eMerge Unchained
"eMerge Unchained" is a dynamic podcast that delves into the creative minds of writers from all walks of life. In each episode, we explore the stories behind the stories—diving into the craft, process, and sources of inspiration that fuel these authors. Whether they’re poets, novelists, screenwriters, or storytellers of any kind, we aim to uncover what keeps them motivated, what challenges they face, and the unique ways in which they unleash their creativity.
eMerge Unchained
Interview: Angela Mateus
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In this special episode of eMerge Unchained, host Aubrey Green once again sits down with Angela Mateus, director of the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow.
The conversation ranges all over, from winners of the most recent colony fellowship to upcoming fellowship opportunities, songwriting, food, the struggles of nonprofit funding, neurodivergence, Pete the Cat, and more.
Join them for what is literally a discussion between two friends about the work and community they love. We think you’ll love it, too.
Mentioned in This Episode (in order)
The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow
Current and Past WCDH Fellowships
The Culinary Suite
Flavors of the South Announcement
Blue Clover Editing (Go here for editing.)
Author: Gay Courter
Moondancer Fellowship App
Author: Coltan Scrivner
WCDH Socials: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube
Songwriter: J. Wagner
Songwriter: Mellisa Carper
Songwriter: Bonnie Montgomer
Event: Songwriting Workshop with Melissa Carper & Bonnie Montgomery
Carmen Taylor 9/11 News Piece
Book: Welcome to Eureka Springs by Jude Gaillot
Event: Pour It Out Workshop with Jalissa Carter
Event: Jocelyn Cullity Book Launch (The Nurse at Baker Hospital)
Book: Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton
Sign Up for the WCDH Museletter
Ozark Creative Writers Conference
eMerge Submissions Form
Clear Spring School
Eureka Springs Poet Laureate Nominations Form
Find Us Online At
https://emerge-magazine.com
Welcome to eMerge Unchained, the podcast of eMerge Literary Magazine, where literature kicks off its shoes and wanders barefoot through the wild terrain of human imagination. This is eMerge Unchained.
Aubrey Green:Hi, I'm Aubrey Green. In this week, I again sat down with Angela Mateus. Angela is the director of the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow. And she loves to share about the magic that happens when writers get together with other writers. From unforgettable dinners to the deep connection that can form in just a few days, Angela says kindness, not competition is the foundation of the Colony experience. With so many new opportunities on the horizon, we couldn't wait to get all the details. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the second conversation with Angela Mateus. Hi, how are you?
Angela Mateus:Hello? I'm great. How are you?
Aubrey Green:I'm I'm doing pretty good. It's been in a very eventful couple of days. I was wrapping up a work project, and everybody with eMerge is going to WriterCon, it's a writing conference in Oklahoma City.
Angela Mateus:Mm-hmm, and
Aubrey Green:And that starts, technically it starts Friday morning, but we're all driving there tomorrow. So I'm trying to get everything around the house ready to be gone. I had to finish that project and then start packing, and it's been a busy couple of days.
Angela Mateus:Well, that'll be, it'll be all worthwhile when you arrive at the conference.
Aubrey Green:Fingers crossed.
Angela Mateus:Are you speaking?
Aubrey Green:Oh, I am actually. Yes, I don't
Angela Mateus:Oh! Yay.
Aubrey Green:Yeah, Yeah, and the session to lead is actually so appropriate to it's it's I think it's titled the benefits of writing small. Why you should be submitting short stories and poetry to journals, magazines, and contests. You know, because writers get so up in their heads and they focus on on writing a book, you know, they've got to get the book out. But I mean, even if you're not writing novel length stuff, you're still a writer and your writing is still important and it is still marketable. And people sometimes forget that.
Angela Mateus:I think also I mean something that you said with regards to me writers getting in their head. I know nothing about that. About getting in my head, but I would say that, you know, we're always wondering when is the appropriate time to figuratively speaking, put your pencils down. Right. You always want to keep tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. And we can do that forever. But at some point you just have to be okay with where the work is at. And that I've heard that seen that experienced, how that can get in the way of completion and feeling having the confidence to submit your work, because you think, oh, no, wait, it's not perfect. It doesn't have to be perfect. That's actually part of the beauty of your writing.
Aubrey Green:Well, and honestly, perfection when it comes to any kind of creative endeavor, I think it's like, it's like chasing the horizon. You know, you can keep working on it and keep trying to make it perfect and you're never actually going to get there. You're going to make it different, but it's not going to be perfect. There's no such thing.
Angela Mateus:As a, well, in my past life I was a photo and video producer and filmmaker and director. And so I've worked on hundreds of video projects. And that was something we had to finally, the editor, and I would say, okay, hands off, you know, sort of like "next level chef" - timer has gone down and we
Aubrey Green:That
Angela Mateus:Step away. Because otherwise you'll tweaking and the project will never be, the project will never be finished and it will never get out. So
Aubrey Green:It is true. Deadlines are a beautiful thing sometimes
Angela Mateus:Yes they are. Yeah.
Aubrey Green:For anybody who missed the first, the first episode, Angela, you are the director of the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow. And we had a lovely conversation a few I seriously thought it was like a year ago until I went in and looked it up and realized it was only back in the spring. I feel like, I feel like we have been friends for so much longer than that now.
