For Angela

Submitted by aisling on 21 May, 2010 - 16:06

 

For Angela is a short film about a young mother and her daughter’s everyday experiences of prejudice and racism in their hometown of Winnipeg.  This film is based on a true story and the 8th film in our 10 week, Hate Racism? Watch these Films campaign.

On what starts out as a regular day waiting for the bus with her daughter Angela, Rhonda is harassed by some teenage boys.  These youths look at the two as they sit calmly at the stop, and grasping at every stereotype against Aboriginal people in the book, they begin to chant and taunt the young family. 

Rhonda, who is disturbed by this atrocious display from the three angry teenagers quietly asks them to stop.  This only causes the abuse to escalate once they’re all on the bus. Fellow passengers look the other way.   

This short but powerful film tells a simple story of what it feels like to be discriminated against.  The main characters are insulted, ostracised, made “to feel like garbage” and shamed over their own culture.  And in the final act of the film, Rhonda confronts one of the boys who has said so many damaging things, to teach him that there is a very human consequence to his hateful actions.

For Angela shows the lasting feeling of worthlessness referred to in every Work For All film.  In our recent release, The Colour of Beauty, we saw how non-white models feel devalued by the fashion industry. In Doctors without Residency, we saw how doctors from foreign countries feel they are not given a fair chance to practice medicine in Canada.

For Angela is great for teaching children that racial slurs have a lasting effect.  The film has been used in schools as a discussion piece.

Niger Delta: Oil spills in perspective

by Sokari on May 30, 2010

in Environment, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Last week environmental activists from across the world including Nigeria, Ecuador and Burma were prevented by Chevron from entering the shareholders meeting despite having legal shareholding proxies. Below activist Niger Delta Emem Okon spoke to Democracy Now! on the actions of Chevron and other oil companies operating in Nigeria – Shell, Mobil, Elf and Agip. One point she raised in respect of the BP oil spill was the comparison between the news media’s reports and public outcry in the US and the relative lack of both in Nigeria where oil spills have been taking place for the past 50 years. For example the Exxon Valdez in 1989 spilled an estimated 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million litres, or 250,000 barrels) of crude oil. Compare this with oil spills in the Delta…

Up to 1.5 million tons of oil, 50 times the pollution unleashed in the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster, has been split in the ecologically precious Niger Delta over the past 50 years, it was revealed yesterday.

A panel of independent experts who travelled to the increasingly tense and lawless region said damage to the fragile mangrove forests over the past 50 years was tantamount to a catastrophic oil spill occurring every 12 months in what is one of the world’s most important ecosystems.

As well as threatening rare species including primates, fish, turtles and birds, the pollution is destroying the livelihoods of many of the 20 million people living there, damaging crops and fuelling the upsurge in violence, it was claimed.

Last year alone Shell admitted to spilling 14,000 tones of oil. However the oil companies in Nigeria have consistently blamed oil spills on poor farmers and fisher men and women and more recently on militants. Whilst this may be the true in a small number of cases a great deal of spills are due first to pipes which are old and rusted and irregularly maintained; and secondly the fact that the many pipelines run overground in front of built up areas even in front of peoples homes and are therefore more vulnerable to accidental damage. Their denial of responsibility also ignores why the pipelines are located in highly built up areas and near to fishing ponds / creeks and farmlands.

Oil spills are only part of the story. There is also the environmental and health impact of 50 years of gas flaring and again the oil companies have repeatedly denied any of the health claims by local communities. Common sense would tell anyone who has seen a gas flare pit [gas flares burn either on the ground in pits or in the sky] with red hot flames spewing black spoke, dust and grit that this must be a health hazard to anyone living or working nearby. Note the date to end gas flaring has been constantly delayed

If one positive thing comes out of the massive personal and environmental assault that is taking place in the Gulf – let it be a wake up call for all of us in this oil dependent world and a call to action to stop the criminal and exploitative actions of transnational oil companies.

Emem Okon on Chevron’s actions

 

 

 

 

2010 First Book Award
$2500 and publication
final judge: Jake Adam York

Crab Orchard Review and Southern Illinois University Press are pleased to announce the selection of last year's competition. Our final judge, Michelle Boisseau, selected Traci Brimhall's ROOKERY as the winner of the 2009 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award. ROOKERY will be published by Southern Illinois University Press in December 2010.

