WP687/WP491 COLUMN WRITING WORKSHOP ALUM UPDATE DIGEST 06-07

Here's a digest of several of the updates I've sent out over the past several months. Since some of this information is likely to have changed, feel free to post updates with news and links to your new jobs and publications on the blog. -jls

Sam Baber (WP687) leaves Borders and starts a new job that involves curriculum development for children ages 4 to 14, a foundation, an 18th-floor downtown office, and Texas. More details are at: http://braintaffy.blogspot.com/2007/03/bloody-hell.html.

Sam Baber has a new job in Texas as a Curriculum Design Senior Analyst, K-12. He continues to update his blog at http://braintaffy.blogspot.com/.

Caroline Beaulieu (WP491) continues to write for Zipcar's website and e-mail newsletter. You can see some of her handiwork at https://www.zipcar.com/register/?return_url=%2fzipsters%2funderthehood if you're a registered user of the Zipcar site.

Caroline Beaulieu has a piece at http://www.zipcar.com/daytripping/ and starting tomorrow -- Wednesday -- she'll be contributing a weekly column to Boston’s Metro newspaper.

Anne-Cecile Blanchot (WP491) is completing her last semester at Emerson and interning at the Improper Bostonian magazine in the photo department. She takes photos for the Mopsy, Word, and Dish columns. You can see the photos in the magazine with her photo credit ever other week when the magazine comes out. She writes that the experience of working at a small, local magazine life the Improper after interning at the large national magazine Glamour has been "interesting."

Anne-Cecile Blanchot has begun posting on a new blog called http://www.eco-strides.blogspot.com/, which she writes is "committed to raising awareness on the eco-crisis at hand and offering simple advice on how to green your daily routine."

Anne-Cecile Blanchot wrote to say that everything is terrific at her internship at Glamour magazine in New York.

Leah Bloom (WP687) is the Senior Communications Officer at St. Francis House. She'll be talking about cross-channel integration and online marketing at the Direct Marketing Association's NYC conference in August, the Association of Fundraising Professionals' monthly breakfast in September, and on two panels at their MA conference in November. She was also quoted in the cover story of this July's issue of FundRaising Success http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=67829&var=story). She continues to freelance for clients that include Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Improv for Life, and causemedia. Samples of her work are at http://www.blogger.com/www.leahbloom.com <http://www.leahbloom.com/> .

The man about whom Leah Bloom wrote her "Coupling" column for The Boston Globe Magazine asked her to marry him. They were married last July 23rd.

Andrea Borod (WP687) writes that she is in charge of publicity for a new "hilarious and fantastic" book called Copyediting and Proofreading for Dummies by Suzanne Gilad. It's "perfect for anyone interested in learning how to read for a living." Andrea says that it's cheaper to buy it at http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?id=3782878262105&isbn=0470121718, but she encourages anyone who's read it to post a review on amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Copyediting-Proofreading-Dummies-Language-Literature/dp/0470121718 where you will learn that Andrea's middle name is "Carlie."

Andrea Borod writes that she's now living in New York City and is working as a research intern for Charlie Rose.

Maressa Brown (WP491) has been at Popstar! magazine for a year. She also provided administrative assistance to Kara Jesella with her book How Sassy Changed My Life: Ode A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time.

The first issue of Popstar! Magazine that Maressa Brown significantly contributed to hit the newsstands on August 8th. Maressa also wrote to let me know that in addition to being an editor at Popstar!, she is working with a writer who is completing a book about Sassy magazine.

Andrea Calabretta (WP687) wrote that she has been offered a position as editorial content producer at Experience.com, a web-based company that "helps young understand the working world." She'll be working on the look and feel of the site, doing some writing, and managing a bunch of student and freelance writer/bloggers.

I reported earlier that Andrea Calabretta would have another "Coupling" column in The Boston Globe Magazine on July 30th. Turns out it appeared on August 6th. It's online at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2006/08/06/he_failed_me/.

