UNM faculty, staff and students who are interested in writing manuscripts can attend a free panel discussion tonight meant to inform would-be writers about the ins and outs of getting published.
The panel discussion is a collaborative effort between UNM, PEN New Mexico and the New Mexico Book Association to help New Mexico writers learn more about their publishing options and opportunities.
Luther Wilson, director of UNM Press, will moderate the panel discussion's presentation and question-and-answer period.
"Our goal is to provide communication among scholars," Wilson said about UNM Press.
The press is an academic unit of UNM and is the largest publisher in the state. Between 30 and 40 percent of its published material comes from UNM faculty and staff, Wilson said.
Some topics of discussion will be what steps writers should take to get their materials produced by professional publishers.
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Wilson said that after writers finish their manuscripts, two main steps remain for them to take before publication.
The first step, he said, is to research publishers to identify which ones give writers the best opportunity to get their subject matter published. The second, he said, is to write a proposal letter detailing the piece and providing a description of it that editors can use to gauge its publishing potential.
Ronald Christ, president of PEN New Mexico, will also attend the panel discussion.
PEN New Mexico is the largest professional association of writers, editors and translators in the Southwest. It is a chapter of PEN Center USA West that is one of the 146 centers of International PEN, a writers and editors organization, based in London and founded in 1921.
PEN New Mexico was founded in 1992 by novelist Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me Ultima, and poet and publisher Victor di Suvero.
Information will be given on the "necessary tools that a writer has to have in order to get his or her work out into the world," Christ said.
PEN New Mexico, as part of its Writers Toolbox program, funded by grants from PEN USA WEST and the National Endowment for the Arts, developed the panel to aid the professional development of published and unpublished writers.
"This program is useful for young or beginning writers," Christ said. This is the first time PEN New Mexico has organized anything in conjunction with UNM.
The panel discussion will be at 7 p.m., tonight, Dane Smith Hall, Room 125.
Other panelists will be Ana Gallegos from the Museum of New Mexico Press and John Crawford from the West End Press.