Angela Mateus:Well, I love that because I feel the same. And I'm I'm so grateful that you invited me back for a second session. I love chatting with you. I love talking about the Writers' Colony. I love collaborating in the way we do between the Writers' Colony and eMerge. There's some fun things that we get to share on this podcast in terms of a couple of collaborations in the works. And yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm just looking forward to this one.
Aubrey Green:Well, you know, we had such a good time with round one. We, we had, we had to plan a round 2. So, like, I was, I was telling you earlier before we started recording, I went looking at the statistics. And that first episode is the highest downloaded episode from eMerge Unchained. Like, twice twice as many downloads as the next highest episode. So,
Angela Mateus:Hm,
Aubrey Green:Clearly. Somebody's listening to us. Maybe it's the same person just
Angela Mateus:Over
Aubrey Green:Over and
Angela Mateus:And over again. And, and, and me, I just want to crawl into a rock when I hear that, but, you know, yeah, that's exciting. And, I, I hope folks got something out of that recording.
Aubrey Green:Fingers crossed.
Angela Mateus:I am bashful. I'm not gonna hide it, hide, you know, I, I am a, I'm bashful, but I, at the same time, um. Well, that's fantastic news about the number of folks who opted to listen to our first go round at, uh, this podcast collaboration. And, the bashful Angela, uh, wants to go hide under a rock, but, I'm also very happy and excited hear that, you know, people tuned in and, hopefully, heard heard something of relevance or interest, and it inspired us to come back together again.
Aubrey Green:Well, I think also, from a lot of the people I've talked with, there are a lot of people unfamiliar with writing, writing colonies.
Angela Mateus:Hmm.
Aubrey Green:Some Some of them have heard of them, some of them haven't don't even know they exist. And so I think, I think maybe that's also where some of our downloads have come from, is'cause you and the Writers' Colony are a mystery to so many people.
Angela Mateus:Yeah, and I find that so interesting, on two levels. So, on one hand, our particular Writers' residency program has been around for almost 26 years. And I can also commiserate with those individuals who didn't know about residency programs. I think I shared possibly in our initial podcasts that I didn't know that these places existed. Prior to applying to this role and ultimately getting the role, and being in this role and seeing firsthand, how writers are transformed by having a space that they can come to that is dedicated to them and their craft is remarkable. And I understand, on a much deeper, much practical, much more practical level, why a writers' residency program makes sense. And one of the things that I believe we touched on previously is at our program, or in our program, when you come and stay at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, you are afforded the opportunity to join other writers for dinner each night, Monday through Saturday. And there's something about getting folks together, breaking bread together, who are coming from various places in their career, various levels of writing expertise, working in different genres, different mediums, and and sitting at a table and having conversation. That part is something that I've seen time in time again where the writers, just before they leave or they send us a note afterwards and say, you know, that was really great to be in that space with other writers, and commiserate, exchange ideas, establish a friendship. So that's something that's really special about our particular program. Yeah, but it's, it's really neat to have a place that is dedicated to the craft of writing and to be part of that.
Aubrey Green:Yeah, Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm so thankful thankful and fortunate that I've, I've fallen into this connection with it that I have, and maybe hopefully, I can actually come and stay. One of these days.
Angela Mateus:One of these days, you have a couple of days to cash in on from being our Flavors of the South Fellowship Reader. So
Aubrey Green:It's true.
Angela Mateus:Which is actually, do you want to chat about that because I would love to share who our winner was?
Aubrey Green:Oh, Oh, yes, yes. Because if, if it's who I think it was, I want to say that that me and the other lady who were reading the same like,
Angela Mateus:Mm-hmm.
Aubrey Green:Chunk of submissions. We were discussing it afterwards and I think it's the one that she and I both liked the most.
Angela Mateus:Well, let's see. Drum-roll, please. *drumbroll* Hahaha. So I'll give a little context for those who are listening to our podcast. Well, it's not our podcast. It's your podcast, but us talking on your podcast. A little context about our fellowship program. So we have a few fellowships that that happen each year. We kicked this year off with one called Flavors of the South and it was. I think that's really intended to invite writers, specifically culinary writers. Now that could take, uh, you know, various forms, it could be someone who is a chef who's writing a cookbook. It could be someone who is writing a novel that recipes and histories sort of integrated into you get the idea and why a culinary type fellowship as far as we know, we're the only writers residency program in the country that has a dedicated suite, that is a culinary suite, and so some years back, they renovated the kitchen and you've got a chef's sink and you've got a really nice, big, hefty gas stove and a big, big, the really big, nice fridge and freezer, I mean, it's just a beautiful space and you can go on our website to see photos of it. So our fellowship program, we usually give about 60 to 90 days for submissions to come in and then we invite folks like yourself to be readers and then it goes into a final judging phase where five or six submissions make it to the final panel. And this year our final consisted of one of our co-founders, uh, Crescent Dragonwagon who was a James Beard award winner, uh, for her writing in the culinary realm, and we had two other judges, Kat Robinson who is known in this region, for her cookbook writing, and we also had Chantelle, and so all three have a culinary background. But the winner or the recipient of this year's Flavors of the South Fellowship was Trelani Michelle, and and she um, is based out of Georgia. Going to work on her forthcoming cookbook about Gullah Geechee food ways. Her project looks at dishes like Red Rice and Okra, Parallu (sp?), and I hope I said that right. Along with traditions like rice cultivation and whole hog roasting and how they connect with West African indigenous and European influences in Southern cooking. We have been checking Trelani out since she won in terms of really kind of familiarizing ourselves with her. She is, I don't know if this is okay to say, but she is one cool lady like she is really inspiring, um, all the things that she's doing, she's not only a writer, she's an independent anthropologist, she's a teaching artist, and she's the daughter of Louisiana and Savannah, and she just has a deep connection, a deep passion and roots around around exploring the history and culture of those areas. Through food and art and literature, so we're just super excited about her project and it's inspiring other ideas for even a grant that we plan on applying for, but yeah, just this was the first time we offered this fellowship and we had just an amazing response and really, really neat submissions and it's never easy to kind of like make the final selection, but there were so many fantastic projects that were submitted and we're thrilled that Trelani Michelle is this year's Flavor of the South Fellowship winner.
