NHWP now accepting nominations for the NH  Literary Awards

The New Hampshire Writers’ Project is now accepting nominations for the 2007 New Hampshire Literary Awards for outstanding works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s literature and journalism, and for lifetime achievement. The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, July 10.

This year, NHWP is presenting for the first time the Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award, in honor of former University of New Hampshire Professor Donald M. Murray, who died last December at the age of 82. A Pulitzer-Prize winner, Murray inspired countless reporters and writers with his passion for writing and the writing life. He was a longtime member of NHWP and received the New Hampshire Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001. “He was always such a great supporter of the Writers’ Project,” said George Geers, president of the NHWP board of trustees, in a press release. “He had students across the country who are editors, writers, publishers, and they all turned to him.”The New Hampshire Literary Awards, offered biennially since 1992, celebrate the remarkable literary talent in the Granite State. Past award winners include David Carroll, Jim Collins, Tomi DePaola, Donald Hall, Maxine Kumin and Charles Simic. A cash prize of $500 is given to recipients of the Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry and the Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award.

The awards ceremony, which includes a reception and presentations by 2005 award winners, will be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester on Nov. 17.

For nomination guidelines, visit www.nhwritersproject.org. For more information, call 603-314-7980.

The New Hampshire Writers’ Project, a nonprofit organization, fosters the literary arts in the Granite State by supporting the development of individual writers and encouraging an audience for literature. NHWP offers the annual Writers’ Day conference, spring and fall workshops, master classes, and special readings and events, including New Hampshire Writers’ Trail programs and the New Hampshire Literary Awards. NHWP also publishes NH Writer, a bimonthly, 16-page newsletter featuring news of writers and writing in the Granite State.

New Hampshire science fiction writer wins Nebula Award

James Patrick Kelly of Nottingham has won the 2006 Nebula Award for his short novel “Burn.” The Nebula Award is given yearly by the Science Fiction Writers of America for the best science fiction/fantasy work published in the United States during the previous two years. This year’s ceremony was held in New York City on May 12. Kelly won in the novella category.

James Patrick Kelly, chair of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts from 2004 to 2006, is the author of five novels and more than 60 published stories. His work has been translated into 16 languages. He has also won science fiction’s Hugo Award twice.

“This one meant a lot to me,” said Kelly in a press release. “Actually I was beginning to think I was jinxed. This is my first Nebula, even though I had been a finalist nine times before, dating back to 1985.” No other New Hampshire resident has ever won the Nebula award, considered to be science fiction’s most prestigious honor. 

Kelly describes “Burn” as a story set on a distant planet in the far future, in part a utopian colony founded on the principles of Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.” The colonists are best by terrorists who start forest fires; the main character is a forest fire fighter. With his publisher’s permission, Kelly began to podcast “Burn” simultaneously with print publication, releasing the recording for free use under a Creative Commons License. “I’m a science fiction writer,” said Kelly. “It seemed natural that I should try to explore the future of publishing.” “Burn” is the first podcast and the first literary work licensed under Creative Commons to win the Nebula.

John Michael Albert releases “Two-Ply and Extra Sensitive”

Poet and emcee of Jazzmouth John Michael Albert recently released his new book of poetry, “Two-Ply and Extra Sensitive,” through Sheltering Pines Press in Kennebunk, Maine. The book is 60 pages in softcover, perfect bound, with poems looking back and looking forward, from Texas, to World War II France, to the Mideast, the South, and Poland.
For more information, visit www.shelteringpinespress.com.

Rochester Public Library to hold poetry writing contest

To commemorate the Silver Anniversary of its Annual Photography Show, poets are invited to view photographs entered in “The Silver Category—Images of Rochester,” and to write and submit poems based on these images.

The photographs will be on exhibit through Friday, June 22. Poet Laureate Jennifer White will be in attendance to discuss the contest, which she will be judging. Poems will be due on Monday, July 2, and winners will be announced at a reception in September.

Applications are available at the Rochester Public Library and at www.rpl.lib.nh.us. For further information, contact Darcy Coffta at 603-335-7550.