Little Fish, Big Pond: An Honorable Mention from the National Federation of Press Women

Writing is such an emotionally fraught sort of journey, at least if you're not one of the Big Fish. There's no certainly that any given piece will get into print, and if you're doing it right (at least, for me), there's a bit of your heart in each one. You really want to see it be welcomed.

So I'm "bookmarking" for myself that this is a Good Week. Although I haven't seen a poem move into publication this week, I got another very generous "hey you almost made it" rejection letter from a publication that I value. That's huge encouragement.

Plus some of my writing DOES regularly get into print -- the one-a-month feature articles on Northeast Kingdom people, traditions, and explorations that I write for The North Star Monthly. This week the National Federation of Press Women -- professional "communicators" from all over the United States -- gave an Honorable Mention award to my 2023 article on Bob Peters of Granby. It's a thrill to know that people across the country are taking a look at this story. He was a wonderful person to interview and I'm delighted to know that the judges caught that feeling.

Vermont History Comes Alive -- on the Pages, and in Short Videos

Photo by Darcie McCann

A huge joy in my writing life is researching and writing articles for the North Star Monthly that focus on remarkable people of this region of Vermont, whose lives and adventures have become part of our history.

Many people ask me, "How did you get the idea to look into that one?"

So I've started a series of short videos on "where this story came from." If you're curious, you can check them out at my YouTube page, or go directly to one of these:

The Fur Farms of Vermont

Pioneering Aeronauts of the NEK (Northeast Kingdom of Vermont)

I'll add another each month. Hope you enjoy these!