Aubrey Green:I'm pretty sure that was the one that we had ranked the highest, but you're not kidding - Even like much less picking a winner even just narrowing the field was challenging because so many of these projects sounded super interesting. There were several novel proposals that were
were mentioned:And and if you're listening, if you entered and you proposed a novel, please contact me because your books sounded really good and I would really love to edit them if you decide to self-publish, just let me know.
Angela Mateus:And we'll help make that connection yeah.
Aubrey Green:😆
Angela Mateus:I mean, we're behind the scenes we're talking about how do we invite some of these folks into our space and collaborate with them outside of this fellowship opportunity, because the submissions were just so solid and so innovative and they each express so much passion for the particular subject matter that they wanted to build their project or continue their project around. So yeah, we'll talk we'll get you connected with some of those folks and that would be really cool.
Aubrey Green:Yeah, no, it was it was really neat to get to be a part of this, so thank you.
Angela Mateus:Yeah,
Aubrey Green:But you you said something that is interesting to me and I don't know if you can tell us anymore right now. You mentioned the G word grant as a fellow nonprofit person. That is a very interesting word.
Angela Mateus:Yeah, so you know, I don't want to assume that everyone listening understands how non-profits operate
Aubrey Green:Very carefully.
Angela Mateus:And literary, And literary non-profits currently are experiencing some challenges in terms of funding. And we will just leave it at that. But part of the way that we fund ourselves outside of private donors and potentially foundations is we apply for grants. And some of them come through a foundation or some other philanthropic arm or they might become available through in this instance, the state of Arkansas. And there's a grant that's available for projects that are are centered on Arkansas history and culture. And it's, I guess it's no secret, it's the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant. But this particular Flavors of the South Fellowship kind of got us thinking: Wouldn't it be incredible to to have a fellowship that is akin but focused on the food and the culture of Arkansas. And specifically, let me see, I mean, we're just tossing around ideas. Right now, this is not anything that is definitive. But this Flavors of the South project just kind of got us thinking, like how can we potentially establish a fellowship that honors African American history and culture here in Arkansas. And one of the ideas that came about what if we did a project that was based on the food ways of the Arkansas Delta? And you know, really, we'd have to find partners in that region. But essentially establish this fellowship where we allow time for someone to really dive into the history and culture of the Arkansas Delta - I'll leave it at that because I could probably go on and on. But know, it's just Trelani's work kind of got us thinking, hmm, you know, could we expand on this? And there is a correction that I want to make before I say anything further because I just realized that Trelani is actually, I think I said Georgia, but I think she's actually from Charleston. So just a quick correction there. But you know, talking about grants even further, there's another grant opportunity that we're looking at. And I come from a different world. You know, I'm a creative at heart. I'm a storyteller, you know, both in written word and visual. And the the neuro complexity that is me - I'm always trying to find ways to think outside of the box. And so there were some serendipitous connections. That happened over the last couple of weeks. A book was recommended to me by a Northwest Arkansas author and artist by the name of Sarah Schatz. And it was recommended to me because they are a neurodivergent uh, adults and mother. And they wrote about neurodivergence. And around around that same time one of my colleagues and I were talking about a specific grant opportunity. And And we are toying with the idea of expanding on a fellowship program that we already have an existence, which I do want to touch on because it will be being promoted in the next couple of months. But expanding this particular fellowship that is centered around mental health. And in doing so, creating a collaborative fellowship where we potentially, and I'm speaking a little early because we... everything is in flux. But, you know, inviting someone like Sarah or Sarah themselves to be a collaborator in this fellowship project. With a specific outcome, be it a chap book, some kind of podcast, a workshop or a reading slash interview at The Writer's Colony. But one of the things that brought that idea about is for those of us who may struggle with mental health challenges, you know, oftentimes we're doing the work alone is a further challenge. Or if you're working in that space, doing the work alone, you know, well, for some it's a no-brainer, for others, it's nice to have somebody there in your corner who speaks the same language. And so it was our way of trying to expand this particular fellowship so that the the fellowship recipient had someone in their corner had an expert if you will or, you know, someone to partner with through this process. So that's another idea that we are, that we're, that's percolating. And it's specifically for our fellowship that's called'Real People, Real Struggles, Real Stories'. And And this year, um, late fall early winter will be kicking it off. It is sponsored by a local Eureka Springs resident named Sharon Spurlin, as well as, the author of, and one of the originators of Pete the Cat. So whether you're a child at heart or you have a child and read James Dean's books, he is one of our sponsors for this particular fellowship.
