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Posts Tagged ‘Great Write Off’

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2013 Great Write Off Begins!

Dear Friends, We’re excited to announce that the 2013 Great Write Off is underway! For the next week (9/23 – 9/30) we’ll be participating in our second annual write-a-thon fundraiser, in collaboration with four other literary non-profits: 826michigan, Dzanc Books, the National Writers Series, and the Neutral Zone. Last year FWR and its partner organizations raised nearly $30,000 during our inaugural fundraiser to support the work these literary non-profit organizations do to help nurture the next generation of writers. And we hope to exceed those number this year! Last year the money we raised from the Great Write Off allowed us to […]


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2013 State of the Book Literary Symposium: September 28th

Once again, Fiction Writers Review will be co-hosting our annual State of the Book literary symposium, in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Department of English Language & Literature and the Zell Visiting Writers Series. Last year’s event was a huge success, drawing more than 900 people to Rackham Auditorium in Ann Arbor for a day of literary happenings, including Dave Eggers’s release of the 2012 Best American Nonrequired Reading anthology and 826michigan’s OMNIBUS anthology, a keynote conversation between famed fiction writer Charles Baxter and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Phil Levine, and panels with writers such as Bonnie Jo Campbell, Doug […]


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Off for Summer Vacation!

Dear FWR friends: We hope this finds you well. It’s hard to believe that we’ve nearly reached the end of summer. Or, perhaps more amazingly, that we’ve nearly reached our fifth anniversary! It’s a big milestone for this organization, and so to celebrate (and to honor the age-old tradition of publishers disappearing in August) the editors are taking off the next two weeks for summer vacation. If you haven’t yet, we hope you’ll get the chance to do the same. Free book for anyone who can identify the beach in the picture above. [Hint: It’s not Nantucket…] We’ll be back […]


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The State of the State of the Book

Fall has swept in to this part of Michigan, bringing with it the low, gray clouds and cool weather of October. But even with the overcast skies of the past few days, my spirits are still high after our State of the Book literary symposium two Saturdays ago. Nearly 900 people attended the symposium’s seven events, which stretched over eleven hours. And more than 30 authors with Michigan roots participated in the day’s readings, panels, and conversations. We also had the next generation of authors on hand. In fact, they kicked off the event! 826michigan timed this year’s OMNIBUS anthology […]


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Great Write Off Winners 2012

Well, friends, the numbers have been crunched and the checks are in and I’m happy to report that you helped us raise nearly $15,000 last week during The Great Write Off. We can’t thank you enough for your generosity. Truly! Thanks also to the Undergraduate English Association (UEA) and the Undergraduate Opportunity Program (UROP) here at the University of Michigan. These students helped orchestrate the write-a-thon at Espresso Royale for three days, and they were our ambassadors at The State of the Book last weekend–ushering, welcoming our guests, staffing the information table, and making sure that audience surveys were completed […]


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Why write, Why I write, Why a Write-a-Thon

According to our official press release, the goal of The Great Write Off is to bring attention to the important work that the non-profit literary organizations partnering for The State of the Book are doing for and on behalf of young writers, and to raise much needed funds for their operation. But we also wanted it to be fun! And perhaps just as importantly, we wanted to give people the permission to write. As a writer who also loves teaching and editing and working for FWR, I know how easily my creative work can end up taking a backseat. To […]


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The Great Write Off: Dispatch from Ann Arbor – Day One

Day One of The Great Write Off dawned cool and foggy here in Ann Arbor. My wife and I had had to turn the furnace on for the first time this weekend, and the leaves have already started to turn on our block. For the past week the students in my Michigan Lit course here at the University of Michigan have been reading Charles Baxter’s Feast of Love, in anticipation of his arrival for Saturday’s The State of the Book symposium. And we’ve been talking a lot about the Midwest and weather. (After all, who captures the subtlety of Michigan […]