Vermont Studio Center
Donation protected
I have the honor of being accepted to the Vermont Studio Center for a two week residency at the begining of November. This is an amazing opportunity for me to spend two uninterrupted weeks working on my novel. To have this time to work on a project I am very passionate about is a writer's dream.
The Vermont Studio Center residency program is highly selective. They have given me an artist grant to cover a portion of the fees associated with attending, which is very much appreciated, but it does not cover all of the costs. Money is very tight around the house, so I need to raise the remainder of the fees by September 30th to cover the cost of the residency as well as travel all of which is $1,450.
The residency is important to me in that it will help me maintain the momentum my writing career has been gathering recently. It took me a few years after finishing my MFA to find the direction I wanted to take my literary career.
My novel, In This Blood, based on a true story of the 1986 Lundgren cult murder in Kirtland, Ohio, explores the intersection of the Gothic with the Midwest, which allows me to delve into the ideas of sexuality, love, religion, obsession, and loyalty while incorporating the elements of a ghost story. Through this story, I am able to explore what it means to be gay in the Midwest before the Internet age. To this end, I have fictionalized the Lundgren cult in order to imagine one of the murdered cult members being a gay teenage boy in love with the cult leader’s son. Chapters alternate between the questioning and the power of belief as the book tells the boy’s story within the cult, the cult leader’s origins, and how Kirtland is haunted by the murders.
Finishing my novel is my utmost priority as an artist. Working on it is what makes me feel productive and vital. However, the novel writing process has been slow because what I lack right now is time because I work full-time. I’m excited to share this book with the world, so I want to be able to finish it as soon as possible. The greatest gift of the Vermont Studio Center will be the ability to dedicate the uninterrupted time necessary to complete my novel.
I need your help to make this happen. Everyone who donates will recieve a personalized thank you postcard from Vermont as well as a trio of ghost stories that I have written.
Below are links to my writing that is available online:
"The History of Us" (The Philadelphia Review of Books)
"A Place to Exist: Breaking Out of the Celluloid Closet" (The Philadelphia Review of Books)
"This Time It will be Different" (Storyglossia)
More information about me can be found at www.briankornell.com and on Twitter: @briankornell
The Vermont Studio Center residency program is highly selective. They have given me an artist grant to cover a portion of the fees associated with attending, which is very much appreciated, but it does not cover all of the costs. Money is very tight around the house, so I need to raise the remainder of the fees by September 30th to cover the cost of the residency as well as travel all of which is $1,450.
The residency is important to me in that it will help me maintain the momentum my writing career has been gathering recently. It took me a few years after finishing my MFA to find the direction I wanted to take my literary career.
My novel, In This Blood, based on a true story of the 1986 Lundgren cult murder in Kirtland, Ohio, explores the intersection of the Gothic with the Midwest, which allows me to delve into the ideas of sexuality, love, religion, obsession, and loyalty while incorporating the elements of a ghost story. Through this story, I am able to explore what it means to be gay in the Midwest before the Internet age. To this end, I have fictionalized the Lundgren cult in order to imagine one of the murdered cult members being a gay teenage boy in love with the cult leader’s son. Chapters alternate between the questioning and the power of belief as the book tells the boy’s story within the cult, the cult leader’s origins, and how Kirtland is haunted by the murders.
Finishing my novel is my utmost priority as an artist. Working on it is what makes me feel productive and vital. However, the novel writing process has been slow because what I lack right now is time because I work full-time. I’m excited to share this book with the world, so I want to be able to finish it as soon as possible. The greatest gift of the Vermont Studio Center will be the ability to dedicate the uninterrupted time necessary to complete my novel.
I need your help to make this happen. Everyone who donates will recieve a personalized thank you postcard from Vermont as well as a trio of ghost stories that I have written.
Below are links to my writing that is available online:
"The History of Us" (The Philadelphia Review of Books)
"A Place to Exist: Breaking Out of the Celluloid Closet" (The Philadelphia Review of Books)
"This Time It will be Different" (Storyglossia)
More information about me can be found at www.briankornell.com and on Twitter: @briankornell
Organizer
Brian Kornell
Organizer
Champaign, IL
