Ames Writers Collective
Ana McCracken is the founder of the Ames Writers Collective. Her genre is memoir. Ana is most happy driving deserted backroads and stopping along the way to stop and stare into the horizon, and to listen to silence.
If you missed the Facebook Live event in October, you can still watch Ana’s conversation with author/memoirist Tom Geraty.
Live at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa, they discuss Tom’s new memoir, Where the Trees Dance, and swap stories about being adopted children searching for their birth parents.
Watch the video here:
October 16, 2023 – October 18, 2023
Most of us give little thought to how we would like to be remembered in our obituaries. The thought of writing it may be scary. But writing your obituary does not signal the end of your life. Instead, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect, receive feedback from others, and to plan how you wish to live the rest of your best life. And, wouldn’t you rather be the author of your obituary as opposed to leaving the writing of your life to someone else?
This two-and-a-half-day workshop will help demystify writing about ourselves and explore the history of obituaries—both newspaper and online versions. Step-by-step exercises will help each of us gather our own anecdotal and biographical data, and easy writing exercises will produce draft obituaries, both online and newspaper versions. During our final evening celebration, everyone will be invited to read their obituary to the group.
Join Mary Lou Nosco and Ana McCracken for a fun-filled and reflective writing retreat at Prairiewoods. You don’t have to be “a writer” to join us. During our time together, we will gather in community for walks, good food and conversation, and time to reflect and write. And, of course, there will be wine!
Ana McCracken received her B.S and MFA in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University, and she the founder of the Ames Writers Collective. Ana enjoys reading a well-written obituary, and wants to be the author of her own.
Mary Lou Nosco has a B.A. in history, an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, and is a retired Army officer. While in the Army, Nosco wrote too many obituaries for soldiers. Additionally, she has written obituaries for five family members and would like to spare her own family that duty.
DATES
Arrival: October 16 (Noon)
Departure: October 18 (by 1 pm)
COST: $295 includes lodging (single rooms) and meals, materials and wine! Click here for payment instructions or to make inquiry. Pre-assignments and itinerary will be sent closer to the retreat date. Plan to bring a notebook and pen and/or your laptop for writing and taking notes.
This is a test blog post. What if it was a lot longer?
Jennifer L. Knox is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, Crushing It. Knox received her bachelor’s from the University of Iowa, and her master’s of fine arts in poetry writing from New York University. Her poems have appeared five times in the “Best American Poetry” series, and in publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker and American Poetry Review. www.jenniferlknox.com.
Ana McCracken received her MFA in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University. She is a published author with pieces appearing in the California Writers Club’s Literary Review, and the anthologies Nothing But The Truth So Help Me God—51 Women Reveal the Power of Positive Female Connection, and Chicken Soup for the Soul—The Joy of Adoption, and Telepoem Booth® Iowa. At one time she was a columnist and editor for Maui Vision magazine, and her essays and articles have appeared in various publications around the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently seeking representation for her memoir titled, Redacted—A Memoir of Adoption. You can visit her at her website.
Olivia Hill is an indie-published playwright and short story author.
What inspired you to become a writer?
It was my desperation to be heard. I began as a young girl writing poetry just to express myself since I lived in a house where my voice was completely silenced. In high school, I had an inspirational educator that encouraged my writing and praised my ability. But because of my undiagnosed learning disabilities, I could not remain in her classroom due to my test scores. Being placed in a remedial class silenced my writing for many years. It wasn’t until I was already a mother, starting college, that I was recognized by a professor. It motivated me to start again. I quickly found it a powerful format to elevate my voice and be heard.
What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
One of the first books that inspired and shaped my writing was “Daddy Was a Number Runner” by Louise Meriwether. The direct, raw nature of the writing felt different than anything I had experienced. The story was told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old black girl, a character that I resonated with but was also unlike any character I had been introduced to before. The sound of that story has stayed with me throughout my childhood and adult life.
Name three of your favorite books and their authors
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I write from what I know best, myself. The relationships, experiences, and oddities of life are constant material for exploration and stories. Whether through my plays, short stories, or my recent memoir, I find the dialogue and interaction between people fascinating and like to expose truths through what people say and don’t say. Although this form of writing is easier captured in plays, I really like exploring dialogue through my prose as well. I start with myself to explore relationships.
What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Your words and the stories that you tell are more valuable than what it pays.
Olivia Hill is a playwright, author, visual artist, and chef. She shares her journey of mental health, literacy, and being a Black woman within the creative arts to many audiences. She is a published short-story author and playwright of over five plays that have been produced in multiple states. She is the recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Award for her play Mother Spense. As a visual artist, she has specialized in printmaking and watercolor, exhibiting in multiple galleries.
Hill holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She resides back in her hometown, Kansas City, Missouri, where she continues to be an activist on social issues that affect BIPOC creatives and love on her grandchildren.
Our first Author Spotlight, Maggie Westvold, is a published poet and memoirist. She is a founding member of Third Stanza Poets in Ames, Iowa and secretary of the Iowa Poets Association (IPA).
