Tim Weed's Blog, page 6

Let the educational travel resume . . .

Plotting and planning . . .

Elated to be heading to Oaxaca, Mexico, from May 3 – 10. It’s research for a new novel, and for a museum trip focused on art, cuisine, and sacred medicine scheduled for April 2023 (open to anyone!). Other upcoming programs include a Newport MFA writing residency in Havana in January, 2023 (open to writers outside the Newport MFA community!), and several potential small-group cultural trips to Havana in 2023. If you’re interested in any of this, or in setting up a custom trip somewhere, please don’t hesitate to send me a note. And/or bookmark this page for dates and descriptions as they come in!

The best historical novels of Early Colonial New England

Shepherd Books is an interesting new independent book site that is trying to compete with corporate giant Goodreads. They found out about Will Poole’s Island and asked me to come up with a list of the five best historical novels of Early Colonial New England. It was a fun exercise, and while I’m sure not everyone will agree with my selections, here they are for your reading pleasure: https://shepherd.com/best-books/early-colonial-new-england

By the way, did you know that Will Poole’s Island is now available on Audible and other platforms, narrated by yours truly? Click the cover image below and add it to your audio library!

New longlists/shortlists

A cynic might say something like “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” but I’ve never been a cynic and I’m pleased to report these recent honors:

Semi-Finalist, 2021 Leapfrog Press Global Fiction Prize, for a novel, THE HAVANA STANDARD

Finalist, 2021 Southern Humanities Review Editors Chapbook Prize, for a novelette, AMONG THE MONOLITHS

Honorable Mention, 2021 Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (Mainstream/Literary), for a short story, VIRGIN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Honorable Mention, 2021 Cisco Writing Club, Annual Summer Writing Contest (Short Stories), for a short story, SKIN MONKEYS

None of these works has been published yet. Stay tuned!

Encouraging Signals for Some New Unpublished Fiction

A pessimist might say something like “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” but I’ve never been a pessimist, and it gives me great pleasure to report these recent honors:

Semi-Finalist, 2021 Leapfrog Press Global Fiction Prize, for a novel, THE HAVANA STANDARD

Finalist, 2021 Southern Humanities Review Editors Chapbook Prize, for a novellette, AMONG THE MONOLITHS

Honorable Mention, 2021 Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (Mainstream/Literary), for a short story, VIRGIN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Honorable Mention, 2021 Cisco Writing Club, Annual Summer Writing Contest (Short Stories), for a short story, SKIN MONKEYS

None of these works has been published yet. My obvious hope is they will be, as a new novel and, for the shorter work, in publications that I will note here and then in the form of a new short fiction collection. Stay tuned!

New short fiction at Pangyrus

Great to see my new short story, “The Tawny-Green Steppe,” up at the beautifully edited and produced Pangyrus literary magazine. The story, a reimagining of Charles Darwin’s adventures in Tierra del Fuego and the Argentine pampas, was shortlisted for the 2021 Fish International Short Story Prize.

My focus over these last few years has been on novels, so it’s wonderful to be back in the short fiction game. Link to full story here.

Interview with novelist Dariel Suarez at Fiction Writers Review

Pleased to share this lively and illuminating recent conversation about fiction, politics, Cuba, and Dariel’s new novel, The Playwright’s House. Read the full interview here.

New fiction shortlisted for the Fish International Short Story Prize

While winning is always preferred, I’m pleased and honored to have received this recognition from Ireland-based Fish Publishing, which holds an international competition for their prestigious yearly short fiction anthology. You can see the list and read about this year’s excellent winners here.

I’ve been finding short stories to be a refreshing form to work in during the breaks between novel drafts. This one is based on some research I did on Charles Darwin’s experiences in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. It was titled “The Origin” when I submitted it; it’s now, tentatively, “The Tawny-Green Steppe.”

