Upcoming events, literary news, workshops, and more
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#1 Kickstart Your Writing This Fall
Do you have a plan for pushing your writing project(s) forward this fall? We have 19 workshops between this Saturday and the end of November to help you out—fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, children's books, and business of writing, online and in-person, from three hours to eight weeks. We also have three different scholarships and fellowships open for applications, and more to come later this fall.
We are pleased to share that 2025 CrimeMaster Paul Doiron has selected R.L. Froom's "Line 13" as the winner of this year's CrimeFlash contest. Froom will attend the Maine Crime Wave and share her story. Doiron also selected Emma Hartley's "All for Love" as the runner up.
R.L. Froom (above, right) is a writer and creative who lives amongst the pines in the great state of Maine. When not behind a book or keyboard, she’s likely spending time in the mountains, befriending animals who (probably) don’t belong to her, or driving an unreasonable distance in pursuit of pastry.
Emma Hartley (above, left) is an author and artist living in picturesque Maine. vHer novels center the lives of strong women and their artistic work, and include themes ranging from overcoming trauma, grief, and loss, to finding the perfection in every-day moments. Emma’s other interests include playing drums in an indie rock band, gardening, and exploring every square inch of the Maine coastline. Her published novels include The Beauty of Fragile Things (2020), The Annealing of Aliza Bennett (2018), and The Nature of Entangled Hearts(2017).
#3 Writers & Poets on the Traditions That Shaped Them
Please join the MWPA, SPACE, PRINT, and a group of writers on Tuesday, October 21 at 7 PM in celebration of Kristen Case’s new book, Daphne, recently published by Tupelo Press. Case writes, “The story goes like this: a girl/woman is chased after and lost. She becomes a lost thing. The man becomes a poet.”
In addition to Case, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, Nina MacLaughlin, Jefferson Navicky, and Jeffrey Thomson will each read and discuss the traditions that their work is in conversation with. Please join us for what will be a one-of-a-kind reading and conversation.
We continue our series of brief interviews with Maine Literary Award winners with Elisa Boxer, author of The Different Tree, which won the Award for a Children's Book.
About what this book taught her, Boxer notes, "I call this book a love letter to my fellow self-doubters, because although I always intend to honor my intuition and follow what feels right for me, I often struggle to stay true to that in the face of real or perceived outside pressure. Writing this book helped me trust myself. Illustrator Marieke Nelissen said 'I hope that our book will make children look deeper at nature, but also at themselves and at each other.' I think that’s such a beautiful way to put it. Every time I talk about this book with kids, I’m reminded of how deeply I resonated with that oak tree. I’m reminded of how important it is to follow nature’s lead. And I am reminded that everything really does have its own cycles and seasons. We just have to trust ours." To read the full interview, see the link below.
Wednesday, September 17 at 6 PM MWPA members & friends can attend an in-person Gather at one of several locations around the state OR join an online Poetry Gather. INFO
Nancy Beaule’s YA Mystery The Joker's Revenge (2025) recently won a Regal Summit Award in YA, and a Finalist Award in YA in the Storytrade Book Awards.
Martha Ronk reviewed Kristen Case’s Daphne (Tupelo, 2025) in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Ronk calls it a “stunning new collection” and “a skillful choreography of short prose sections and a few traditional poems, unflinching and expansive in its thinking about violence toward women throughout history and myth.” INFO
Brian Daly's one-act comedy STORY TIME was performed three times at the CCAE Theatricals Staged Reading Festival in Escondido, California, on August 16. INFO
The American Library Association chose Lily King‘s Heart the Lover as their #1 Library Reads pick for September. A librarian in Virginia notes, “With beautiful writing and a character-driven story, this novel is perfect for fans of Sally Rooney.” INFO
NYT Bestselling novelist and former Maine CrimeMaster Michael Koryta's list of “7 Uncanny Thrillers That Dial Up the Paranoia” recently appeared in the New York Times. INFO
Jodi Paloni's short story, "Beast," (a finalist in MWPA's Literary Awards short fiction category in 2024) was named Editor's Pick in the Solstice Literary Review's Summer Contest and published in the Summer 2025 issue. INFO
Award-winning poet and former MWPA staffer Meghan Sterling was recently named the first Poet Laureate of Gardiner, Maine at City Hall.