 

Below are the guidelines for the 2010 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, which will be open for entries on MAY 15, 2010:

A first book of poems will be selected for publication from an open competition of manuscripts POSTMARKED MAY 15, 2010 through JULY 1, 2010. (Since this is a postmark deadline, there is no need to send Express Mail, Fedex, or UPS. First Class or Priority Mail are preferred.) Manuscripts should be 50-75 pages of original poetry, in English, by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who has neither published, nor committed to publish, a volume of poetry 48 pages or more in length in an edition of over 500 copies* (individual poems may have been previously published). (**Current or former students, colleagues, and close friends of the final judge, and current students and employees of Southern Illinois University and authors published by Southern Illinois University Press are not eligible.) For questions about judging, please visit http://www.siuc.edu/~crborchd/conpo3.html.)

The winner will receive a publication contract with Southern Illinois University Press, and will be awarded a $1000 prize. The winner will also receive $1500 as an honorarium for a reading at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Manuscripts should be typewritten, single-spaced. No more than one poem should appear on a page. Dot-matrix printing that is not letter-quality is not acceptable. A clean photocopy is recommended. Please do not send your only copy of the manuscript since manuscripts will not be returned, and please do not include illustrations. CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW and Southern Illinois University Press assume no responsibility for damaged or lost manuscripts. All submissions must be accompanied by a $25 entry fee. Please make your check out to "Crab Orchard Series in Poetry." All entrants will receive a year's subscription to CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, beginning with the 2011 Winter/Spring CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW.

Submit two title pages for the collection. The author's name, address, and daytime phone number should appear on the first title page only. The author's name should appear nowhere else in the manuscript. An acknowledgments page listing poems previously published in magazines, journals, or anthologies should be placed after the second title page.

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (July, 2010).

 

Competition Details 

Subject: Poems may be on any subject, any style and MUST NOT have been previously published, posted to a website or blog. Poems posted to members-only writing groups for workshop purposes as part of the creative process are not deemed to have been previously published.

Length: Maximum 40 lines per poem

Entry Fees: £3.00 per poem or £12.00 for 5 poems

First Prize: £150.00

Second Prize: £60.00

Third Prize: £40.00

First Publication: The top three poems will receive first publication in the July 2010 issue (Vol.3 No.4) of Sentinel Literary Quarterly (SLQ) online.

Competition Magazine: A total of 15 poems from this competition will be published in The Sentinel Champions Magazine in November 2010.

Deadline: 25th June, 2010

Results due: 31st July, 2010 announced in Sentinel Literary Quarterly magazine at http://www.sentinelquarterly.com

Judge: Derek Adams

Competition Administration: Sentinel Poetry Movement

 

ENTER BY POST OR ONLINE

 

POSTAL ENTRIES

1. Poems must be in English Language and typed.

2. Author's name and address or any other identifying mark MUST NOT appear on any of your poetry pages.

3. PRINT your Name, Postal Address, E-mail Address and if you wish, Telephone number on a plain sheet of paper and place the paper in a sealed envelope.

4. Write "SLQ POETRY JULY 2010" followed by the Title(s) of your poem(s) on the back of the envelope.

5. Make cheques or Postal Orders (in GB£ only) payable to SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT.

6. Send your poems, the envelope with your name inside, and your entry fee to: 

Sentinel Poetry Movement

Unit 136

113 – 115 George Lane

London

E18 1AB

United Kingdom

 

ONLINE ENTRIES*

 

International/Online entrants may enter by e-mail and pay entry fees by Paypal. To enter by this method please follow these steps:

1. Select the option that matches your entry preference from the paypal drop-down button below and make the applicable payment.

2. After making your payment, you will be given a Transaction ID or Receipt Number by Paypal. Make a note of the Transaction ID.

3. Submit your poems and a cover note with your Name, Postal Address, Optional Telephone Number and Titles of your poems to sentinelpoetry@gmail.com as a Word or rtf attachment. In the subject line, type SLQ POETRY JULY 2010 Followed by your Transaction ID.

4. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of poems within 48 hours.

SLQ POETRY JUL 2010

1 Poem £3.00 2 Poems £6.00 3 Poems £9.00 5 Poems £12.00

Terms & Conditions:

1. You may enter as many poems as you wish with the appropriate entry fees.

2. The decision of the judge is final, and no communication will be entered into. 3. If on the advice of the judge, the quality of entries is too low to produce worthy prize winners, or any other legitimate reason beyond our control arises which may affect a fair completion or conduct of the competition, we reserve the right to cancel the competition and refund all entry fees immediately by the same method we have been paid. 4. If you would like an acknowledgement of postal entries, please enclose an SAE marked "acknowledgement". 5. The Judge's Report will be published alongside the winning poems in SLQ July 2010. This publication is online, if you would like to receive the Judges' Report in the post, please enclose an SAE marked "Judges' Report". 6. All prizes won will be paid inside 30 days of the announcement of the results. * Online entries must be received by midnight on the 25th June 2010 E&OE | SLQ

Contest Rules

 

• Eligibility
  The awards are open to books published during the 2006-2010 calendar year. The following are not permitted to enter the contest: employees of Five Star Publications and their immediate family members; Five Star contributing editors and writers; any author affiliated with Five Star Publications; and close acquaintances and relatives of any of the judges. Self-published books will be accepted, as long as they fit the above criteria.

   

• Entry fees
  The entry fee for the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards contest is $50. Entry fees are per title, per category. Participants may enter one book in one category for a single entry fee, enter one book in multiple categories or enter several different books in the contest, as long as they pay separate entry fees for each category entered and mail in the appropriate amount of book copies.

   

• Submission guidelines
  Participants should mail two copies of their book along with a completed entry form and payment (check or money order) to Five Star Publications, Attn: Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, P.O. Box 6698, Chandler, AZ 85246-6698. When entering a title into more than one category, please send two copies of the book for each category entered. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Five Star Publications. Please be aware that no books will be returned; all will be donated.

  If you are entering more than one book into the competition, you may mail all entries in the same envelope and write one check for the total entry fee.

   

• Deadline
  The deadline for submissions is July 14, 2010. Submissions received after this date will not be considered for an award, and entry fees will not be refunded.

   

• Categories
  
  You may enter as many books as you like in each of the following categories:
  1. Green books/Environmental issues: Books dealing with environmental issues, recycling, conservation of our planet's resources, etc.
  2. Spiritual/Religious: Books that address religion and/or spiritual matters, including books on death and grieving.
  3. Animals/Pets: Books about animals and family pets.
  4. Cooking: Books on cooking and cuisine.
  5. Collecting/Hobbies: Books about hobbies for children.
  6. Sports: Books about sports and/or athletes.
  7. Charity/Making a difference: Books that teach children the importance of giving and showing compassion for others in need.
  8. Family matters: Books that deal with issues affecting the family, such as divorce, adoption, a new baby, moving, etc.
  9. Growing pains: Books that help children understand the changes they go through as they grow older.
  10. Health: Books on general health topics that teach children how to lead healthy lifestyles.
  11. Educational/Instructional: How-to books and books that teach, such as books on math or how to fly a kite.
  12. School issues: Books dealing with issues children may encounter at school, such as bullying, making new friends, etc.
  13. Outdoor recreation: Books on outdoor activities that can be enjoyed by children and the whole family, such as camping, hiking, fishing, etc.
  14. Exercise/Fitness: Books that teach children how to keep physically fit.
  15. Arts/Music: Books on the fine arts that help children develop an appreciation for culture.
  16. Fiction
  17. Best cover design
  18. Best interior design
  19. General - for any categories not listed above.

   

• Judging Process
  Judging will be based on content, originality and overall readability, with emphasis on innovation and creativity. Our judging panel includes experts from the fields of editing, reviewing, bookselling and publishing. Every entry will be read by the judges, whose decisions are final. Top award winners will be notified by mail before September 17, 2010. Prizes/awards certificates for the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards will be presented at the Arizona Literary Awards Banquet, November 6, 2010 in conjunction with Arizona Authors Association. (The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards are not affiliated with the Arizona Authors Association.)

