Ligonier Valley Writers Conference July 16

If the promise of spring is amping up your creative juices, now’s the time to write. Start your novel, play, or other work today and you’ll have enough material to workshop at the Ligonier Valley Writers’ Conference.

The 24th annual conference will take place on Saturday, July 16, at the Rogers Center at St. Vincent College in Latrobe (back by popular demand). If you’d like a hardcopy of the conference brochure or have any questions, contact Judith Gallagher at jgallagher@LHTOT.com or (724) 593-7294.

Exceptional faculty members stand ready to help you grow your writing. Peter Oresick is teaching poetry, Scott Mastro fiction, Rebecca Godfrey nonfiction, and F. J. Hartland playwriting. F. J. will also be delivering the Thoburn Lecture.

If you register by June 10, you can enjoy early-bird pricing ($95 for LVW members; $110 for nonmembers for the full day). From June 10-July 1, the price is $105 for LVW members and $120 for nonmembers. Once again, LVW members will be able to sell their books at our book room during the conference. And to celebrate LVW’s 25th anniversary, we’ve reduced the price of a full-year membership, which includes not just discounts to most events but also our information-packed quarterly newsletter, to just $25.

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, six scholarships are available for adult writers. The only criteria for the Ligonier Valley Writers’ Conference Scholarships are writing talent and financial need. Regarding need, let your conscience be your guide. Regarding writing ability, we ask that you submit a sample of your writing. Writers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to apply.

LVW also invites students who will be high school seniors in the fall or who are graduating this year to apply for the Tina Thoburn Memorial Scholarship. Application forms for both LVWC and Thoburn scholarships are at www.LVWonline.org. The deadline for both is June 6.

Publication Party: Ligonier Valley Writers is kicking off the conference Friday night with a publication party for the 2011 edition of its literary magazine, The Loyalhanna Review. The party will be on July 15, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Latrobe Art Center on 819 Ligonier St. in Latrobe. Loyalhanna Review authors will read from their work. Beautiful paintings and photos (some of them reproduced in the magazine) will be on display in beautiful surroundings. Guests will have a chance to talk with the authors and artists whose work is featured in the magazine. The Loyalhanna Review has been published continuously since 1992.

For more information about any LVW events, workshops, publications, writing contests, and submission guidelines, please visit LVWonline.org.