Alicia Carr (WP491) just finished the Columbia Publishing Course in New York City. The day planner/city guide to Boston, the Motion Affair Planner, that she wrote and edited for just came out in Barnes and Noble's campus stores in Boston. "It was published by 1stPublications--Morgan First's (an Emerson Alumni '06) publishing company. Anne-Cecile Blanchot designed the planner and the rest, including photography, marketing, advertising, fact-checking, etc, was done by Emerson students as well. Details http://www.blogger.com/www.motionaffairplanner.com."

Starting on Mon, Nov. 27, Alicia Marie Carr will be the Assistant Research Editor for Travel + Leisure in Online/New Media. She writes: "It is a new position created specifically for the up-and-coming addition of online-only editorial content. I will primarily be working on the daily Ask T+L column, written by our Senior Consulting Editor and long-time Managing Editor, Mark Orwoll, and will be housed on the homepage: http://www.blogger.com/www.travelandleisure.com. I will also be working closely with our new senior editor, Adrien Glover (previously of Budget Travel), and I look forward to gaining experience with the editorial process: comissioning stories, working with raw copy, pitching story ideas, and hopefully, writing."

Alicia Marie Carr left her job at Travel + Leisure in NYC to take an editorial intern position at Outside magazine in Santa Fe. She also continues to post on her blog: http://www.blogger.com/www.almost-crunchy.blogspot.com.

Julianne Corey (WP687) continues to blog during her pregnancy at http://www.blogger.com/www.MovingCelebration.com. Click on the link to "the blog."

Tina Crossgrove (WP687) has moved to Trumansburg, New York, to accept a job teaching at Elmira College.

Reminder: Porter Square Books in Cambridge is throwing a launch party for on June 30th at 7 p.m. for Alexander Danner (WP687) who is co-author of Character Design for Graphic Novels. You can find out more information about what Alexander has been up to and about the book on his blog at http://www.twentysevenletters.com/

Lauren Cucinotta (WP491) is interning four days a week at W magazine and planning on taking a copy editing class at NYU.

Laura Dargus (WP491) has been working on copyediting a curriculum for Pathfinder International that aims to train local community health workers (primarily in Africa for now) on how to provide home-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Laura Dargus writes that she is The Weekly Dig's new copy chief. Her name is on the masthead (http://www.weeklydig.com/masthead) and she's firmly ensconced in the Dig's South End offices.

Rachel Dowd (WP687) has been hired as the deputy editor (second in command) at The Advocate magazine in Los Angeles. She had previously been deputy editor of Variety Weekend magazine.

After two years (first as an intern, then as editorial assistant, then as assistant managing editor) with The Pohly Company, Gwyneth Driskill (WP687) has moved to Philadelphia. She's accepted a position as journals manager with Elsevier.

The following is lifted directly from Leslie Brokaw's Magazine News: "Pete Dulin's (WP687) PRESENT MAGAZINE, which covers local food, music, arts, and culture in Kansas City, is now an online publication. PRESENT started life in Sept 2005 as a monthly publication on pdf. Beginning Feb 2007, it converted to the current Web site. As Pete writes on the About page, "We love print magazines too. Love them. Guess what? Production, printing, and postage is costly. The magazine is free to you, dear reader. So, we keep our costs (and advertising rates!) in check by publishing online.http://presentmagazine.com/


Cassidy Ellis was hired as the photo assistant to Ivan Shaw at Vogue Magazine.

Libby Ellis (WP687) is going to Israel on an international media mission this March. I believe this is as part of her work with the Jewish United Fund of Chicago.

Libby Ellis has a piece up at http://www.juf.org/news/local.aspx?id=23466. It's about her first trip to Israel.

Libby Ellis is the new marketing communications manager for the Jewish United Fund in Chicago. Send donations to her freely.

