Wednesday Cider January 13, 2021 Happy New Year! With this first newsletter of 2021, we celebrate new beginnings, including our re-opening in July 2021, along with a new schedule for our digital outreach. Online applications close this Friday. We remind writers, visual artists, and composers that applications for Summer 2021 residencies at Mt. San Angelo are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 15. The application includes several fully-funded fellowships. You might want to revisit our original reopening announcement. New year, new schedule. As we sharpen our focus on a safe reopening of Mt. San Angelo to Fellows this summer, we're making some small adjustments to our output of virtual programming. In 2021, our Wednesday Cider/Lemonade newsletter will be served up once a month. Going forward, you can expect a new community newsletter in your inbox on the first Wednesday of each month. Our Fireplace Series will also shift to a monthly affair. Our virtual gatherings featuring recent work by Fellows will now take place on the third Thursday of each month. The new schedule takes root next Thursday, January 21, with our 18th live stream of the series. Composer Playlists will continue to refresh on a monthly basis. Our first batch of music of the year is currently up on our website for your listening pleasure. Our interest in sharing news from Fellows is ongoing. We hope you'll keep us apprised of your goings-on throughout this year. Send us your news to share with the VCCA community. Keep us in the loop on your forthcoming book publications. Submit your music for future composer playlists. Find online community away from major social media platforms in Virtual VCCA. Thank you to our Fellows and contributors who made gifts at the end of 2020 or encouraged friends to do so! We received many generous donations, and with a tight budget and exciting improvements in the works at Mt. San Angelo, it means so much. Giving is an integral part of VCCA's sustainability, and we thank you for participating in that effort!

new composer playlist

Introducing Our January Playlist

Our first composer playlist of the year features works by five Fellows: Aaron Stepp | Musings Nascuy Linares | Luxor E. Shawn Qaissaunee | The Spectrum of Love Luis Hilario Arévalo | Armonía del Cosmos Judith Shatin | To Keep the Dark Away

🎧  Have a Listen

fireplace series

Join Matthew Baker and Sheree Renée Thomas for Fireplace Series 18 Next up in the Fireplace Series, enjoy readings by VCCA Fellows Matthew Baker and Sheree Renée Thomas. Named one of Variety’s “10 Storytellers To Watch,” Matthew Baker is the author of the story collections Why Visit America (Henry Holt & Company, August 2020) and Hybrid Creatures and the children’s novel Key Of X, originally published as If You Find This. His stories have appeared in publications such as New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, One Story, Electric Literature, and Conjunctions. Sheree Renée Thomas is an award-winning fiction writer, poet, and editor. Her work is inspired by myth and folklore, natural science and Mississippi Delta conjure. Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future (Third Man Books, May 2020) is her first all prose collection. She is the Associate Editor of the historic Black arts literary journal Obsidian: Literature & the Arts in the African Diaspora and is the Editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Tune in next Thursday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Our host for the evening, writer and Fellows Council member David Ebenbach, will facilitate conversation with our guests and live questions from viewers.

Fireplace Series 18 DATE AND TIME 01/21/21 7:30pm - 01/21/21 8:30pm I hope to attend! I can't make this one

Relive Last Week's Evening of Music, Storytelling, and Conversation Thank you to author Doris Iarovici, composer Andrea Clearfield, and our host Judith Shatin for sharing inspiring work and thoughtful discussion in last week's edition of the Fireplace Series. The recording lives on at VCCA's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

highlights from virtual vcca

These updates come from members posting in Virtual VCCA, our online community platform powered by Mighty Networks.

E. Shawn Qaissaunee: "Thinking of my extended VCCA family during these trying and important times. I hope you are finding peace, joy and creative energy in your daily journey. Stay safe and awesome!!!" See Post Barbara Crooker: "I thought maybe some of you might be interested in this conversation with fellow Fellow Marjorie Stelmach about poetry, friendship, and VCCA." See Post

BettyJoyce Nash: "Remembering a favorite dreamspot on the VCCA grounds . . ." See Post Sheila Gulley Pleasants: "A chilly walk on the VCCA grounds this weekend . . ." See Post

opportunities

Last Call for Summer 2021 Applications VCCA's current application for Mt. San Angelo residencies will close at 11:59 p.m. ET this Friday, January 15. The application includes the following fully-funded fellowships: Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellowship Maryland Institute College of Art Fellowship NEA Fellowship for Military Veterans Steven Petrow LGBTQ Fellowship Richard S. and Julia Louise Reynolds Poetry Fellowship

Animation Adjunct Opportunity Our neighbors at Sweet Briar College are in search of an adjunct instructor who can teach an animation course this spring. Review the job posting here.

🧡 Stay safe, and be well.

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