Dear Writer:
It takes more than a dusting of snow to send us into hibernation. Our Lighthouse community has been BUSY, and emerging from the bustle are many accomplishments worthy of celebration. Let’s just launch right into our fall collection of kudos.
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BEACON AWARD WINNER
It’s that time of year we get to announce who is selected for the Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence. This award is nominated and awarded by members of the Lighthouse community–all volunteers and board members.
This year’s winner is Suzi Q. Smith! As one poet who took her class wrote, “Suzi Q. Smith is a creator, and she is a visionary. And she's also kind and funny and smart and lovely. These Monday nights were a divine practice, a genuine source of joy.” Another chimed in, “Suzi created a space for learning and creativity that was warm and nurturing and fun. She is truly a gifted teacher, and I am grateful to have met her through this class.” Come share your own appreciation of Suzi at this year’s holiday party on December 2!
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MORE POETIC PLAUDITS
Longtime instructor Radha Marcum has won the 2023 Washington Prize for her forthcoming collection, Pine Soot Tendon Bone, coming out early in 2024. You can pass along cheers at her reading this weekend at Poetry Fest! Meanwhile, The National Beat Poetry Foundation has named member Michael Sindler the Beat Poet Laureate of Colorado 2023–2025.
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RADIANCE ON THE STAGE AND SCREEN
Meanwhile, member, instructor, and Writing in Color meetup coordinator Twanna Latrice Hill’s play, Indescribable, written and produced in conjunction with our friends at Phamaly, is showing this weekend. Performances will be at the Aurora Fox Theater, 9900 E Colfax, on Friday through Sunday, November 3–5. Follow this link for tickets.
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BEAUCOUP BOOK NEWS
Book Project Mentor Erika Krouse has already won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime (Mystery Writers of America) and the Colorado Book Award in Creative Nonfiction for her memoir Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation. Add to that the 2023 Housatonic Book Award in Nonfiction. Book Project Mentor Vauhini Vara follows up her Pulitzer finalist and Colorado Book Award–winning The Immortal King Rao with This is Salvaged, a collection of short stories that just landed on Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Fiction of 2023 list. File that under: Those who can, teach.
Lighthouse instructor and executive director Michael Henry’s book Mountain Biking the Colorado Trail will be celebrated after the Friday 500 on November 10 at 6:00 PM. Come hear him read and be in conversation with Doug Schnitzpahn, editor of Elevation Outdoors. (It’s free, but registration is required.)
Sarah Landenwich's debut literary novel, The Fire Concerto, sold to Union Square & Co. for publication in spring 2025. Huge congrats to you, Sarah, and stay tuned for more on this publication! Meanwhile, Longtime member Cara Lopez Lee’s historical novel, Candlelight Bridge has landed a contract with FlowerSong Press. You can hear her story “Opening the Door” on the RISK! podcast; and she’ll soon tell her story, “The Boss of Last Resort,” for Stories from the Stage on PBS.
With Moonlit Skies Press, Heather Ormsby has published Exposure: A Rowan O'Donnell Mystery, the fourth in this series of short novels. Debut author Abdelgaffer Elyamani has self-published Assassination of a Homeless Man (available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble), and Nuha Fariha has published her debut chapbook, God Mornings Tiger Nights, with Game Over Books.
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STORY WRITERS SCORE BIG
Jessica Roeder's short story "Sarasota" is in Prime Number Magazine. Give it a read! Robert Garner McBrearty's short story "The Pie" was read by actor Sam Gregory at Stories on Stage on September 1 in the "Random Acts of Kindness" show. Hope you got to hear it.
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Thanks for the light, everyone! If you’re a member with news to share, submit your news here.
Warmly,
Your fans at Lighthouse
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