URI Helping Haiti

The Independent Scribe is participating in the URI Helping Haiti campaign. We will be collecting donations at our booths every Friday in February - starting tomorrow!

Keep checking the school site for more information about other groups' fundraising events.

Thank you!

Fall 2009 Launch Event Photos

We've got some event photos! Thanks again to everyone who came, we hope you had as much fun as we did.

Click here to see more.

(Thanks to Marisa for the photos we've got so far.)

Quick Hit - The Morning After

Our Fall 2009 launch event was a smash!

Many thanks to all who attended, including our featured writers and artists as well as faculty members and supporters from other student groups.

Congratulations to those whose work is showcased in this edition. Your readings last night were wonderful.

Here's to many more semesters with even greater success.

CONGRATULATIONS!

The results are in, and the Oscar honor of being published in the Fall 2009 edition of the Independent Scribe goes to a grand total of 28 spectacular individuals! After reading through hundreds of pages of writing, and a tremendous array of artwork, we've assembled an exciting publication full of humor, elegance, and spectacular vibrance.

Our most heartfelt congratulations to:

• Rob LeBlanc
• Mercer Smith
• Joe LiVolsi
• Britany Taylor
• Laura Tetreault
• Ray Mathieu
• Linda Langlois
• Mollie Bergeron
• Ankawha Blain
• Morgan Turano
• Dylan Thompson
• Nick McKnight
• Samuel D. Aboh
• Katie Walsh
• Nick Rutter
• Sarah Payne
• Patricia Weisenseel
• Katharine McAllister
• George C. Whaley, Jr.
• Marie Ventura
• Lars Nelson
• Shayne O'Sullivan
• Jessica Watson
• Brandon Genest
• Eric Slade
• Erik Giorgi
• Holly Tran
• Ian Mohon

Extra-special congratulations to Nick McKnight, who is not only a featured poet, but this edition's cover artist! No spoilers, but we can assure you that it is a lively, colorful piece that we are so excited for you to see when the publication is released.

Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements about our launch event in November!

The National Day on Writing

Today is NCTE's National Day on Writing! On October 8th, 2009 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution declaring today a national holiday. NCTE believes:

Whether we call it texting, IMing, jotting a note, writing a letter, posting an email, blogging, making a video, building an electronic presentation, composing a memo, keeping a diary, or just pulling together a report, Americans are writing like never before. Recent research suggests that writing, in its many forms, has become a daily practice for millions of Americans. It may be the quintessential 21st century skill. By collecting a cross-section of everyday writing through a National Gallery of Writing, we will better understand what matters to writers today—and when writing really counts. Understanding who writes, when, how, to whom, and for what purposes will lead to production of improved resources for writers, better strategies to nurture and celebrate writers, and improved policy to support writing.

The aim of today's holiday is for writers of any genre, caliber, age or locale to pause and share their writing. For The Independent Scribe, the National Day on Writing could not have come at a more appropriate time; our editorial staff spent hours yesterday reviewing, critiquing and thoroughly enjoying all of the submissions we've received for the fall. With the review process behind us, our board will now dive into layout, and become wholly familiar and, yes, even intimate with the works chosen for publication. The Independent Scribe board, although we have not a minute to spare and pause, is certainly plowing full-speed-ahead toward publication by reading, re-reading and, honestly, adoring the work URI's writers have chosen to share with us. After reviewing 160+ pages last night, we can testify confidently: America - and certainly URI students - are indeed writing, NCTE! And this accomplishment is definitely worthy of a national holiday.

In celebration of the first-even National Day on Writing, NCTE is also hosting a web gallery of writing. Any and everyone can contribute to the national gallery, read any of the posted texts or start up a Local Gallery. The writings published on the site cover the proverbial gambit of genre, encompassing: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, song lyrics, recipes, dirty laundry lists, film reviews, critical essays, to-do lists, character development plans, word-vomit, travel texts, personal narratives, diary entries and beyond. Browsing the gallery is definitely worth one's time, if not only for the variety of texts.

Patrons of the gallery may utilize the search engine to find galleries based on geography, age, purpose or key words. Numerous galleries have been opened in Rhode Island, including one by a URI Writing Class: WRT 490 at URI. Many talented URI students, including our own editor-in-chief, can be found here. Moreover, a number of writers being printed in our Fall 2009 edition also appear in this Local Gallery space; browse the space and enjoy fellow URI writer's "writings from the everyday."

Contributing to the National Gallery of Writing is easy. One must simply make an account, using an email address, and upload the desired file for publication. I strongly encourage all of your to submit a piece of writing you are proud of to this gallery; there is a particular pride that comes with "going public," and we believe it is an unusual sensation all writers are entitled to and should experience.

If you chose to submit to the National Gallery or start up a Local Gallery, please leave a comment below so we can view your work! We look forward to seeing you in the gallery.

Time's Up!

As of 4 PM, our Fall 2009 deadline has passed!

Extensive, copious thanks to everyone who submitted. We've had a grand time reading and discussing your submissions. To those of you whose submissions are currently awaiting review, we are so excited to get cracking on Monday.

We will be greenlighting submissions in the next week or two, so watch your inboxes!

And now for something completely different - the layout process. Layout can be very nit-picky work, and very time-consuming, but that attention to detail guarantees that we can showcase everyone's fine work.

We had an excellent meeting with our publisher, and are feeling very positive about this edition. We discussed our layout options, cover stock, and our timeline. Once we get the ball rolling, we'll be able to release more details.

Right now, we're aiming for a November launch and a reading event. We'll be able to share more information as our short-term goals are met - all these little tasks bring us closer to our ultimate goal of sharing the myriad talents of URI's students and alumni.

I am tremendously proud of the work our editorial board has done so far, and am looking forward to seeing this edition come to fruition.

In the coming weeks, we will be making more announcements about our Spring 2010 deadline; we have also held over the Secret Society of Demolition Scribers contest until spring.

Again, my deepest thanks to all of our interested writers and artists. We have seen so much beautiful, exciting, and even funny, material that we cannot wait to share with the University community.

The Independent Scribe Does First Night 2009

If you're one of URI's incoming freshman, be sure to visit us tomorrow at First Night! We've got lots of copies of to give out, plus information and a fun activity.

Hope to see you there!