7th Annual WordSpring Creative Writing Conference April

Writers will find community, lessons on craft, and inspiration for their fiction, poetry, and other genres at Butte College’s annual WordSpring creative writing conference, “From Fountain to Pen,” at Butte College's Learning Resource Center, 3536 Butte Campus Drive, Oroville. The one-day event is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is $75 for community members and $45 for students and educators, and includes breakfast and lunch. Three time workshop presenter and author of PoemCrazy Susan Wooldridge said that WordSpring offers, “Fun, communion, inspiration,” and added that it “will add a colorful new dimension to your writing.” This year’s emcee, Grace Armstrong, an English instructor at Butte College and WordSpring committee member said, “People will meet and learn from very talented writers and make some new friends.” WordSpring workshops provide insights on the craft of writing from those working in the field today in an intimate setting, offering opportunities for both novice and experienced writers to network with writing and publishing experts. Community members, educators, high school, and college students are encouraged to attend. English instructor Amy Antongiovanni said that attendees will find "a community of writers of all levels who are struggling with the same questions and the same challenges, and experience the energy of new ideas coming from some great writers.” The workshop schedule features keynote speaker and spoken word poet Jason Bayani, and local poets Sarah Pape, Troy Jollimore, Heather Altfeld and Susan Wooldridge, along with writing faculty from Butte College. Food and travel writer Blair Anthony Robertson will join songwriter Pat Hull, memoir author Neal Snidow, and novelists Erin Lindsay McCabe and Erika Mailman. Workshops on pitching original work and finding publishing markets will round out the lineup. Previous conferences have attracted over 150 students, faculty and community members from Northern California, Oregon and Washington, with presenters coming from as far as Canada. Butte College student Christopher Busch, president of the Literary Arts Club, attended last year’s event. “As an aspiring writer, I wanted an opportunity to hone my craft with other people who were as serious about it as I am and learn from professionals with experience and passion for making dreams reality on paper. I think WordSpring is uniquely capable of both,” said Busch. Creative writing student Jane Hogan has attended the conference twice and plans to be there again this year. “WordSpring was an unexpected wealth of knowledge and inspiration for me, and it far exceeded my expectations.” Local English instructor Erica Traverso added, “The workshops re-ignited my passion for writing.” The conference is sponsored by the Butte College English Department and by donations, college diversity funding, and Butte College Associated Students. WordSpring is a wheelchair-accessible event, and interpretive services can be provided if requested in advance. Visit Butte WordSpring (www.buttewordspring.org) for more information and to purchase tickets. Check Butte WordSpring's Facebook page for updates. Contact Professor Molly Emmons at wordspring@butte.edu or (530) 895-2935 with any questions.