  The judges reserve the right to switch the category for an entry, to cancel a category if the number of entries is insufficient, or to decide not to have a winner if the level of the best entries is not up to publishing industry standards.

  Any entry not conforming to the guidelines will be disqualified without notifying the author. There will be no refund for disqualified entries.

   

• Prizes
  Grand prize: One winner will be chosen from all entries to receive the grand prize. The grand prize book must be outstanding in content, readability, entertainment value and overall production and live up to Five Star Publications' strict standards of excellence. The grand prize winner will receive a $300 cash prize, 100 foil award seals (more can be ordered for an extra charge), One hour of marketing consultation from Five Star Publications and $100 worth of Five Star Publications' titles, as well as publicity on Five Star Publications' Web site.

  First place: One winner will be chosen in each category. First place winners of categories will receive a $75 cash prize, a certificate commemorating their accomplishment, 25 foil award seals (more can be ordered for an extra charge) and mention on Five Star Publications' Web site.

  Second place: Once second place winner will be chosen in each category. Second place winners will receive a certificate commemorating their accomplishment and mention on Five Star Publications' Web site.

   

• Questions?
  Please carefully review all of the information above before making your submission to the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards competition. For additional questions, contact Five Star Publications at 480-940-8182 or toll free at 866-471-0777. Email info@FiveStarPublications.com.

 

10 Things You Need (But Don't Want) To Know About the BP Oil Spill

AlterNet / By Daniela Perdomo

 105 COMMENTS

How the owner of the exploded oil rig has made $270 million off the disaster, and nine other shocking, depressing facts about the oil spill.

May 27, 2010  

It's been 37 days since BP's offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, crude oil has been hemorrhaging into ocean waters and wreaking unknown havoc on our ecosystem -- unknown because there is no accurate estimate of how many barrels of oil are contaminating the Gulf.

Though BP officially admits to only a few thousand barrels spilled each day, expert estimates peg the damage at 60,000 barrels or over 2.5 million gallons daily. (Perhaps we'd know more if BP hadn't barred independent engineers from inspecting the breach.) Measures to quell the gusher have proved lackluster at best, and unlike the country's last big oil spill -- Exxon-Valdez in 1989 -- the oil is coming from the ground, not a tanker, so we have no idea how much more oil could continue to pollute the Gulf's waters.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster reminds us what can happen -- and will continue to happen -- when corporate malfeasance and neglect meet governmental regulatory failure.

The corporate media is tracking the disaster with front-page articles and nightly news headlines every day (if it bleeds, or spills, it leads!), but the under-reported aspects to this nightmarish tale paint the most chilling picture of the actors and actions behind the catastrophe. In no particular order, here are 10 things about the BP spill you may not know and may not want to know -- but you should.

1. Oil rig owner has made $270 million off the oil leak

Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP, has been flying under the radar in the mainstream blame game. The world's largest offshore drilling contractor, the company is conveniently headquartered in corporate-friendly Switzerland, and it's no stranger to oil disasters. In 1979, an oil well it was drilling in the very same Gulf of Mexico ignited, sending the drill platform into the sea and causing one of the largest oil spills by the time it was capped... nine months later.

This experience undoubtedly influenced Transocean's decision to insure the Deepwater Horizon rig for about twice what it was worth. In a conference call to analysts earlier this month, Transocean reported making a $270 million profit from insurance payouts after the disaster. It's not hard to bet on failure when you know it's somewhat assured.

2. BP has a terrible safety record

BP has a long record of oil-related disasters in the United States. In 2005, BP's Texas City refinery exploded, killing 15 workers and injuring another 170. The next year, one of its Alaska pipelines leaked 200,000 gallons of crude oil. According to Public Citizen, BP has paid $550 million in fines. BP seems to particularly enjoy violating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and has paid the two largest fines in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's history. (Is it any surprise that BP played a central, though greatly under-reported, role in the failure to contain the Exxon-Valdez spill years earlier?)