"[The importance of the sentence] goes back to the notion that what happens in the mind of the reader when the reader moves his or her eye from word to word on the page—that’s what a story actually is. What the language calls up in your mind can also make you think in a rich and vivid manner. How it makes you think about what it evokes, including its place in the world—that’s particularly important. And how it makes you think about it must be supported by certain discourses. If those discursive models are rich enough, they inculcate the sophisticated idea of discourse itself that I’m striving for. For forty years, that has been and remains my project. ” —Samuel R. Delany
Saturday, September 6 | 10 AM to 3 PM | Boothbay Harbor Library
Where do ideas for creating fictional characters come from? How are these ideas developed so that characters are both believable and complex? In this one-day course, writer Elizabeth Poliner leads a lively exploration of these questions through discussion and the use of in-class exercises. After developing characters through various techniques, participants will practice developing stories and their plots through an understanding of character. By the day's end, participants may have enough material at hand to go home and write a great character-driven story! Workshop includes a short lunch break....MORE
Elizabeth Poliner is the author of the novel As Close to Us As Breathing, published by Little, Brown & Co. and winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in Fiction; Mutual Life & Casualty, a novel-in-stories; and What You Know in Your Hands, a poetry collection. A new novel, Spinning at the Edges, is forthcoming from Harper Collins. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared widely in literary journals, including The Kenyon Review, The Sun, The Southern Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Colorado Review. She has taught creative writing extensively, for many years in the MFA program at Hollins University, as well as at American University, The Writer's Center, and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
TONIGHT at 7 PM Mary Morris presents The Red House with Jennie Fields at Print: A Bookstore. Award-winning novelist Mary Morris weaves together an unsolved family mystery, a poignant coming-of-age story, and a little-known corner of World War II history in this lyrical novel of family, loss and, ultimately, love. INFO
TONIGHT at 6 PM Don Colburn will read from his new poetry collection Purchase at Longfellow Books in Portland. INFO
TONIGHT at 6 PM Pickwick Press in Portland hosts "Nourishing a Publishing Ecosystem," a talk with Rachel Hays of the quarterly newspaper Taxonomy Press about ways to reframe the founding and operation of a press. INFO
FRIDAY,SEPT5, 5 to 9 PM + SATURDAY, 11 AM to 4 PM SPACE in Portland hosts the annual New England Art Book Fair, featuring 30+ independent publishers and artists from across the U.S. with limited edition booklets, zines, and ephemera that explore the convergence of publishing, art, identity, and storytelling. INFO
FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER5 at 7 PM Halcyon Premieres Ghost Apples: An Orchard of Song at Mechanics' Hall in Portland. The Midcoast Maine string quartet premieres a lyric suite composed by Nathan Davis and libretto by Maine's Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma. Ghost Apples: An Orchard of Song is a newly commissioned lyric suite for two voices, string quartet, and projected film. INFO + Tickets
SATURDAY & SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6-7 from 9 AM to 3 PM The Maine Book & Print Fest returns with two days of book fair, workshops and food in Waterville.INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 from 1 to 4 PM A book launch for Tell Your Story, Write Your Story, Share Your Story: A Collaborative Book Project by Bucksport Bay community members at the Bucksport Trading Post. Proceeds from book sales go to the Buck Memorial Library, a non-profit organization. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 at 2:45 PM The Local Buzz Reading Series kicks-off a new season at The Yarmouth History Center and features poet Gibson Fay-LeBlanc and novelist Claire Hersom. Poets Linda Aldrich and Marcia F. Brown serve as co-hosts. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 from 5 to 7 PM Anodyne Book Shop in Searsport. Opening reception reading of her.story, a mixed media exhibition by Annaliese Jakimides in which the visual is made possible through, and titled with, the interlocking stanzas of a long poem of the same name, a version of which was originally published in Waterwheel Review. INFO