Daveeda Goldberg (WP687) got her first two or three clips published in the Jewish Voice and Herald of Rhode Island

The YA book that Johannah Haney (WP687) edited for author Julia DeVillers in 2002 recently came out in movie form on the Disney Channel (the movie is called Read It and Weep). Johannah also just finished her 6th and 7th kids' nonfiction books, on turtles and whales, both for 3rd graders (coming out next year probably). She is teaching a class for Brookline Adult Ed this fall and winter.

Johannah Haney is involved with Boston Cares and its annual fundraising event, Summer Nights City Lights. The event is Thursday, August 23, at Fenway Park from 6-9:30 pm. It features tours of Fenway, food, soft drinks and Sam Adams beer. Visit http://www.blogger.com/www.bostoncares.org for more information and to buy tickets. Boston Cares is also still seeking silent auction items and corporate sponsors. For more information contact Johannah@JohannahHaney.com.

The book Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery that Rebecca Hansen (WP687) worked on last year was published in November (http://www.amazon.com/Enslaved-True-Stories-Modern-Slavery/dp/1403973245/sr=8-4/qid=1168629817/). It had a good mention in the current Improper Bostonian. Rebecca writes that she is still working with Abuk Bak, the Sudanese woman whose chapter she worked on.

Andie (Askin) Hartz (WP687) has been teaching high school juniors in Portland, Oregon. She's teaching ESL and mainstream English. She writes that she's been teaching a modified column writing course to some of her students.

Rob Hochschild (WP687) e-mailed me last week to let me know that he was "heading down to New Orleans with seven Berklee colleagues to do the hammer-and-nail thing for a week in the Lower Ninth's Musicians Village." They're working with Habitat for Humanity. Rob also warns that he's about to start a blog and will send the coordinates as soon as they're available.

Rob Hochschild's blog posting about his trip with other Berklee College reps down to New Orleans to help rebuild is at: http://berkleeonthebayou.wordpress.com/ or http://berkleeonthebayou.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/thats-my-blood-down-there/. There's even a short video included of Rob showing his prowess with power tools.

Jaqi Holland (WP687) sold an essay on how her yard sale addiction is actually good for the environment. "Everything Old is New Again: Confessions of a Yard Sale Junkie" appears in the August/Sept. issue of Plenty on the Last Word page. She also has a piece about the South End Open Market in the fall issue of 360: Life from Every Angle.

Lockie Hunter (WP687) was an honorable mention for the New England Writers Frank Anthony award for creative nonfiction. It was for a piece called "Signal" that started as a column in the workshop about her grandmother battling the large stop sign in her hometown. The story isn't posted but the list of winners is at http://www.newenglandwriters.org/2007/2007_winners.html.

Lockie Hunter, who will receive her M.F.A. in Creative Writing this month, are profiled at http://www.emerson.edu/emersontoday/index.cfm?action=3&articleID=2686 as two "Great Graduates" in the May edition of Emerson College Today. Lockie Hunter posts links to some of her published writing on her website at http://www.blogger.com/www.lockiehunter.com.

Lockie Hunter sold the column she wrote for the column writing workshop on bigamy to "Common Ties" for cash money. It's an online journal. You can read it at http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/02/19/adventures-in-multitasking/. There's a picture of Lockie being dipped by her husband at their wedding. There's already a lot of reader response posted to the column. Add your own.

Lockie Hunter has placed a version of her Philosopher Toddler piece that began as a column for class in Literary Mama. It's at http://www.literarymama.com/litreflections/archives/001320.html. She also has a mothering article in MadlovinMama, but it's a print-only zine.

Lockie Hunter has a humor essay published in Seattle Writer GRRLS. It is online at: http://www.seattlewritergrrls.org/uncapped/2006i2_voices.html. She also has a short fiction piece in the Appalachian edition of Southern Hum at: http://southernhum.com/lockie-hunter/. She writes that she found Southern Hum when she was researching titles for the column writing workshop. She continues to work on personal essays for Southern Hum as well.

