It was a treat to be able to talk with Hallie Christensen about her new book, Enchanted Misadventures with Great-Aunt Poppy. In our conversation, we discuss, among other topics, the book’s origin, the joys of writing for children, and what it’s like to spend time with young readers:

Bradley Sides: Thank you, Hallie, for taking the time to talk with me about your book Enchanted Misadventures with Great-Aunt Poppy. Before we get started, I want to say congratulations on your award, being an Indies Today 2021 Finalist. That’s really great!

For those readers who haven’t heard about your book yet, do you mind sharing what it’s about?

Hallie Christensen: Hi, Bradley! Thank you so much!! My middle grade fantasy novel was published last October 2021 by Sweetwater Books – Enchanted Misadventures with Great-Aunt Poppy.

Over the Christmas break, Ava, Nolan, and Charlotte Alexander are sent to stay with their most feared relative - Great-Aunt Poppy. Of course, the siblings are terrified. Who wouldn’t be? Poppy is a witch! If the haunted house, crazy cats, and deadly spells aren’t bad enough, frightening howls grow ever closer. It will take all their bravery and wit to survive. But things aren't always what they seem! The greatest adventure might be hiding in the most unlikely place imagined!

Great for ages 8-12 who love adventure, magic, fun, and getting spooked.

BS: And this is the first book in a larger series, right?

HC: Yes, this is the first book and was written as a standalone (I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, lol), but there is definitely potential for many more adventures with the Alexander children. 

BS: How did the book come together? What sparked the idea?

HC: Well, I have found that one of the best ways to perfect your writing skills is by writing! (Who would have thought?) I joined an online writing community and one month they held a novella contest. There were 40 different prompts that you could choose from, and I chose one that sounded like this (paraphrasing): Three siblings must visit a relative over a holiday, but they don’t want to go. That one resonated with me because I’m the youngest of three siblings, and every holiday we would visit relatives. As a child, I would sometimes dread this, especially when the relatives were old, and they would talk non-stop the entire time. But I considered this and knew that wouldn’t be enough to keep a child’s interest. So, I made the relative a witch!

Once I started writing the story, the words just came to me. I probably will never again find a story so relaxing to write! It was very enjoyable!

BS: What’s been the most exciting part of getting this book out into the world?

HC: Being traditionally published was super exciting! Like most authors, the road to publication is fraught with many “no, thank yous.” I had about moved on to another project when the editor from my current publisher reached out to me about my query. They loved my story and wanted to publish it! I knew I had found the right home because they cared as much about my manuscript as I did.

Support from the community has been amazing. I smile every time someone tells me they loved my book! I have really enjoyed doing author visits at schools and attending other speaking engagements. I am always honored to be asked and humbled that people enjoy my story.

BS: You write largely for children and middle-grade audiences. What draws you to this genre?

HC: I’m a kid at heart! Their dialogue and language, their thoughts and fears, I remember well! Also, MG and kids lit is just so much fun. You get to go on adventures and laugh along the way. It’s an enjoyable escape.

BS: I imagine it’s really wonderful to be able to spend time with young readers (and future writers). What are some of the things about your book that children seem to enjoy the most?

HC: The future writers that I have met are incredible. And so talented too! A lot of them are fantastic artists and I know will create some amazing graphic novels.

The students’ loved the adventure and scary moments in my story. They also liked the humor and snark from some of my characters. Kids really seem to connect with sarcastic cats, lol. Merlin, the cat in my book, was one of their favorite characters. I thought he might be, so I made him a sticker that I pass out to students at my author visits.

I made sure to have distinct personalities amongst all my characters so that my readers could connect with the ones they felt were most like them. But I also made sure that my characters had inhibitions and things to learn and overcome so they could grow.

BS: Before I let you go, I’m curious to know what you are currently working on. Is the sequel to Enchanted Misadventures with Great-Aunt Poppy coming soon?

HC: While finishing the final edits for EMwGAP, I started working on another MG manuscript not related to Great-Aunt Poppy. It’s inspired by a local folk legend. No one knows the origin, so I decided to write a background story. It’s a bit spookier than my first novel and falls under the horror genre. (Think spooky and suspenseful like Goosebumps). I also drew inspiration from the old Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL. I’m in the final editing stages now and hope to have some good news to share with everyone soon about that manuscript! :D

BS: Thank you again, Hallie, for talking with me. I wish you and your writing the absolute best.

