By Renee Nicholson, Assistant to the Director

When people ask, “what can I gain from the West Virginia Writer’s Workshop?” I like to share some successes from past participants. For instance, John Thelin’s book, Breath Into Bone, features eight poems that were workshopped at the 2002 West Virginia Writers Workshop (WVWW) with David St. John. Another is the story that Tom Bennitt submitted at the 2005 workshop that was later published by River Walk Journal, and also won a Pittsburgh-area story contest. Ed Zahnizer, following this same trend, workshopped his poem “From Descartes to the Beatles’” with a group led by Denise Duhamel that was subsequently published in OCHO. Recent WVU MFA graduate Kori Fraizer applied to the program after attending a WVWW where she worked with Mark Brazaitis. Cathryn Essinger, whose son Dave attended a past conference, says, “I really like the West Virginia Writers’ Workshop and encourage my students to attend, because it is close to home (we live in Ohio), affordable, and they receive good advice in a very friendly setting.”

Having been a participant in the WVWW most years since 1996 and having served as the Assistant to the Director since 2007, I think I can safely say that the rewards of the workshop are much more than the biographical notes that might come from publication. Although these are wonderful accomplishments, the true value of the workshops comes from the spirit of community that is a hallmark of the four-day event.

The workshop will run July 15-18, 2010, and applications are due by Friday, June 18th. Potential participants can register online at http://www.as.wvu.edu/wvww/reg.htm. In addition, the Workshop’s website has complete author bios, a schedule of events, information on lodging, etc. Very reasonably-priced accommodations for the workshop are available on campus at Stalnaker Hall, which is walking distance to Colson Hall, the Mountainlair, and Downtown Morgantown.

Many participants in the workshop return year after year, which is one of the things that gives the WVWW its friendly atmosphere. John Thelin has called it his yearly “literary shot in the arm.” With this year’s excellent faculty—Mark Brazaitis (also the workshop’s Director), Jim Harms, Peter Makuck, Ann Pancake, and Nancy Reisman—the quality of instruction and feedback will be top caliber. Between them, this year’s faculty has won the Pen/Revson Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Whiting Award, Weatherford Award, Iowa Short Fiction Award, Pushcart Prize, and other prestigious national and international prizes.

Mark Brazaitis, Jim Harms and Peter Makuck have served as faculty for past workshops, and Jim Harms has run the event in the past and is the Founding Director of the event (I’ve had the opportunity to work with both Mark and Jim as Director). I had the pleasure of taking Peter Makuck’s fiction workshop the first time he served as faculty. Both a poet and short story writer, Peter is always popular with both his workshop students and those who attend his readings and craft lectures. With West Virginia writer Ann Pancake returning to her home state this summer, and adding Iowa Short Fiction Award winning Nancy Reisman, it’s hard not to get excited about this year’s WVWW.

This year will also feature a few changes to the workshop. First, many of the individual workshops will take place in the newly renovated Colson Hall, rather than at the Mountainlair, where they’ve traditionally been held. This will connect the workshop even more to WVU’s Department of English. As well, the open mic portion of the event will happen after the last night’s celebratory dinner—a popular event each year at the conference. Reading and book signings, which has always been a mainstay of the conference, will continue much as they have in past years. A large portion of the workshop is dedicated to working with faculty, and to honing craft through suggestions and discussion of submitted work.

As cars pull up to Stalnaker Hall, where many of the participants will lodge during the workshop, I know I’ll be on the lookout for old friends, and looking forward to making new ones. Inside, the literary journal display will be set up in the piano lounge, where over coffee in the morning and on breaks throughout the day, participants can flip through the many generously donated copies of journals sent to the workshop for just this purpose each year. For four days, we will get to immerse ourselves in the craft of writing, a wonderful long weekend vacation into the world of words and those who wield them so well.

—Renée K. Nicholson, Assistant to the Director, West Virginia Writers’ Workshop. for information about the 2010 WVWW, feel free to contact her at reneenicholson@comcast.net or renee.nicholson@mail.wvu.edu.

Jim Harm’s at the 2003 West Virginia Writers’ Workshop

Mark Brazaitis with Lori D’Angelo (MFA Grad 2009 and Past WVWW Participant) at the 2008 WVWW

Kori Fraizer at the 2007 WVWW

Peter Makuck and Renée Nicholson at the dinner and final reading at Chic ‘N Bones, WVWW 2006