fiction

Open Mic Event! — Two days away!

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Before some of you head off into what’s sure to be a luxurious Spring Break, mark your calendars for the next open mic event at GCC.

  • When: Wednesday, March 23rd at 7:00PM
  • Where: GCC Main – Student Union, Room 104E
  • Why: It provides your daily dose of vitamin C.
stage

The event is free, open to the public, but not recommended for children. So, bring what you’ve been working on and regale everyone with your talent. Hosted by Shawnte Orion, the open mic portion of the evening will begin at 7PM, and the night will conclude with a reading from featured guest, Joel Salcido.

Born a Los Angeles cockroach and smuggled to the Westside of Phoenix, Joel Salcido translates the poetry of the barrio pigeons into surrealist prophecies. He is blessed with a beautiful wife and two sons as well as a cadre of talentedly mad brothers, friends, coconspirators and fellow hood radicals. He writes poetry and prose and is working towards a mastery of arts while building a boat out of editor’s rejection letters to float back to the moon. Joel is an MFA candidate in poetry at Arizona State University.

District Writing Competition Winners!

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This week, the winners of MCCCD’s writing competitions were announced, and GCC is proud to see that four GCC students have been selected by the the judges. We are also thrilled that there is such a healthy crop of writers across the district, and we want to offer special congratulations to GCC’s own:

  • Phillip Boddy Jr. for winning 1st Place in the Essay category!
  • Eric Bond for winning 1st Place in One-Act Plays/Scripts!
  • Raymond Nokes for winning 2nd Place in Fiction!
  • Jamie Lee Heath for winning 3rd Place in Fiction!

We hope to see an even greater GCC presence with these awards next year. For a full list of winners, see below.

Essay:

  • Phillip Boddy Jr., GCC, “Our Summer of Love with the Goddess”, 1st Place*
  • Amanda Burns, SMCC, “The Frozen Chosen”, 2nd Place
  • William Alewyn, MCC, “Lucy’s Nick”, 3rd Place
  • Stephen Byrd, CGCC, “The Smell of Freedom”, Honorable Mention

Fiction:

  • William Alewyn, MCC, “And in Purgatory”, 1st Place*
  • Raymond Nokes, GCC, “New Home”, 2nd Place
  • Jamie Lee Heath, GCC, “Fag Country”, 3rd Place
  • Spencer Litman, PVCC, “The Monster”, Honorable Mention
  • Chaudhry Vidhushi, SCC, “The Shawl Seller”, Honorable Mention
  • James Wright, PC, “Ironic, Ain’t It”, Honorable Mention
  • John Chakravarty, PC, “Brake Lights”, Honorable Mention

Poetry:

  • Valerie Neal, MCC, “Carousel Transitioning into Stage Three”, 1st Place*
  • Matthew Hoober, SCC, “Perigee”,  2nd Place
  • William Pluchel, SCC, “The Rattle”, 3rd Place
  • Howard Gershkowitz, MCC, “A Survivor’s Story.  A Railcar’s Introduction”, Honorable Mention
  • Kylyn McCarty, MCC, “On the Third Street”, Honorable Mention
  • Joy Bickman, MCC, “Hid in a Soft-Sided Suitcase”, Honorable Mention
  • Charlotte Coburn, MCC, “Relative Distance”, Honorable Mention

One Act-Play/Script:

  • Eric Bond, GCC, “Potted Plants”, 1st Place*
  • Caleb Asay, MCC, “A Moment of Clarity”, 2nd Place
  • Ariel Tomb, RSC, “Before You Go”, 3rd Place

 

 

Next Free Association Reading: Bilingual Edition!

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Our next Free Association Open Mic will be Wednesday, Feb. 17 beginning at 7PM in the Student Union room 104E.

This evening’s reading will be a special bilingual English/Spanish edition.

Participants are invited to reading in Spanish or in English (or both!).

Todos son invitados participar en Espanol o Ingles o los dos!

Members of the Cardboard House Press will host the bilingual evening along with Shawnte Orion.

Please share this information with your students!

All are welcome in the community, but the event is not recommended for children.

Please contact Kimberly Mathes at kimberly.mathes@gccaz.edu with any questions.

Join GCC Reads!

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gccreads curious

GCC Reads is an organization on campus open to students, faculty, and staff who like to read and discuss literature. For Spring 2016, GCC Reads has chosen The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Students can participate as much or as little as they like, and membership comes with a free book!

Meetings and book distribution begin the week of February 2nd. Head here to pre-register.

About the Book:

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. 

This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

There’s Still Time to Register!

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The Spring 2016 semester is right around the corner, but there is still time left to register for creative writing goodness. There are only so many seats left, so don’t wait too long! Here is what’s on the docket for GCC in the Spring:

  • CRW120 – Introduction to Writing Children’s Literature
  • CRW150 – Introduction to Creative Writing
  • CRW160 – Introduction to Writing Poetry
  • CRW170 – Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • CRW190 – Introduction to Screenwriting
  • CRW220 – Intermediate Children’s Literature
  • CRW260 – Intermediate Poetry Writing
  • CRW270 – Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • CRW272 – Planning and Structuring the Novel
  • CRW273 – Writing the Novel
  • CRW274 – Revising the Novel
  • CRW290 – Intermediate Screenwriting

Find official course notes, meeting times, instructors, and open seats at GCC’s Find a Class. For additional course descriptions written by the instructors themselves, take a look at our Upcoming Classes page on the blog. If you find a course that you like but it’s full, email the instructor! We’re friendly people, so you might be able to get an override.

We hope to see you in some classes and at all of the great events we have planned for Spring!

Last Day to Submit to CRW Competitions!

