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Hemingway-Pfeiffer Sets Dates For Summer Writers’ Retreat

03/11/2015

PIGGOTT –The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (HPMEC) in Piggott has announced dates for its Summer 2015 Writers’ Retreat, June 1-5. The retreat will be held in the educational center and the Hemingway barn-studio and will offer writers the opportunity to work under the direction of a professional mentor.

Garry Craig Powell

Hemingway-Pfeiffer Writers' Retreat Mentor Garry Craig Powell


Registration is $200 by May 15 or $225 thereafter; lunch and breaks are included. Teachers interested in in-service opportunities associated with the retreat should contact the museum at (870) 598-3487.

Garry Craig Powell of Conway will serve as mentor for the retreat. Powell grew up in England and attended the universities of Cambridge and Durham, and later, the University of Arizona. He has lived in Spain, Portugal, Poland and the United Arab Emirates, which is the setting for his novel-in-stories, "Stoning the Devil" (Skylight Press, 2012), which was long-listed for the Frank O' Connor Short Story Award and the Edge Hill Short Story Prize.

The book has been described as "mesmerizing" by novelist and short story writer George Singleton and poet, songwriter and author Naomi Shihab Nye. Powell’s short stories have appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2009, McSweeney's, Nimrod, New Orleans Review and other literary magazines. Powell has been awarded fellowships by the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, the Hambidge Foundation and the Arkansas Arts Council.

Powell is an associate professor in the writing department at the University of Central Arkansas, where he teaches creative writing to undergraduates and graduate students. He is completing a historical novel about the life of Gabriel D' Annunzio, Italy's greatest poet, playwright, playboy and war hero in the early 20th century, and arguably, the "John the Baptist" of the Fascist movement. For more information, see his website, garrycraigpowell.com.

Writers' retreats are structured to be interactive with group activities and private writing time and mentoring. Writers contribute stories, poems, and essays to be published on-site in a spiral-bound souvenir anthology for each participant. For more information or to receive a brochure, email adamlong@astate.edu or call the museum at (870) 598-3487.

HPMEC is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site located at 1021 W. Cherry Street, Piggott. The tours are on the hour Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, 1- 3 p.m.

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