Aubrey Green:Hmm
Angela Mateus:And we have two fellowships. One that is going to be for adult writers of content around mental health for adults, as well as children, but writers so that it's directed towards young adult youth or children. So if this grant were to come through, we be able to expand this opportunity, so that the fellowship recipients would be able to collaborate with someone as they move through the project. And so yeah, I mean, that's, something that's, you know, we're working on. The grant process is so incredibly competitive and,
Aubrey Green:Hmm
Angela Mateus:There's a lot that goes into it. They often ask us metrics and data. Know, that we have to carefully capture throughout the year around demographics. If you've ever seen one of our forms inevitably, we're asking you, it's always optional, but we're asking you, you know, to share some of your demographic information with us. And the reason we do that is because the funders want to know who is being served in this work. So yeah, but I actually have one more announcement before we Go any further because this just launched yesterday. We have a fellowship that went live September 1st.
Aubrey Green:Okay.
Angela Mateus:It is called the Moon Dancer
Aubrey Green:Oh
Angela Mateus:You go to writersColony. Org and you look up fellowships and you look up current fellowships, you'll see all the information and how to apply. This particular fellowship has been sponsored over the years by the late Elise Roenigk, who she and her late husband Marty Roenigk, owned the Crescent Hotel in the Basin Hotel in Eureka Springs. She was a huge supporter of the artistic community and literary community in Eureka Springs. And she passed away earlier this summer, but this particular fellowship is one that it's the last one she directly sponsored. I'm happy to say that her roommate college roommate and friend of over six decades, Gay Courter, who is a best-selling author, started a new fund, the the Elise Roenigk Writers' Fellowship Fund, and we've been raising additional monies for that particular fund to convert it into an endowment. But what this all means is that even though we won't have the Moon Dancer Fellowship being offered after this year, we will continue to offer a fellowship in honor of Elise's past, contributions and support of the Writers Colony and for all the writers that have come through our program so that we can continue to offer a fellowship like this one. But this one in particular is for for environmental and nature writers. So it's pretty broad in scope. It's not as neat as, say, the Flavors of the South, which was culinary based, if you will. So yeah, I hope some of your readers, excuse me, listeners will consider applying and the submission time frame is open until the end of October. So October 31st is the deadline and with it, the recipient will receive, I don't want to give false information. It is a two week stay at the Writers' Colony at Dairy
Aubrey Green:Oo
Angela Mateus:There is no stipend. Some of our fellowships do have stipends. This one does not come with a stipend, but it does come with the recipient does receive a two week stay at the Writers' Colony. So, which if you've ever spent any time in your Eureka Springs, it's pretty magical. And if you haven't, then this is your reason to try and come and visit with us and come and stay with us as a writer.
Aubrey Green:Well, and two weeks of Jana's cooking. Oh my goodness.
Angela Mateus:Yeah. Exactly.
Aubrey Green:You may never
Angela Mateus:Exactly.
Aubrey Green:Want to leave
Angela Mateus:Yeah.
Aubrey Green:After
Angela Mateus:That. Many writers don't or they want to take Jana home with them. Jana Jones is our main chef and housekeeper who's been with the Writers' Colony for over 20 years, and she's originally from the Czech Republic, and she puts out these European style 4, 3, 4 course meals, these, you know, she makes her own desserts, and I mean, you see her cooking, and you're just like, "You just whip that together?" She just, yeah. Her food is really amazing, and so it's, uh, one of the cornerstones of our program as well.
Aubrey Green:So how many, how many fellowships do you all have a year, or how many do you think you'll have next year?
Angela Mateus:So this year, I mean, it's a total of four, but two of them are the Real Stories fellowship, but but just just different, um, audiences, if you will. We would like to expand to have, a horror writing genre fellowship. We are partnering up with, or we've been in conversation and with the horror writers association in the region, in October. We, the, there is the horror film festival and the zombie crawl. And so, um, the organizer and producer of that, Coltan Scrivner, he has a great book out that he's written the last few years, um, about our, our fascination as a society with true crime and things of that nature. So we're hoping at a later date to be able to offer horror writers fellowship, because we have a lot of folks who write in that genre. And but right now we have, so we kicked things off this year with the Flavors of the South. Yesterday, we launched Moon Dancer and then we'll end the year with the mental health, Centered fellowship, real people, real struggles, real stories. But yeah, hopefully we can maintain that cadence, uh, you know, how those are made possible is through generous donations. Sometimes it's an individual, Sometimes it's more than one individual, who says, I want to sponsor a writer to come and stay at the Writers' Colony. And I want there to be a fellowship on X. So, getting the word out to anyone out there who's listening who would like to support, a writer in fellowship or just reach out to find out more about the writers Colony.
Aubrey Green:It Feels like you guys are always doing something over there. Like I obviously, I follow you on social media. But yeah, it seems like you guys are always doing a fellowship or there's the Poet Lucks in the summer. Don't you guys have like a songwriting something this month too?
Angela Mateus:In October.
Aubrey Green:Oh, is that October?