HC: Thank you so much!! It’s been a pleasure!

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Hallie Christensen grew up in a small town in Alabama surrounded by professional storytellers - her family. She received her BA in English with a minor in Italian while attending The University of Alabama and her MA in Teaching English from Faulkner University.

Her life’s background helped to influence her writing and creativity. While growing up she attended Young Authors conferences, played in a marching band, tried her luck as a magician, became a Junior Ranger for quite a few National Parks, and for a brief moment was a disc jockey with an eclectic taste of music spanning from The Monkees to N’SYNC.

When she isn’t writing or editing, she enjoys hiking, attending rock concerts from musicians her parents’ age, staying at B&B’s, and of course, reading with preferences in fantasy, contemporary, and the classics. Hallie currently resides in northern Alabama with her husband and a couple of cats.

Visit authorhalliechristensen.com to learn more about Hallie's work and sign up for her e-newsletter.

It was my pleasure to be able to talk with author Laura Secord about her new book, An Art, a Craft, a Mystery. In our conversation, we discuss, among other topics, the book’s form, the role of research in writing, and Laura’s writing journey:

Bradley Sides: First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your book An Art, a Craft, a Mystery. For those who haven’t heard about it yet, do you mind sharing what it’s about?

Laura Secord:  Thank you Bradley and AWC for asking.

An Art, a Craft, a Mystery is an historical novel-in-verse, a family saga told in a series of short poems. It’s a hybrid of poetry and historical fiction telling the stories of two real women, my ancestors, Lydea Gilbert and Katherine (Kate) Harrison, who settled on the frontier along the Connecticut River in the mid 1600s.   

After indenturing themselves in exchange for passage to the colonies, they served in the home of Ann Hutchinson, who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for heresy.  Later, both Lydea and Kate became healers, midwives, and farmers, who faced the struggles and joys of life in a wild new land. They were women in a puritan culture, women of intuitive genius and healing powers, who lived through times where feminine power and the value of women’s lives were suspect and condemned.

BS: With a work that draws on the lives of historical women, how much time did you spend researching? How did you balance your research and writing time as you worked through your project?

LS: I first began this project after my husband, an historian and genealogist, discovered my great-great-great-great-great was found guilty of witchcraft in Connecticut in the 1600s. Of course, I felt I must write this story, but was not excited about the puritan culture. Thanks to my life partner, I began reading about the unknown, untaught aspects of life in the colonies, especially the undocumented lives of women.

Through my extensive reading, I became interested in visiting the places where these stories happened. I got a fellowship at poet Marilyn Nelson’s Soul Mountain Retreat, and was able to spend a few weeks visiting Windsor and Wethersfield, as well as the archeological re-creations of the Plymouth plantation and the Mayflower. The poems really blossomed after experiencing these worlds and absorbing the sensory details of their lives.

This project took many years to come to fruition: first extensive research, always writing along the way, followed by the process of creating a powerful story using imagination.

I put the book down for a few years as I completed a creative writing MFA.  I returned to it in 2017, after the previous election made me extremely worried about the fate of women in this country. As I saw the restrictions of puritanism re-emerge in society and law, I felt compelled to complete this book. I spent a couple of years deepening the story, clarifying the voices of the characters, and working to hone the quality of the poetry itself.

BS: Your book takes the form of being a novel in verse. Did you know going into the project that this was going to be its shape?

LS: From the beginning I knew it would be a novel-in-verse. This is the kind of work I love to do. I didn't know how extensive the story would become, but I knew the trajectory of these women’s lives from the few pieces of documentation that existed.

I’m a writer who does better when I know the plot, and I love telling a story in poetry. I followed the examples of some great modern poets who write history, including Marilyn Nelson, Frank X Walker, and Patricia Smith.

BS: One thing I’m always fascinated by is the title of a book. How did you arrive at An Art, a Craft, a Mystery?

LS: The title is taken from historian, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s book Goodwives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750. Her work describes the lives of women in the colonies and deepens our knowledge of women’s undocumented experiences.  

Her work explored the essential things needed to live in a wild and unknown world: fire for heat and bread to eat. “Women's work” it's called, but without it, none could survive— fire and bread—living things, hot coal and yeast scraps nurtured to carry into another day. Ulrich called this work an art, a craft, and a mystery. That’s how the title was born.

