The Colrain Manuscript Intensive is a small, select, highly focused, 3-day conference designed for the evaluation and discussion of book-length manuscripts by poets, editors and publishers. The intensive is open only to either those who have attended a previous Colrain conference and/or those whose manuscript is close to publication (semi-finalist, finalist or publisher feedback), and/or those with previous book publication.
The intensive features in-depth pre-conference work and candid, realistic evaluation and feedback from decision-makers. In preparation, particpants will work on pre-conference assignments at home, and then, in the workshop, to review, arrange, and winnow their collections based on the pre-conference work. In addition to the manuscript preparation workshop and editor consultation, there will be editorial Q&A, and after-conference strategy session. The Intensive also includes a pre-conference manuscript reading and separate one-on-one consultation with Joan Houlihan.
Agenda
Friday: you will receive your Zoom* link via email at 4 pm EST on Friday, May 1. Introductions among participants and faculty take place (bring your own wine!). We’ll talk about backgrounds in poetry, goals and expectations. Faculty will present an overview of the weekend.
NOTE: There will be many built-in breaks throughout the weekend, including for lunch, snacks, bathroom, etc.
Saturday: workshops begin at 10 am EST. You’ll join via Zoom link at 9:45.
Individual manuscript review session with Joan Houlihan from 2-5.
Sunday: editorial sessions begin at 10 am EST. You’ll join via Zoom link at 9:45.
(Directions for manuscript format will be sent pre-conference.)
Monday: wrap-up session and publication strategies going forward.
*We will be using Zoom, an easy-to-use online application. No need to have it installed–it will open in your browser when you click the link you get from Colrain. More info in the pre-conference instructions.
Who
Work with renowned poet-editor-educators Joan Houlihan and Stephen Motika.
Joan Houlihan is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Shadow-feast (Four Way Books). Her poetry has been anthologized in The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries (University of Iowa Press) and The Book of Irish-American Poetry-Eighteenth Century to Present (University of Notre Dame Press). She is a contributing critic for the Contemporary Poetry Review, associate editor for Tupelo Quarterly, and author of a series of essays on contemporary American poetry archived online at bostoncomment.com. She has taught at Columbia University and Smith College and currently teaches in the Lesley University Low-Residency MFA Program and at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Houlihan is founder and director of the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference.
Stephen Motika, poet and publisher, is the author of Western Practice, published by Alice James Books in 2012. He is also the author of two chapbooks, Arrival and at Mono (2007) and In the Madrones (2011), and editor of Tiresias: The Collected Poems of Leland Hickman (2009). His articles and poems have appeared in Another Chicago Magazine, At Length, BOMB, The Brooklyn Review, Eleven Eleven, Maggy, The Poetry Project Newsletter, Poets.org, Vanitas, among other publications. A 2010-2011 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Resident, he has taught at Naropa University and in the Stonecoast MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine. He is the program director at Poets House and the publisher of Nightboat Books.
How to Apply
Before you apply, please visit our Conference Criteria page to make certain this conference is right for you. Once you understand the nature and goals of the conference, please submit an application.
Conference Fee
Following successful application, the registration fee is $1,200.00. This includes a full manuscript read and consultation with Joan Houlihan.