Here’s a photo of yours truly in Torres del Paine, one of the landscapes that served as inspiration for the story:

New fiction shortlisted for the Fish International Short Story Contest

While winning is always preferred, I’m pleased and honored to have received this recognition from Ireland-based Fish Publishing, which holds an international competition for their prestigious yearly short fiction anthology. You can see the list and read this year’s excellent winners here.

I’ve been finding short stories to be a refreshing form to work in during the breaks between novel drafts. This one is based on some research I did on Charles Darwin’s experiences in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. It was titled “The Origin” when I submitted it; it’s now, tentatively, “The Tawny-Green Steppe.”

Here’s a photo of yours truly in Torres del Paine, one of the landscapes that served as inspiration for the story:

Save the dates: Cuba trips planned for Fall ’21 and Winter ’22

As many of you reading this will know, I’ve had a decades-long engagement with Cuba. The country has been something of obsession for me since 1999, when I was fortunate enough to scout and lead the first U.S. student travel program to visit the island since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. It possesses a sui generis mystique that’s impossible to fully express, a combination of living history, sensory opulence, cultural and artistic magnificence, and hard-to-read political undercurrents that I find endlessly fascinating. The pandemic, meanwhile, terrible as it has been, has given all of us time out to reflect, and also to recharge our curiosity in terms of getting back out into the world.

I for one am itching to return to Cuba for the new and interesting experiences that await those who visit. All of this is contingent on the developing situation, of course, but it strikes me as a fairly good bet that we’ll be in a position to travel internationally next fall, and certainly in the winter and early spring of ’22, so I’ve decided to put a few dates on the calendar.

Send me a message if you’re strongly interested in either of the trips described below. I’ll put you on a special list, and the only other thing you’ll have to do for now is to pencil in the relevant dates in on your calendar. The exact comprehensive ground cost is TBD and will depend upon group size among other things, but is likely to fall somewhere between USD $2800 – $3600 per person per trip. An $800 deposit will be due four months in advance of each departure with full payment due sixty days in advance.

Nov 28  – Dec 5, 2021: Havana, Cienfuegos, Playa Larga

This highly enjoyable and culturally rich trip will be of special interest to creative types: artists, writers, musicians, dancers, photographers—along with their families, and really anyone who is interested in being exposed to the vibrant and ubiquitous creative life of central/western Cuba.

We’ll be dropping in on music and dance groups and community arts projects, visiting with painters and sculptors in their homes and studios, hitting a few spots on the Hemingway trail, eating at some of Cuba’s most interesting paladares, and enjoying time on our own to sample Havana’s great music scene in the evenings.

What makes the trip special is the opportunity to touch base with an extensive network of talented, luminous Cuban artists, writers, musicians, dancers—many of whom are personal friends whom I haven’t seen in too long.

And we’ll be finishing with several days in the pleasant Caribbean town of Playa Larga, with good access to beaches, snorkeling, and world-class birdwatching in Ciénega de Zapata National Park.

April 9 – 17, 2022: Central Cuba Road Trip: Havana, Trinidad, and other sites TBD

Of the probably 40 or 50 trips I’ve made to Cuba, one of my favorites was a month-long writing program for students, in which we started in Santiago and ended in Havana with an extended road trip across the entire island in between. This shorter version will begin and end in Havana, but will get us out to some of the fascinating and very lightly visited central regions of the island east of Havana.

Suitable for people who’ve either been to the island before and/or are ready for a more off-the-beaten track adventure. In addition to Havana and Trinidad, we’ll be tapping the knowledge of longstanding local contacts to explore lesser-known rural areas, including places that don’t get many foreign visitors.

The exact itinerary is TBD, but we’ll be focusing on natural areas, community projects, Santería, and organic agriculture.

In my experience the best adventures come with a generous dose of the unknown – which can mean periods of wasted time, travel on sometimes slow roads, and an occasional activity that doesn’t pan out exactly as expected—but with the advantage of spontaneous opportunities that may arise and the opportunity to meet and interact with new Cuban friends along the way!