BS: What’s been the most exciting part of your writing journey so far?

LS: Publication is definitely the most exciting part of my writer's journey. I’m thrilled with the responses I’m getting from readers for this book. It’s been a part of my life for over a decade, and now it’s finally being shared. I love hearing about the joy of reading it, as well as the deep emotion readers experience through the voices of Lydea and Kate.

BS: In addition to writing a novel in verse, you are also a spoken word artist and the Director of Community Engagement for The Magic City Poetry Festival, so poetry is clearly a huge part of your life. I’m curious who and/or what influences your craft the most?

LS: What influences my craft the most? After a long career as a nurse practitioner and my involvement in the poetry scene since the mid 90s, I have been lucky to listen to many people’s stories. I have been lucky to hear tales of happiness and suffering. I am inspired by putting myself in the shoes of another, until their voice finds a way through me and onto the page.

BS: Thank you again, Laura, for talking with me. Congratulations on the release of your book! I wish you and your writing the absolute best.

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To order your copy of An Art, a Craft, a Mystery, check out Livingston Press, Thank You Books, or Amazon.

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Laura Secord is a poet, writer and teaching artist. She earned her MFA in Creative writing from Sierra Nevada University. She has worked as a printer, union organizer, health care activist, teacher, sex-educator and nurse practitioner in community health and HIV care. Her verse novel, AN ART, A CRAFT, A MYSTERY is forthcoming from Livingston Press (February 2022). A Pushcart nominee, her poems appear in Poetry, Hobo Camp Review, Shift, Simple Machines, Cahoodleloodling, Finishing Line Press, Burning House Press, Voices of Resistance, Snapdragon, Indolent Books, Passager, PoemMemoirStory, The Southern Women’s Review, The Birmingham Weekly and Arts and Understanding. She serves on the board of The Magic City Poetry Festival, and has a lifetime commitment to women and lost or unvoiced stories.

We love virtual readings here at the AWC and wanted to share the news that Kimberly Casey will be hosting “All Over Alabama” this upcoming Sunday (March 6th). This reading is being put together by Magic City Poetry and will feature Josh Baker, Jahman Hill, and Jerri Hardesty.

To register and to get full information about the featured poets and host, please click here.

We know it’ll be a good time for all who are able to attend!

We are always excited about good news, and we have some to share: Anne Markham Bailey and Katherine Queen, two members of the AWC, have new books out in the world. We are thrilled for both writers and are happy to share their recent successes:

Congratulations to Anne Markham Bailey on the publication of her latest book, The Practice of Being: The Power of Creative Awareness.

Here’s a summary: “In her new practice manual, teacher and writer Anne Markham Bailey offers a guide to Creative Awareness, the simple and accessible practice of moving away from the tyranny of the thinking mind and into the discovery of the power and freedom of being.”

Bio: I am a poet, podcaster, and educator based in Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University, I majored in East Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese language and literature. I hold an M.F.A. in Book Arts, and an M.A. in English, Creative Writing. My dharma training includes Tibetan Vajrayana, somatic awareness, and shamanic healing practices. I am a meditation guide, body awareness and yoga teacher, and labyrinth practice facilitator. My call is to explore both ideas and form, to feel into the vast detail of being.

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Congratulations to Katherine Queen on the publication of her book Genesis, Lilith’s Tale.

Here’s a summary: “What if all the stories ever told truly happened? The tales whispered to the authors by the ones who lived them. Multiple realities and worlds all right at our fingertips, thanks to someone willing to write it all down.Come along with me as I tell you our story; the one whispered to me. Hear the tale of Lilith, Queen of the demons, from her own lips. Listen to her struggles with this and other realities. Read of her loves lost and new ones found. Feel her pain, joy, and sorrow. Journey with her as she finds not only herself, but her other selves as well.All stories deserve to be told. This is hers.”

Bio: Raised in the woods, taken by the Fae as a child, and shown how to access my true self and listen for the voices of the others; I am an author of worlds whispered to me by the ones who wish their stories to be told. I've written countless books and never had the courage to just finish them and share them with the world, but that changed when I wrote Genesis. The tale of Lilith, of how she became Lilith, of what she was before and all that she will become, was a tale that simply needed to be heard. When I am not writing, I love to read the works of others, and spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Everyone's story is their own, but we're all connected in this glorious universe.

