Coming in 2011...Writing Retreats with Mirabee!

Hi gang,

Still sick but getting better. I have a few things to post tomorrow or the day after, mostly new residency deadlines. But today, I just wanted to let you know about a couple things: one, I will unfortunately have to monitor comments again and not let anonymous people comment on my posts because I am getting spammed by stupid people trying to sell things via my blog. Argh. I hate to do that. Anyway, the other thing is that I just wanted to let you know that after my book comes out in 2011, probably next fall, I will start leading memoir and nature writing retreats and workshops in the Berkshires at one of my favorite places in the world, the Staveleigh House. It's run by my friend Ali Winston who is also does animal rescue and takes in various critters (see photo of me and one of the exuberant residents of Staveleigh!) that have been abused or abandoned. You can check out their site here: www.staveleigh.com or click here to see the facebook fan page I just set up for them.

RESIDENCY FOR ARTISTS, WRITERS AND MUSICIANS IN HUNGARY AND A MIRA'S LIST UPDATE

Oh how I missed you all! As you know, I've been very busy and was also in NY meeting with my wonderful agent and my amazing editors. (I really lucked out with this book...I am very grateful! And yes, I will write about this whole process soon...) Anyway, I'm back now and will post a new interview in the next couple/few days (this time, a composer and pianist) as well as some new opportunities—hopefully tomorrow or Saturday.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know about a new residency in Hungary (see below) and also, to alert you to a little change in the way you can leave comments after posts. Lately, my comment sections have become spammed so I will have to now moderate them. It's annoying for all of us but that way you don't have to deal, as readers, with evil spammers telling you to click on their links for great loans (don't do it!!!) etc. Just go ahead and leave your comments---I think that you will just get a message saying that I have to approve them or something. Nothing too complicated I hope.

Here's the new residency—the place looks beautiful by the way....and more things are coming in the next couple days...

(ALL) International Authors Lodge Residency: The International Authors Lodge is currently seeking artists, writers, and performing artists for summer residency in Budapest, Hungary. This residency does cost money, just so you know...it's not one of the freebies I often promote....however, the place does look beautiful. See website for residency information and costs. There is no fee to apply.

The International Authors Lodge is an independent non-profit association based in Budapest, Hungary. The association encourages awareness and exploration of personal and creative development as well as cross-cultural exchange of ideas. The International Authors Lodge aims to generate and encourage exchange between local artists and international artists, believing that this interaction is a unique way to gain new experiences while encountering other view points and perspectives concerning contemporary art. For more info, go to: http://www.authorslodge.webs.com/

MORE UPDATES AND INFO

Well, the final word on the Robert MacNamara residency in Maine is that they are temporarily suspending it for this coming year. Too bad. One thing I've noticed since the crash is that one month I might get an announcement sent to me from a foundation or I might see an announcement for something on a site and then, not long after that, the foundation runs out of funding. Therefore, during this period of financial uncertainty, please double check all websites before you send out any applications.

A couple other little items: when you want to leave a comment after a posting, just click on the place that says 'comments' at the end of the posts for that time and follow the directions. I hide my comments, only because sometimes there are a lot of them and I just don't want to take up so much space. If you are having any trouble leaving comments, it might mean that you have to update your browser, so please try that before you write me an email, okay? Thanks! I welcome all comments, especially ones telling me how much they absolutely LOVE THIS BLOG. And, of course, comments about wonderful residencies you have applied for and gotten, or grants you applied for and got after you found out about them on my blog.

Coming soon: FAQs about residencies, so keep your eyes peeled. (I wonder where that creepy phrase came from?)

Cheers,
Mira

NEW PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION!

Greetings all...So there is now a place on this blog for you to leave comments. Right now it's near the bottom of the right hand side bar but I might move it up later. Please feel free to leave comments or to ask questions that you might otherwise send to me as an email. I love hearing from all of you, however, as this blog becomes more popular, it is getting harder and harder to keep up with private correspondence, especially when I don't make an income from this passionate little activity of mine. If you ask questions publicly, then others can benefit from the answers. Coming soon I will have a list of FAQs and more how-to articles on grant writing, etc. I hope to work on that over the summer. In the meantime, check out the up-coming summer and fall deadlines for great grants, residencies and other opportunities. Funding may be down all over the world but money is still out there and so are dedicated arts foundations, residency directors and the like. As the Italians say: Coraggio! Avanti Popolo!
p.s. Don't forget to take the new poll! Thanks! Mirabee

CALLING ALL ARTISTS, WRITERS, COMPOSERS, MUSICIANS, DANCERS, etc.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT: So I have been getting wonderful messages from people all over the world, thanking me for this blog, people from as far away as Ghana, Hungary, Sweden, and Brazil. I know I need to set up a poll to find out where the heck you guys are finding this site but until I do that, I kind of prefer the more personal approach, which is to: A. ask you how you found this blog and B: ask you to leave a comment below about what it is in particular you are looking for (a grant to travel to West Africa, for instance, or you are an emerging painter looking for a fellowship to study in Italy for a year or you are a mid-career writer who wants to just write poetry for a month, or you are a composer who just lost his job and needs emergency funding, etc.). I will read everything I get and store it into my wee brain for future postings.

As most of you know, I do this for free and am currently unemployed (let's hope I get a big advance on my book...soon to be sent out to publishers!) so I can't promise immediate action on your requests but anything you tell me will help shape the evolution of this blog so I can serve you better. And knowing where you are all finding me will help me in the future when I try to actually sit down and make an effort to be visible on search engines. I'm just trying to keep up with posting right now. Anyway, I am hoping that down the road, perhaps MFA programs or low-residency programs will want to advertise on my site so that can help it keep going. And I promise I will never put any flashing annoying pop-up ads on it, ever! That is one of the reasons I created this site. I cannot stand those hard-to-navigate-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink flashy arts websites that not only are impossible to read but they also charge money. I never want to charge for this site if I can help it. So please, if you have a second, tell me where you found me in a brief message and let me know if you are looking for anything in particular. Here at Mira's List, we live to serve. Well. We also live for art, dogs, music, food, graphic novels, baby animals, love, dreams, and the luminous sea. Cheers y'all. Mira