Missouri Literary Festival announces Short Fiction Prize winners

September 22nd, 2011

The Missouri Literary Festival is pleased to announce the following winners in the Civil War Challenge Short Fiction Contest:

Missouri Writer Award

  • Winner: Holly Elkins for The Paneled Map: A Story of the Quilt Code and Underground Railroad (View Story)
  • First Runner-up: Wanda Fittro for One, Two, Three (View Story)

News-Leader Online People’s Choice Award

  • Winner: Wanda Fittro for One, Two, Three (View Story)
  • First Runner-up: Alice R. Cummings for Best Laid Plans (View Story)

National Writer Award

  • Winner: Monique Hayes for Worth (View Story)
  • First Runner-up: Ela Thompson for Broken Battle: Bed Time Stories from the Major (View Story)

Congratulations to our winners and all the writers who participated in the Civil War Challenge Short Fiction Contest.

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Festival tickets now available; view the Festival program online

September 7th, 2011

Springfield Regional Arts Council and the board of the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War, are proud to announce that tickets to the festival and its special events are now on sale, and the festival program is now in print and online! The festival program will be inserted in the Sept. 18 Sunday issue of the Springfield News-Leader; or click on this link to view the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival Program right now.

General Admission tickets to the festival are $5 for age 11 and up (age 10 and under get in free) and can be purchased in advance at Springfield-Greene County Libraries and at The Creamery Arts Center, 411 N. Sherman Parkway. Tickets will also be available at the gate, and a single general admission ticket is good for all three days of the festival.

Festival Special Events include High Tea With Janis Cooke Newman, The Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala, and showings of Gone With the Wind at The Gillioz. Purchase of a High Tea or Blue and Grey Gala ticket includes general admission for all three days of the festival.

High Tea with Janis Cooke Newman

A special ticketed event to be held 3:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at The Creamery Arts Center, the High Tea features tea, sandwiches and scones with the author of Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln.

A poignant work of historical fiction, Mary introduces us to Mary Todd Lincoln, a bright, ambitious, passionate and very misunderstood woman. The daughter of prominent Kentucky merchant and state senator Robert Smith Todd, Mary was a vivacious belle — socially graceful, witty and fluent in French.  An educated woman, an abolitionist and avid student of politics, Mary also served as a trusted political advisor to her husband. Meanwhile, her personal life was scarred by loss, from the death of her mother at age 6, to the deaths of three of her children and her husband’s assassination. Janis Cooke Newman’s Mary brings this iconic American woman to life.

Tickets to High Tea with Janis Cooke Newman are $25 apiece, and only 80 will be sold. Tickets to the tea also provide general admission for all three days of the festival. Tickets may be purchased at The Creamery Arts Center or through festival chairman William Brandon Bowman at 865-0450.

The Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala

The 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War invites you to an evening of literature, libations and genuine Ozarks entertainment with the Blue & Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala.

Guests will gather at The Creamery Arts Center Exhibition Hall to meet festival authors over drinks and the culinary wonders of  Gallery Bistro’s Peter Tinson. A highlight of the evening will be live music by Marideth Sisco and Blackberry Winter, as seen in the Academy Award-nominated film Winter’s Bone. Tickets are $50, and also provide general admission for all three days of the festival. Tickets may be purchased at The Creamery Arts Center or through festival chairman William Brandon Bowman at 865-0450.

Gala Schedule:

7 p.m. Welcome and Introduction of Guests, William Brandon Bowman

7 p.m. Drinks and Buffet Dinner catered by Peter Tinson, Gallery Bistro

7:30-8:30 p.m. Entertainment by Marideth Sisco and Blackberry Winter

8:30 p.m. Auction of Horses Donated by Obelisk Home

Gone With the Wind

One of the best-known, best-beloved and most controversial films about the Civil War, the Academy Award-winning classic will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 at the historic Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East. Tickets are $5 and do not include festival admission. Tickets are available through the Gillioz Box Office, (417) 863-7843 www.gillioz.org

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Voting begins for Civil War Short Fiction prize!

