Monday Muse: New Idaho Writer-in-Residence

. . . it excites me, and kind of blows me away, to have

been given the opportunity to represent Idaho as 

an ambassador of the written word.*

~ Christian Winn

Idaho's new Writer-in-Residence is Christian Winn. The successor to Diane Raptosh (2013-2016), Winn begins a three-year term on July 1. His appointment was announced May 20, 2016.

Awarded an annual stipend, Winn is to give four annual readings, eight of which are to be in rural communities. A Writer-in-Residence may be reappointed to a second, nonconsecutive term but no longer may receive an Arts Commission fellowship in literature. For additional information about qualifications and requirements of the position, see my post about Brady Udall (2010-2013).

* * * * *
Great writing is honest, and it is fearless, it
. . . peels away the layers of who we are as human
beings. It gets to the heart and spirit of what it
means to push through this life. . . .**

A resident of Boise, Christian Winn writes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction and journalism. Primarily a fiction writer, he has published the novel Small Disasters, Naked Me (Dock Street Press, 2014), and the forthcoming What's Wrong With You Is What's Wrong With Me (Dock Street Press, Fall 2016); the latter two titles are collections of short stories. Winn also has published a poetry chapbook, In Ballard. (The poems appeared in cold-drill magazine, a literary and arts journal that was published annually at Boise State University. The MFA program publication lost its funding in 2009-2010.)

Literary periodicals that have published Winn's fiction, poetry, or journalism include Bat City Review, Boise Journal, Chattahoochee Review, The Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal, Every Day Fiction, Gulf Coast, Hayden's Ferry Review, Greensboro Review, McSweeney's, Ploughshares (see the Summer 2015 issue), and Santa Monica Review, as well as The Boise Weekly, The Idaho Statesman, and Idaho magazine.

Among Winn's honors are a fiction award from Gulf Coast (for "The Dirtiest Hamburger in the World", 2006) and a National Magazine Award (for "Rough Cut" in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Issue #21). In addition, his story "False History" (Bat City Review) was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. (See Winn's publications list.)

Founder of the fiction workshops series Writers Write, co-founder in 2014 of Storyfort, and curator of "Campfire Stories", a monthly reading series, Winn is an adjunct professor at Boise State University and an instructor for The Cabin, which offers writing camps and conducts a Writers in the School program.

Resources

Christian Winn Website

* Quoted from Harrison Berry's Boise Weekly Article (See link below.)

** Quoted from "One Question Interview: Christian Winn" at Joel Wayne Blog, September 30, 2015

Kathleen Tuck, "Alumnus, Adjunct Prof Named Idaho Writer in Residence", Boise State University Update, May 24, 2016

Harrison Berry, "Boise Author Christian Winn Named Writer in Residence by Idaho Commission on the Arts", Boise Weekly, May 20, 2016

Dana Oland, "Christian Winn Named Idaho's Writer-in-Residence", Idaho Statesman, May 20, 2016

"Creators, Makers, and Doers: Christian Winn", Interview, Boise Arts and History Blog, April 18, 2016

Christian Winn Profiles Online: Boise State University (English Department), The Cabin, Christian Winn Website

Harrison Berry, "Exposed Us | Christian Winn's Naked Me Speaks to Our Hopes and Nostalgia", Review, Boise Weekly, October 15, 2014

Dane Bahr, "Q&A with Christian Winn, Author of Naked Me", Dock Street Press, May 14, 2014

Christian Winn on FaceBook

Idaho Commission on the Arts (FaceBook)

Idaho Arts Commission Page on Writer in Residence

Idaho Resources for Writers

Idaho Writers Update (FaceBook)

Idaho Writers Guild

Rediscovered Books Idaho Authors

Dock Street Press (FaceBook)

Dock Street Press Page for Naked Me

Storyfort in Boise State University Update (March 17, 2014)