With Deepwater Horizon, BP didn't break its dismal trend. In addition to choosing a cheaper -- and less safe -- casing to outfit the well that eventually burst, the company chose not to equip Deepwater Horizon with an acoustic trigger, a last-resort option that could have shut down the well even if it was damaged badly, and which is required in most developed countries that allow offshore drilling. In fact, BP employs these devices in its rigs located near England, but because the United States recommends rather than requires them, BP had no incentive to buy one -- even though they only cost $500,000.

SeizeBP.org estimates that BP makes $500,000 in under eight minutes.

3. Oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP

According to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, approximately $1.6 billion in annual economic activity and services are at risk as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Compare this number -- which doesn't include the immeasurable environmental damages -- to the current cap on BP's liability for economic damages like lost wages and tourist dollars, which is $75 million. And compare that further to the first-quarter profits BP posted just one week after the explosion: $6 billion.

BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, has solemnly promised that the company will cover more than the required $75 million. On May 10, BP announced it had already spent $350 million. How fantastically generous of a company valued at $152.6 billion, and which makes $93 million each day.

The reality of the matter is that BP will not be deterred by the liability cap and pity payments doled out to a handful of victims of this disaster because they pale in comparison to its ghastly profits. Indeed, oil spills are just a cost of doing business for BP.

This is especially evident in a recent Citigroup analyst report prepared for BP investors: "Reaction to the Gulf of Mexico oil leak is a buying opportunity."

4. The Interior Department was at best, neglectful, and at worst, complicit

It's no surprise BP is always looking out for its bottom line -- but it's at least slightly more surprising that the Interior Department, the executive department charged with regulating the oil industry, has done such a shoddy job of preventing this from happening.

Ten years ago, there were already warnings that the backup systems on oil rigs that failed on Deepwater Horizon would be a problem. The Interior Department issued a "safety alert" but then left it up to oil companies to decide what kind of backup system to use. And in 2007, a government regulator from the same department downplayed the chances and impact of a spill like the one that occurred last month: "[B]lowouts are rare events and of short duration, potential impact to marine water quality are not expected to be significant."

The Interior Department's Louisiana branch may have been particularly confused because it appears it was closely fraternizing with the oil industry. The Minerals Management Service, the agency within the department that oversees offshore drilling, routinely accepted gifts from oil companies and even considered itself a part of the oil industry, rather than part of a governmental regulatory agency. Flying on oil executives' private planes was not rare for MMS inspectors in Louisiana, a federal report released Tuesday says. "Skeet-shooting contests, hunting and fishing trips, golf tournaments, crawfish boils, and Christmas parties" were also common.

Is it any wonder that Deepwater Horizon was given a regulatory exclusion by MMS?

It gets worse. Since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the Interior Department has approved 27 new permits for offshore drilling sites. Here's the kicker: Two of these permits are for BP.

But it gets better still: 26 of the 27 new drilling sites have been granted regulatory exemptions, including those issued to BP.

5. Clean-up prospects are dismal

The media makes a lot of noise about all the different methods BP is using to clean up the oil spill. Massive steel containment domes were popular a few weeks ago. Now everyone is touting the "top kill" method, which involves injecting heavy drilling fluids into the damaged well.

But here's the reality. Even if BP eventually finds a method that works, experts say the best cleanup scenario is to recover 20 percent of the spilled oil. And let's be realistic: only 8 percent of the crude oil deposited in the ocean and coastlines off Alaska was recovered in the Exxon-Valdez cleanup.

Millions of gallons of oil will remain in the ocean, ravaging the underwater ecosystem, and 100 miles of Louisiana coastline will never be the same.

6. BP has no real cleanup plan

Perhaps because it knows the possibility of remedying the situation is practically impossible, BP has made publicly available its laughable "Oil Spill Response Plan" which is, in fact, no plan at all.

Most emblematic of this farcical plan, BP mentions protecting Arctic wildlife like sea lions, otters and walruses (perhaps executives simply lifted the language from Exxon's plan for its oil spill off the coast of Alaska?). The plan does not include any disease-preventing measures, oceanic or meteorological data, and is comprised mostly of phone numbers and blank forms. Most importantly, it includes no directions for how to deal with a deep-water explosion such as the one that took place last month.

The whole thing totals 600 pages -- a waste of paper that only adds insult to the environmental injury BP is inflicting upon the world with Deepwater Horizon.