Brian Hurley and Karl Wirsing (BOTH WP687) have started a new blog called The Lunger Report: Hacking away at a political truth, http://thelungerreport.blogspot.com/. Here's how Karl describes it: "We want to take quotes from leaders and expose either their contradictory silliness or real agenda-basically hold powerful people accountable for the crap they feed us."

Brian Hurley has a column about Spy Tech toys of the early 1990s in Wonka Vision issue 35 which is on stands now, in the music section. He also has a short story in the next issue of Small Spiral Notebook, a Brooklyn-based literary magazine. He is working as an editorial assistant at Oxford University Press in New York City...right down the hall from recent MFA grad Robert Repino..

Matthew Kaberline (WP687) accepted a job at Regis College in Weston, MA as an Admissions Counselor. He writes: "Regis has just recently gone co-ed after being a women's college for the past 80 years or so. That change, coupled with the fact they want to double and triple the size of the college within the next 4 to 6 years, makes this opportunity exciting and challenging." His region is Cape Cod and the South Shore, RI, CT, NJ, and NY.

Jaweed Kaleem (WP491) started work at the Miami Herald this past Monday. His first story was on a big summer charity event thrown by Alonzo Mourning. The highlight, he writes, was getting a call from Mourning at 11:30 p.m., since that was supposedly the only time he was free to interview.

Jaweed Kaleem, who will receive his B.A. as a WLP major this month, and
Beth LaMontagne (WP687) has begun a new job as the New Hampshire correspondent for Campaigns and Elections Magazine. She will be covering the New Hampshire primary for the publication, as well as a soon to be launched Web site.

Kerrie Kemperman (WP687) has been working as a freelance copywriter for Houghton Mifflin.

Steve Krcmar (WP687) had his first piece published in Bicycling magazine in its July issue about a bike messenger/graffiti artist in Los Angeles. He also had a piece on cycling knickers in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/fashion/17Physical.html?ex=1337054400&en=2f. And he continues blogging at http://www.wiredonkey.com/.

Steve Krcmar is freelancing full-time in Los Angeles. His second cover story for the LA Times' Heatlh appears at http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-fire11sep11,0,588729.story?coll=la-home-health

Steve Krcmar has a piece on the Midnight Ridazz at http://www.kcet.org/explore-ca/california-stories/social-nets/midnight.php <http://www.kcet.org/explore-ca/california-stories/social-nets/midnight.php> . If you go to the site and click on his name on the left, you can see his face and hear him read the piece to you which is in print on the right-hand side of the website. Or you can just read it yourself. Or read it along with him. Or close your eyes and listen to him as he reads it to you.

Jinnie Lee (WP491) has moved to New York City and started her internship at PAPER magazine. She assists in photo shoots, advertising, parties, clothing runs, and other things they throw at her. She writes that it is "going swimmingly."

Jinnie Lee writes that she's doing an internship in New York City for Nylon magazine's web editorial department -- http://nylonmag.com/. She chiefly does research but also writes features on topics ranging from beauty products to music and entertainment to fashion news. "All my writing is restricted to 100 words at a time," Jinnie writes, "and it makes Column Writing class with 850 words seem overly generous."

Carolyn McCarthy (WP687) had a travel piece, "Yellowstone Naturally: Go Find that Remote" published in The Boston Globe. You can read it online at http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/articles/2007/08/26/yellowstone_naturally_go_find_the_remote/

Carolyn McCarthy is scheduled to have a podcast on http://lonelyplanet.com/ --an interview with an ex-guerilla fighter turned tour guide in El Salvador.

If you've been looking for Carolyn McCarthy's El Salvador podcast on Lonely Planet, you can go directly to it at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/podcasts/travelcasts/2007/elsalvador.m3u

Carolyn McCarthy is now on the Lonely Planet blog. You can read her latest entry at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blogs/travel_blog/2007/03/ten-thousand-words-before-i-sleep.html.

