CHAUTAUQUA - Six award-winning writers will visit Chautauqua Institution for the 9th annual Chautauqua Writers' Festival, nationally recognized by Poets & Writer's Magazine as one of 50 notable writers' festivals in the United States. This year's festival will run June 14-17.
Poets Martin Espada and Judith Vollmer, fiction writers Glenn Taylor and Cristina Garcia, and nonfiction writers Natalia Rachel Singer and Valeria Boyd will share their insights on the art and craft of writing.
Called "the Latino poet of his generation," Espada has published more than 15 books as a poet, editor, essayist and translator. His many honors include being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize as well as the recipient of the Robert Creeley Award and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award.
Judith Vollmer has just released her new book of poetry, The Water Books. She has previously been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and has been awarded The Cleveland State Poetry Prize.
Finalist for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award, Taylor has had books published not only in the U.S. but also the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Portugal. He currently teaches at West Virginia University and is at work on another novel.
Cristina Garcia has written five novels, two works for young readers and a collection of poetry. Her work has been nominated for a National Book Award and translated into 14 languages.
The works of Natalia Rachel Singer have been widely published in magazines, literary journals and anthologies. She is currently working on a travel memoir and is the Craig Professor of English at St. Lawrence University.
Boyd has been published in The Oxford America, The Los Angeles Time and Essence and Atlanta Magazine. Last year she worked with writers via Skype, but this year she will be joining the other five writers in person.
The Writers' Festival offers writers the chance to lead in intensive workshops designed to ensure participants personalized attention. They also participate in readings, panel discussions and individual conferences with faculty mentors. For more information, visit writers.ciweb.org/.
The Writers' Festival is co-sponsored by Clarion University, Penn State Erie and University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Chautauqua is also the home of the oldest continuous national book club in the United States (Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle) and the Chautauqua Writers' Center. The Writers' Center, now in its 24th year, offers weekly workshops in poetry and prose throughout Chautauqua's summer season.
Chautauqua Institution is a summer community located in southwestern New York State on Chautauqua Lake. It offers a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship, educational programs, and recreational activities. Each summer the Institution hosts over 2,200 events and 100,000 guests. For more information please visit, www.ciweb.org.
