Virtual Author and Poetry Events from New England Writers

Vermont Public Radio will be hosting four Vermont poets for a (virtual) evening of poetry.

Join host, Mitch Wertlieb, on Friday, April 24 at 6:00 p.m. when he’ll interview poets Didi Jackson, Major Jackson, Kerrin McCadden, and Elizabeth Powell about their work. You can tune-in for the live stream via Facebook by registering ahead of time for this event. Visit the Vermont Public Radio website for more information.

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont (also located in Saratoga Springs, NY) will be hosting weekly virtual events using ZOOM. These password-protected live meet-ups will be hosted by event managers Rachel Person and Dafydd Wood, every Thursday at 5pm. A different author will speak each week and participants will have the chance to interact with the authors and each other. Visit the Northshire Bookstore website for details.

Still North Books & Bar and Literary North will be having their very first virtual Open-Mic, this Sunday April 26th from 4 – 5:30 pm, also using ZOOM. 

Featured poets include April Ossmann, Laura Jean Binkley, Vievee Francis, Kristin Maffei, and Rena J. Mosteirin.

To participate as either a reader or a listener, you’ll need to visit the Literary North website to pre-register. The first 15 to sign up will be guaranteed a place in the line-up. Be prepared to read one, (non-epic length) poem.

Gibson’s Bookstore in Hanover, New Hampshire will be hosting a virtual event on Wednesday, April 29th at 6pm EST. The bookstore will be posting a link to a special video reading given by Maine author, Wesley McNair. The video was created by the author especially for Gibson’s (rural and unreliable Internet service prohibits using ZOOM for a live reading).

His latest book, Dwellers in the House of the Lord, is a book-length poem:

“Wesley McNair, one of today's finest storytellers in poetry or prose, attests to patience and perseverance, and an unwavering belief in compassion and reconciliation, even amidst the ugly politics of our time.”

 Questions can be submitted for Wesley ahead of the event via Gibson’s website.

Brilliant Light Publishing Website Launched Nearly One Year Ago

We’re pleased to be adding a new area to the site: Featured Independent Bookstore

It’s been nearly one year since the Brilliant Light Publishing website launched and we’ve gathered together a list of some of the finest in New England writing talent. What began as a list of Recommended Vermont Poets and their books quickly branched out to include Recommended Fiction and Nonfiction writers, as well as poets from the New England writing community, and covering a variety of topics, including Nature, Travel, and Children’s books.

The Norwich Bookstore is located in Norwich, Vermont

We continue to promote the best of New England’s poets and writers, and we’re pleased to be adding a new area to the site: Featured Independent Bookstore. As with our Featured Poet/Writer page, from time-to-time we’ll showcase an exceptional independent bookstore and share some of their staff’s recommended titles by New England authors. Our first offering is The Norwich Bookstore, located in Norwich, Vermont.

We hope that you continue to find our author and book suggestions helpful this summer season, and seek them out at your favorite independent bookstore. We’ll also continue to update our site with author and bookstore events.

We’d be happy to hear about New England writers you’ve been reading lately. One of our favorites is Vermont poet, James Crews.

James Crews reading from his book, Telling My Father

Visit our Featured Poet/Writer page to learn more, and thanks for visiting www.brilliantlightpublishing.com.

— Scott Lesniewski, Contributing Editor, Brilliant Light Publishing

League of Vermont Writers fall program

The recent League of Vermont Writers fall program, held on October 6th, was a great success! Each of the three keynote speakers -- Sonja Hakala, Ed Vincent, and Bill Schubart, gave excellent and informative presentations. It was clear from the very positive audience response that each presenter delivered vital information.

Ed spoke from his great experience as a publisher of mystery novels, and demonstrated his expertise, with many stories of how his publishing company works. Sonja detailed the various author choices currently available, from traditional publishing, to self-publishing, to ebooks. She outlined the steps to take, and paths to avoid, drawing on her experience and research used to author her book, Your Book, Your Way. Also, she reviewed publishing vocabulary and which companies could help with the various choices.

Bill Schubart also spoke from decades of personal experience that included numbers to make his point. For example, after outlining the steps to publish, he suggested that for an author to develop a book, pricing could run as much as $2,800 to $3,200. This included the necessary costs to pay critical readers, a copy editor, a literary editor, etc. He also mentioned professional ways to approach bookstores, outlined steps preliminary to printing and promoting a book, and covered royalties from traditional publishers.

The program also included genre break out sessions to help members get to know each other while working on writing as creative groups. The group overall agreed the day was very successful.

On October 8th, Vermont Poet Laureate, Chard DeNiord, conducted a workshop sponsored by Sundog Poetry. His command of the history of poetry was inspiring as he responded to questions. In his critiques of attendees’ poems, he gave examples of specific poets’ solutions to similar issues, along with his own suggestions. It is very apparent that he is an outstanding teacher, and after the session, he read from his own poems.