Carolyn McCarthy's Lonely Planet Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Island continues to sell well. When we checked moments ago it was at 9,009 on amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Ecuador-Galapagos-Islands/dp/174104295X)

Carolyn McCarthy is still in Chile where she traveled on her Fulbright. She is also the author of The Lonely Planet's Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. You can read about her and it at: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/author_detail.cfm?authorid=1634&

Carolyn also has a piece on Ecuador in the Contra Costa Times at:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/14847826.htm

Maya Mackowiak (WP687) started working full time at the Harvard Extension School as an Editor/Writer.

Jennifer Marcus (WP687) has accepted a new position as Conference Producer at Questex Media Group (formerly Advanstar) in Newton, Massachusetts. She just completed her first solo conference program in Toronto.

Sarah Miles (WP687) is now managing editor of Fringe Magazine which just received 501(c)(3) status from the federal government which means it can receive tax-deductible contributions. This is good since Fringe is trying to raise funds to attend AWP 2008 where the price of table has almost tripled since last year. In addition to its main magazine site at http://www.blogger.com/www.fringemagazine.org, the editors keep a lively blog at http://thenounthatverbsyourworld.blogspot.com/. It's full of Emerson alum postings, Sarah reports. If you want to help the cause, you can go directly to http://www.fringemagazine.org/benefits.php and make a donation of any amount through PayPal.

Sarah Miles (WP687) reports that Fringe Magazine, of which is a co-founding editor, is doing very well. They're almost to their first anniversary issue, which will be out Feb. 1, 2007! The anniversary issue is a feminism-themed issue - people can check Fringe's website for guidelines and further info (http://www.blogger.com/www.fringemagazine.org). The 7th issue will be up December 15. Sarah reports that Fringe is always taking submissions and particularly need good non-fiction, be it essays, columns, or critical pieces.

Meaghan Minnick (WP687) moved back to Nashville at the end of January to work for the United Methodist Publishing House. She is production editor for Vacation Bible School curriculum (people can see the program at http://www.blogger.com/www.cokesburyvbs.com). She copyedited, proofread, and indexed Joseph Byrne's Daily Life during the Black Death, available from Greenwood Press (http://www.amazon.com/during-Greenwood-Press-Through-History/dp/0313332975/sr=8-1/qid=1160774363/ref=sr_1_1/002-0174372-1737645?ie=UTF8&s=books). Her high school sweetheart proposed to her over Labor Day, and they'll be getting married at the end of March. She's taking six dance classes a week, including two tap classes, and is currently trying to find or start a tap jam in Nashville.

Michael Moats (WP687) was offered and has accepted a speechwriting job with Governor Deval Patrick. Michael writes that it is official and he has the badge and everything. He has also closed out his blog (http://e-publiusunum.blogspot.com/), and writes that his last hurrah is now posted.

Christina (Alexander) Moldenhauer (WP687) has been living in Austin, Texas, since she got married in May of 2005, shortly after graduation. She did some production work at Harcourt, an educational textbook publisher, but for the past 10 months she's worked at Sprint Nextel as a Communications Specialist, writing and editing communications and presentations for the Service & Repair division of the company.

Michelle Morgan (WP687) was offered a job as a publicist at Harvard Business School Press. (She joins other MA Publishing grads, Rich Gravelin, Julia Ely, and Astrid Sandoval who work for HBSP.) [NOTE: Astrid and Julia have since left HBSP. Astrid has entered the MBA program at IESE in Spain.]

Kate Murphy (WP687) just started a part-time ESL teaching job at Austin English Academy and have also just started a part-time freelance writing job with Edison Schools. A short essay of hers, "Boston Garden," has been published on http://www.blogger.com/www.weddingchickie.com under "chicklits." You should be able to find it at http://www.weddingchickie.com/wedding/wedding-essays-detail.php?essayid=24.

Katherine Newman's (WP687) column, "Confessions from the Classroom: How do teachers know they're working hard enough?" which she originally wrote for last spring's Column Writing Workshop, was published in Education Next magazine. It's in print and online at http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/7561652.html

Beth Nicewonger (WP687) writes from Philadelphia that she is on the Artist Advisory Board for a non-profit organization called First Person Arts which promotes memoir, photography and documentary arts.