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Traveler Train 2015

Today, December 4th, is the FINAL DAY to submit your creative work to The Traveler and the district’s Creative Writing Competition deadline!

You have until 10:59PM to submit your poems, stories, scripts, and creative essays. Winning entries from the district competition go onto the national competition hosted by the League of Innovation. At both levels, the winning students will win cash awards and be published. At the district level, we publish a very nice paperback book of all first through third place entries. Chosen entries from The Traveler submissions will be published in our next issue, set to go into production in the spring.

MCCCD Competition 2015

Things to Know:

  • Requirements and submissions page for The Traveler can be found here: www.gccaz.edu/traveler-entry
  • Requirements and submissions page for the district competition can be found here: https://mcli.maricopa.edu/arts/creative-writing
  • The district creative writing competition awards $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place.
  • For submitting to The Traveler, you must have an active GCC email account. It is required by the submission page.
  • For submitting to the district competition, you must be an active student in the district, and you must create a CaFE account to submit your entries. Instructions for creating this account can be found at the submission page.
  • Both competitions require you to submit your work electronically. There are no physical submissions.
  • You are allowed to submit to both competitions at the same time. So, if you are submitting a short story, for example, you can submit it to both The Traveler and the district competition. Do not be shy.

They Came, They Slammed, They Conquered

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Slam2015 - MCcrowd
MC Charles Threat beginning the night

On Wednesday, November 18th, Glendale Community College held its annual prose and poetry slam. Thirty writers and performers braved post rush hour traffic, a slight nip in the air, and the temptations brought on by baked goods and complimentary bottles of water. In doing so, these writers and performers put on an impressive display of the creative work being done at GCC and in the West Valley as a whole.  From parody songs about Donald Trump’s political candidacy to poems that eulogized lost friends and love ones, the night was filled with laughter, chills, and an appreciation for language.

By the end of the night, three winners were crowned:

  • First Prize: Jimmie Gathings
  • Second Prize: Jamie Heath
  • Third Prize: Tristan Marshall

Congratulations to Jimmie, Jamie, and Tristan.

Slam2015 - Jimmie
Charles congratulating Jimmie Gathings

Heartfelt thank yous go out to all of our readers, audience members, judges, our Master of Ceremonies: Charles Threat, Midnight Metaphors, and all faculty and students who helped organize and make the slam the wonderful night it was.

As the Fall semester comes to a close, do not forget to come to our annual White Elephant Exchange on Wednesday, December 9th from 7 to 9PM. We will be holding it on GCC Main in MA142. Come celebrate the holiday season and the end of another great semester with your fellow writers.

This Wednesday: Slam at GCC!!

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November 18th at 7PM. In GCC Main’s SU 104E

November is the month for GCC’s annual Poetry and Prose Slam.  The prize is Cold Hard Cash! This year, the slam will take place on GCC’s main campus in SU 104E. It begins at 7:00 p.m on November 18th.

Things to Know:

  • Registration forms must be submitted by the day and time of the event
  • Registration forms can be found at the English Department lobby in the 05 building on GCC Main, in 05-122, or via email at david.nelson@gccaz.edu
  • Enter short stories, poetry, drama, essay, song lyrics, non-fiction, or other types of creative writing
  • Arrive five to ten minutes early to sign up to read
  • Three minute time limit to read/perform each piece
  • Contestants may read/perform up to three pieces (once per round)
  • Each piece will be judged on the quality of writing/performance
  • There will be prizes for first, second, and third place
  • All decisions of the judges are judicious, righteous, and final

Questions?  Please email kimberly.mathes@gccaz.edu.

Saturday Workshop Series: When is a Novel NOT a Novel?

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14 November 2015–When Is A Novel NOT a Novel?

When it’s a novel in short stories – that is to say, when it’s a short story sequence.

Gary Lawrence
Gary Lawrence

A short story sequence is two or more short stories that share at least one important narrative element – plot, setting, character, or theme. Short story sequences are not new; but they are experiencing a resurgence today as “novels in short stories.”

As “novels in short stories,” short story sequences are unique, because they blend the best attribute of a short story (its autonomy) with the best attribute of a novel (its unity). Imagine, if you will, a novel where every chapter stands both on its own AND as an integral part of the overall story arc. The sum is therefore often more than its parts. Louise Erdrich’s 1984 classic Love Medicine and Phil Klay’s Redeployment (2014 National Book Award winner) are two of many successful modern examples.

This workshop will define the short story sequence form; analyze a modern short story sequence written by the workshop leader; and give student writers time and guidance to explore this “sequencing” option in whatever they write: stories, novels, CNF, and/or poetry.

After a 30-year management career in the aerospace industry, Gary Lawrence now teaches composition and creative writing at GCC and Cochise College. His short stories have appeared in Short Story America print anthologies (Volumes II and III) and Four Chambers literary magazine (Volume I). He self-published his short story collection Baffled in 2013. He was also interviewed by NPR in 2014.

Gary has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BA in English fromRockford College. He is originally from Rockford IL and lives today in Sierra Vista AZ with his wife Linda and their Yorkie Poo Rocky.

Join our GCC CRW community for an inspiring and informative workshop on an aspect of creative writing. Topics this year include characterization and more!

The workshops are facilitated by our CRW faculty and talented community writers. These workshops are free and open to the public.

Next Week: Free Association Open Mic Poetry & Prose Series

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On October 21st, this month’s open mic will feature the 2014 contributors to Glendale Community College’s literary arts magazine, The Traveler, and will also feature past Traveler contributor Dan Ramirez reading from his new book Flashes from the Molcajete.

Open mic begins at 7:00 p.m. with Traveler readers and Dan Ramirez to follow.

This event is open for GCC faculty, staff, students, and also community members.

Location:  GCC’s main campus, SU 104-A/B/C