The League of Vermont Writers: Still Kicking

Dorothy Canfield Fisher (photo at left) is a name that, for Vermonters, calls forth another century, as well as this year's school projects: The Vermont author was a peace activist before and during World War I, and her children's books later brought her (and the state) so much attention that Vermont's "middle grades" book reading list and award each year are named for her (more commonly called "DCF"!).

Her heritage also continues in the form of the League of Vermont Writers. Because the group is not specific to poetry or mysteries, I won't mention it often here -- but I've had several notices for its summer events and want to pass along this one, as the agencies involved are indeed interested in mysteries that New Englanders are writing.

So ... The LWV's "Writers Meet Agents Conference" is scheduled for Sunday July 19 in Burlington and will feature representatives from Curtis Brown Agency (New York), Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (New York), Fairbank Literary Representation (Massachusetts), The Fischer-Harbage Agency (New York), The Nancy Love Literary Agency (New York), and Spectrum Literary Agency (New York). For more info on the event, keep an eye on the LWV's web site, www.leaguevtwriters.org. There will be one-on-one pitch sessions, rounddtable discussions, workshops, and more.

Nope, no poetry agents.

A bit of history of the group, from the web site:

The League of Vermont Writers
— Then and Now

In 1929, luminaries Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Helen Hartness Flanders helped establish what would become the League of Vermont Writers. In the 21st Century the League's membership includes such well-known names as Chris Bojahlian, Joe Citro, David Huddle, and Ellen Bryant Voight. Early speakers such as Frances Parkinson Keyes, Robert Frost, and Dorothy Thompson, were eminent figures in their day. These days our speakers include nationally known authors Archer Mayor, Tim Brookes, and Katherine Paterson.

Continuity amid change is a hallmark of Vermont's oldest state-wide writers' organization. While the League continues to adapt to changes in the publishing industry and advances in technology, as Karen Lorentz wrote in her history of the League's first 75 years, "one thing has remained steady — the desire to promote education and networking among members so as to inspire writing and expand opportunities for publication." The League of Vermont Writers invites you to join an organization that has been working with and for writers in the Green Mountain State for nearly 80 years.