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If you are a current member of the AWC and have a recent success you would like to share, please contact Bradley Sides (bradleynsides@gmail.com).

The start of a new year brings excitement as many of us try to put together a set of goals to accomplish in the coming 365 days. For many of us AWC members, we likely have completing a new literary work as one of our top priorities.

To help get our creative ideas flowing, Claire Datnow is offering a blog series about her own writing process, with the hope that it will help many other authors find their own ideas and inspiration.

Here is more information from Claire about her project:

ACW members are invited to follow my my blog, “Eco Adventures: A Writer’s Journey.” This blog will provide a behind-the-scenes peek into my creative process as I write A Whale’s Lament, the second novel in my Climate Change trilogy: Fire, Water, and Air. The trilogy is inspired by the ancient Greeks who believed there were four elements, earth, water, air, and fire. The first published book of the trilogy, Red Flag Warning: An Eco Adventure, focuses on the element fire. The second book, which I am currently writing, will focus on water. The third book will concentrate on the theme of air.

I hope my blog will spark ideas for your own writing and illustrate techniques for seamlessly weaving science facts together with story telling. Your questions are always welcome at: cldatnow@me.com

To begin reading my blog: visit mediamint.net and SUBSCRIBE for free. I will then add you to my mailing list so that you can read each episode that tracks my writing progress.

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Claire Datnow was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, which ignited her love for the natural world and for diverse indigenous cultures around the globe. Claire taught creative writing to gifted and talented students in the Birmingham, Alabama Public Schools System. Her published works include a middle grade Eco mystery series, The Adventures of The Sizzling Six. She received numerous scholarships and awards, including, The Blanche Dean Award for Outstanding Nature Educator, the Alabama Writers Cooperative Middle Grade Award, and Monarch Mysteries (Book 6 eco mystery series) long listed for the Green Books Award. During her tenure as a teacher, Claire and her students developed a nature trail, recently named in her honor as the Alabama Audubon-Datnow Forest Preserve.

Alabama writer Bradley Sides is set to have an exciting end to the year. His debut collection, Those Fantastic Lives: And Other Strange Stories, releases this October and has already earned some kind early notice, with Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters, comparing Sides’ stories to “the best of Joe Hill and Ray Bradbury.”

Sides’ collection, containing monsters, ghosts, and aliens, is the ideal kind of book for readers to explore as they prepare for Halloween. I was recently able to ask Bradley about his interest in magical realism, his work as a fiction editor at a literary magazine, and, of course, his upcoming release of Those Fantastic Lives.

Alina Stefanescu: Those Fantastic Lives: And Other Strange Stories is full of magical realism and weird fiction stories. What draws you to the fantastic?

Bradley Sides: As strange as it sounds, I think it’s because of my childhood on a farm. I grew up surrounded by animals and quietness and the stars. I can remember being in my bedroom at night, and I’d, from the total silence, begin to hear bullfrogs warbling from the pond. When my father sold cows or separated the mother from her calves, there would be nights of crying. There’s a lot of room for an imagination to run wild with these kinds of happenings surrounding you, especially as you look up from your bed and see the clear, dark, sparkling sky and think about what else is out there—what else might be waiting to haunt you.

AS: As an early writer, did you already know this would be your space?

BS: Sometimes I wish I would’ve known earlier, but I didn’t. I spent some time working on southern stories and YA novels, but they never felt real to me. (I needed magic and the fantastic to find truth.) I’m grateful, though, that I was writing. I learned a lot from my early drafts; I realized what worked and what didn’t.

I was in my mid-twenties before I started really getting into magical realism short fiction—both as a reader and as I writer. When I finished my first magical realism piece (“Restored” at the end of 2013), I knew I’d found where I was supposed to be.  All of the weirdness made me feel at home. It made me feel found.

AS: Title origins are interesting. How did you arrive at Those Fantastic Lives? 

BS: Someone once asked me what I’m worst at in writing. My answer was simple: titles. I can’t begin to even guess how much time I spend on the titles I give my stories.