Beth Nicewonger has accepted a position as Assistant to the Director of Continuing Education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Elizabeth Parfitt (WP687) was accepted as a forum member on the new professional women's site, Damsels In Success. You can read her first post at: http://www.damselsinsuccess.com/blogs/blog.aspx?id=95.

Beth Parfitt was hired by Emerson College as a full-time Expository Writing Instructor starting with the 2007-08 academic year.

Beth Parfitt has placed two more columns, a personal essay for the Penn State alumni magazine and a column called the "Girls' Guide to College Football" for the http://www.blogger.com/www.savvymiss.com website.

Felicia Pride (WP687) has updated the look and features of http://www.thebacklist.net/. She also continues to contribute to AOL's Black Voices Blogs. You can find her postings http://blackvoices.aol.com/blogs/bloggers/felicia-pride. Her most recent postings are on Terry McMillan's ex's new novel, 50 Cent, Lurma Rackley's as told to autobiography of Petey Greene, and Tony Dungy's new book.

Felicia Pride has started as the new book blogger at AOL Black Voices at http://www.blackvoicesblogs.com/category/more-than-words. She continues to publish http://thebacklist.net/. Her book The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip Hop's Greatest Songs, is at Thunder's Mouth, with a publication date of Oct. 2007. The book she wrote for Simon & Schuster's Everybody Hates Chris kids series will have her name on it and is called Everybody Hates First Girlfriends and will be published Sept. 2007 (http://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Hates-First-Girlfriends-Chris/dp/1416937986). And she just just turned in a novella she wrote for Harlequin's African American YA line. It's based on a story that she expanded upon from Jessica Treadway's fiction workshop.

Felicia Pride's book, BEATS AND LIFE, is being published by Thunder's Mouth Press. It is described as "a hip hop version of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff with 100 entries from rap songs to make points about creating a better life." Also, on November 21, she will be teaching a book publishing 101 seminar in D.C. for mediabistro.com (http://www.mediabistro.com/courses/cache/crs2111.asp). She is also teaching a writing course at The College of New Rochelle.

Felicia Pride is freelancing fulltime. She is also officially writing pieces about trends in African-American publishing for Publishers Weekly. A recent article appears at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6353485.html?pubdate=7%2F17%2F2006&display=current. She is also a book reviewer for Vibe.com. And she relaunched her website BackList at http://www.blogger.com/www.thebacklist.net and continues to blog about multicultural publishing at http://thebacklist.blogspot.com/. She has been offered a contract from Harlequin to write a novella for a new young adult line, slated for release in September 2007. She has been asked to be the editor of Mosaic Literary Magazine, one of the longest running literary magazines for writers of color.

Kathy Rabin (WP687) published a piece she wrote in August's SAIL magazine in its "Sailing Memories" section. There's a picture of her in the issue as well.

Kirthana Ramisetti (WP687) wrote the cover story for the June/July issue of East West Magazine. (http://www.strangefrequencies.com/Celeb_June07.pdf) It's a profile of Kiran Chetry, the anchor of CNN's American Morning. The issue will be on newsstands on June 15th. The issue is not online yet, but you can see the cover at http://www.eastwestmagazine.com/content/view/178/78/. It's Kirthana's first cover story, but she's written other pieces for the magazine such as this one: http://www.eastwestmagazine.com/content/view/119/28/.

Kirthana Ramisetti writes that she has two articles featured in the February issue of East West Magazine. One is about chef Michael Tong and his new cookbook, The Shun Lee Cookbook. The other is called "TV Sweep: Asian Faces Now Showing," which is both in the print issue and can also be found online here:
http://www.eastwestmagazine.com/content/view/119/40/. She reports that the latter article is "currently being linked to by http://www.blogger.com/www.tvtattle.com, a weblog of television news and criticism (a site read widely by media critics, and television junkies like me!)." Kirthana also has a new job as managing editor of http://www.blogger.com/www.UniversityChic.com, an online magazine for college women.