Special Note on private trips:

I encourage you to explore the idea of setting up a custom small-group trip for friends/family, which is generally quite possible if you have between 3 and 12 people interested. It’s actually a surprisingly affordable way to go, and I’m happy to discuss it with you without any obligation if you’re interested.  Just send me a message!

PPS. For those interested in writing programs, I direct the Newport MFA’s winter residency in Havana, Jan 2-9, 2022, which is open to writers outside the program, along with non-writing significant others & family members!

Save the dates: New Cuba trips planned for Fall ’21 and Winter ’22

As many of you reading this will know, I’ve had a decades-long engagement with Cuba. The country has been something of obsession for me since 1999, when I was fortunate enough to scout and lead the first U.S. student travel program to visit the island since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. It possesses a sui generis mystique that’s impossible to fully express, a combination of living history, sensory opulence, cultural and artistic magnificence, and hard-to-read political undercurrents that I find endlessly fascinating. The pandemic, meanwhile, terrible as it has been, has given all of us time out to reflect, and also to recharge our curiosity in terms of getting back out into the world.

I for one am itching to return to Cuba for the new and interesting experiences that await those who visit. All of this is contingent on the developing situation, of course, but it strikes me as a fairly good bet that we’ll be in a position to travel internationally next fall, and certainly in the winter and early spring of ’22, so I’ve decided to put a few dates on the calendar.

Send me a message if you’re strongly interested in either of the trips described below. I’ll put you on a special list, and the only other thing you’ll have to do for now is to pencil in the relevant dates in on your calendar. The exact comprehensive ground cost is TBD and will depend upon group size among other things, but is likely to fall somewhere between USD $2800 – $3600 per person per trip. An $800 deposit will be due four months in advance of each departure with full payment due sixty days in advance.

Nov 28  – Dec 5, 2021: Havana, Cienfuegos, Playa Larga

This highly enjoyable and culturally rich trip will be of special interest to creative types: artists, writers, musicians, dancers, photographers—along with their families, and really anyone who is interested in being exposed to the vibrant and ubiquitous creative life of central/western Cuba.

We’ll be dropping in on music and dance groups and community arts projects, visiting with painters and sculptors in their homes and studios, hitting a few spots on the Hemingway trail, eating at some of Cuba’s most interesting paladares, and enjoying time on our own to sample Havana’s great music scene in the evenings.

What makes the trip special is the opportunity to touch base with an extensive network of talented, luminous Cuban artists, writers, musicians, dancers—many of whom are personal friends whom I haven’t seen in too long.

And we’ll be finishing with several days in the pleasant Caribbean town of Playa Larga, with good access to beaches, snorkeling, and world-class birdwatching in Ciénega de Zapata National Park.

April 9 – 17, 2022: Central Cuba Road Trip: Havana, Trinidad, and other sites TBD

Of the probably 40 or 50 trips I’ve made to Cuba, one of my favorites was a month-long writing program for students, in which we started in Santiago and ended in Havana with an extended road trip across the entire island in between. This shorter version will begin and end in Havana, but will get us out to some of the fascinating and very lightly visited central regions of the island east of Havana.

Suitable for people who’ve either been to the island before and/or are ready for a more off-the-beaten track adventure. In addition to Havana and Trinidad, we’ll be tapping the knowledge of longstanding local contacts to explore lesser-known rural areas, including places that don’t get many foreign visitors.

The exact itinerary is TBD, but we’ll be focusing on natural areas, community projects, Santería, and organic agriculture.

In my experience the best adventures come with a generous dose of the unknown – which can mean periods of wasted time, travel on sometimes slow roads, and an occasional activity that doesn’t pan out exactly as expected—but with the advantage of spontaneous opportunities that may arise and the opportunity to meet and interact with new Cuban friends along the way!

Special Note on private trips:

I encourage you to explore the idea of setting up a custom small-group trip for friends/family, which is generally quite possible if you have between 3 and 12 people interested. It’s actually a surprisingly affordable way to go, and I’m happy to discuss it with you without any obligation if you’re interested.  Just send me a message!

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