NH Writers' Project - Special Events

New Hampshire Literary Awards
The New Hampshire Writers’ Project is pleased to present the 2007 New Hampshire Literary Awards on November 17 at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The honors will go to Maggie Dietz of Exeter, the Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry (Perennial Fall); Edith Milton of Francestown, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Work of Nonfiction (The Tiger in the Attic); Julie Baker of Amherst, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Work of Children’s Literature (The Bread and Roses Strike of 1912); Rebecca Curtis of Brooklyn, NY, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Work of Fiction (Twenty Grand); Annmarie Timmins of Concord, the Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award (for articles published in the Concord Monitor); and Theodore Weesner of Portsmouth, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The awards ceremony will feature a special opening reading by Ruth Doan MacDougall and presentations of awards by the prvious award winners, Jim Collins, Christopher Brookhouse, Patricia Fargnoli, and Terry Farish.

The New Hampshire Literary Awards program is made possible in part by generous support from Southern New Hampshire University, Lincoln Financial Foundation, RiverStone Resources, Northeast Delta Dental, and through operating support grants from The Badger Fund and The Blythe and Dan Brown Foundation of The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, with additional support from Gibson’s Bookstore.

New Hampshire Writers’ Trail

On October 7, 2006, the Writers’ Trail led to the Kearsarge Poetry Festival and Writers' Block Party in Wilmot, New Hampshire, an exciting day of programs focused on the work of Kearsarge poets Donald Hall, Maxine Kumin, and Jane Kenyon. Participants walked along paths and roads that inspired Jane Kenyon, took writing workshops, heard Donald Hall, Maxine Kumin, and friends read and discuss poetry, and met the poets. See complete details here.

New Hampshire Writers’ Trail programs bring together authors and readers in places that are significant to the authors' lives and literary works.

The first stop on the New Hampshire Writers' Trail was Laconia on Saturday, June 25, 2005. This city in the Lakes Region is the setting for Ruth Doan MacDougall's popular novels The Cheerleader, Snowy, and Henrietta Snow. Readers enjoyed an author-led tour, lunch and book signing, as well as a writing workshop led by MacDougall and Ernest Hebert on using place as inspiration.

On June 10, 2006, writers enjoyed an afternoon of reading, discussion, and discovery with writers Ernest Hebert, Howard Mansfield, and Richard Ober at Keene State College, Ernest Hebert’s alma mater. These accomplished Monadnock writers came together to discuss the writing process, the influence of place, and the making of books. The focus was Ernest Hebert’s novels set in the fictional town of Darby, NH. Ober opened with a talk on Hebert’s work and influences. Hebert read from his work, and Mansfield interviewed Hebert. This high-spirited discussion included time for readers’ questions. A reception with refreshments and book signing followed the program.

Sarah Josepha Hale Award and
Upper Valley Writers' Conference

The Sarah Josepha Hale Award is presented annually by the trustees of the Richards Free Library (Newport, N.H.) to a New England writer in recognition of a distinguished body of work in the field of literature and letters. The 2004 Hale Award was presented on Oct. 16 to poet Charles Simic at the Newport Opera House, following a day of New Hampshire Writers' Project workshops and a panel discussion at the New Hampshire Community Technical College in Claremont.

SLAM-O-RAMA 2
A Performance Poetry Invitational

Saturday, October 9, 2004 at the NH Institute of Art
148 Concord St., Manchester, N.H.

At Slam-O-Rama 2, some of New England’s top performance poets vied for audience response as well as points scored by a panel of judges chosen from the audience. Kerry Zagarella took the title from 2002 champ Jack McCarthy in the final round after a night of great poetry hosted by Bill McMillan. Thanks everyone, and congratulatons Kerry!

Many thanks to bestselling novelist Jodi Picoult and Yankee humorist Rebecca Rule for an evening of inspiration and fun at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Saturday, September 24, 2005, and for their generous support of the Writers’ Project.

An Evening with Jodi Picoult featured the two writers in dialogue, with a focus on Picoult’s fiction writing and creative process. Jodi and Rebecca kept the audience mesmerized with stories and laughter in a fresh, engaging, off-the-cuff interview. Thanks to all who turned out for this memorable evening, and to our sponsors, Jefferson Pilot Financial and the NHWP Board of Trustees.

Thank you to more than 800 people who turned out for the very special event, An Evening with Dan Brown, at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Tuesday, May 18, 2004. We are especially grateful to longtime member and friend Dan Brown, for an unparalleled evening and for his time and generous support of the New Hampshire writing community.
Sponsored by Northeast Delta Dental and
media sponsor NH Public Radio

For the first time in history, poets laureate from around the nation gathered in New Hampshire for a conference on the role of poetry in society on April 25 and 26, 2003. To find out more about this event, visit the Poetry and Politics Web site, www.poetryandpolitics.org.

Poetry and Politics, a true collaborative project, was produced by the New Hampshire Writers' Project in association with the Academy of American Poets and the State of New Hampshire, through the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding support from Jefferson Pilot Financial, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire Humanities Council and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

• Writers' Day is our annual one-day conference to celebrate our writing community. Writers' Day features workshops, a keynote speaker, member book sales, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities.

At Writers' Day 2006 Walter E. Butts and Zoe Cannon browse books while Barbara Dimmick (center) buys a book from Michael Hermann at the Gibson's Bookstore table. Gibson's donated 20% of book sale proceeds to NHWP. Photo by Joanna Maznek.

• Our public readings bring New Hampshire's finest writers to audiences around the state. NHWP also hosts readings featuring out-of-state writers, who help enhance New Hampshire's position in the national community of writers. Past events have featured paired readings between NH writers and their long-time friends: Donald Hall and Robert Bly in 1998; and Maxine Kumin and Lucille Clifton in 1999; and Cynthia Huntington and Grace Paley in 2002.

• NHWP welcomes opportunities for collaborations with other educational groups and nonprofit organizations in presenting appearances by NH authors. Our partners have included the New Hampshire Humanities Council, Celebrate New Hampshire, the John Hay Estate, the School of Liberal Arts at Southern New Hampshire University, Keene State College, The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire, The Governor Wentworth Arts Council, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and Manchester's Yo Gallery, among others.