August 25th, 2011

In celebration of the Sesquicentennial events surrounding the U.S. Civil War, the Missouri Literary Festival and the Springfield News-Leader have teamed up to host the 2011 Civil War Challenge Short Story Contest.

From March to July 2011, the Missouri Literary Festival encouraged authors to take up the challenge and contribute their own creative short fiction for this contest. The writing contest was open to any fiction genre but stories were required to contain some element (such as setting, character or theme) related to the U.S. Civil War time period. As part of the competition, prizes will be awarded for National, Regional and People’s Choice winners.

As a leading corporate sponsor of the Missouri Literary Festival, the Springfield News-Leader will host the People’s Choice Award Voting from late August through September 11. During this time period, News-Leader online readers will be able to read and vote on their favorite short stories.

Winners will be announced during the Missouri Literary Festival which will be held Sept. 23, 24 and 25, 2011. The festival headliners include Novelist Jeff Shaara, author of “Gods and Generals” and “The Last Full Measure,” and Historian William C. Davis, author of numerous books on the Civil War including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated “Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol.” Visitors will enjoy author readings, book signings, historic displays, a concert of Civil War era hymns, children’s art activities, poetry readings, and more. Proceeds of the event will benefit Springfield Regional Arts Council and local writing and literacy programs, including Ozarks Literacy Council, Family Literacy Centers of Springfield and scholarships through the Writers Hall of Fame.

To read and vote for your favorite short story visit http://www.news-leader.com/civilwarshortstory

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Tickets now on sale for 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War

August 24th, 2011

General Admission Tickets are now on sale for the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War. A $5 ticket provides access to all three days of the festival; children 10 and under get in free! Tickets may be purchased at The Creamery Arts Center, at the Library Station and at the Library Center.

The festival, held Sept. 23, 24 and 25,  features famed authors Jeff Shaara and William C. Davis, as well as a slate of  novelists, children’s authors, storytellers  and historians, plus live music, The Rhythm is Keeping Us Alive: A Celebration of African-American Poetry,  Civil War historical displays, make-and-take art,  and much more.

Tickets are also available for a variety of special events during the festival: High Tea with Janis Cooke Newman, The Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala and special showings of the classic, and controversial, Gone With the Wind at the historic Gillioz Theatre.

High Tea With Janis Cooke Newman

The 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War is delighted to announce the availability of tickets to High Tea with Janis Cooke Newman, a special ticketed event to be held 3:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at The Creamery Arts Center. Guests will sit at glittering tables and sip tea from fine china as they fortify themselves with sandwiches and scones, all while listening to the author of Mary discuss her poignant work of historical fiction.

While Mary Todd Lincoln’s detractors portrayed her as unstable, demanding and self-centered, in her unique historical novel Newman reveals the complexities of a bright, ambitious, passionate and very misunderstood woman.

Tickets to High Tea with Janis Cooke Newman are $25 apiece and may be purchased at The Creamery or  from any Literary Festival Board member, (see below) or contact Board Chairman William Brandon Bowman at (417) 865-0450

Tickets to the tea also provide general admission for all three days of the festival.

The Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala

Meet the festival authors while enjoying drinks and a buffet dinner catered by Peter Tinson of Gallery Bistro during the Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala, 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at The Creamery Arts Center Exhibition Hall.

Gala attendees will be entertained by the music of the Ozarks’ own Marideth Sisco and Blackberry Winter, as featured in the Academy-Award Nominated film, Winter’s Bone.  The evening concludes with the auction of horses donated by Obelisk Home. These lovely white steeds, the festival’s own cavalry mounts, were previously deployed to Springfield classrooms to inspire art and writing projects by local fifth and eighth graders. Now our retired warhorses seek life beyond their service. Proceeds of the horse auction go to support the literary festival and its charities: the Ozarks Literacy Council, Family Literacy Centers of Springfield and Missouri Writers Hall of Fame’s Scholarship Fund.

Tickets to the Blue and Grey Meet-the-Authors Gala are $50 per person and may be purchased at The Creamery Arts Center or by contacting Board Chairman William Brandon Bowman at (417) 865-0450.

Tickets to the gala also provide general admission for all three days of the festival.

