Artist Access Grant
Artist Access Grant
The Horror Anthology Handbook: A Filmmaker's Guide to Making Features Out of Shorts.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The goal of this project is to prepare my nonfiction book, The Horror Anthology Handbook, for submission to publishers. While I have a nearly 300-page draft written, the time has come to recruit the help of others to polish the book’s presentation. An Artist Access Grant will provide funds to pay a cover illustrator, an editor, readers within my target demographic, and myself as graphic designer, all of whom live in Saint Louis County. Potential publishers include, Michael Wiese Productions, Bloomsbury Publishing, Wiley, and Allworth Press. While the desired outcome for this grant is a publication deal, I also know that that is something an author has little control over. As such, I have a “plan b” in the event I am rejected by publishers. All of the aforementioned grant activities will be just as useful in the pursuit of self-publication. A great cover design, professional editing, and an intense focus of the book’s target audience will aid in publication through either avenue. My ultimate measure of success will be the publication of my book. While my primary goal is traditional publication, self-publication remains a viable secondary option with the proliferation of e-readers and online distribution channels. Either way, The Horror Anthology Handbook will make its way into the hands of its target demographic. The achievement of that goal is my bar for success. Another measurable goal is the improvement of my writing through strict evaluation from my editor and readers. My editor, Matthew Dressel, is an accomplished writer who has had multiple screenplays optioned and has won the McKnight Screenwriting Residency. He has edited one of my screenplays, and his constructive scrutiny has, and will continue to, improve my writing. A third measurable outcome is the engagement of other artists in Saint Louis County. Along with Dressel as my editor, I’ll collaborate with a number of local artists. My cover illustrator, Dillion Timm has been creating art for four years and has sold 300 original pieces. My readers include film curator Marin Molander, TV producer Chris Brown. and filmmakers Lance Karasti, Emily McNeil, Randy Oelerich, Sam Weston and Brandon Cole. This grant will allow me to compensate them appropriately for their artistic insight, a help foster a collaborative arts community in Saint Louis County.
The primary measurable outcomes have been the improvement of my writing and the improvement of my book. Because of the feedback from my editor and my readers, I now have a much better sense of what needs improvement with my writing style, as well as what I can do to make my book more interesting to its intended audience. I received feedback on how my sentences can be too long and meandering, and revising the with this in mind has made it more readable and ultimately more publishable. The final measurable outcome was the engagement with other artists in the area. Reading their feedback on my work was invaluable. And they all told me that they enjoyed reading and reviewing at as well. The cover artist, Dillion Timm, and editor, Matthew Dressel, also expressed to me how the publication of this book could bolster their respective resumes.