Updates is for you to share news of events in your area with us and to help you to create an international network of events that will link How2 participants together. Please send us your details of reading series, calls for submission to journals and conferences, plus details of launches of new websites, archives etc. that you feel might be of interest to How2 readers and we will post it up.

Monday 23 April 2007

SEMINA - WHERE THE NOVEL HAS A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

BOOK WORKS NEW OPEN SUBMISSION SERIES
COMMISSIONING EDITOR: STEWART HOME

Theme

Semina takes its inspiration from a series of nine loose-leaf magazines issued by Californian beat artist Wallace Berman in the 1950s and 1960s. We are looking for experimental prose that draws inspiration from art as much as it does from literature; for writing with a radical and extremely selfconscious understanding of itself; work that takes itself both beyond and behind the mid-twentieth century après-garde and is inspired by groups such as Cobra, the Beats, Fluxus, Oulipo, the Letterists, and those involved with the new novel and Black Mountain, as well as the more recognizably post-modern experimentation associated with figures like Kathy Acker, Dennis Cooper and Lynne Tillman. We aim to publish work that will cross any and all genre boundaries, that is unable to recognise differences between poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, high brow and low brow, art and life; and that continually reforges the passage between formalism and sensuous activity. Themes that interest us include drugs, magic, the art world, life, death and transcendence; but above all we’re looking for unknown artists and writers willing to take risks with their prose and who demonstrate total disregard for the conventions that structure received ideas about fiction.

Design

Semina will have a series identity and a regular format drawn from Wallace Berman’s Semina magazine and verifax collages. We will commission and work with a designer on this project. The print-run will be up to 1,500 copies. Published works will be between 30,000 & 50,000 words or 72 & 128 pages.

The Commission

Commissioned and edited by artist and writer Stewart Home, the series will publish nine books, six of which will be selected by open submission, a further two commissioned by the editor, and a final title Blood Rites of the Bourgeoisie to be produced by Stewart Home. Three books will be published a year. The selection will be by Stewart Home and Book Works staff.

How to apply

Please return the attached form and send a sample of between 3000 & 5000 words of the proposed work, a CV, a registration fee of £10, and a stamped self-addressed envelope for your reply, before the deadline of 31 May 2007. If you want your submission and supporting material returned please include sufficient postage stamps. Submissions must be typed; hand written submissions or electronic files will not be accepted. Proposals should be text based, though this series may include illustrations. We are not looking for works that have already been written, we want to develop the book with you.

Eligibility

Proposals are welcome from all sections of society, including practitioners from different culturally diverse backgrounds.

Selection and schedule

The shortlist and selection from open submission for the first publications is scheduled for Summer 2007. We will write to let you know if your work has been short-listed and selected as soon as we can. If your work is short-listed we may then ring/contact you for further information or ask you to come and talk more about your proposal with us. We would expect the commissions to be underway from August, for publication in Spring 2008.

Feedback

Due to the volume of applications we receive each year we will not be able to give any specific feedback on individual proposals unless short-listed. However we do run free artists’ surgeries on a monthly basis, and are able to spend time discussing potential projects, offering help and advice on publishing and distribution of artists’ books at these sessions.

Fee

A commissioning fee of £500 will be paid to the selected artists/writers, plus 100 copies of their book. Book Works will be responsible for all production, publishing and marketing costs. The selected artists will be asked to sign an agreement with Book Works that will include a contract and detailed schedule for work.

General information on Book Works

Book Works commissions new work in collaboration with artists, writers, and designers; publishes and produces books, multiples, videos and internet/new media projects. It organizes exhibitions, installations, time based and performance works, discussions and events. It promotes and distributes its own publications and offers a resource about book publishing, production and distribution. It has a studio offering a range of printing and binding facilities and services. For full details about Book Works past/current projects please refer to our website: www.bookworks.org.uk

Book Works
19 Holywell Row
London EC2A 4JB
Telephone: 020 7247 2203
Facsimile: 020 7247 2540
www.bookworks.org.uk

Tuesday 10 April 2007

Two Upcoming Readings at Teachers & Writers Collaborative

April 19th 7 pm 2020 Visions: David Lehman and Erica Fabri

A reading with David Lehman, author of 7 books of poetry, including When a Woman Loves a Man and An Alternative to Speech, and 3 books of non-fiction, as well as, series editor for Best American Poetry.

