John Dufresne and Django

"When I'm not teaching or writing, I'm reading, or I'm with friends talking about reading and writing and teaching," Dufresne says. "I'm working on a novel that I should be finished with, but it won't end — also a number of stories, screenplays, and am just taking notes for the novel to follow."

Read more here about Miami's Muse (and ours) in the Miami New Times.

The Rosemary Review

At the Rosemary Beach Foundation Conference for Writers, writing happens. And, here's the proof -- The Rosemary Review. This is a collection of our participants' essays, short stories, and poems. There's also a category for John Dufresne's morning writing exercises.

Many thanks to Chelsea Auld, Flagler College sophomore, for her technical wizardry!

Destin Writer to Read at Rosemary Beach Conference

Read about John Cottle, civil trial lawyer and award-winning short-fiction writer, in the Walton Sun.

Dufresne's Short-story, "Iffy," Now Available as a Download

He goes by the name Elvis Engdahl, writes Dufresne. He’s lost his wife, family, job, and future. He’s wanted by the police. So what’s a desperate man to do? What Elvis realizes is that when a man loses everything, he’s free to do anything.

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We're in the News Again

Read about us in The Walton Sun!

"Mayberry on the Beach"

Rosemary Beach, home of the Rosemary Beach Writers' Conference, is chosen by Tripadvisor.com as one of the nation's Top Ten Vacation Spots!

Lister's THE BIG GOODBYE Receives Starred Review from Publisher's Weekly

Lister (The Body and the Blood) kicks off a promising private detective series set in 1940s Florida with a tantalizing opening line--"I had not yet recovered from shooting Stanley Somerset when I saw her"--and rapidly establishes the intriguing persona of narrator Jimmy Riley. Riley, who lost an arm while on the police force, now works as a PI partnered with a former Pinkerton agent. Obsessed with ex-lover Lauren Lewis, he's taken aback when she re-enters his life. Lewis, whose husband is running for mayor of Panama City, appears at his office to ask whether Riley is the person who's been tailing her. While she believes his denial, she declines his offer to help. Unsurprisingly, Riley decides to look into the matter anyway, and soon finds himself squarely in the crosshairs of the police when bodies start piling up. Lister's hard-edged prose ranks with the best of contemporary noir fiction.

See Michael Lister read from his work at the Rosemary Beach Fall Writers' Conference

Michael Hettich is 2011 Swan Scythe Press Chapbook Contest Winner!

            SACRAMENTO, CA, JULY 10, 2011 –- Swan Scythe Press, one of the U.S.’s most respected poetry publishers, today announced the winner of the 2011 Swan Scythe Press Poetry Chapbook Contest. The winning manuscript is The Measured Breathing by Michael Hettich of Miami Shores, Florida.          

                    

            Mr. Hettich’s manuscript will be published by Swan Scythe Press in Fall 2011, and he will receive a $200 award for his work.  According to Swan Scythe Press’s editor, James DenBoer, his choice of the contest winner was based on “Michael Hettich’s distinct voice; his work stood out immediately from the large number of competent and interesting poets who entered our contest.  I was particularly impressed by his ability to write a book of lyric poems without using the word “I” and by his startling images of transformation and transcendence.”

         Michael Hettich's poetry has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Cake, Hamilton Stone Review, International Literary Quarterly, Poetry East, and many other literary journals. His most recently-published book of poems is Like Happiness, from Anhinga Press; a new book, The Animals Beyond Us, is forthcoming from New Rivers Press.  Born in Brooklyn, NY, he now teaches at Miami Dade College.

         Swan Scythe Press was founded in 2000 by poet Sandra McPherson, and is now edited by James DenBoer, also a poet.  The Measured Breathing was chosen as the contest winner from among 165 entries, from 34 U.S. states and 4 foreign countries.  Mr. DenBoer made the final selection of the winner, with the help of a small group of outside readers.  Mr Hettich’s book will be the 32nd book of poetry published by Swan Scythe Press.  Its authors have won many awards and prizes, and have distinguished themselves as artists and educators throughout the U.S. and abroad.

MICHAEL HETTICH WILL TEACH A CLASS ON THE CRAFT OF POETRY AT THE ROSEMARY BEACH WRITERS' CONFERENCE

Anne Petty's New Book out in August

Anne Petty, publisher of Kitsune Press, will speak at the Rosemary Beach Writers' Conference in September. Receive a copy of her new dark fantasy/horror novel, SHAMAN'S BLOOD, in the
Goodreads Book Giveaway (10 advance copies). Hurry! The giveaway ends July 28, 2011.

Listen to Michael Hettich Read "Howling at the Moon"

Listen here as Michael reads from his poem in Mudlark.

Michael will teach a poetry class at the Rosemary Beach Fall Conference.

Lynne Barrett's Tells What Editors Want

Lynne Barrett taught a class on memoir at our Rosemary Beach Spring Writers' Conference. She'll be back again this September. Read her article called, "What Editors Want: A Must-Read for Writers Submitting to Literary Magazines.

John Dufresne's Story, "The Cross-eyed Bear," Available on Kindle

The Cross-eyed Bear appeared in Boston Noir and The Best American Mysteries 2010. Download the story here.