Tome winners on the air

There is no better evidence of a hopeful future than young folks flexing their creative muscles. Writers’ Block on a recent Tuesday featured winners of a Tome on the Range writing contest. In the studio were Melinda Garcia and Emilia Lovato, both 9^th graders from Mora High School, and Julienne Risimaah, a 3^rd grader from North Star in Las Vegas. Also taking turns at the microphone were Nancy Colalillo from the bookstore and Paul Bunker from Mora High School.

The contest was based on illustrations from The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, a book strung together with oddly titled drawings that are haunting and ever-so-slightly dark. The challenge was to write something in less than 250 words that told the story of one of the illustrations.  

Thirty-nine students took up the challenge, the bulk of them from Mora High School, largely because English teacher Paul Bunker made the contest a class assignment. He was gratified but not surprised by the quality of work that ended up on his desk.

The stories are wonderful and quite imaginative, each taking an entirely different direction based on the illustration selected. The stories were judged largely on creativity and attention to theme.

Melinda Garcia showed a remarkable understanding of pacing as a means of building drama. Her clever take on The Seven Chairs keeps the reader’s attention and climaxes with a surprise ending. In Oscar and Alphonse Emilia Lovato demonstrates a grasp of how dialogue can move a story forward and make the reader want more. By writing about healing and renewal, Julienne Rirsimaah reflects the hopeful nature of childhood in her tale of The Seven Chairs.

The fourth winner, Camille Sammeth, a 9^th grader from Santa Fe High School, was unable to be in the studio. Her story, Mr. Linden’s Library will be read on the air, Tuesday, Jan. 17. This story is an arresting tale about allowing willfulness to get in the way of sound judgment (and good manners!). Wonderfully written and cleverly executed.

All of these stories may be read at www.vandermeerbooks.com by following these links. Melinda Garcia, Emilia Lovato, Julienne Rirsimaah, and Camille Sammeth.

On the Air With Writers' Block

Writer's Bloc will become Writers' Block on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at around 9:05 a.m., when KFUN and I launch a program about writing, writers, books and writing challenges. The content will be pretty far flung but the idea is to acquaint the listening audience with the many talented authors, poets and word smiths in Las Vegas and the area. It is my hope we will go further afield and interview well-known writers from elsewhere as well. We'll also be talking a bit about publishing, both traditional publishing and self-publishing.

The first is becoming more and more difficult to get into, primarily because the industry must look at what will sell and sell big. Creating and printing books is a costly endeavor. Agents — which are almost as difficult to snag as publishers — must look at the bottom line and if the bottom line has the potential of being red, they take a pass.

Self-publishing has its own pitfalls, and while I'm familiar with some of them, I'm still learning and the curve just gets steeper and steeper, mostly because I'm too cheap to purchase professional services like editing and marketing, two key elements in putting out a quality book.

We will also be looking for writers to submit work for writing challenges. Winning authors will be interviewed and their essays, poems or commentaries read on the air. Details will be forthcoming as the program develops.

I want to thank Joseph Baca, author of Blessings in Disguise, and owner of KFUN and its sister station KLVF, for this opportunity.

My first guests on Nov.1 will be JoRita Jordan and Martha McCaffery, members of the Las Vegas Camera Club. They will be talking about Sacred Places of San Miguel  County, a collection of photos from the club's 2010 exhibit. It is a beautiful publication and I look forward to talking to them about the book and the publishing process.

Please tune in and tell your friends about Writers Block on KFUN. There is also online access at www.kfunonline.com.