Angela Mateus:So there was a, a lull in our programming. And one of the things that we set out to do as part of our strategic pillars that we determined earlier this year as a board, a community, and staff, was one to diversify our funding to build out our community alliances. And so, our programming is starting to expand. We had already had the good fortune of hosting some songwriting workshops by Johan Wagner, who's out of Austin, Texas. He's now doing two songwriting workshops a year, one in April. And we don't know when the other one will be. But that inspired Melissa Carper. I don't know if that particular you inspired Melissa Carper and Bonnie Montgomery. But they approached us and said, Hey, we'd like to do a songwriting, retreat workshop. And so October 15th, through 18th, Melissa Carper, who is with, I don't see, um, so new still to this area. She, She, she's a solo artist, but she also, oh my gosh, it's, sad daddy. I knew it was on the tip of my tongue. She also performs with sad daddy. She's a bassist and a vocalist and her and another great musician and songwriter Bonnie Montgomery are hosting, their first songwriting retreat and workshop with us October 15th through 18th. And I'm blown away that, you know, they've, they came to us and said, Hey, we want to do this with you. And I think, wow, you know, I'm not a songwriter. I love music, but I, I was thinking, what an amazing opportunity to have an intimate interaction in the Ozarks with some really, really talented musicians, they are both well known in this region. They tour along the southwest throughout you know, this particular... when I say this particular area, I mean, we've, we've got everything from Austin to, you know, right here in Eureka Springs. They travel out to New Mexico and such, but their music is known far and wide. And hopefully, if anyone's listening and you are either a songwriter or a musician and you want to come and spend a few days with these incredible people, the max registrations registrations we're allowing is 22. So it's a very intimate setting. And when I've been there in the presence the other songwriting retreats, Again, again, it's transformational for these songwriters. There's something about Eureka Springs, there is magic there, someone who's traveled a lot and lived in other places.
Aubrey Green:Hmm
Angela Mateus:It just, just things flow in a way that you don't find it elsewhere. So yeah, it's called The Melody and Muse songwriting workshop workshop in October 15 through 18. We
Aubrey Green:Nice.
Angela Mateus:Have a bunch of other stuff going on, too.
Aubrey Green:What else? What else?
Angela Mateus:Oh my goodness. Yeah, we Were kind of coming out of a phase of a little bit of dormancy, but actually, actually tomorrow one of our long, long time alum, Carmen Taylor. She was one of the She was one of the first I think took the first image image of it's so funny, it's hard to talk one of the planes flying into the World Trade Centers
Aubrey Green:Oh
Angela Mateus:On 9/11. And so so she has done similar presentations in the area and beyond and she will be facilitating a conversation of of remembrance around the events of 9/11. Because this year is the 25 year anniversary.
Aubrey Green:Oh wow.
Angela Mateus:And that's a free event. So that's happening tomorrow. I think it starts at 5/30. Then our board chair, Jude Gaillot, he's written a book called Welcome to Eureka Springs, the I sh*t you not history of America's quirky town.
Aubrey Green:That one sounds interesting.
Angela Mateus:And it's a collection of, it's almost like profiles of various people throughout Eureka Springs history, really interesting cast of characters that have come through Eureka Springs in in various capacities. And he will be doing an interview with our very own Residency and Events Coordinator, Destiny Marie on September 10th. So that'll be a fun one. (That one is also a free event.) And then we have, the first of what I hope to be many virtual writing workshops and we'll also have some in-person ones. But on Sunday the 27th, we have a virtual workshop called Writing Through Life's Turning Points and this is being facilitated by an author out of Fort Smith named Jalissa Carter. And it's a two hour event online. That one is not free. It does have a nominal registration fee attached. But Jalissa's great, we've spent some time virtually together and just a gentle soul with, you know, a great way to facilitate a workshop like this. And it's for your novice writers to your more seasoned writers. And then the other event that we have coming up, this one's also free. This is a book launch for one of another long time alum. Jocelyn Cullity, she has been coming to the Writers' Colony, I think for something like 15 or 16 years. And she's actually a professor and the the director of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama. Over the years, she's brought students from the university and they come and stay in residence with us. It's a way of going back to what you said, a lot of folks not knowing the residency programs like ours exist and there are several out there. They're all a little different. But she'll bring students and they'll spend, you know, a handful of days at the Writers' Colony and she'll have programming that is specific to that group of students. And they'll get to know Eureka Springs and our facilities and what we do. But she's got a book that is called The Nurse at Baker Hospital and it is very much tethered tethered to Eureka Springs because it builds off of history of things that went on at the Crescent And
Aubrey Green:Oo
Angela Mateus:There was a fraudulent cancer cancer hospital in the late 30s and this particular story centers around one of the nurses who work there. It's fictional but inspired by true events that happened right here in this area. And that should be a great event as well. We have... doing it in partnership with the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. They're bringing up a shuttle of students. We're gonna have light appetizers, and I think Jocelyn wanted to have champagne, so there might be champagne too, for anyone who says champagne lover.
Aubrey Green:Oo Fancy!