But back to your question. I had no idea what my collection was going to be called. Seriously. I was nearing the end of the collection’s cycle, so I knew I needed something. I was working on a story about a boy who wants to be a psychic like his grandmother, and I wrote a line near the end that I was really proud of. The titular phrase was in that sentence, so I titled that story “Those Fantastic Lives.” Even after I sat with it for a few weeks, it still felt right.

After the story came out, I realized that there are a lot of fantastic, magical lives in the other stories I had, so I went with it. I think it fits perfectly, and it’s the best title, I think, that I’ve ever come up with.

AS: Do you have a favorite story in the collection? 

BS: “The Mooneaters” is the first story I wrote that made me feel like I could really write. I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but it was my first love. It’s special to me.

AS: For readers, what themes can they expect to see explored as they dive into your book?

BS: I’m a very large guy. I’m as introverted, though, as I am large. I oftentimes want to hide, but my body won’t allow it. I think this makes me naturally feel like a bit of an outsider. Like I don’t belong or something. I’m drawn to the idea of what it means to be different—to be different and to search for comfort that you’ll never find. So, that’s a natural pull for me. Growing up on a farm with lots of animals makes one reflect on loss, so that’s definitely in the book, too. I think, also, I’m interested in the idea of transformation. Flight. Escape. There are a lot of birds and wings in these stories.

AS: Here’s a tough question, but I’ll ask it anyway: Why do you write?

BS: I write because it’s the only tool I have to help me understand myself.

AS: I know you currently serve as Fiction Editor of Qu, which is the literary magazine put out by the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. What has that experience taught you?

BS: This experience, along with previously being an editorial assistant at Qu, has taught me more than I would’ve ever thought was possible. When I read through submissions, I see what works and what doesn’t. I see how important the beginning of a piece is. The whole experience makes me closely—very, very closely—observe my own writing. I look at my own stories now as not only a writer, but I also have the additional knowledge of reading like an editor. I would strongly encourage writers to read for a magazine if they can. What I’ve taken away is truly invaluable.

AS: I always love reading recommendations. What are some recent books you’ve enjoyed?

BS: My favorite books of the year are Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, Andrew Siegrist’s We Imagined It Was Rain, and Becky Hagenston’s The Age of Discovery. Each one has a balanced and beautiful weirdness.

For books outside of my usual, two others I’ve enjoyed a lot are Cliff Garstang’s Oliver’s Travels, which is a humorous novel that looks deeply at memory and philosophy, and Margaret Renkl’s Graceland, At Last, which is a collection of deeply-felt essays about the complex and complicated South.

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Bradley Sides' writing appears at Chapter 16, Chicago Review of Books, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, The Rumpus, and Southern Review of Books. He holds an MA from the University of North Alabama and is an MFA candidate at Queens University of Charlotte, where he serves as Fiction Editor of Qu. He lives in Florence, Alabama, with his wife, and he can be found on most days teaching creative writing and English in southern Tennessee. Those Fantastic Lives is his debut.

Ashley M. Jones is named Alabama’s first Black poet laureate

Although the news is everywhere now, we are still delighted to share that Ashley M. Jones has been named Poet Laureate of the state of Alabama. She will serve a four-year term from 2022-2026. She received an MFA in Poetry from Florida International University (FIU), where she was a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fellow. She served as Official Poet for the City of Sunrise, Florida’s Little Free Libraries Initiative from 2013-2015, and her work was recognized in the 2014 Poets and Writers Maureen Egen Writer’s Exchange Contest and the 2015 Academy of American Poets Contest at FIU. She was also a finalist in the 2015 Hub City Press New Southern Voices Contest, the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award Contest, and the National Poetry Series. Her poems and essays appear or are forthcoming in many journals and anthologies, including CNN, the Academy of American Poets, POETRY, Tupelo Quarterly, Prelude, Steel Toe Review, Fjords Review, Quiet Lunch, Poets Respond to Race Anthology, Night Owl, The Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy, pluck!, Valley Voices: New York School Edition, Fjords Review: Black American Edition, PMSPoemMemoirStory (where her work was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016), Kinfolks Quarterly, Tough Times in America Anthology, and Lucid Moose Press’ Like a Girl: Perspectives on Femininity Anthology. She received a 2015 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award and a 2015 B-Metro Magazine Fusion Award. She was an editor of PANK Magazine. Her debut poetry collection, Magic City Gospel, was published by Hub City Press in January 2017, and it won the silver medal in poetry in the 2017 Independent Publishers Book Awards. Her second book, dark // thing, won the 2018 Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize for Poetry from Pleiades Press. Her third collection, REPARATIONS NOW! is forthcoming in Fall 2021 from Hub City Press. She won the 2018 Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize from Backbone Press, and she is the 2019 winner of the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Jones is a recipient of a Poetry Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and a 2020 Alabama Author award from the Alabama Library Association. She was a finalist for the Ruth Lily Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship in 2020. She currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival, board member of the Alabama Writers Cooperative and the Alabama Writers Forum, co-director of PEN Birmingham, and a faculty member in the Creative Writing Department of the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Jones is also a member of the Core Faculty at the Converse College Low Residency MFA Program. She recently served as a guest editor for Poetry Magazine.

