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Manuel Ramos

CONTEST FOR UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS
The Crested Butte Writers announced the return of their writing contest for unpublished authors, The Sandy.

Categories & Final Round Judges
Romance --- Selina McLemore, Associate Editor, Grand Central (formerly Warner)
Mainstream Adult Fiction-Mollie Glick, Agent, Jean Naggar Literary Agency
Suspense/Thriller- Katie Gilligan, Associate Editor Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin's Press
Fantasy/Science Fiction-Melissa Ann Singer, Sr. Editor, Tor
Children's & YA-Jennifer Rees, - Editor, Scholastic Books

Eligibility--All authors unpublished in novel length fiction.
Enter-- The first 20 pages and up to a 2 page synopsis, for a total page count of 22 pages.
Receipt date-February 17, 2008.
Fee--$30; Friends of Library members, fee= $20

Awards-- Winners announced at the awards luncheon, held Friday June 20, 2008.
1st place will receive $50 and a certificate, 2nd place will receive $25 and a certificate, and third place will receive a certificate.
More info here.

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SU TEATRO PRESENTS TISH HINOJOSA
El Centro Su Teatro will present the original production, Á Colorado en una Noche de Navidad, To Colorado on a Christmas Night, featuring the music of Tish Hinojosa and written and directed by Anthony J. Garcia, December 13 – 23. Á Colorado is a theatrical celebration of the music of renowned singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa. Su Teatro company actors will sing and reinterpret her songs, and Tish will join the cast for a one night only special performance on December 21.

Su Teatro developed Á Colorado as a part of its annual St. Cajetan’s Reunification Project. What is now known as the Auraria Higher Education Center was once a thriving Westside barrio, and the still standing but desanctified St. Cajetan’s church was the spiritual center of the neighborhood. Every holiday season, Su Teatro travels to Auraria to present a community based folk drama and symbolically return the neighborhood to the families it was taken from. Eugenia Rawls theater at the King Center, 877 Lawrence Way, December 13 – 23. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM with Saturday and Sunday 3:00 PM matinees.

Tickets are $18 general and $15 students/seniors. Special comadre group rates are available. For tickets and information call El Centro Su Teatro at (303) 296-0219 and visit www.suteatro.org and www.myspace.com/elcentrosuteatro.

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The Denver Art Museum opens its door for free from December 12 through January 6, and invites everyone to check out the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art galleries in the Museum's North Building, fourth level. Bilingual and family activities are promised. The event is billed as Our Lady of Guadalupe at the DAM, so expect a vision.

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December 13 - Vino y Chocolate hosted by the Board of Directors of Adelante Mujer, Inc., 5:00 - 8:00 PM, Centro San Juan Diego, 2830 Lawrence St., Denver, CO. Support the Immigrant and Migrant Project of Bienestar Family Services of Centro San Juan Diego by bringing a gift of toys for children age's birth to 10 years. Indicate age and gender on children's gifts. RSVP - 303-297-8696.

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Al fin -- I got the pleasant news that my short story, If We Had Been Dancing, has been selected by Stories on Stage to be performed by the Buntport Theatre for the Tales of Mystery and Suspense program (January 4 and 5, 2008). Other authors for that night include Edgar Allen Poe, Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl, and Jack Ritchie. Heavy company.

The Stories on Stage annual holiday program is set for December 16 at the Stage Theater in the DCPA. Featured authors for Making Merry are Dylan Thomas, John Cheever, Truman Capote, and Ellis Parker Butler. Sounds good.

Whew -- it's late. Time for a cool one.

Later.

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Manuel Ramos

SHERMAN ALEXIE WINS NATIONAL BOOK AWARD



Congratulations to Sherman Alexie and his book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown, 2007). Alexie won the National Book Award in the category of Young People's Literature. He has described his book as "highly autobiographical" and a blurb for the book says that the "heartbreaking yet funny story chronicles the adolescence of one contemporary Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he seems destined to live." A short interview of Alexie on the National Book Foundation website, conducted by Rita Williams-Garcia, offers some insight into the author's process and his intimate relationship with the characters in the book. During the interview Alexie says that his protagonist would think that "if one reads enough books one has a fighting chance. Or better, one's chances of survival increase with each book one reads." Well-said, and well-done.

