This month’s post will take the form of a list since I’m in thick of working on both the next of Windhover and planning for the festival.

• Online registration for the 2014 Windhover Writer’s Festival (February 5-7, 2014) is now up and running.  The process should only take a few minutes, so make sure that you register sooner rather than later.  When registering, you will be asked to rank your preferences for workshops to attend.

• In response to feedback from previous attendees, we have also added a closing lunch on the last day of the festival, February 7.  The cost is $10, and you can pay at the festival.

• We’re making the final selections for pieces to be included in the 2014 issue of Windhover, which will be released on the opening night of the festival.  The issue will be chock-full of quality poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as visual art (in full color), and several book reviews.

• If you haven’t already done so, consider submitting some work to read at the conference.  We’ll be considering proposals through November 15.  Here’s a link to the CFP.

• In the coming weeks, I’ll be updating the schedule as we solidify more events.  We hope to see you at the festival in February!

Grace & Peace,

Nathaniel L. Hansen, Editor

We closed our submissions on September 1.  Overall, I have been impressed by the caliber of submissions that we received over 7 months.  This was also our first time using the Submittable submissions manager, and this has allowed us to cut down on printing and mailing costs, as well as to speed up the process of selecting submissions for the contributing editors to review.  No later than the end of October, writers will receive notification regarding their submissions.

In festival-related news, we have now posted a basic schedule, found here.  And the call for papers is here.  We’re still looking for folks to present at the conference, so pass this CFP link along to others you know who might be interested.

We “officially” solidified our table at AWP 2014 in Seattle.  We’ll be at table O24, right next to Midwestern Gothic, a great literary quarterly.  I’ll also be chairing a panel discussion called Writing God: Craft, Language, and Sacred Experience.

Off to read poetry at the Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature,

Nathaniel L. Hansen, editor and festival director

Warm greetings from the home of Windhover!

We’re gradually accumulating more and more submissions during this reading period, which is still open until September 1.  So if you haven’t yet submitted something, go right ahead and do so.

Perhaps the biggest news right now is our roster of featured presenters for next year’s Windhover Writers’ Festival (February 5-7, 2014).  Our keynote address will be given by Bret Lott, author of over a dozen books, the most recent one being Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian.  You can watch a short video about the book here, and you can read the first chapter/essay here.  Both are excellent.  Enjoy!

Our other featured presenters include fiction writer Gina Ochsner, poet Benjamin Myers, and visual artist Micah Bloom (whose artwork was featured on the cover and the interior of the 2013 issue).  All four presenters will be leading workshops for festival participants.

You can find more information about the festival, including full bios of the presenters, on the website.  Please see the Call For Papers section as well, as we would like you to consider presenting your own work.

Grace & Peace,

Nathaniel L. Hansen

Editor of Windhover

Director of Windhover Writers’ Festival

The academic year has wrapped up, and that mean’s I’ll be busy working on all things Windhover over the summer months.  With that said, here’s an update on all things Windhover:

• This year’s issue turned out to be a beautiful edition, if I may say so.  It’s been encouraging to hear so many positive responses.  Just today, for example, New Pages posted a wonderful review of the issue: http://www.newpages.com/literary-magazine-reviews/
• During early March, I brought the journal to AWP in Boston, arriving just before a snowstorm canceled and delayed many flights.  At the conference, I met with lots of writers, potential readers and submitters, connected with other editors, and, overall had a wonderful experience.  I plan to bring the journal to AWP Seattle in February 2014.
• For next year’s issue, Volume 18, we’ve transitioned to using Submittable.  If you haven’t yet submitted, you can find a link to our submissions manager here, as well as on the main Windhover page.  We’re open for submissions of creative nonfiction, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry through September 1.
• I’ve also assumed the position of directing the annual Windhover Writers’ Festival here on the campus of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  I will soon be releasing the roster of speakers for next year’s festival, which will be February 5-7, 2014.
• Next April I’ll be bringing Windhover to Calvin College’s Festival of Faith and Writing, scheduled for April 10-12, 2014, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

That’s all for now!

Grace & Peace,

Nathaniel L. Hansen, Editor