The Alabama State Poet Laureate Selection Committee for this term included:

• Dr. Charlotte Pence, Director of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing at University of South Alabama

• Dr. Jacqueline Trimble, Alabama State University

• Jay Lamar, former Executive Director of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission

• Jason McCall, University of North Alabama

• Alina Stefanescu, AWC Board Member / Recent Past President of the Alabama State Poetry Society

The selection committee chose Ms. Jones from among a stellar group of worthy nominees from all across the state. The committee was, itself, populated by an extraordinarily accomplished group of Alabama poets and literary arts advocates.

Given an extremely qualified, talented pool of nominees, the selection committee voted unanimously to advance to Ashley M. Jones to the Alabama Writer’s Cooperative membership as the official candidate.

Dr. Charlotte Pence chaired the selection committee, and she had this to say of the decision:

“The selection committee chose Ashley Jones for a number of significant reasons. Through her directing of Magic City Poetry Festival, teaching a range of ages in high school and college, as well as publishing multiple award-winning books, she has proven the ability to sustain multiple roles of educator, poet, organizer, and visionary. Jones is a nationally recognized poet who has a vision for advancing poetry in the state, as seen with her recent guest editorship position at Poetry magazine. What's more, her vision of poetry is inclusive of slam poetry, oral traditions, and outsider art. Jones is already an ambassador of poetry for the state and will elevate the visibility of all Alabama writers, including those who have been under-represented in the state's literary history. The committee praised her poetry's broad range that invites in the reader, along with an engaging tone and searing specificity. Jones's poetry is grounded in the real world, and does not shy from its complexities, complications, and challenges. In sum, her work engages Southern history and provides us with a new vision of how to interact within the arts and within our communities."

The poet laureate serves as the ambassador of poetry for the state. Roles and responsibilities include touring the state to make appearances at schools, universities, libraries and other state institutions, as well as give lectures, read poetry and hold workshops on a local and national level. This is a position of advocacy and community-building.

"In her poetry, Ashley is brilliant at knowing how to artfully 'follow the rules' of a given form or tradition and when to create her own more ingenious and elegant forms and rules. That's the way she leads, the way she teaches, and the way she advocates, too. We're so lucky she's going to be Alabama's chief advocate for poetry for the next four years."

AWC President T. J. Beitelman

MEDIA

“Ashley M. Jones selected as state’s new poet laureate” (Al.com)

“Meet Ashley M. Jones, the first Black poet laureate of Alabama” by Tira Davis (Bham Now)

“Birmingham teacher named first Black Poet Laureate of Alabama” by Sumner Harrell (ABC 33/40)

Book covers are incredibly important. In fact, they draw many of us to the books we read. We don’t often get to hear the stories of how our favorite books arrive at their respective covers, but in this fascinating conversation with T. K. Thorne, Claire Datnow and Kristina Handler take us behind the scenes and allow us to see the process of developing the perfect cover for Claire’s latest novel Red Flag Warning: An Eco Adventure.

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Claire Datnow was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, which ignited her love for the natural world and for diverse indigenous cultures around the globe. Claire taught creative writing to gifted and talented students in the Birmingham, Alabama Public Schools System. Her published works include a middle grade Eco mystery series, The Adventures of The Sizzling Six. She received numerous scholarships and awards, including, The Blanche Dean Award for Outstanding Nature Educator, the Alabama Writers Cooperative Middle Grade Award, and Monarch Mysteries (Book 6 eco mystery series) long listed for the Green Books Award. During her tenure as a teacher, Claire and her students developed a nature trail, recently named in her honor as the Alabama Audubon-Datnow Forest Preserve

We were devastated to learn that Brian Voice Porter - a prominent Alabama poet, performer, teacher, and community activist who had presented three well-received talks at our recent annual conference - passed away suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this week.