Angela Mateus:Yeah. And we're working on some other programming. We're working on a culinary writing workshop workshop retreat in the spring. Another songwriting workshop with Johann Wagner. So we're really just trying to revitalize our programming efforts. And things are gonna continue to evolve and expand over the next several months as we tune into what resonates and what people wanna hear more about or what kind of workshops folks want. But we have such an amazing alumni community that it makes it a little easier to find those partners and those collaborators, so
Aubrey Green:I can imagine. Yeah. Ah, good stuff. You guys are so busy over there. I didn't realize so much of your stuff was also free of charge, so that is also encouraging. I mean, nobody has to commit to staying overnight or, I mean not necessarily even coming to Eureka Springs.
Angela Mateus:Yeah. It's... you know one of the ways that we give back to the community and a way for folks to kinda just come and check us out, see what we're about, meet some of the staff. Maybe get a taste of Jana's appetizers because those are really good too. Yeah, I mean, we're just really trying to get the word out again because there was a period a little bit of a lull, if you will. And so, and there's so much to do, you know, in this literary realm. I mean, I want to share a quick tidbit. So our alumni who come through will often leave if they've worked on a book or they're about to, you know, they have a new book coming out. They'll either send us their book or they'll leave it behind when they stay. And we recently recently Rachel Eve Molten, she wrote a book called Tantrum and it's a short one. It's 192 pages, but she left it in one of the rooms and a housekeeping staff member picked it up when they cleaned the room and they were telling me how the book was. You'll have to go check it out, but if for anyone who is familiar with the book Geek Love, which came out back in the 90s, it's got a little of of that essence in there. But the reason I bring it up is because we have the most, I mean, our alumni network is amazing. And if I could have all of these people come and speak to, you know, what prompted this book that you've written about. So it's And it's described as an electric horror novel. And it's about this woman's third pregnancy. And the baby, I'll just say this at six weeks, the baby is breaking a chicken's neck and at 12 weeks the baby is walking. So it's a crazy book, but like I want to sit down with Rachel and say, Hey, Rachel, what is this book about? Like where did this idea come from? You know, because she actually is a mother in real life. And all I could think was, which kid is this book about?
Aubrey Green:*laughs*
Angela Mateus:But, But yeah, I mean, I am fortunate to, you know, be able to cross paths with a lot of incredible writers working in so many different genres. And we do our best to share their work on our socials or, yeah we're gearing up. This just was a decision made in the last couple of days. So keep an eye out for this, but we have a monthly newsletter that goes out and we sort of put it on the shelf for a few months, because things got a little there was a lot going on. At the Writers' Colony, and we started sending it out again this past month what we want to do is change the format - Currently it opens with the letter from me and I don't find myself all that interesting. So what I want to do is invite, you know, do kind of an interview format in writing and invite different writers, whether they're alumni or just someone that we've cross paths with. And have an interview with them that opens the we call it a muse letter opens up our muse letter and so that we can continue to share the works of others inspire writers. You know, just keep it engaging because... Who wants to hear me talk? Um,
Aubrey Green:Don't know,
Angela Mateus:So... I
Aubrey Green:All of our podcasts downloads
Angela Mateus:*laughs*
Aubrey Green:Seem to say someone does
Angela Mateus:*laughs*
Aubrey Green:Just saying. Saying.
Angela Mateus:Ah, so yeah. So...
Aubrey Green:No,
Angela Mateus:So
Aubrey Green:That sounds like a neat idea. 'Cause I know you all have had some pretty prominent people come through at different times, and I'm, and I mean, that's just a matter of... of who's actually gotten their stuff out there and noticed. I mean, a whole slew of crazy talent that just hasn't been discovered yet. They're still... they're still out there.
Angela Mateus:They are still out there, and, you know, I... It's interesting, and I don't know if it's because I cracked open on our last podcast and talked about my neuro-complexities or why people wanted to listen to an hour of us talking,
Aubrey Green:But...
Angela Mateus:[Laughter] But I will say that, you know, part of my challenge sometimes, and kind of going back to what you were saying earlier, about, you know, writers just submitting short pieces for publication, and knowing when to kind of put pencils down, I get in my own way all the time. I have notes upon notes of ideas of things that I want to write about, or a poem that I started and sit down, or an essay that I want to submit, and, you know, I... Something I'm working on, but I definitely want to encourage all of those folks who think that they maybe either aren't good enough, or they don't have something relevant to say you do have something relevant to say, absolutely, and one of the things that I really appreciate about our mission is, it's about getting as many diverse voices out there, and we don't publish, but I know a magazine called eMerge that does, but there's some great opportunities out there. I went fishing the other day, you know, for... What are those opportunities, I was really blown away by, you know, the... Gosh, which conference was it? Now I can't remember which one it was, but there was a conference, and they gave away all of these writing awards, and some of the subject or themes, you know, that they were saying,"Okay, you're going to write about ABC." I was like, "Oh man, that sounds really cool." Like, you know, write about a time that... Oh gosh, it was a little random, but, like, something you wouldn't... Like, a writing prompt that I wouldn't have even thought of, so I'll leave it at that, because I'm not going to do it any so many great opportunities out there for emerging writers and seasoned writers to get their work out there, and...
Aubrey Green:That's true.
Angela Mateus:Yeah, so... one other thing I'll Share with you, we are going... There's the Ozark Creative Writers Conference, October 8th through 10,
Aubrey Green:Um, mm
Angela Mateus:And we will have a table there,
Aubrey Green:Hmm.