Kirthana Ramisetti wrote the cover story for East West Magazine's Aug/Sept issue, a profile of Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori. It can be found here: http://kramiset.googlepages.com/MissU.pdf. She also has started a blog at http://kramisetti.blogspot.com/.

Casey Robertson (WP491) has helped to set up a Boston affiliate of 826 - http://www.826boston.org/

Shmuel Ross (WP687) has somehow survived drastic cutbacks at Information Please, including the death of its print almanac. (Henceforth, it's Web-only.) His latest work is a Q&A piece about Old Style calendar conventions, but his Dr. Seuss quiz at http://www.factmonster.com/quizzes/dr-seuss/1.html is more fun.

Shmuel Ross continues to work at Information Please (a division of Family Education Network, a division of Pearson Education, a division of Pearson, a divis-- no, wait, that's the top level). The 2007 TIME Almanac with Information Please, for which he is the Assistant Editor, should be hitting bookstores near you any day now. His recent articles for the almanac's websites include "Harry Potter Banned?" an evenhanded look at the HP controversy; and "Halloween Traditions," which boils down to "we don't have a clue where modern Halloween practices came from." Those are, respectively, at http://www.factmonster.com/spot/banned-harry.html and http://www.infoplease.com/spot/halloween2.html .

Carrah (Faircloth) Royal (WP687) has written a column under the byline "Lee Royal" for OurState magazine about Fayetteville, North Carolina's festival, "A Dickens Holiday." She is also a full-time faculty member at Sampson Community College.

Hannah Selinger (WP687) has a poem in the current issue of the South Carolina Review. It is not available online, but can be purchased through Clemson University at: http://www.clemson.edu/caah/cedp/SCR_CurrIss.htm. "Please know that this poem contains adult content," Hannah writes.

Hannah Selinger just learned that one of her poems was accepted for publication by the South Carolina Review.

Hannah Selinger, whose story "The Jam Maker" appears in the current issue of the South Dakota Review, writes that she was out of electricity during the recent power blackout in New York.

Michael Sherrin (WP491)is working as a producer with Blue Egg (http://www.blueegg.com/). The company has a second sit for green building professionals at http://www.blogger.com/www.greenbuildingblocks.com.

Brian Sousa (WP687) received word that the Rhode Island Council of the Arts has awarded him a grant to put towards his writing. A description of the grant is at http://www.arts.ri.gov/individuals/fellowships08.php. He writes that he'll be back teaching composition at BC in the fall. He also continues to play in a new band -- updates at http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/oceantransfer.

The Providence Journal ran a very nice profile of Brian Sousa at http://www.projo.com/ri/northkingstown/content/NO_SC_SK_WRITER_07-31-07_7V6FRJD.2d468c0.html. You may need to register to view it, but registration is free.

Brian Sousa sent links for his band: http://www.blogger.com/www.oceantransfermusic.com; http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/oceantransfer ; and http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecombriansousamusic. He also writes: "If anyone wants a CD, just email me at sousabr@gmail.com and I'll send them a free copy, or they can download the songs online."

The column that Brian Sousa originally wrote for a column writing class about revision is in this month's (October 2006) issue of The Writer magazine.

Brian Sousa will be teaching writing at Boston College in the fall. His book of linked stories titled Almost Gone, is set to come out in December 2007 from UMass/Dartmouth Press.

Ben Triana (WP687) is teaching English at AC Flora High School in Columbia, South Carolina.

