Santa Fe's Institute of American Indian Arts Announces Annual Writers Festival

Santa Fe, NM (PRWEB) July 08, 2014

Some of the country’s most renowned Native and non-Native writers, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and film writers, will join together on the Institute of American Indian Arts’ (IAIA) campus for the semi-annual IAIA Writers Festival July 19-25, 2014. The festival, now in its second year, is a week of free campus readings by writers, graduate students and instructors from the new MFA in Creative Writing program at IAIA. The festival takes place twice annually, once in January and once in July.

“This year’s Writers Festival promises to be one of our strongest showings of known writers in the country,” said Jon Davis, director of IAIA’s MFA in Creative Writing and Santa Fe Poet Laureate. “We invite the public to join us, as well, to discover some of the talent showcased at the Institute.”

Writers include:

•     Sherman Alexie, Spokane/Coeur d’Alene
•     Ramona Ausubel
•     Marie-Helene Bertino
•     Sherwin Bitsui, Dine
•     Natalie Diaz, Mojave
•     Debra Magpie Earling, Salish and Kootenai
•     Melissa Febos
•     Kelly Forsythe
•     Nick Flynn
•     Santee Frazier, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
•     Manuel Gonzales
•     Geoff Harris
•     Joan Naviyuk Kane, Inupiaq
•     Chip Livingston, Creek
•     Simon Ortiz, Acoma
•     Ismet Prcic
•     Dean Rader
•     Eden Robinson, Haisla/Heiltsuk

The Writers Festival is part of IAIA’s low residency MFA in Creative Writing. IAIA’s graduate program allows students to work and live in their hometowns while working toward a Creative Writing degree. Visiting faculty are introduced to graduate students when they are in residence in Santa Fe and mentor students throughout their coursework. IAIA’s program is unique – it’s the only one in the country that focuses on Native American literature and authors.

“For the aspiring Native writer, this is a chance to work with established elders in the Native writing community,” Davis said. “For the non-Native, it’s a chance to immerse him or herself in a vital tradition of American literature. One-fourth of the literature read is authored by Native writers. These residencies are on Native ground. There will be a sense of ownership and community.”

All readings start at 6 p.m. at the IAIA campus at 83 Avan Nu Po Road, and are free and open to the public.

For more information about the IAIA Writers Festival and writer biographies please visit here: http://www.iaia.edu/calendar/iaia-july-writers-festival/; for more information about the Institute’s MFA in Creative Writing Program, go to http://www.iaia.edu/academics/mfa-in-creative-writing/.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jennifer Hobson-Hinsley
505 603 8643
Jennifer(at)jlhmedia(dot)com

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ABOUT IAIA: For more than 50 years, the Institute of American Indian Arts has played a leading role in the direction and shape of Native expression. As it has grown and evolved into an internationally acclaimed college, museum and community and tribal support resource through the Center for Lifelong Education, IAIA's dedication to the study and advancement of Native arts and cultures is matched only by its commitment to student achievement and the preservation and progress of the communities they represent. Learn more about our achievements and mission at http://www.iaia.edu.