Erica Miriam Fabri, author of High Heel Magazine, winner of the Belle Letters Chapbook prize. Her poetry has appeared in many journals including, MiPoesia, Good Foot, and Sink Review.

A light reception to follow.

Teachers & Writers Collaborative
520 8th Ave, btwn 36th and 37th
suite 2020
Trains A,C,E, to 34th Penn Station
www.twc.org/ 212-691-6590

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May 10th 7pm 2020 Visions: Mei-mei Berssenbrugge and Prageeta Sharma

A reading with Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, author of I Love Artist: New and Selected Poems, Heat Bird, Empathy, Sphericity and Four Year Old Girl.

Prageeta Sharma, author of The Opening Question, winner of the 2004 Fence Modern Poets Series and Bliss To Fill.

A light reception to follow.

Teachers & Writers Collaborative
520 8th Ave, btwn 36th and 37th
suite 2020
Trains A,C,E, to 34th Penn Station
www.twc.org
212-691-6590

Thursday 5 April 2007

Introducing the Arts Awards with Wellcome Trust

A new funding scheme which continues to support arts projects that engage with biomedical science.

www.wellcome.ac.uk/arts

The Wellcome Trust believes the arts are an effective way of stimulating debate and engaging people with biomedical science. Visual art, music, moving image, creative writing and performance can reach new audiences which may not traditionally be interested in science and provide new ways of thinking about the social, cultural and ethical issues around contemporary science. Collaborative and interdisciplinary practice across the arts and sciences can help to provide new perspectives on both fields. The arts can also provide imaginative ways of engaging and educating young people in the field of science.

The Arts Awards support projects that engage the public with biomedical science through the arts. The scheme aims to:
  • stimulate interest, excitement and debate about biomedical science through the arts
  • examine the social, cultural, and ethical impact of biomedical science
  • support formal and informal learning
  • encourage new ways of thinking
  • encourage high quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborative partnerships in arts, science and/or education practice.
  • All art forms are covered by the programme: dance, drama, performance arts, visual arts, music, film, craft, photography, creative writing or digital media.
  • We invite applications for projects which engage adult audiences and/or young people.
Projects should have some biomedical scientific input either through a scientist taking on an advisory role or through direct collaboration. Applicants are encouraged to investigate new methods of interdisciplinary working as well as new models of engagement in biomedical science.

View examples of projects funded through our previous arts funding schemes:
Sciart (arts and science collaboration)
Pulse (young people's arts).

Funding levels
Funding can be applied for at two levels:
Small to medium sized projects (up to and including £30 000)
Funding can either be used to support the development of new project ideas, deliver small-scale productions or workshops, investigate and experiment with new methods of engagement through the arts, or develop new collaborative relationships between artists and scientists.

Large projects (above £30 000)
This funding can be used to fund full or part production costs for large-scale arts projects that aim to have significant impact on the public's engagement with biomedical science. We are also interested in supporting high-quality, multi-audience, multi-outcome projects.

Applicants can apply for any amount within the above boundaries, for projects lasting a maximum of three years.

Who can apply?
Applicants must be based in the UK or the Republic of Ireland and the activity must take place in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Applicants are usually affiliated to organisations, but can apply as individuals.

The scheme is open to a wide range of people including, among others, artists, scientists, curators, filmmakers, writers, producers, directors, academics, science communicators, teachers, arts workers and education officers.