DAGOBERTO GILB, ROLANDO HINOJOSA-SMITH GIVEN TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND AWARD
At the recent Texas Book Festival, Dagoberto Gilb and Rolando Hinojosa-Smith were presented with the 2007 Bookend Award. According to the Festival website, each Festival honors a Texas author with its Bookend Award in recognition of a lifetime of contributions to Texas literature. Former honorees include Sandra Cisneros, Mary Margaret Farabee, Larry L. King, Walt McDonald, T. R. Fehrenbach, Horton Foote, William H. Goetzmann, John Graves, A. C. Greene, Shelby Hearon, Elmer Kelton, Stanley Marcus, Cormac McCarthy, Américo Paredes, Louis Sachar, Edwin "Bud" Shrake, Texas Monthly magazine (publisher Mike Levy; editors William Broyles, Gregory Curtis, and Evan Smith), and Bill Wittliff. There's a damn good interview of Gilb and Hinojosa-Smith here at this link, which features an audio presentation. These two writers open up in the interview. They offer opinions about the past and future of Chicano Lit; the influence of other writers and their own impact on literature; how the world, as opposed to North America, views and appreciates what they write; and other subjects that should be of interest to La Bloga's readers. Congratulations to both gentlemen. Well-deserved. The interview was conducted by John M. Gonzalez for the Austin American-Statesman.



MICHELE SERROS
Looks like this is the week to mention online writer interviews. Michele Serros has one that you can find by clicking here. She talks about her latest book, ¡Scandalosa! ( Simon Pulse, 2007), as well as writing YA fiction with "serious themes"; compromising, rather than selling out, to meet editorial demands; her writing process; and the pros and cons of being compared to Sandra Cisneros. The interviewer is Marissa Landrigan for the V.C. Reporter. And check out Michele's website. It's so pink.


JESSE BORREGO RETURNS TO SU TEATRO
Film and television actor Jesse Borrego will reprise his lead role in Su Teatro’s production of Drive My Coche. The play was written by Roy Conboy (El Cucui Walks) and is directed by El Centro Su Teatro Artistic Director Anthony J. Garcia. It runs one weekend only: November 29 through December 1, 2007. Drive My Coche is a bittersweet drama about a Chicano reflecting on his first love, his tested friendships, and the joy and turmoil he experienced the summer before he shipped out to Vietnam. The production also features local actress Concetta Troskie, who recently appeared in the Aurora Fox production of Anna in the Tropics and can also be seen in Su Teatro’s touring productions Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez and Francisca y la Muerte. Borrego is best known, perhaps, for his four-year stint on the television series Fame. Borrego can be seen in the recurring role of Nurse Javier on NBC’s ER. As part of his visiting artist activities, Borrego will be a guest instructor for El Centro Su Teatro’s Cultural Arts Institute—the organization’s arts education program.

For more information about Drive My Coche, or to set up an interview, please contact John at (303) 296-0219 or [email protected].

El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street Denver, Colorado

POKER FUND-RAISING TOURNAMENT FOR EL CENTRO HUMANITARIO
The proceeds from this fund raiser will benefit El Centro Humanitario, a human-rights advocacy center for day laborers, and will help to open a new gathering place for day laborers in Aurora, CO. The mission of El Centro Humanitario is to "promote the rights and well-being of day laborers in Denver through education, job skills and leadership development, united action and advocacy." The tournament is set for December 7, starting at 6:00 P.M. Each player contributes $30, and the grand prize is one quarter of the proceeds.

El Centro Humanitario: 2260 California St. Denver, CO
Questions, or to RSVP: [email protected] 303-292-4115


RENÉ COLATO LAÍNEZ
And last but certainly not least, I want to give a shout-out to one of my fellow blogueros - René Colato Laínez and his book, Playing Lotería (Northland Publishing, 2005) on recently winning the New Mexico Book Award for Best Children's Book. Congratulations René. You make us all proud, and each week here on La Bloga you give us the best in children's and young adult literature.
Way to go, señor.




Later.

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Manuel Ramos


EL LABORATORIO AND LORNA DEE CERVANTES
Here's an announcement about a new project I recently joined and a plug for the project's first event featuring Lorna Dee Cervantes -- an excellent beginning.

El Laboratorio: Thinking En Público, a new Latino arts and culture center housed within The Lab at Belmar, will host some of Colorado's most acclaimed Latino writers, artists and scholars for literary workshops, public readings, and conversations beginning in summer, 2007. Each event will feature readings by an award-winning author or artist who is reshaping or extending our understanding of the literary arts of the United States. Themes will include avant-garde poetry, experimental novels, drama, the spoken word, storytelling, and slam poetry. In partnership with Arte Público Press, the oldest Latino press in the U.S., El Laboratorio aims to be a premier space where both Latino artists and the general public can gain insights into the ways Latino culture is changing the landscape of the U.S.