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER9 to OCTOBER 7, 4:30 to 6 PM Craft Your Own Climate Fiction! A free online workshop series for youth (13-18) presented by Maine Climate Action Now and The Telling Room. INFO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 at 7 PM Come to The Cafe Review open reading at Novel Cafe and Bookshop, 643 Congress St, Portland. All are welcome to come, and share your voice and your words. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 6 PM Twice Sold Tales in Farmington hosts Nick Fuller Googins to read from his latest book The Frequency of Living Things and teach the audience how to tie the world’s most useful knot. Beer, wine, and copies of Nick’s books will be available for purchase. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 7 PM Mechanics' Hall, Momentum Conservation, and PRINT: A Bookstore present On Land: An Evening with Author Laura Poppick & Composer Ben Cosgrove, a cross- disciplinary evening of live music and words exploring terrestrial narratives. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 6 PM Join authors Kate Kaminski (I Am Danvers) and Jen Dupree (What Do You Want From Me?) in conversation about writing unlikeable women characters at the South Portland Public Library. INFO
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, at 1 PM Three award-winning poets share their work: Richard Foerster, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, and Sarah V. Schweig. POETRY IN THE SPAULDING CENTER is hosted by WePoets & Verse and located at 175 Port Road in Kennebunk. Free. Refreshments. Donations welcome.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 at 6 PM At the Millinocket Public Library, writers read from North Woods at Night: Literary Reflections on Maine's Largest Forest, a 2025 MLA finalist: Alice Bolstridge, Monique Bouchard, Annaliese Jakimides, and Emily Leonard, with editor and publisher Steven Long, 12 Willows Press. INFO
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 at 6:30 PM Dave Patterson will be reading from his new book of short stories, Euphoria,, at Briar Patch Books in Bangor.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 at 7 PM Jason Brown presents Character Witness: A Memoir with Ron Currie at Print: A Bookstore. When Jason Brown’s mother is arrested for stealing $38,000, he agrees to serve as a character witness for her, hoping to keep her out of prison. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 at 1 PM Kay Tobler Liss will sign copies of her second novel Coming Home at Sherman's Bookstore in Boothbay Harbor. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 at 1 PM Kimberley Ann Priest will read poetry at The Bookey Readings, Bailey Library in Winthrop (to be followed by an Open Mic). INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 at 1 PM Moe Claire will discuss and read from A Fickle Tide, the first title in the Pyke Island Mystery Series at Books-a-Million in Bangor. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 at 11AM Cidney Mayes will be holding a meet and greet and book signing for her new fantasy romance release The Starlit Shadow at Barnes and Noble in South Portland. INFO
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 at 6 PM The Franco-American Collection, USM Libraries & Learning at Lewiston-Auburn Campus presents: The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne a book talk with Ron Currie. Join in-person or via zoom. INFO
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 at 7 PM Beth Norcross presents Discovering the Spiritual Wisdom of Trees, Co-presented with the BTS Center At Print: A Bookstore. With expertise in ecology, spirituality, and forestry, coauthors Beth Norcross (founder of the Center for Spirituality in Nature) and Leah Rampy explore the spiritual wisdom we can learn from trees. INFO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 6 PM Gather 65. Please join us for MWPA’s beloved GATHER event series! MWPA members & friends can attend an in-person Gather at one of several locations around the state OR join an online Poetry Gather. INFO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 6 PM Debra Spark will be doing a book talk about Discipline, a novel that uses the dark history of the Elan school, as well as aspects of the Maine art world (contemporary and past), on Sept 17 at 6 pm in the Merrill Memorial Library in Yarmouth. INFO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 6:30 PM Award-winning author Brock Clarke will read from and discuss his latest book, his tenth, Special Election: Stories, in conversation with fiction writer Lewis Robinson at Left Bank Books in Belfast. INFO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 7 PM Mariah Rigg presents The Extinction Capital of the World: Stories with Meghan Gilliss at Print: A Bookstore. Magnetic, haunting, and tender, Extinction Capital of the World is a stunning portrait of Hawai'i—and a powerful meditation on family, queer love, and community amid imperialism and environmental collapse. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at 6 PM Mechanics' Hall Story Salon: Casco Bay Writers Group. Original stories that are lively, heartfelt, and deeply human. Please join us to share the joy of storytelling at this very special salon-style event. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at 6:30 PM Award-winning author Brock Clarke will read from and discuss his latest book, his tenth, Special Election: Stories, in conversation with writer Phuc Tran at Back Cove Books in Portland. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at 7 PM Samantha Browning Shea presents Marrow with Mira Ptacin at Print: A Bookstore. A searing take on femininity and power, Marrow transports readers to a small island off the coast of Maine, where a coven has done the seemingly impossible. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPT 18 at 7:30 PM Staged reading of Bess Welden’s play with songs Death Wings at the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, Colby College, Waterville. INFO
