Well, it's that time of year again--time for another Stacking Stones contest! As a big thank you to all the readers who continue to support this blog, I'm opening this autumn's contest to everyone--that means general public, as well as students taking Community Writing Workshops in Morgantown classes.

I'm deep into drafting my next novel and on the look out for inspiration, so whoever recommends the "best" contemporary novel for me to read will receive the book of his or her choice from my Recommended Reading List (plus, I'll add the new book to the list). The rules are simple:

1. Participants may suggest as many novels as they want to using the comments feature below

2. Suggestions must come during the month of September (the contest will close October 1)

3. Suggested novels must have been written within the past 5 years. (Don't suggest Gatsby!)

4. Suggestions must be novels that you (the participant) have read and can vouch for

5. The winning novel will be one I haven't yet read

Beyond that, taste is subjective. I will announce a winner on this blog in Nov. based on which book most rattled my chains. (If I'm not moved by any of the suggestions, I reserve the right not to pick a winner this time. But I'm seriously hoping that won't happen.)

So go on and start recommending some great reads!

This semester in our rock and roll writing class the class worked hard and completed more work than ever before. Over the course of sixteen weeks, the eight of us:

• Read 1,072 pages of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry

• Wrote 289 pages of our own work (as well as 123 liner notes in response to the songs that excite us).

• Listened to 69,375 seconds of rock music by 150 different artists. (That's 19 hours, 16 minutes, and 15 seconds of rock and roll glory for those keeping track.)
  

No small accomplishment!


As you'll recall, this spring we also had a contest going on where any student who met all of the following criteria would win our grand prize:

1. Complete each of the sixteen weekly writing assignments for the semester
2. Upload each of them by the weekly deadline
3. Meet the minimum recommended length on all assignments
4. Reasonably match the theme and genre of each assignment prompt
5. Post responses to the work of at least four different classmates over the course of the semester

I'm happy to say that most of the class came very close to meeting this steep set of criteria, but four students in the class met the challenge and I'd like to take the time to recognize their accomplishment here on the blog . . . .

Thanks to all you readers for continuing to support this blog and the Community Writing Workshops in Morgantown classes. Today we officially start our Spring course, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, which means the blog will be undergoing a few changes over the next few months. . . . 

This was a tough one, folks--so many good suggestions for our "Name That Blog" contest, but after much careful deliberation, I've finally settled on a winner. Congratulations to Susan Sauter for her suggestion "Stacking Stones." (Fun fact: though it's entirely coincidental, the seminal piece of craft that I responded to in writing the critical preface to my Master's Thesis about linked story collections was titled "Stacking Stones" and written by the writer David Jauss.)

Let me know, Susan, which state you'd like for your County Fair Field Notes (though I think I already have a pretty good idea), and thanks to everyone who participated. Keep checking back for more fun contests in the future!

P.S. By the way, for those wondering, I took the photograph at the top of the blog at the WVU Core Arboretum last fall during one of our field trips for the course The Field and the Forest: A Nature Writing Survey.

So I've been trying to come up with a suitable name for this writing craft blog and the best I've been able to do is "Field Notes" (taken from those little moleskin notebooks). No one ever said coming up with a title is easy, right? So I've decided to open it up to you: what do you think this page should be called? Submit your suggestions in the comments section by October 1, and I'll choose a winner.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the grand prize! The winner will receive a 3-pack of West Virginia County Fair Field Notes (or the state of your choice, for those living outside of WV).  

UPDATE #2: And we have a winner!