West Virginia Writers Podcast

The writer Lee Maynard passed away on June 16, 2017, in New Mexico. He was an infamous son of the Appalachian literary scene due to his less than flattering depiction of growing up in West Virginia in his novel Crum--infamously banned from sale at Tamarack. What negative publicity it received, however, drew more attention to the book, which is, at its heart, a love letter to the state. For the past 15 years, Lee has been a regular presenter at the WV Writers Summer Conference, often accompanied by his friend and collaborator Pops Walker. In this episode we talk to Pops himself about Lee and his work. Also included are Lee's previous podcast appearances, including a recording of one of Lee's readings with Pops Walker, a resonant interview he did with Cat Pleska in 2009, and other recorded material.

The Seward Whale Strike Tragedy, they called it.  Twenty-five people dead. The worst accident in Alaska’s tourism history since Will Rogers’ plane went down in ‘35.   Only one man left alive knows the truth of what really happened -- the man everyone agrees caused the tragedy to start with. And if there's one thing he's sure of, the thing they hit that day was no whale. Presented here is his testimony, as transcribed for an interview with Paranorm Violations Magazine. This podcast adapts the short story "The Ones that Aren't Crows" found in the collection A Consternation of Monsters.

Ed Davis is the WV-native author of the novels I Was So Much Older Then and The Measure of Everything. His third novel, The Psalms of Israel Jones was recently published by WV University Press. It tells the story of a legendary hard-living, hard-lovin', hard-drinkin', and hard-druggin' rockstar who, in his later years, develops something of a cult following. Literally. His son Thom, a conservative minister with some possible moral issues of his own, is called on to the tour by a mysterious phone call and finds himself once again thrust into his estranged father's chaotic world of tour busses, dive-bar shows, and... snake-handlers? In this episode, host Eric Fritzius sits down with Davis for an interview about the novel, as recorded during the Lewisburg Literary Festival on August 8, 2015.

We return with Episode 41 of the WV Writers Podcast, another of our patent-pending recorded live readings (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Shhhh. Don't you worry your purty little head.") This recorded live reading comes from the September 16th Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. WV Writers' featured reader is Miles Dean, honorable mention in the Humor Category of the 2010 WVW Annual Writing Contest as well as voted the 1st place winner in poetry for the Writers Wall at the 2010 Summer Conference. The Literary Tea series continues October 7 and October 14. They take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg. If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com. DOWNLOAD (Right click and Save Link Target As) West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 41 Links mentioned in Podcast:     * Greenbrier Valley Theatre  &nbs

Only a month late in posting this episode, this is the final prose recording from the 2014 Literary Tea series at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.  It features Rachel Garringer, the 2nd place winner of our 2014 Emerging Writers Prose category.   This recorded live reading comes from the October 13, 2014 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. We also mourn the loss of WV Writers member and podcast contributor Miles Dean, who passed on April 1.  You can hear other podcasts featuring Miles at http://podcast.wvwriters.org/search/label/Miles%20Dean

To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest.  The featured reader for this Tea is Janet Lilly, who won third place in the Writers Wall competition at the 2014 WV Writers Summer Conference.   This recorded live reading comes from the October 6, 2014 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.

This recorded live reading comes from the September 29 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest.  The featured reader for this first reading is Audrey Stanton Smith, who placed in the Humor, Stageplay and Children's Book categories. (If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.)

This recorded live reading comes from the September 22 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest. The featured reader for this first reading is Dawn A. Baldwin, who placed both honorable mention and 1st place in the Pearl S. Buck Award for Writing for Social Change category of the 2014 contest. (If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.)

ContestCAST 2015 is your one-stop primer for all information about the 2015 West Virginia Writers Annual Writing contests, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31. Joining host Eric Fritzius for the third year in a row is 2015 Contest Coordinator... Eric Fritzius.