Organisations may include: arts venues; museums and other cultural attractions; arts agencies; production companies; broadcast media; schools; local education authorities; universities and colleges; youth clubs; community groups; research institutes; the NHS; science centres.

How to apply
Applications must be made using the Wellcome Trust application form available at:
www.wellcome.ac.uk/arts
Please refer to the application guidelines, evaluation guidelines and Grant Conditions prior to completing the form.
If you would like advice on the eligibility of your project or how to apply, please contact the Arts Awards office well in advance of the deadline.

Timing
For small to medium sized projects (up to and including £30 000) there will be four deadlines in 2007: 16 March, 13 July, 28 September and 15 November. Decisions will be made approximately three months after the deadline.

For large projects (over £30 000) the deadline is 27 April 2007. Decisions will be made approximately five months after the deadline.

All projects will be peer reviewed and assessed individually on merit and need by the Funding Committee.

All enquiries and applications should be addressed to:
Arts Awards
Wellcome Trust
Gibbs Building
215 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE, UK

T +44 (0)20 7611 7222
F +44 (0)20 7611 8269
E arts@wellcome.ac.uk

The Poetics of Globalisation

May 2nd, Centre for Contemporary Writing, University of Southampton

Confirmed speakers
Michael Davidson (University of California, San Diego)
Jeff Derksen (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver)
Liam Connell (University of Herfordshire, UK)
Keston Sutherland (University of Sussex, UK)

The implications of the ubiquitous languages of ‘globalization’ for literary and cultural critique are far from clear. The term is deeply ambivalent, suggesting both a political critique of the neo-liberal agenda and an accession to the universalizing assumptions of its corporate entities. This workshop offers literary critics the opportunity to assess and openly debate the significance of the theoretical and political frameworks of globalization for the study of literature.

Specific issues to be addressed include:
  • How does literature allow us to better understand the impact and effects of globalization: on the body, on the nation, on work?
  • How can globalization be understood as a cultural, as well as economic and political, entity? What cultural and literary forms has it produced? What kinds of engagement with the economic and political do these cultural forms demand or produce?
  • What are the languages of globalization? How new are they? How do they supplement or replace existing discourses of Marxism, post-colonialism, or postmodernism?
This event is intended to facilitate discussion between specialists working in these emerging areas. It will consist of a two two-hour panels (with three speakers in each) and one extended roundtable discussion.

Proposals of maximum 200 words are sought for twenty-minute workshop papers, as well as for short (max 5 minutes) 'position papers' for the concluding discussion.

Please email proposals or enquiries to Nicky Marsh at nm8@soton.ac.uk

Wednesday 4 April 2007

Little Red Leaves

Little Red Leaves is a collectively edited online poetry journal. Our first issue will be released on MayDay (May 1st 2007). Since this is a collective, we do not subscribe to any one poetics/school of poetry etc. and the hope is that this will still ensure an interesting read. We also have a chapbook press, Dos Press, which will be debuting in May as well, with poems from Hoa Nguyen, Andrea Strudensky, and Carter Smith.

(In addition to this email, information about the journal can be found at littleredleavesjournal.blogspot.com)

*General Submissions: Please send 3-5 poems (of any length) as a Word, RTF, or PDF attachment to littleredleaves@gmail.com. In the subject line include your name and "general."

*Other Submissions: Each editor might also decide to edit a 'special section' with more specific guidelines. These will be posted separately as such.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted as long as you let us know if someone else has snatched your brilliant poem first. We do not consider previously published work.

Please allow six to eight weeks for a response. After eight weeks, please query if you haven't heard a word.

*Queries: Send any questions you might have to littleredleaves@gmail.com with "Query" as your subject line.

Special Calls :

Currently we have two calls- one for long poems and one for entre-genres. Please see the blog for updates/editions to these.

We hope to hear from you!

Alison Cimino
Michelle Detorie
Julia Drescher
Chad Heltzel
CJ Martin
Pablo Miguel Martinez
Karen McBurney