My Alma Mater is Making Me Jealous: Southern Vermont College & The Shire Press Series

I recently discovered that my alma mater, Southern Vermont College in Bennington, VT, has cooked up a new angle to their creative writing program, one that I’m really excited about even though I haven’t stepped foot in a classroom at SVC in over ten years. (Wait, am I really that old?!) SVC has teamed up with Northshire Bookstore to create The Shire Press Series (see the press release below with my quote included). This is an opportunity for SVC students to learn how a real indie book press works, and not only get their hands dirty with submissions, editing, production, and marketing, but each student comes out of the process with their own published book to sell in the bookstore or elsewhere. Cool, right?

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Why I Love the San Antonio Spurs

I’m a San Antonio Spurs fan and I have been for life, even before I knew it. I spent a good deal of my childhood in San Antonio, Texas, both before and after my parents divorced when I was three-years old. I spent every summer there between the ages of 8 and 19, then a year of college, and later three years in my late 20s, with little trips in between. My father’s side of the family has lived in Texas for generations (and generations), so the roots go deep. My dad was a fan and so was my grandfather. It's in the family, in the blood. 

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Book Hound on the Hunt

Like most literary types, I consider myself a book hound and enjoy wandering endless shelves and stacks to sniff out deals and cross titles off of my “Must Read” list. I recently went on a day trip through parts of upstate New York (and a quick dip into Vermont) and hit up a bunch of shops, to varying results. Here I list my thoughts on each, share what I picked up, and assign a dreaded letter grade for each shop. (Remember those old, silver teacher pens that were red on one side and blue on the other? I want one of those!! I'll assign an A+ and a “Grape Job” scratch-and-sniff sticker to anyone who sends me one!!)

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