Angela Mateus:And we will be present at that particular conference. Our hope for next year is that we'll be able to join you in Oklahoma for WriterCon. You know, we're figuring out where all the conferences and, you know, which ones can we make it to? And so next year, I think things will look a little bit different in terms of our presence at some of these conferences. But yeah, we will be at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference, October 8th through 10th this year.
Aubrey Green:Very nice. I
Angela Mateus:Yeah
Aubrey Green:Had planned to come to that one. I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to be able to, because I was also invited down to the Dallas, the DFWCon, and I honestly hadn't expected to get that invitation, so I was a little surprised. And I'm afraid that the times may overlap, I can't remember for sure. But hopefully,
Angela Mateus:Are you speaking in Dallas, too? Look at you, you little star.
Aubrey Green:This is how I get,
Angela Mateus:I am
Aubrey Green:Oh,
Angela Mateus:Not
Aubrey Green:I get
Angela Mateus:Surprised.
Aubrey Green:Vacation times. This is how I get my travel in. Oh.
Angela Mateus:So,
Aubrey Green:So, but hopefully I can come to the Ozark Conference, too, because that would be a lot of fun. I know several people in that area that will be there so... That's really why I go to all the conferences. It's my way to get to see everybody.
Angela Mateus:Yeah. Yeah. Well, fun. Yeah, so we could not be more different in that way. Again, I have days where I want to come out from under the rock, and then I have days where I'm like, "But I want to stay under that rock." It's really nice and cozy under here with the frogs and the insects, but no, I mean, truly, though, the opportunity to go and meet these writers from this region and beyond. We attended the between the pages conference. I didn't go, but one of my colleagues did, she came back, and she had all these stories, and it was phenomenal. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna rally for the next ones. (Laughs)
Aubrey Green:Yeah, me at a conference, imagine like a golden retriever. (Laughs) And you know, all of that excited puppy energy, I am like that. I'm like a dog that you take to daycare, to puppy daycare. And they're so excited and then
Angela Mateus:(laughs)
Aubrey Green:You I'm home and they just crash out on the floor. Yeah, that's
Angela Mateus:Yup.
Aubrey Green:Me.
Angela Mateus:Yep.
Aubrey Green:I am so excited at the conference and then I get home and I'm dead for like 24 hours.
Angela Mateus:Yeah. Yeah. That, we definitely share. And it's not that I'm not energized but yeah, but I am an ambivert, but the introvert and me goes, okay, that was great. Now we got a nap for three days.
Aubrey Green:(laughs)
Angela Mateus:(laughs)
Aubrey Green:Yeah, well,
Angela Mateus:Yeah.
Aubrey Green:Yeah, I usually don't get a lot of sleep at these, so you know, so many people so a little time.
Angela Mateus:I know, I know. Well, that's super exciting. Congrats on getting that invitation. I personally am
Aubrey Green:I know.
Angela Mateus:Not
Aubrey Green:Thank you.
Angela Mateus:Surprised that you did. So,
Aubrey Green:Not
Angela Mateus:Um,
Aubrey Green:All.
Angela Mateus:You know, So I've talked a lot about the Writers' but can we flip the script or camera or whatever, work mic to you?(laughs) Which medium are we working on? Tell me what's going on with eMerge.
Aubrey Green:Um, well, Well, so I don't want to tell you too much, partially just because we are going a little long but also, also there's a couple of things I can't completely talk about yet but so what is going on at eMerge? We've gotta think about this. So we've got this conference. I'm gonna go to one in Amarillo. So, in 2026, we had our first print issue. Finally, come out. We've been an online magazine all of this time and we finally got our first print edition out. So those are still available, by the way. You can order those online and we'll all run down to the post office and pop one in the mail for you. Or you can come see us either at WriterCon this coming weekend in Oklahoma City or in Amarillo. I'll have a whole bunch with me in Amarillo. Won't have a table at the DFW con, but I probably will have some magazines on me up in my room or something. So, If you're in Dallas,
Angela Mateus:They're beautiful by the way. They're so pretty.
Aubrey Green:They're beautiful. They're so well done. They are beautiful.
Angela Mateus:It's a coffee table piece, I would say.
Aubrey Green:I mean, it kind of is. Yeah, I was really impressed with how they turned out. I had absolutely nothing to do with that port... That portion of it. But they turned out really nice. So, we've got that coming up. We are working on the 2027 issue, which is going to be super, super special and I can't tell you exactly why and how special it will be. If you guys want to guess, you can send us your guesses. Why do you think 2027 is going to be so special?
Angela Mateus:I know one reason why! ... can I say?
Aubrey Green:I don't
Angela Mateus:'Cause
Aubrey Green:Oh
Angela Mateus:We're gonna have a launch party.
Aubrey Green:Oh, Yes, you can say that. That That's not why it's special, but that will be a special thing in conjunction.
Angela Mateus:Yes, that's not why it's special, but
Aubrey Green:So
Angela Mateus:Yes.
Aubrey Green:So,
Angela Mateus:Yes.
Aubrey Green:We will have, we're hoping to have three different launches for it since so much of our readership is so spread out in this area. So, we're hoping to do one there in Eureka Springs. We're hoping to do one in Tulsa and one in Oklahoma City Norman area. We're still trying to figure out venues and stuff and that won't be until spring of 2027. So, there's some time on that. But that's one of the things we're working on. We have a cover for next year. I'm hoping we can show that soon.
