Plainfield, Vt. – Goddard College announced today that it has partnered with the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference – an annual, alumni-run conference and retreat for graduates of Goddard’s MFA in Creative Writing Program – to launch CLOCKHOUSE, a new, annual, literary magazine featuring short stories, interviews, essays, plays and poems by both award-winning writers and exciting, new literary voices.
The national literary magazine places Goddard College firmly within the country’s rich literary tradition and aims to stimulate discussion among its readers of what American society and culture should aspire to be.
In announcing the magazine’s debut, CLOCKHOUSE Editor Julie Parent said, “In a world where sound bites and headlines fight to replace our thoughts, the role of the creative writer has never been more vital. Writers empower readers to recognize what society and culture should be, and encourage them to take action. Faced with today’s nonstop propaganda, a media controlled by special interest groups, press releases published as news – it’s clear that what we as a people need from storytelling has changed. CLOCKHOUSE was developed in response to this need for a new community in which our society, culture, government and discourse is based in truth rather than lies, in authenticity rather than fabrication, in value rather than in price.”
“We’re thrilled with the debut of CLOCKHOUSE,” said Paul Selig, Director of Goddard’s MFA in Creative Writing Program. “A national literary magazine is a natural offspring of a thriving MFA program, so we’re especially pleased that Goddard’s MFA alumni are at the helm. We look forward to CLOCKHOUSE making its mark on our national culture and discourse with the talents of both distinguished and emerging writers, as well as the positive influence the magazine will have on our program and its students.”
CLOCKHOUSE’s mission statement is right in step with the innovative, progressive history of Goddard College, and with the aspirations and principles of the alumni who form the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference:
Dare. Risk. Dream. Share. Ruminate. How do we understand our place in the world, our responsibility to it and our responsibility to each other? CLOCKHOUSE is an eclectic conversation about the work-in-progress of life—a soul arousal, a testing ground, a new community, a call for change. Join in.
It’s a call that’s been answered. Twenty-four writers, both emerging and critically acclaimed, are showcased in the launch issue, including: Cristina García, Amy King, Paul Lisicky, Joan Larkin, Nate Pritts, Susan Straight and Prageeta Sharma.
CLOCKHOUSE writers have been honored with prizes, awards and fellowships including the National Book Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Lannan Prize, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Hodder Fellowship, Audre Lorde Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and the Howard Foundation Grant. CLOCKHOUSE contributors Cara Hoffman, Mary Johnson and Selah Saterstrom are graduates of Goddard’s MFA in Creative Writing Program.
Contributors to CLOCKHOUSE are by invitation and found through an open submissions process online. Deadline to submit for the next issue is December 15, 2013. Cover price is $12 and copies can be ordered online. For more information about submission guidelines and to purchase a copy, visit www.clockhouse.net.
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About Clockhouse Writers’ Conference
Founded in 1996, the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference provides Goddard’s MFA in Creative Writing alumni with the space and community to continue the writing practice they established at Goddard and have since brought to the world at large, with an ongoing way to contribute to and support the MFA program and its students.
About Goddard College
Goddard College’s low-residency MFA in Creative Writing was the first of its kind in the nation, founded in 1976. Goddard College was initially founded in 1863 as the Goddard Seminary in Barre, VT. Goddard moved to its current Plainfield campus and was chartered in 1938 by founding President Royce “Tim” Pitkin. In 1963, Goddard became the first US college to offer low residency adult degree programs, and now offers accredited MA, MFA, BA, and BFA degree programs from the main campus in Plainfield, VT and sites in Seattle and Port Townsend, WA. Goddard’s low residency model offers the best of on campus and distance education, with experienced faculty advisors, rigorous on-campus residencies, and the freedom to study from anywhere.
Contact
Julie Parent, Editor, Clockhouse, jparent@clockhouse.net, 917.539.3375
Lauren Geiger Moye, Chief Advancement Officer, lauren.moye@goddard.edu, 802.322.1732
