Susie Anderson
Staff Writer
Stories bind individuals together. Whether stitched at the seams by shared loss, triumph or joy, the sharing of experiences through literature creates a collaborative patchwork without losing the beauty of each unique story. This year’s Chautauqua literary annual — a yearly collection of stories, essays, poems and illustrations meant to mirror the experience of a Chautauqua summer — brings a collection of stories, poems and essays into a vibrant call for connection.
Chautauqua Literary Arts will host a book launch and reading for the 17th edition of the Chautauqua literary annual, titled Saying it Plain: An American Patchwork at 12:15 p.m. today at the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall Porch through the Summer on the Steps programming. The event will feature an introduction by editor Jill Gerard and readings from five contributing writers to the annual. Copies of the annual are available online, at the Chautauqua Bookstore and at the CLSC Octagon.
The Chautauqua literary annual is the product of collaboration between Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Literary Arts and the creative writing program at University of North Carolina Wilmington, where undergraduate and graduate students learn the ropes of production and publishing in UNCW’s Creative Writing department and its Publishing Laboratory.
Jill Gerard and her late husband Phillip were asked to take over production of the literary annual by writer Diana Hume George on their wedding day in 2007.
Before saying their vows to one another, the pair said “yes” to marrying Chautauqua’s literary annual with the Publishing Laboratory in the Creative Writing department at UNCW, where Phillip Gerard served as department chair and Jill Gerard, a lecturer.
“What it did is that it took labor that people weren’t able to do in the community at Chautauqua and found a body of impassioned, interested students under the guidance of Phillip and Jill to carry on a central part of our history,” said Stephine Hunt, managing director of literary arts.
Outsourcing the production of the literary annual to UNCW spread Chautauqua’s values to the university while allowing students to pour their efforts into literary production.
“The goal is to have a practical experience for students in which they learn all manner of things related to publishing from how to deal with submissions, to marketing and advertising, book design, production and all of the things that go into making a journal or a book,” Gerard said.
This year’s edition was marketed not as a journal but instead an anthology, diverging from the annual’s earlier structure.
“We took the idea of what it means to be living in America, and we looked at songs, folklore and prayers to come up with new sections that didn’t intersect with Chautauqua pillars but instead started rearranging it differently,” Gerard said.
From over 300 submissions received, students read, fact-checked, edited and compiled selections to create this year’s annual. Beyond the words on the page, students went the extra mile to make the final product a standout piece of literature with intricate designs and promotional material. A graduate student, who served as designer for Saying it Plain, hand-stitched section designs onto cardstock before transferring them into line-drawings on the page. Another student sewed patchwork coasters for press boxes, each with a different fabric combination.
The literary annual is a labor of love for both Gerard and her students, allowing students to explore the publishing world while also bringing established and emerging writers side-by-side on the page.
“It’s always about working towards a balance in genre, voice, and a range of how people treat a topic. We were really just looking for an interesting mixture that addressed what turns out to be this really timely topic,” Gerard said.
Hunt, a contributor to the introduction of the annual, will kick off Friday’s reading. Other contributors who will read at the book launch include first-time contributor Casey Trummer, longtime director of the Writers’ Center Clara Silverstein, the annuals’ managing editor James King, and former co-creator of the Chautauqua Writers’ Festival Diana Hume George. Hunt will read the introduction to the collection.
Beginning in fall 2025, Chautauqua will become an independent literary journal sourced at UNCW. After 17 years of partnership with Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua will transition to an online journal. Gerard said that she is grateful for the years of partnership with Chautauqua Institution and this year’s edition, a product of immense effort from all involved.
“It was such a real world experience for my students and I’m grateful for that,” Gerard said, “So for me, it has hit all the things that I care about: I care that the students had a great learning experience and I care that the authors were honored in how we treated their work.”