Angela Mateus:Ooh, You've got me in suspense, so now I'm like, okay, what is it? It?
Aubrey Green:Well,
Angela Mateus:So,
Aubrey Green:You may not realize it. I'm pretty sure you already know. You just may not realize.
Angela Mateus:Hmm. Mm, okay.
Aubrey Green:Hmm.
Angela Mateus:Mm,
Aubrey Green:Now you're gonna have to think about it, aren't you?
Angela Mateus:I am thinking about it, I am thinking.
Aubrey Green:But But we're opening general submissions October 1st for all of our online issues for 2027. Be October 1st through 31st. And Then we're doing our very first student issue in in 2027. So, the month of February, we're gonna drop a student - an all student issue. So, high school students, you're gonna need to get your submissions pulled together. That will be November 1st through 30th. So, if you can get it in before the Thanksgiving holidays, that would be great. If you miss that deadline, you'll have just, like another week after Thanksgiving to send us your submissions, then we will look through all of those and pick the best poetry and stories, fiction, nonfiction, just like just like with our general submissions.
Angela Mateus:That is so exciting. That is so exciting. We um, we've been doing local collaborations with a school in Eureka Springs, Clear Springs school.
Aubrey Green:Oh yeah.
Angela Mateus:And their students are going to be our featured readers for our September PoetLuck on September 17th.
Aubrey Green:Oh,
Angela Mateus:And
Aubrey Green:Night.
Angela Mateus:I love that eMerge is expanding into if you will youth programming. I inviting inspiring the next generation of writers is so key. And especially in a time when the craft, the art is you know being met with a variety of challenges. So that's fantastic. So I'm super excited to hear and see more of that.
Aubrey Green:Yeah. Me too.
Angela Mateus:Yeah.
Aubrey Green:We are going to be so busy the end of this year. Oh my goodness.
Angela Mateus:*laughs*
Aubrey Green:I have deliberately not scheduled any of my own private work projects after November because I know I'm just going to be drowning in various submissions. So, So yeah.
Angela Mateus:So I won't be talking to you much at the end of the year.
Aubrey Green:No, I will definitely not be scheduling time at the Colony the end of the year.
Angela Mateus:Um, Yeah. Um, there's one collaboration between eMerge and the Writers' Colony which we did not touch on. And that is the partnership between eMerge, the Eureka Springs Arts Council, and the Writers' Colony in we are seeking seeking our inaugural poet laureate.
Aubrey Green:Oh, I forgot all about
Angela Mateus:Yeah. Yeah.
Aubrey Green:That. This.
Angela Mateus:So that is in the works and it's it's on our socials. It's on our website but um, the the mayor of Eureka Springs did a proclamation on August 6th for Eureka Springs Poet Laureate. And so we are in the process of accepting submissions and nominations if you will, not submissions, but nominations. And the I think it ends on September 30th with a reception in early November and eMerge is very much a part of this. So thank you eMerge. Thanks
Aubrey Green:Yeah.
Angela Mateus:Charles.
Aubrey Green:No.
Angela Mateus:Templeton.
Aubrey Green:Yes. Thank you Charles. You're amazing.
Angela Mateus:We love you Charles. So much. What a hoot that man is.
Aubrey Green:Oh my goodness. Yes. And I get to spend all weekend, with
Angela Mateus:Oh,
Aubrey Green:Him.
Angela Mateus:Oh
Aubrey Green:I'm so
Angela Mateus:Yay.
Aubrey Green:Excited.
Angela Mateus:Yeah. The,
Aubrey Green:Yeah, yeah. He and Sandra and Cat, everybody's Coming. To the city. So, should be a lot of fun
Angela Mateus:Oh that's awesome! Fantastic.
Aubrey Green:Yeah. I'm supposed to introduce Cat to a bunch of our previous podcast interviewees. There's several that are going to be at the conference. And so I promised Cat I would introduce her around.
Angela Mateus:Well, Well that will be a fun time. That will be fantastic. Well good.
Aubrey Green:Yeah.
Angela Mateus:Man. But I'm going to be traveling this weekend but not to Oklahoma City. But maybe next year I'll join you all there. Yeah,
Aubrey Green:Maybe next year. That would be awesome.
Angela Mateus:*laughs* Well, I know I've taken up a lot of your time and yeah, this has been lovely. I always enjoy our conversations and
Aubrey Green:Yeah,
Angela Mateus:Just just sharing what's going on over here and hearing about what's going on over where you are.
Aubrey Green:Yeah. Well, we'll have to do it again. And a few months.
Angela Mateus:Sounds good. Sounds good. I'll think of something interesting to share.
Aubrey Green:That is probably not going to be problem.
Cat Templeton:We hope you've enjoyed today's episode of eMerge Unchained with our hosts, the eMerge Literary Magazine Editor. Aubrey Green. The eMerge Unchained podcast is brought to you by eMerge Literary Magazine. Our producers are Charles and Sandra Templeton, our website designer is Cat Templeton. Thank you again for joining us for eMerge Unchained. And remember, we'll be here to celebrate the courage it takes to put words into the world. So Keep writing. Until next time.