Allison Trzop's (WP687) Master's Project (retitled "Beacon Press & The Pentagon Papers") is posted on Beacon Press' website as part of its 35th anniversary of the publishing of The Pentagon Papers. You can find it by going to http://www.beacon.org/client/pentagonpapers.cfm and clicking on "Master's Project"

Allison Trzop's essay "The Pentagon Papers and Me" appears at: http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/whythepentagonpapersstillmatter6385.shtml

Without A Map, a new memoir by Meredith Hall, is out from Beacon Press. You can find an excerpt at http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1832 and at http://www.amazon.com/Without-Map-Memoir-Meredith-Hall/dp/0807072737/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3536542-4527116?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173278826&sr=1-1. This is one of the first books that Allison Trzop worked on at Beacon. She highly recommends it as "an all-around great read."

Allison Trzop continues to work at Beacon Press but she also is teaching a course on business communications at Newbury College.

Brandon Vogel's (WP687) first column for foxsports.com since winning its next great sports writer contest is now posted at http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5955400

Brandon Vogel has three pieces to consider. The first is about fantasy naming rights for baseball teams and can be found at http://bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/fantasy-naming-rights/, which is a new venue for Brandon. Two FoxSports.com columns out in time for this weekend's Kentucky Derby can be found at http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/6761808 and http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/6768706. The latter will tell you everything you need to know about picking a Derby winner.

Brandon Vogel's new FoxSports.com column is up at http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6550036 and he's got new stuff posted on his personal blog at http://www.hiplainsdrifter.com/

Brandon Vogel has a week-before-Super Bowl column here: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6411928 <http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6411928>

Brandon Vogel has a guest column in http://bigrednetwork.com/ that can be found at http://bigrednetwork.com/archives/2006/12/husker_haberdashery_hurting_si.html. He writes that it is "entirely Nebraska-centric, so if that's not your bag, no hard feelings."

Brandon Vogel's latest column is at http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/6225866.

Brandon Vogel's latest column is posted at http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/6150850

Brandon Vogel's latest column for Foxsports.com is posted at http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/6029534.

Meta Wagner continues to write her regular column for http://www.popmatters.com/

Vikki Warner (WP687) has just taken a position with BBC Audiobooks America, where she is the Managing Editor of its new Trade division. She will be coordinating all the details and maintaining the release schedule for about 50 audiobooks per year. She is living in Providence.

From Leslie Brokaw's "Magazine News": "Congratulations to Vikki Warner, whose work is featured in the Oct/Nov issue of BUST magazine. The story is titled "Soil Sisters" and is about, as the subhed puts it, how "A bumper crop of green-thumbed gals are living off the land in urban Rhode Island."

Karl Wirsing (WP687) has accepted a job as communications coordinator for Rails to Trails Conservancy (http://railstrails.org/), "a nonprofit organization working with communities to preserve unused rail corridors by transforming them into trails, enhancing the health of America's environment, economy, neighborhoods and people."

One of Karl Wirsing's responsibilities at http://www.blogger.com/www.railstotrails.org is to contribute the regular "trail of the month" to the website. His first is on the Portland Springwater Corridor. You can find a link to it on the home page.

Karl Wirsing was incensed by a column he read in the Columbia, SC, Free Times refuting global warming so he wrote an incensed letter. An excerpt: "Fiction is fun, isn't it? Well, I can make up facts, too. Here's one: You are an important writer." You can read Karl's entire letter at http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912063981076&ShowArticle_ID=11002102073728185

After his scathing letter to the editor of the Columbia, SC, Free Times about a particular columnist's refutation of global warming (http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912063981076&ShowArticle_ID=11002102073728185), Karl Wirsing writes that he received a note from the editor informing him that that columnist no longer writers for the paper.

Karl Wirsing's column on Hootie and the Blowfish that he originally wrote for the Column Writing Workshop has been picked up and published by Columbia, South Carolina's alternative weekly, The Free Times as a "My Turn" essay. It's called "Hootie, My Forbidden Love." You should be able to find it online at: http://www.free-times.com/Editor/My%20Turn%20Archives/myturn110806.html.

Camille (Millet) Womack (WP687) is living in New Orleans where she works as a Copywriter for a company that was founded with their invention of a shrimp-peeling machine.