Local writer awarded Blue Ridge fellowship

Local writer Ruby Hansen Murray will be spending some time in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains this year after being awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Murray was one of 25 selected in a competitive admission process that is open to visual artists, writers and composers.

"Being a writer, sitting and listening for your characters, is a solitary practice," Murray said on Wednesday. "I get lonely, holed up with my work, even when my friends and family are supportive. Being with other artists and writers who understand and are reflecting back the same concentration it takes to make art creates an open and productive space. I work longer more focused hours away from home."

The fellowship provides a private bedroom, a private studio and three meals a day for a period as little as two weeks and as long as two months. The artists are granted all the free time they need to focus on their creative projects as well as an opportunity to interact with the other artists.

The VCCA, a nonprofit organization, is supported largely by grants and private donations. It has served 4,000 artists since 1971. Some of those artists have gone on to win MacArthur grants, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts awards, National Book Awards and Academy Award nominations.

Murray was also selected as one of 2016's Jack Straw Writers. Murray will be conducting in-studo interviews, public readings and have her work published in an anthology. The program provides training for voice and presentation.

The 2016 May Reading Series will take place May 6, 13, and 20, 7 p.m. at Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, and will be hosted by Karen Finneyfrock.

A Puget Island resident, Murray is a former Wahkiakum County Eagle reporter.

For more information: http://www.jackstraw.org/programs/writers/WritersForum/index.html#wp16