Awards Presented

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Poet Brian Evans-Jones is a familiar name here at the Maine Arts Commission (MAC). He is member of the Teaching Artist roster and this past year he traveled to Washington county to provide workshops for students and teachers as part of MACs Poetry Out Loud rural school initiative. We learned this week that Brian and Maine fiction writer Joan Dempsey are recipients of the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. Congratulations to both of them! The prize includes an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, meetings with publishing professional, and a month-long residency.

The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings,The Secret Life of Bees), Elaine Beale (Another Life Altogether), Sandra Beasley (Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), Fae Myenne Ng(Bone), Mona Simpson (My Hollywood), and others.

Each year, Poets & Writers selects one state (or Washington, D.C.), and invites writers from that jurisdiction to apply for the Writers Exchange Award (WEX). For 2017, the state of Maine was chosen. This year’s judges were Tania James for fiction and Cynthia Cruz for poetry. Excerpts from the winning manuscripts can be found at at.pw.org/wexaward.

The Writers Exchange Award offers winners an unusual opportunity. Poets & Writers will ask Ms. Dempsey and Mr. Evans-Jones to identify agents, editors, authors, and others in the literary field that they would like to meet. Then, over the next several months, staff will work to arrange appointments with as many of these individuals as possible. In October, the two winners will travel to New York City, all expenses paid, and and representatives of Poets & Writers will accompany them on a round of visits to gain insight and advice and to establish professional contacts.

As a direct result of these meetings, past WEX winners have had their books published, received fellowships, secured teaching positions, and laid the groundwork for their professional lives as writers. To date, ninety-nine writers from thirty-nine states have participated.

Joan Dempsey – Photo credit: Greta Rybus

New England native Joan Dempsey received an MFA and teaching certificate in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. Her writing has been published in the Adirondack Review, Alligator Juniper, Obsidian: Literature of the African Diaspora, and Plenitude Magazine, and aired on National Public Radio. Dempsey was the recipient of a significant research grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation for work on her novel, This Is How It Begins. She lives in Maine with her partner and their family of animals. Find her online at www.joandempsey.com.

Brian Evans-Jones – Photo credit: Michael Powers

Brian Evans-Jones immigrated to southern Maine from Hampshire, England, in 2014. He received his BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Warwick, U.K., and was poet laureate of Hampshire, U.K., in 2013-2014. He received his MFA from the University of New Hampshire in 2016. He is a juried teaching artist in both Maine and New Hampshire, and teaches poetry and creative writing in schools, colleges, and community venues in both states. Learn more about Brian at his website http://www.brianevansjones.com.

The judges also cited first runners-up Flavian Mark Lupinettifrom Orono (in fiction) and Julie Poitras Santos from Portland (in poetry), and second runners-up Kathleen Donkin from Gardiner (in fiction) and Judith Grey from Nobleboro (in poetry).

Poets & Writers will sponsor a reading and reception for Ms. Dempsey and Mr. Evans-Jones during their visit to New York. In addition, the winners will be offered a one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Wyoming. A complete list of past winners can be found at at.pw.org/wexaward. The Writers Exchange Award is generously supported by Maureen Mahon Egen, a member of the Poets & Writers Board of Directors.  

If interested to learn more about Poets & Writers go to pw.org.

Maine Writers

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award
Application Deadline is January 9, 2017

Prize Includes All-Expenses-Paid Trip to New York City, Meetings With Literary Professionals

New York, NY — Poets & Writers invites writers from the state of Maine to apply for the 2017 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award.

Each year, Poets & Writers considers applications for the award from writers in a selected state. This year, that state is Maine. The judges are Tania James for fiction and Cynthia Cruz for poetry.

The prestigious award, which aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement, has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees), Elaine Beale (Another Life Altogether), Sandra Beasley (Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), Fae Myenne Ng (Bone), Mona Simpson (My Hollywood), and others.

One winner in each category will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top literary professionals, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers. While in New York, winners will also give a reading hosted by Poets & Writers. In addition, each winner is invited to spend a month at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, Wyoming. To be eligible, writers must be residents of Maine (currently and for at least the past two years), and must have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying.

Download the guidelines and application form by CLICKING HERE. Postmark entries by January 9, 2017.

About the Judges
Tania James is the author of three works of fiction, most recently the novel The Tusk That Did the Damage (Knopf). It was named a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a Best Book of 2015 by the San Francisco Chronicle and NPR, and was a finalist for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. She is an associate professor at George Mason University’s Creative Writing Program, and lives in Washington DC.

Cynthia Cruz is the author of four collections of poetry, including three with Four Way Books: The Glimmering Room (2012), Wunderkammer (2014), and How the End Begins (2016). Cruz has received fellowships from Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony as well as a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University. She has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in writing and an MFA in Art Criticism & Writing from the School of Visual Arts. Cruz is currently pursuing a PhD in German Studies at Rutgers University. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College.

About Poets & Writers
Founded in 1970, Poets & Writers’ work is rooted in the belief that literature is vital to sustaining a vibrant culture. We focus on nurturing literature’s source: creative writers. Our mission is to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public. Learn more at pw.org.

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Opportunity for Maine