SIERRA VISTA — Cochise College announces two open-mic readings in association with this year’s Cochise Community Creative Writing Celebration. These readings are free and open to the public. Writers are encouraged to bring poetry and prose to read aloud.
The first reading will take place this Saturday, Jan. 12, and the second on Saturday Feb. 9, each from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Mona Bishop Room of the Sierra Vista Public Library, located at 2600 East Tacoma off Coronado Drive, south of Highway 90 Bypass. Refreshments will be available from the library’s Café Sierra.
The Creative Writing Celebration will be held the weekend of April 5 and 6, with Friday’s events at the Ethel Berger Center in Sierra Vista and Saturday’s events at the Sierra Vista Campus of Cochise College. The event is co-sponsored by Cochise College, University South Foundation, Inc., City of Sierra Vista Leisure and Library Services, and Cochise College Foundation’s Diane E. Freund Memorial Writing Celebration Fund.
The Celebration brings published writers in several genres, such as poetry, novels, creative nonfiction, juvenile fiction and screenwriting, to present hands-on workshops to aspiring writers from the community. This year’s featured presenters are authors Jennifer Lee Carrell, Charles Alexander, playwright and editor Jim Fitzmorris and journalist Margaret Regan.
There is also a writing contest in three categories — poetry, short story and creative nonfiction — in conjunction with the Celebration, which includes cash prizes. The deadline for contest entries is March 1. People who enter the writing contest must also be registered for the Creative Writing Celebration.
For more information about the 15th annual Celebration, email creativewriting@cochise.edu.