Announcing the Morgantown Poets winter/spring reading series kickoff, featuring Matt Anserello, Isaac Pressnell and T. W. McNemar

Thursday, January 21 at 7pm, Open Thread and Morgantown Poets will hold the kickoff reading for their winter/spring reading series at the Monongalia Arts Center. The reading will feature the poets Matt Anserello, West Virginia winner of our 2009 Tri-State Chapbook contest and Isaac Pressnell, the West Virginia judge of same, as well as humor and fiction writer T. W. (Terry) McNemar.  The reading is free and open to the public. The MAC is at 107 High Street, downtown Morgantown (beside Hotel Morgan).

About the authors: McNemar is a humor, short story and novel writer. His writing reflects the humanity, humor and conscience of everyday life, often in a strong Appalachian style. McNemar’s work has been featured in The Johns-Hopkins University ‘ScribblePress,’ the drama textbook, Young Women’s Monologues from Contemporary Plays, MountainEchoes, and Traditions, the literary journal of Fairmont State University. His novella, “Ragdoll Angel” (Booklocker, 2007), tells the story of a kidnapping in a small mountain village in 1952. McNemar is also the current president of West Virginia Writers, Inc.

Open Thread is pleased to announce its six nominees for the 2009 Pushcart Prize.

From the Open Thread Regional Review, Vol. 1 (April 2009):

“Legacy,” by Alayna Frankenberry

“Oh Bless Thy Fine-Feathered Healer,” by Sophie Klahr

“This Is an Advertisement I Would Like to Produce,” by Tom Laskow

and “Because I Asked for Marvels Poached in Ice,” by S.E. Smith

From the 2009 Open Thread Tri-State Chapbooks (July 2009):

“Choose Your Baby,” from the chapbook Cloud Shaped Room by Matt Anserello

and “22. Down,” from the chapbook Life as a Crossword Puzzle by Noah Falck

Huge thanks go out to all our contributors, who trust us with their extraordinary work in every publication.

The open reading period for Volume Two of the Open Thread Regional Review closes on Sunday, November 1^st at midnight! We’re considering unsolicited poems, stories, essays, paintings, drawings, prints, photos, video stills, documentation of 3-D work, comics, and mixed media and genres!

Who’s eligible? Any native or current resident of Open Thread’s target region: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Eligible writers and artists must also be in the early stages of a career in their respective field.

Here’s how to submit: go to www.openthread.org, register as an Open Thread member (free!), and then upload your work at www.openthread.org/submit! Be sure to read carefully: preference is given to work that meets our submission guidelines.

The Open Thread Regional Review is an essential collection of the region’s best emerging art and literature. Volume Two is scheduled for release in early 2010 and is supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund. Volume One is available for purchase at www.openthread.org/publications.

This spring, Open Thread is holding its first-ever Tri-State Chapbook Contest  in partnership with Encyclopedia Destructica! We’re taking manuscript submissions now until June 1^st, so check out our handy guidelines. 

Once the deadline rolls around, Open Thread will announce a set of finalists for each state – Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – and send the manuscripts off to our final judges! So start submitting, and tell your regional cohorts! In the meantime, get to know our guest judges.

Ohio: Tyler Meier

Tyler Meier’s poems have appeared in AGNI, Cranky, Forklift, Ohio, Prism Review, and the Seattle Review. Poems are forthcoming from Bat City Review and Washington Square. He works as the managing editor of The Kenyon Review.

Pennsylvania: Claire Donato

Claire Donato grew up in and around Pittsburgh, PA. She is the former poetry editor of The New Yinzer and has studied poetry at The University of Pittsburgh and, most recently, Brown University. She is the author of a chapbook, Someone Else’s Body (Cannibal Books 2009). Her poetry and prose have been published or are forthcoming in journals such as Harp & Altar, Caketrain, Coconut, Fou, Gustaf, Dewclaw, The Open Face Sandwich, and Gray Tape. She currently lives in Providence, RI.

West Virginia: Isaac Pressnell

Isaac Pressnell received his MFA in poetry from West Virginia University. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Tar River Poetry, Ninth Letter, DIAGRAM, Opium, and Bravado. He lives in Keyser, WV where he teaches English at Potomac State College.

Tyler, Claire, Isaac, and all of us at Open Thread can’t wait to read your chapbook manuscripts, so upload yours now!

Reading Period for Open Thread’s Tri-State Chapbook Contest Starts Wednesday, April 1^st

Open Thread and Encyclopedia Destructica are collaborating on a new project, the first annual Tri-State Chapbook Contest, supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund.

Three winning chapbook manuscripts – one from Ohio, one from Pennsylvania, and one from West Virginia – will be selected in June and produced by Encyclopedia Destructica for release in July. Guidelines for submissions can be found here.

The first round of reading begins on April 1^st and concludes at midnight on June 1^st, 2009 (the latest possible submission date). At that point, Open Thread will announce finalists and send them to guest judges (TBA). We can’t wait to start reading your poetry and prose!