News That Fits

Manuel Ramos

A WRITER TO WATCH -- BUT WE KNEW THAT
Our very own Daniel Olivas has been chosen by LatinoStories.com as one of 2007's Top Ten "New" Latino Authors to Watch.

Well-deserved and congratulations to Daniel. He's in some very good company. The list includes several writers profiled on La Bloga. Here are the ten:

1) Christine Granados - Brides and Sinners in El Chuco

2) Sonia Nazario - Enrique's Journey

3) Rene Colato Lainez - I Am Rene, the Boy/ Soy Rene, El Nino

4) Daniel A. Olivas - Devil Talk

5) Francisco Aragon - Puerta del Sol

6) Sandra Rodriguez Barron - The Heiress of Water

7) Cristina Henriquez - Come Together, Fall Apart

8) Reyna Grande - Across a Hundred Mountains

9) Paul Cuadros - Home on the Field

10) Mario Acevedo -The Nymphos of Rocky Flats

MOUNTAIN & PLAINS REGIONAL BOOK AWARDS
Speaking of lists, the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association announced its titles shortlisted for the 2007 Regional Book Awards. In the Adult Fiction category is Cottonwood Saints (UNM Press) by Gene Guerin, winner of this year's Premio Aztlán. "Cottonwood Saints is a moving family saga, rich in lore and personality and the marvelous culture of New Mexico. Margarita Juana is a powerful woman, a survivor who perseveres against all odds, determined to hold things together. Her story, about the extreme courage of ordinary people, is sad and true and very inspiring."--John Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War


Through Georgia's Eyes by Rachel Victoria Rodríguez (Henry Holt & Co.) is nominated in the Children's category. According to the publisher: "Georgia O’Keeffe saw the world differently from most people. As a child she roamed the prairie with a sketch pad in her hand, struggling to capture on paper what she saw all around her. At art school she learned to speak in paint on canvas. But Georgia felt confined by city life. She longed for inspiration, for vast expanses of space, and she found them both in the red hills and silent deserts of New Mexico. Lyrical and vivid, Through Georgia’s Eyes is a portrait of an exceptional artist, a woman whose eyes were open to the wideness and wonder of the world."

STORIES AND ART
Here's an interesting contest that combines two things we talk about a lot here on La Bloga, books and art. Stories on Stage and the Art Students League of Denver are running a contest where the idea is to create a short piece of writing (short fiction, narrative nonfiction, essay or poetry) inspired by selected works of art that requires no more than 10 minutes to read aloud, and that tells a story. Winning selections will be read by professional actors during the Stories on Stage/Art Students League's February 10, 2007 presentation Words of Art. Submission deadline is December 30, 2006. All of the art pieces are part of The Image of Words at the Art Students League of Denver, curated by Emilio Lobato. For more details and to see the artwork, go to the Stories on Stage website.

ANOTHER WRITING CONTEST
3rd Annual Arapahoe Community College Writers Studio Literary Contest for Colorado residents. $250 First Prize per category, plus publication in Progenitor. Categories: Fiction/Creative Nonfiction-up to 20 pp typed double-spaced. Poetry-up to three poems typed, single-spaced. Fees: $10 per category; $7 per ACC students. See guidelines at http://www.arapahoe.edu/deptprgrms/eng/writerscontest.html.

HELP PUBLIC RADIO COVER US LATINO BUSINESS AND CULTURE
I pass on this message from Marketplace, a program heard on public radio stations:

"The mainstream media has a pretty spotty record when it comes to covering the real issues in the Hispanic community. Do you see trends and stories that aren’t being reported in the news media? Do you work at – or have you started – a business that’s part of the growing Hispanic American economy?

Marketplace, the leading business show on public radio with more than 9 million listeners, wants your help to provide deeper coverage of the issues and emerging trends affecting Hispanic businesses, employees and communities.

Marketplace reporter Dan Grech reports on the Spanish-speaking community and businesses: your insight can help Dan and other Marketplace reporters cover Hispanic communities and businesses more accurately, more in-depth, and with more relevance. Your knowledge can inform the news.

Have you started a business? How is Hispanic culture affecting the American marketplace? What stories about the Hispanic community do you want to see in the news? Click here to introduce yourself to Marketplace.

What you share will help improve media coverage of Hispanic communities and businesses. Thank you for your time.

Regards,

Joellen Easton
Public Insight Analyst
Marketplace Marketplace Money Weekend America
American Public Media

365 DAYS/365 PLAYS
El Centro Su Teatro will join two high schools, eight colleges and 43 other theater companies from 18 Colorado cities to present Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’s unprecedented 365 Days/365 Plays, Saturday, December 2 at 7 pm at El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street in Denver.

Parks wrote 365 Days/365 Plays one day at a time over the course of one year. The project was originally conceived as a private meditation on Parks’s own life and art, but the themes turned universal, and the idea grew wings and has become, quite probably, the largest theater collaboration ever.

Colorado is not the only state involved in the project. Theaters from New York to Austin to Seattle to Atlanta are accepting the grail—more than 600 theater groups so far, and the number continues to grow.

El Centro Su Teatro will present Week 3 of the 52-week series, performing seven of Parks’s plays in one evening. The plays will be presented as free staged readings with minimal costume and set design, but plenty o' flourish.

Week 3 of Suzan-Lori Parks’s 365 Days/365 Plays will be directed by Su Teatro associate artists and staff members Valarie Castillo and John Kuebler and will star your favorite Su Teatro company actors. Join us for a night of fun, innovative theater—it’s a guaranteed good time (and it’s free). Call (303) 296-0219 for more information.

VINO Y CHOCOLATE
Adelante Mujer invites one and all to attend the 8th Annual Vino y Chocolate, December 7, 5 PM to 8 PM at the Centro San Juan Diego, 2830 Lawrence, Denver. Support the Immigrant and Battered Women's Project of Bienestar Family Services by bringing a gift of clothing, coats and toys for childrend birth to 10 years. There also will be a mercado where you can find Mexican shawls and table place mats woven by the women of Las Mujeres de Esperanza y Fe, based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. RSVP 303-297-8696.

Later.