StoryStudio student Anne Laughlin is published again (the woman’s a publishing machine!), this time in Best Lesbian Love Stories 2009.  Anne’s story is called “On Retreat,” and seeing as how she workshopped it in the Advanced Writer’s Workshop, I think she’d agree that she couldn’t have done it without us!  Let’s hope she’ll show her gratitude by bringing us cookies.  Cookies, Anne, cookies! 

Seriously, we’re ever so proud of her, and excited to hear that she’s finished her second novel, which is now being shopped around to publishers.  You go, girl! 

I still get the tingles. When I hear about a StoryStudio writer getting published, I stop and think, wow, we’re really in the middle of an amazing literary world.

And then, when I get a copy of the published piece or finally find the time to read it online, I shake my head and think, wow, there’s some real talent in this studio.

Here are two writers whose stories have recently been published:

• Liz Radford’s short story, Best for Flight, was published in Prick of the Spindle, and


• Mary Bower’s opening novel chapter from The Second Whack. (BTW, Mary’s been in our Advanced Writer’s Workshop and Story Workout so I’ve had the extreme pleasure of reading drafts of this novel!) won a contest.

Liz Radford’s story is a haunting, affecting story of a young man who comes to learn about his own feelings of love. It’s also about a young boy who knows much more than the adults around him realize.

Liz has been an avid Write-a-Thoner and was in our Reading as a Writer class. I know she’s really been working at hard her short stories and the work is clearly paying off.

The Writing Show is an exciting website with lots of information and just a few contests that they run. Mary’s novel chapter won fourth place in their 2008 Novel Contest. The novel has been progressing with good speed (even if she doesn’t think so!) and it’s been especially gratifying to see how she continues to get deeper and deeper into these characters, never settling for a stereotype or a predictable plotline. Definitely take a look at The Second Whack.

Kudos Liz and Mary! If you’re reading this, take a few minutes to read this work and leave some comments!

Our very own Jennifer Wagner, a longtime StoryStudio writer (from back in the old days when we used to meet in Bucktown praying the elevator operator didn’t knock off early!) has another piece in the RedEye today.

Jennifer has always been interested in the music biz and did a great job of working her network and landing a regular writing gig for an online music review site.

Flash forward a few years and now, in between finishing her incredibly original-voiced novel, going to law school, Jennifer has a regular-sometime thing writing music-related pieces and interviews for the RedEye. You can read the latest here (or in print, look around p30-36): RedEye Online

Oh, and by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!

This week, we have TWO StoryStudio peeps featured in the Huffington Post. 

First, SSC teacher Ranjit Souri is interviewed about his 52 Open Mics project: Weekly Date With Mic for “Siblings of Doctors” Comic

and then, SSC student Adrienne C’s review of Paul Aster’s book Pitch Black is published. 

Way to go, Ranjit & Adrienne! 

We absolutely love getting emails and calls from StoryStudio writers who are getting their work out there. Especially when StoryStudio had something to do with it!

Mary B., one of our Advanced Writers Workshop members, also writes for work and just had a two-piece article published for INC.com. The first part is about the so called “backlash” from all the outsourcing American companies have been doing to places like China or India, and the second covers the great potential of American companies to start “insourcing” again.

A cool thing? This massive online publisher has also listed Mary’s articles in their list of top reads--the INC5000.

A really cool thing? Mary heard about the opportunity when she was in the StoryStudio Elements of Memoir class. The instructor, Annette Gendler, gave Mary the referral. “It was my involvement in StoryStudio classes that gave me the confidence to pitch a feature article,” Mary told us.

The coolest thing of all? Having the StoryStudio experience extend well beyond writing classes.

If you want to read more of Mary’s writing, visit her blog.

Brava Mary!

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