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 at 2:30 PM Common Ground Country Fair, Russell Poetry Grove. Mike Bove, Annaliese Jakimides, and Michelle Menting, all Maine Literary Award finalists in poetry, read and discuss why, despite the fact that poems likely don't even want to compete with each other, poets still submit to competitions as a way to be recognized in this chattery world. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 from 1PM-3PM Kathy Eliscu will sign copies of Brain Tumor: A Love Story and Not Even Dark Chocolate Can Fix This Mess at Books-A-Million, Auburn Mall, Auburn. INFO
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 at 4 PM W. Edward Crockett will be at South Portland Books-A-Million to meet readers and sign copies of his memoir, The Ghosts of Walter Crockett.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 at 2 PM Laura Bonazzoli will discuss the dual-narrative novel and read from her newly released dual-narrative novel, Our Share of Morning, at Anodyne Book Shop, 175 West Main Street, Searsport.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 at 5 PM Author/illustrator Sandra Dutton will speak on her new book A Wheelchair That Flies at the Boothbay Railway Village. The event kicks off a one-year fundraising program to make the village more wheelchair accessible. The event is free. INFO
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 at 7 PM Beyond the Page: Leadership, Equity & the Cost of Comfort. Publisher Lisa Lucas & public health equity strategist Dr. Gabriela Alcalde examine what it means to lead as women of color in spaces shaped by whiteness. From literature to healthcare, they unpack the personal and professional tolls of challenging dominant culture. INFO
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 at 7 PM At the Arctic Tern in Rockland, join the Millay House Rockland for an evening where we call to poets of the past. Contemporary writers will speak to their relationships with poets from earlier eras. This conversation between four living writers and four who have “shuffled off this mortal coil” includes Julia Bouwsma on Edna St. Vincent Millay; Rosa Lane on Emily Dickinson; Samaa Abdurraqib on June Jordan; and A. O. Scott on Thom Gunn. INFO + TICKETS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER24 at 5:30 PM Martha Tod Dudman will discuss and read from her latest novel, curio, at the Ellsworth Public Library.
THURSDAY, SEPT 25 at 6 PM Dave Patterson will be reading from his new book of short stories, Euphoria, at Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, in Lovell. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 at 7 PM Nina B. Lichtenstein presents Body: My Life in Parts with Susan Conley at Print: A Bookstore. A quiet, grounding book in turbulent, uncertain times, Body: My Life in Parts, shows the reader how the treasure chest that is her own body can be a source of meaningful discovery, and recovery, of meaning. INFO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 at 7:30 PM The Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath is delighted to reinvigorate “Hummus & Poetry,” a tradition in collaboration with The Gulf of Maine Books, and with the sister and brother team of Zeina Azzam, who is a poet, writer, editor, and community activist, and Fateh Azzam, who lives in Georgetown and is an actor, playwright, and human rights advocate, who had been participants in that tradition. Proceeds will benefit The Gaza Soup Kitchen. TICKETS + INFO
Did you know that you could take a poetry class with nearly 100,000 people?! I didn't until a friend told me about ModPo, a 10-week course on modern & contemporary U.S. poetry. It opened in September 2012 and is the longest-running massive open online course in the humanities. The course is free and open to all. Currently 93,359 people are enrolled from 79 countries across all time zones.
ModPo is affiliated with PennSound and PoemTalk and is made possible through the generous good staff of the Kelly Writers House. For more information or to enroll, go HERE.
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Wednesday, September 17 at 6 PM MWPA members & friends can attend an in-person Gather at one of several locations around the state OR join an online Poetry Gather.