In honor of April being National Poetry Month, the WV Writers Podcast presents a recorded live reading captured at the 2013 Literary Tea Poetry Edition at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV. Featured are poets and readers Lori Evans, Barry Rich, Miles Dean, Micah Labishak, Sammye Lewis, and Wolf Knight.

ContestCAST 2014 serves as your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest for 2014, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31. Joining host Eric Fritzius for the second year in a row to help explain all the whys and wherefores of the contest is the 2014 Contest Coordinator... Eric Fritzius.

Born in Hillsboro, WV.  Pearl S. Buck was a Pulitzer Prize winning author known the world over for such books as The Good Earth.  The child of missionary parents, she grew up in China, and her writing later in life greatly influenced the change in Western perceptions of that nation.  As part of the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, our organization has teamed with the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation in Hillsboro to sponor the Pearl S. Buck Award for Writing for Social Change category of our 2013 contest.   Joining host Eric Fritzius to talk about the award and about Pearl Buck herself, are Jolie Lewis,vice president of the board of directors for the Pearl S. Buck Birthpalce Foundation, and Dr. Edwina Pendarvis, a biographer of Buck's.  

ContestCast 2013 serves as your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest for 2013, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31. Joining host Eric Fritzius to help explain all the whys and wherefores of the contest is the 2013 Contest Coordinator, Eric Fritzius.

For a special Christmas Bonus Show, we're playing a recorded live reading of a Christmas-set short story by our own podcast host, Eric Fritzius. This story was recorded at the November 16 Brown Bag Reading he did at Carnegie Hall WV in Lewisburg. Introducing the show, unfortunately, are Eric's usual Bonus Show co-hosts, his dogs, with a Christmas story of their own.

As you may have read in the most recent WV Writers print newsletter, or seen in announcement form on the WV Writers website, we have a one day Fall Conference in the works coming up on November 3 in Elkins, WV.  In this episode, we chat with WV Writers President Teresa Newsome as well as Fall Conference Presenters Sandy Tritt and Christina Freeburn regarding the conference.  You'll get an overview of what is planned as well as some specifics on the workshops being offered there by Sandy and Christina.

On this episode, I sit down with an old friend from college, playwright and actress Suehyla El Attar. She will be leading two workshops at the 2012 WV Writers Summer Conference which are not only helpful for playwrights, but storytellers, poets, writers and any form of creative endeavor. Suehyla bases her workshops on work she did with movement storyteller Celeste Miller. She explains Celeste's approach.

With the 2012 WV Writers Summer Conference on its way, June 8, 9 and 10, at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV, it's time to check ack in with our organizational president and conference organizer, Cat Pleska, regarding updates to the conference lineup and schedule.  

In honor of April being National Poetry Month, the WV Writers Podcast returns from a long hiatus (explained within) with a recorded live reading captured at the 2011 Literary Tea Poetry Edition at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV.   (In case you'd like a hint as to why the podcast has been gone so long, this episode was recorded atop a hill in a county other than Mercer County.  It's a good thing.)

One of the guest presenters at this year's West Virginia Book Festival was author Jaimy Gordon.  Her books include "Bogeywoman," "She Drove Without Stopping" and "Shamp of the City-Solo."  But it is her most recent novel, Lord of Misrule, that has gained the most acclaim, being the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010.  It’s a novel set in West Virginia, amidst the world of horse-racing.   Jaimy was gracious enough to sit down with us for a conversation with fellow WV Writers member Dr. Edwina Pendarvis. Thanks go out to Phyllis Wilson Moore for arranging this interview.

Recorded at the West Virginia Book Festival, A Quest for Humor: WV Style is a panel of four humor writers from our state both reading examples of their work and commenting on the style of our state's sense of humor. Featured on the panel are Diane Tarantini (WVW Podcast #31, #46), Karin Fuller, Terry McNemar (Podcasts #1, #23, #31), and Rick Steelhammer.  The panel is moderated by former podcast guest Steve Goff (#23, #25, #49 and Bonus Show #9).