What inspired you to become a writer?
I can’t remember not liking to write; it seemed to come naturally. My high school English teachers were all very encouraging. My junior year, my English teacher read poetry aloud to us. I was hooked, though I did not realize it at the time. Twenty years later, Deb Marquart & others who published ‘Iowa Woman’ offered poetry workshops around Iowa. They were wonderful. Third Stanza Poets, Ames, is a spinoff from a night poetry class at Ames High taught by masters students from ISU’s creative writing program. We’ve existed since the mid 90’s & the poets in the group have been very helpful in my growth as a writer. Omega Poets, Des Moines, & the IA Poetry Association have also influenced my skills & continue to do so.
What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Michael Carey, Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser, Seamus Heaney & others. I strive to write anything even close to their masterful poetry.
Name three of your favorite books and their authors
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I was a chronically shy country-kid kindergartner. In adulthood, reading my poems aloud to others, even in small groups, initially sent my voice into tremolo mode! Public poetry readings, one after the other, helped. KHOI Community Radio, Ames, helped me get past mic fright. It is a thing. Not easy. I can attest to that and would be more than willing to help anyone with their fear of public speaking.
What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read a lot of other’s poetry. Read all the how-to books you can find. Write, write, write. Daily challenges are wonderful for the muse!
Maggie Westvold was born in the hospital one block from where she lives today. Some might say she hasn’t gotten far in life, but she truly feels she is exactly where she needs to be in this 3/4-century year of her good life. Writing, reading, woodcarving, volunteering on community radio, and enjoying retirement life with husband Steve, all round out her days as a wife, mom, grandma and friend. Maggie retired twenty years ago from a career with the state of IA writing government documents. She much prefers writing poems.
Dennis is a published poet and Sci-Fi/fantasy writer. A military vet, he has been writing for over thirty years and believes that creativity is the key to helping all veterans thrive. He lives here in Ames, Iowa. Learn more about Dennis at his website.
What inspired you to become a writer?
As a military veteran, I write because I need the therapy. Struggling against memories of war is the fate of all soldiers returned from killing places. The creative act, whatever that might be, is the most potent therapy I have discovered. The fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will create another generation of afflicted men and women. I hope they will also make this discovery.
What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I most admire the early Sci-Fi writers: Azimov, Heinlein, and Drake for their genre. I really love [James] Michener for the impeccable historical research he does for his novels.
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
My evolution in writing has taken over thirty years so far. I began with poetry, wishing to bring this art’s passion, imagery, and sensuality into prose. So far, I have had two books of poetry, two books of short stories, a collection, and one novel published. The number of my poems, stories, and books accepted by various editors and publishers seem to validate the approach.
What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read, write, and submit. Join a writers’ group and learn from their experience and critiquing.
Dennis Maulsby’s poems and short stories have appeared in The North American Review, Star*Line, The Hawai’i Pacific Review, The Briarcliff Review (Pushcart nomination), and on National Public Radio’s Themes & Variations. His traditionally published books include: Near Death/Near Life (Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) gold medal winner), Free Fire Zone (MWSA silver medal winner), Winterset (Eric Hoffer Award winner and Global eBook gold medal winner), Heart Songs, and House de Gracie (Reader Views and Global eBook silver medals). Dennis holds memberships in the SFWA, the SFPA, the MWSA, and is a past president of the Iowa Poetry Association. Website: www.dennismaulsby.com.
What’s your genre?
Historical non-fiction
Are you published?
Traditional publisher
What inspired you to become a writer?
I fell in love with writing history while I was in college. The stories I read in people’s diaries and letters fascinated me, and I wanted to bring those stories to readers. From the very beginning, I’ve been committed to writing for a broad audience. I don’t want my work to be accessible only to other historians. I want the public to be able to read my work as well.
What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I love Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. She is able to take complicated material and present it in an understandable way. She also knows when to say “we just don’t know, and we may never know.” It’s a brave historian who says that.
Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale
John Ise, Sod and Stubble
Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I’m passionate about what I do! I love history, I love to write, and I love to help students develop their writing.
What one piece of advice you would give a budding writer?
Read, read, read, and write, write, write. If you want to be a good writer, you need to read widely. You also need to keep at the writing constantly, and be willing to do lots of editing.
Author Bio
Pamela Riney-Kehrberg moved to Ames in 2000, when she joined the History Department at Iowa State University. Today, she is a Distinguished Professor of History, and the author or editor of a number of books, including Rooted in Dust: Surviving Drought and Depression in Southwestern Kansas, Childhood on the Farm: Work, Play and Coming of Age in the Midwest, and The Nature of Childhood: An Environmental History of Growing Up in America, 1865-Present. She is the author of a historical book for children, Always Plenty To Do: Growing Up on the Farm in the Long Ago. Her most recent work is When a Dream Dies: Agriculture, Iowa, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s, to be published in 2022. Visit her at here. On September 21, Pam will read at the Author Spotlight Series from 7 to 8 PM at KHOI Community Radio. Check our calendar for further details.
