Writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction are invited to submit their unpublished work for inclusion in Shepherd University’s the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Gretchen Moran Laskas Volume V. This special volume will be a collection of Appalachian stories, essays, poetry, memoir, and photographic art, which focuses both on the region and celebrates the literary art of storyteller and novelist Gretchen Moran Laskas. The deadline for submission is October 15.
Gretchen Moran Laskas is a native West Virginian whose award-winning novels The Midwife’s Tale and The Coal Miner’s Daughter are set in the early 20th century in West Virginia. Laskas will receive the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award on Thursday, September 27 at 8 p.m. in Erma Ora Byrd Hall on Shepherd’s campus, during the week-long Appalachian Heritage Festival celebration from September 24 to 29. Laskas will serve as the 2012 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence (WIR) at Shepherd, with the theme of her residency being “Building Bridges, Past and Present.”
Laskas’s work will be featured in the volume, along with other writers from the region and across the country. She will serve as editorial advisor of the anthology project and select the winners of the 2012 West Virginia Fiction Competition, who will be announced in September.
The Laskas volume was preceded by the Adriana Trignini Volume I, Silas House Volume II, Bobbie Ann Mason Volume III, and Ron Rash Volume IV. The anthology is funded by the West Virginia Center for the Book and the Shepherd University Foundation.
For information about submissions, visit http://www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/anthology/. Submissions should be e-mailed to Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, Appalachian Heritage WIR managing editor, before October 15, at sshurbut@shepherd.edu.