Voice was a gifted artist and an exceptionally warm and gracious spirit who couldn't help but inspire those with whom he came into contact. Here are some links to several articles celebrating Voice's enormous contribution to the literary arts in Alabama:

“Brian Porter Hawkins is an Alabama Bright Light triggering a renaissance through Ensley Alive” by Karim Shamsi-Basha (Alabama News Center)

“5 reasons why Birmingham needs to know Brian Voice Porter Hawkins” (Bhmam Now)

“Brian Voice Porter Reading for Shelter in Magic Reading Series” (Magic City Poetry Festival)

“Brian Voice Porter Hawkins” (Starbucks Stories)

“Birmingham Poet And Activist Brian “Voice Porter” Hawkins Dies At 42” (WBMH)

“Brian ‘Voice Porter’ Hawkins, Birmingham artist/poet, dies at 42” (Birmingham Times)

“Birmingham mourning death of poet, activist Brian 'Voice Porter' Hawkins” (WVTM 13)

We will be posting Voice's presentations to our YouTube channel very soon. We were honored by his presence in life, and we count ourselves lucky to have these recordings as reminders of Voice's rich and deep reservoir of creative insight.

And we hold Voice’s words forward as an inspiration for Alabama writing community.

“I think success in the community depends on more community events and people. .. I think success in a community is: community.”

- Brian Voice Porter

For Immediate Release 

The Alabama Writers Cooperative invites all literary enthusiasts and word aficionados to its virtual Annual Conference on August 20th-22nd. The conference aims to strengthen and support the development of writers and poets across Alabama and beyond. Admission to the conference is free to members and non-members alike, though registration is required.

The aim of the conference is to underscore the AWC’s mission, which is to nurture and engage a diverse community of Alabama writers. 

In partnership this year with the Emmet O’Neal Public Library in Mountain Brook and the Birmingham chapter of PEN America, AWC is proud to present keynote speakers Randi Pink and Angela Jackson-Brown. Pink is the author of Into White and Girls like Us. Jackson-Brown wrote When Stars Rain Down, House Repairs, and Drinking from a Bitter Cup. 

Another highlight of this year’s conference is the expanded participation of established publishing industry professionals. Literary agent Erin Clyburn of The Jennifer DiChiara Literary Agency will review pitches by AWC members and offer feedback. There will also be a first-page reading panel, featuring Clyburn and literary agents Jemiscoe Chambers-Black (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) and Kaitlyn Johnson (Belcastro Literary Agency).

Other featured faculty in this year’s conference are Alabama Poet Laureate Jennifer Horn; 2021 Caldecott Honor winner Karim Shamsi-Basha; horror novelist Shaun Hamill; mystery writer Hank Early; screenwriter and novelist Joel Eisenberg; and literary agent Alec Shane (Writers House). 

The conference will also feature presentations by novelist and past AWC board president T. K. Thorne; Birmingham-based journalist Monique Jones, author of The Book of Awesome Black Americans; filmmaker and professor, Katie Boyer; renowned local spoken-word artist, Voice Porter; decorated poet and director of UAB’s Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop, Tina Braziel; and recent NEA Fellowship-winner and director of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama, Charlotte Pence.

 In addition, AWC members will have the opportunity to submit samples of their original works in progress for free manuscript consultations offered by Mobile-based fiction writer Adam Prince; past AWC president and Alabama Poet Laureate emeritus, Sue Brannan Walker; and TJ Beitelman, who serves as current AWC president and chairs the Creative Writing department at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

AWC is one of the oldest continuing writers’ organizations in the United States. Writers, aspiring writers, publishers, and members of the literary community are welcome to join. Sharing information, developing ideas, honing skills, and receiving practical advice are hallmarks of the annual conference.

Register to attend for free online.

Meet our 2021 faculty.

Questions should be directed to ACW Conference Chair JJ Jones at jjsayspoetryplz@me.com.

You can also download a copy of this press release here.