7. Both Transocean and BP are trying to take away survivors' right to sue

With each hour, the economic damage caused by Deepwater Horizon continues to grow. And BP knows this.

So while it outwardly is putting on a nice face, even pledging $500 million to assess the impacts of the spill, it has all the while been trying to ensure that it won't be held liable for those same impacts.

Just after the Deepwater explosion, surviving employees were held in solitary confinement, while Transocean flacks made them waive their rights to sue. BP then did the same with fishermen it contracted to help clean up the spill though the company now says that was nothing more than a legal mix-up.

If there's anything to learn from this disaster, it's that companies like BP don't make mistakes at the expense of others. They are exceedingly deliberate.

8. BP bets on risk to employees to save money -- and doesn't care if they get sick

When BP unleashed its "Beyond Petroleum" re-branding/greenwashing campaign, the snazzy ads featured smiley oil rig workers. But the truth of the matter is that BP consistently and knowingly puts its employees at risk.

An internal BP document shows that just before the prior fatal disaster -- the 2005 Texas City explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 170 -- when BP had to choose between cost-savings and greater safety, it went with its bottom line.

A BP Risk Management memo showed that although steel trailers would be safer in the case of an explosion, the company went with less expensive options that offered protection but were not "blast resistant." In the Texas City blast, all of the fatalities and most of the injuries occurred in or around these trailers.

Although BP has responded to this memo by saying the company culture has changed since Texas City, 11 people died on the Deepwater Horizon when it blew up. Perhaps a similar memo went out regarding safety and cost-cutting measures?

Reports this week stated that fishermen hired by BP for oil cleanup weren't provided protective equipment and have now fallen ill. Hopefully they didn't sign waivers.

9. Environmental damage could even include a climatological catastrophe

It's hard to know where to start discussing the environmental damage caused by Deepwater Horizon. Each day will give us a clearer picture of the short-term ecological destruction, but environmental experts believe the damage to the Gulf of Mexico will be long-term.

In the short-term, environmentalists are up in arms about the dispersants being used to clean up the oil slick in the Gulf. Apparently, the types BP is using aren't all that effective in dispersing oil, and are pretty high in toxicity to marine fauna such as fish and shrimp. The fear is that what BP may be using to clean up the mess could, in the long-term, make it worse.

On the longer-term side of things, there are signs that this largest oil drilling catastrophe could also become the worst natural gas and climate disaster. The explosion has released tremendous amounts of methane from deep in the ocean, and research shows that methane, when mixed with air, is the most powerful (read: terrible) greenhouse gas -- 26 times worse than carbon-dioxide.

Our warming planet just got a lot hotter.

10. No one knows what to do and it will happen again

The very worst part about the Deepwater Horizon calamity is that nobody knows what to do. We don't know how bad it really is because we can't measure what's going on. We don't know how to stop it -- and once we do, we won't know how to clean it up.

BP is at the helm of the recovery process, but given its corporate track record, its efforts will only go so far -- it has a board of directors and shareholders to answer to, after all. The U.S. government, the only other entity that could take over is currently content to let BP hack away at the problem. Why? Because it probably has no idea what to do either.

Here's the reality of the matter -- for as long as offshore drilling is legal, oil spills will happen. Coastlines will be decimated, oceans destroyed, economies ruined, lives lost. Oil companies have little to no incentive to prevent such disasters from happening, and they use their money to buy government regulators' integrity.

Deepwater Horizon is not an anomaly -- it's the norm.

Daniela Perdomo is a staff writer and editor at AlterNet. Follow Daniela on Twitter. Write her at danielaalternet [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hurston/Wright Creative Writing Workshop for Teens (tuition-free)

Requirements

Workshops

FAQ

Summer Session, July 12 – July 23, 2010 – Fall Session, September 2010 to May 2011 (twice a month)

The Hurston/Wright Creative Writing Workshop for Teens is targeted to 8th through 12th grade students interested in writing as a pastime or a career (rather than those requiring remedial services or those with advanced skills). This workshop provides new opportunities for students who are interested in creative writing to develop their writing and reading skills in a nurturing group setting that celebrates Black literature. The program will nurture students’ analytical skills and motivate participants to become deeply and emotionally invested in their writing. Most importantly, the Creative Writing Workshop for Teens will enable students to become effective communicators, which will assist them throughout their educational and professional careers and in all aspects of life.