Lorna Dee Cervantes, acclaimed poet, teacher, and author will read from her Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Drive, followed by a conversation with John-Michael Rivera, the Creative Director of El Laboratorio, on June 23, 6:00 PM reception, 6:30 - 8:00 PM main event, $10 ($5 members). The Lab is at 404 Upham Street, Lakewood, CO 303-934-1777.

And I just read on Lorna Dee's blog that she is moving to Berkeley, CA. Our loss is the Bay Area's gain. I'm hopeful she will keep her ties to Colorado -- the cultural scene around here now has a big hole because of her leaving.



MIGRATIONS AND OTHER STORIES
Lisa Hernández
Arte Público Press, 2007
Speaking of the oldest Latino press in the U.S., the following message showed up recently on my computer screen and I pass it along to you.

This debut story collection explores issues of migration and identity from a Mexican and Mexican-American perspective. It is the winner of the University of California Irvine’s Chicano/Latino Literary Prize. Past and present are interwoven in the eleven stories dealing with migration across geographical and cultural boundaries. Set in California and Mexico, the characters in these stories struggle with all that life throws their way, including abusive boyfriends, separation from loved ones, and unfaithful spouses, all in an uneasy search for a balance between a Mexican past and a Mexican-American future. With vivid brushstrokes, Hernández paints a collage of Latinas who work vigorously to overcome drastic situations. A woman is convinced that her brother-in-law’s constant fooling around with co-eds caused her sister’s heart attack, and she obsesses about getting revenge even if it means turning to brujería. A young woman who has flunked out of college multiple times finally goes home to confront the memories of her father’s sexual abuse that she hasn’t been able to flee or forget. On her deathbed, Chata reveals to her daughter that when she was growing up in a small Mexican village, her first love was a beautiful prostitute. Themes of survival, identity, and cultural conflict are woven through the stories in this intriguing and entertaining collection. Publisher’s Weekly gave the book an excellent review, and said “Short and affecting, Hernández’s tales are as ardent as they are prosaic and unflinching.” Lisa Hernández is a native of Pasadena, California, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She teaches English at Los Angeles Community College and coordinates literacy programs for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

ART FROM ASHES
Time: Saturday, June 16, 2007 10:00 AM - all day
Location: Cultural Legacy Booksellers, 3633 W. 32nd Ave, Denver
Art from Ashes is a Denver-based, high-risk youth empowerment through poetry organization, and Cultural Legacy is supporting the group with a fundraiser on June 16, the date of the Highlands Street Fair. At 3 pm, there will be an Art from Ashes poetry performance.

Come to Cultural Legacy, meet local authors and enjoy their books! Wellington Webb, Christine Loomis, Charlene Porter and others will be there.
The entire event will run from 10 am until dusk. The fundraising will extend to purchases on-line until midnight. Join us to support this great organization.

I'm one of the "others" and will be at the bookstore signing books (even mine if you have them) at 2:00 PM.

MANITOU SPRINGS LIBRARY AUTHOR FEST
Author Fest of the Rockies 2007 in Manitou Springs, CO, to be held
October 19-20, at the Cliff House Hotel. The organizers are looking for authors,
illustrators, poets, editors, publishers, agents, and anyone interested in the business
of books. They have made a call for proposals from those wishing to
participate as a workshop presenter.

The Friends of the MSPL sponsor this event as a fundraiser for the Carnegie
building's preservation, restoration, and expansion campaign. The library building is almost 100 years old, and the Friends of the MSPL are attempting to update it to meet ADA
requirements, and to expand the infrastructure necessary to meet today's
library technological needs.

The theme of this year's conference is Writing As Art, and you can get an application to make a proposal for a presentation from the library's website.

FINAL NOTES
Rolando Hinojosa sends word that his article, De noche todos los gatos son pardos, con excepciones,will appear in Ventana Abierta (UCSB) Vol. VI, NMo.22, Primavera 2007/Inmigrantes.

Some of you may recall that in last week's column I challenged writers to write an ending to the first page of a story that I posted. Well, two of my comrades here on La Bloga accepted the challenge and wrote up a couple of imaginative endings to my little beginning. You can read how Lisa Alvarado and Michael Sedano ended the story in the comments to my column, here. Sad to say, however, no one else took up the challenge. Oh well.

Later.

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