shakespeare Company presents Four Comic One Acts ($)
Staged readings of four comic one-acts and a panel discussion with all the playwrights. Will And The Ghost by Aoise Stratford and Conal Condren, The De-scepter by William Cordeiro, Cat Will Mew by Dave Dietrich, and Toil And...
by David Guaspari.
(tickets available at the door)