Gone With the Wind at The Gillioz

In association with the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War, the historic Gillioz Theatre, at 325 Park Central East, will offer special showings of the iconic, and controversial, film classic Gone With the Wind at 7 p.m.  Saturday,  Sept. 24  and 2 p.m.  Sunday,  Sept. 25.

The 2011 Missouri Literary Festival Board

Contact us to purchase your ticket to High Tea With Janis Cooke Newman!

W.D. Blackmon, Ph.D.

William Brandon Bowman

Craig Anthony Carter

Sandra D’Angelo, Ed.D.

Jeanne Duffey

Kirk Elmquist

Clarissa A. French

Randal Fuller, Ph.D.

Judith Ann Gregg

Ted J. Hillmer

Randall N. Humphrey, Ed.D.

Leah Hamilton Jenkins

Kelly Knauer

Stephanie Stenger Montgomery

Kathleen O’Dell

Marilyn Quigley

Sarah Bowman Sandy

Michael Sowers

Charles A. Taylor, Ph.D.

Patricia Walker

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Deadline approaches for Civil War Challenge Short Fiction Contest!

June 23rd, 2011

The deadline is looming for the 2011 Civil War Challenge Short Fiction Contest, presented by The Missouri Literary Festival and the Springfield News-Leader.

All short story writers are encouraged to take up the challenge and contribute their own creative work. The contest is open to any fiction genre but stories should contain some element (such as setting, character, theme) related to the U.S. Civil War. Authors can submit their short story entries from through 9 p.m. July 1, 2011. The entry fee is $10. Click here for an application.

Once judging is complete, a selection of finalists will be presented on the News-Leader Online where the public will be able to read and vote for their favorite short stories. Prizes of $100 will be awarded to the top National, Missouri and People’s Choice entries;  a $50 prize will be awarded to the first runner-up in each category.

For questions regarding the Missouri Literary Festival/Springfield News-Leader Civil War Challenge Short Fiction Contest email us at fictionprize@gmail.com.

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Civil War encampment comes to National and Trafficway June 25

June 23rd, 2011

As part of the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation is hosting a Civil War encampment and drill at The Commons on the NW corner of National Avenue and Trafficway, just east of Hammons Field, to mark the anniversary of the arrival of the first army to occupy Springfield during the Civil War. The event will occur 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on June 25, 2011.  The public is invited to this free event.

At the 150th Anniversary Encampment, visitors will find an authentic Civil War camp of infantry and artillery, and can observe camp life and watch soldiers drill as their officers attempt to turn raw recruits into soldiers.  Information on the 150th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek August 12, 13 and 14, 2011, will also be available.

Historical background:
On June 11, 1861, U. S. General Nathaniel Lyon declared war on the State of Missouri.  He immediately launched a campaign to drive the pro-secessionist Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson and his Missouri State Guard from the vital Missouri River Valley.  At the same time he dispatched troops under General Thomas William Sweeney toward Springfield to cut off the escape of the Missouri State Guard into Arkansas.  On June 24, 1861, Colonel Franz Sigel’s German-speaking, St. Louis-enlisted Union troops arrived in Springfield after a hot, wearying march from the railhead at Rolla.  Many of his troops had marched through their shoes and wore uniforms that had been reduced to rags by the exertions of the march.  This federal force was the first army to occupy Springfield during the Civil War.  It would not be the last.  Springfield would change hands many times during the war.  Sigel’s troops went into camp around Springfield and began rounding up southern sympathizers.  The arrival of these troops encouraged Unionists, discouraged secessionists, and brought home to everyone the reality that war had come to Springfield.

Established in 1950, the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation is one of the oldest private sector support groups associated with the National Park Service. It is a non-profit corporation with IRS 501(c) (3) status.

Since the Foundation’s initial purchase of 37 acres on Bloody Hill, site of the heaviest fighting in the battle, the Foundation has worked to preserve and protect the park. The goal of the Foundation is to enhance awareness and appreciation of this national treasure—a haven for historians and those who enjoy the outdoors.

