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Writing Workshop For Teens Will Be Off And Writing With New Mentor
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Springfield Regional Arts Council's Writing Workshop For Teens, which meets every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m at the Creamery Arts Center (across from Hammons Field), will start the season Aug. 20 with the current leader passing the quill to Sandy Clark as the groups new mentor. Clark, a freelance writer who has written for a variety of publications and organizations from NASA to the News-Leader, makes his living as a freelancer and says, "If you want to know how to eek out a living writing, I have those tips in spades." His first love for the written word is science fiction and along that path, he attended theClarion West writers workshop in 1999 and studied under authors like Octavia Butler, Nancy Kress, Greg Bear and the editor of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, Gordon Van Gelder. He just won this year's Hugo award. Before moving to Springfield from San Francisco, Clark was managing editor at Locus Magazine before joining the Dot Com boom which he says he rode from the boom to the bust. He then went on to work with technology nonprofits, made a movie (www.americanscary.com) and eventually moved to Springfield to be closer to grandparents. Clark is currently working on a book about the history of gaming while developing two more books. "I'm really excited about this opportunity to help young writers," says Clark. The Writing Workshop For Teens is open to any youth writers aged 13 and older, whether experienced or not. Weekly workshops consist of guest speakers, writing excercises, discussion topics on all areas of writing and sharing of work. The Springfield Regional Arts Council just published an anthology of the current writers' works, "Bring Your Own Words" which was funded in part by a grant from Rotary International. Those who attend the workshop are asked to become members of the Arts Council and the Council created an affordable membership for teenagers (Middle School - $2/year, High School - $5/year, College - $10). For more information about the program, go to www.SpringfieldArts.org or call the Springfield Regional Arts Council, 417-862-ARTS(2787).