In response to ongoing requests from students, parents and teachers, the Creative Writing Workshop for Teens will make it possible for the Foundation to go from conducting just one week-long writing workshop for 12 students to conducting two, two week-long, workshops with 12 students in each workshop. This non-residential workshop will run during the summer for two consecutive weeks followed by continued instruction throughout the academic year, (thereby serving more students for an extended period of time).

Students in grades 8 through 12 in Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. will be eligible to participate in this year-long, Creative Writing Workshop for Teens, regardless of race or ethnic background.

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Student Achievements

• 2007-2008 Hurston/Wright Creative Writing Workshop for Teens participant Omari Daniels wins a full four-year scholarship to George Washington University
• Thais Francis a 2007-2008 Creative Writing Workshop for Teens participant was the 1st place winner of the 2007 Congressional Black Caucus Essay Contest

Workshop Schedule

Classes meet Monday – Thursday from 6pm – 9pm.  Individual conferences with workshop leaders take place at times agreed upon by workshop leaders and participants.

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Admission

The selection process for the Hurston/Wright Creative Writing Workshop for Teens is competitive.  We traditionally receive a large number of applications for our programs.  In order to provide the highest quality of instruction possible, class sizes are kept small. Therefore, we cannot accommodate ALL qualified writers. 

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How to Apply:

• Complete application (note there is a $10 application fee)
• Email writing sample and letter of recommendation to info@hurstonwright.org
• Applications, writing sample and letter of recommendation must be received by June 22, 2010. Applications received after June 22 will be considered only if space is available.
• Letters of acceptance will be e-mailed by June 29th.

Writing Sample Requirements

All manuscripts must be double spaced in 12 pt. font.

 

Workshop	Requirements
Creative Nonfiction	Up to 10 pages of a memoir or real life story; and a letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, Pastor, or family friend
Fiction	Up to 10 pages of a fiction narrative; and a letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, Pastor, or family friend

Facility

All classes will be held at the

Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex
8001 Sheriff Road
Landover, MD 20785

Sponsored in Part By

The National Harbor Community Outreach Fund, The Prince George's County Government Office of the County Executive and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Tuition

$59

Tuition - Writing Workshop for Teens

1 Student $59.00 2 Students $94.40

Register 2 students/siblings and receive a 20% discount

Do not make this payment until you have received an acceptance letter from Hurston/Wright

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Workshops

Creative Nonfiction

Will introduce the basic elements of creative writing, and demonstrate how this genre of writing can enhance every facet of the students communication skills and full self-expression.

Felicia Pride, literary activist, teaching artist, speaker, and founder of BackList an organization dedicated to harnessing the power of words and images. Her debut young adult novel, Patterson Heights, a remarkable story about brotherhood, redemption, and new beginnings, was selected as a 2010 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association. She holds an M.A. in writing and publishing from Emerson College.

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Fiction

This workshop will introduce the basic elements of creative writing, and demonstrate how this genre of writing can enhance every facet of the students communication skills and full self-expression.

Nekea Valentine is a freelance writer who has written for publications such as Naturally You! Magazine, Jones Magazine and various online publications. She is a short story award-recipient for the LAND Writing Competition. She has conducted workshops for teenage students about the artistic expression and expansion of hip-hop. She is currently writing her debut novel.

 

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FAQ

• Does the Foundation provide transportation for workshop participants?
  No, but the workshops are conveniently conveniently located near public transportation.

 

How many students are in each workshop?
Up to 12 students per workshop.

 

Do students earn credit toward their high school diploma?
No, however the workshops will enable students to become effective communicators which will assist them throughout their education and professional careers.

 

What are the grade levels for the workshop?
Students must be in 8th through 12th grade as of June 2010

 

When is the submission deadline?
June 22, 2010

 

What is the registration fee?
$10 made payable to the Hurston/Wright Foundation.

 

When are classes held?
Monday – Thursday from 6pm – 9pm.

 

When will students be notified of the status of their application?
Letters of acceptance will be emailed by June 29, 2010.