April is in its final days, and there is a lot going on at Hidden River. We’re just about to wrap up our spring internship season and say goodbye to some truly wonderful students. You may notice that we have redesigned this blog to offer a better breakdown of our literary awards, which can be found in a drop-down menu now under this category. This page will be used to offer the headlines regarding our awards, and for other news.
In publishing news, we have just launched the eBook version of Cheryl Romo’s wonderful novel, Ruby Hands. The novel, a mystery/thriller, is one of our Eludia Award winners. It deals with an issue that has long been a problem — the disappearance and death of young native women both on reservation land and beyond. The story revolves around the young mother and teacher, Daisy Sandoval, who is found near death in a ravine. Tribal members suspect her ex-husband, but the secrecy and insular behaviors on the reservation among the tribe’s members make justice near-impossible. Even with the arrival of Daisy’s aunt, Kate Thorsen, a freelance investigative writer, there is a great amount of obstacle to finding the truth. Romo’s book is one where cultures clash, indigenous citizens distrust outsiders, and even violence can be held as a precious secret.
We are also about to launch In Progress, the story collection of Catharine Leggett, another Eludia Award winner. Her collection explores the dramatic changes happening in mid-century rural Canada, as highways slice through farming communities, where industries and massive development projects make their over-sized presence felt in what used to be more peaceful country spaces. These intrusions impact the characters, who are in a variety of ways pulled from life as it was, not quite sure what life will be. Please be sure to follow our blog for updates on our In Progress book launch, and the ways we plan to celebrate our Eludia Award family of women writers to note the event. For more information about our Eludia Award, which is a first book award offered to women writers, age 40 and above, please see our guidelines.
Other books currently in the pipeline are Jeffrey Voccola’s King’s Row, winner of our inaugural Blue Mountain Book Award, and Carol Tyx, for her poetry collection Remaking Achilles: Slicing Into Angola’s History. Carol was the inaugural winner of our Willow Run Poetry Book Award.
Please check back with us for more discussion of our 2019/2020 upcoming titles, for the relaunching of our workshops and classes, and for the progress we are making in the design and launch of our new online arts journal, The Hidden River Review of Arts & Letters.
We are always looking for volunteer readers and reviewers, and always happy to hear from those looking for internships with our organization. Please don’t hesitate to contact us by email, hiddenriverarts@gmail.com — and enjoy the remainder of April, everyone!
Hidden River Arts 