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Get the scoop with the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival newsletter

June 15th, 2011

Have you seen the Missouri Literary Festival Newsletter? Join Our Mailing List to get the latest info on programs, events, authors and more, delivered right to your inbox.

View the June 2011 Missouri Literary Festival Newsletter

View the May 2011 Missouri Literary Festival Newsletter

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Tickets on sale for Wilson’s Creek 150th Anniversary Re-enactment!

June 14th, 2011

Tickets are now on sale for the 150th Anniversary Re-enactment of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, to be held Aug. 12-14, 2011!

According to our friends at Wilson’s Creek, the anniversary is expected to draw 3,000 re-enactors from across the country and 50,000 to 60,000 spectators. Weekend events include not only battle scenario re-enactments such as “the fight in the cornfield” and “the fight for bloody hill,” but also a period wedding, military ball, 1860s baseball game, a church service and a duel. There will also be period craft demonstrations, old-time peace fair games for children, authentic Civil War sutlers, period music, and modern food vendors. The re-enactment site is adjacent to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.

A special addition is family camping. Family groups can have an authentic camping experience with the soldiers in period tents and see the life of a Civil War soldier up close. Limited space is available for the family camping experience, and more information is available on the re-enactment web site, www.wilsonscreek150.com.

Tickets for the August 12-14 re-enactment can be purchased online at www.wilsonscreek150.com. The price for a one-day adult ticket is $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. A three-day pass is also available for $50 in advance and $60.00 at the gate. On-site parking for the event is free.

The www.wilsonscreek150.com website also features a calendar of events leading up to the re-enactment, the re-enactment activities schedule, registration information for re-enactors, additional information, and regular updates. All proceeds from the 150th Anniversary Re-enactment, sponsored by the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation, will benefit the national battlefield.

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Missouri Humanities Council awards grant for 2011 Literary Festival

June 14th, 2011

mhclogo_lgwebSpringfield Regional Arts Council (SRAC) is pleased to announce that the Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $9,617 to SRAC for its project, the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War, to be held Sept. 23, 24 & 25 at The Creamery Arts Center and Jordan Valley Park. The Missouri Humanities Council is the only state-wide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.

The 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War features famed novelist Jeff Shaara, author of “Gods and Generals” and “The Last Full Measure,” Civil War Historian William C. Davis, author of “The Battle of Bull Run”; historical novelist Janis Cooke Newman, author of “Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln”; Springfield novelist Steve Yates, author of “Morkan’s Quarry”; children’s authors Kate Klise and Judy Young, and many more.

The Literary Festival also includes art and writing contests for schoolchildren; a short fiction contest; a concert of Civil War Hymns by the Voices of Deliverance Choir; interactive historical displays including cannon and musket firings, a Cavalry Tent display with horses, hands-on crafts, quilting, live music and displays on Civil War medicine, cooking and the life of the common soldier; a performance of “The Rhythm is Keeping Us Alive: A Celebration of African American Poetry” and more. Tickets are $5 for age 11 and up, free for children 10 and under. For more information, visit www.missouriliteraryfestival.org. For more information about the grants program of the Missouri Humanities Council, please call (314) 781-9660 or (800) 357-0909, or write to the MHC at 543 Hanley Industrial Court, Suite 205, St. Louis, MO 63144-1905.

About the Springfield Regional Arts Council
SRAC, incorporated in 1978, connects people and the arts. It supports some of the most prominent visual, performing, literary and film/media arts organizations within 27 counties, the largest outreach of any in the state of Missouri. The current mission of the SRAC is to transform lives and enrich our Community through the Arts. The SRAC also manages The Creamery Arts Center, which houses the offices of the SRAC, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Ballet, Springfield Regional Opera, Missouri Literary Festival, Springfield Community Center and Care to Learn, as well as a board room, classrooms, instrument storage, arts library, exhibition hall, film editing bays and shared costume and set design shops managed by the Springfield Little Theatre.

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Missouri Literary Festival adds online newsletter

May 9th, 2011

Keep up with the 2011 Missouri Literary Festival: The Civil War with our online newsletter! Check out the May 2011 issue here. To get your own free monthly copy in your inbox,  join Our Mailing List!

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