Based on the model developed for In Praise of Fertile Land , Whit will work with civic and private conservation organizations and the public to create an anthology of literary work which inspires awareness, appreciation and protection of urban trees and our remaining forest lands.

The written word holds a particular power to communicate both intimately and forcefully to individuals, young and old, of diverse backgrounds and literacy levels, key environmental issues vital to our region. This project will seize upon the region's dedicated reading audience in order to educate and empower our love for our arboral neighbors, and the critical role they play in the region's history and quality of life.

Whit Press will create The Trees Project in support of local, grassroots nonprofit community organizations which identify and protect threatened trees and forests, locally, regionally and interationally. Whit Press will identify nonprofit project partners with a demonstrated capacity to directly support the critical work of preserving trees and arboreal habitat in the Northwest.
 

Annual

Hedgebrook is a retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island in Washington State. Hedgebrook believes in the power of radical hospitality -- if you feed and nurture a writer's body, mind and spirit, and provide a quiet place where she can settle into the stillness or her soul -- she will write to the core of her truth.

A day of writing at Hedgebrook ends in the farmhouse kitchen -- where writers share a meal, their writing, their stories, and the breakthroughs and roadblocks in their writing process. Over 1000 women have come to Hedgebrook since their founding in 1988, from across the U.S. and as far away as Zimbabwe, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and India.

At Whit Press we believe that assuring a place for women poets and storytellers to publish their work is an act of hope in action. It is grounded in the certainty that the written word transcends barriers of culture, race, and class and intimately connects us to one another's lives -- as individuals, as communities, and as a planet.

Both Whit Press and Hedgebrook are committed to connecting women writers with audiences worldwide. This book series is a physical manifestation of that vision.

Whit Press and Hedgebrook shall select one manuscript of exceptional merit and promise annually. This series will be curated by Whit Press and Hedgebrook Alumna with the intention of creating a first-quality book that will assist women writers gain recognition and audience for their vital work. We are not accepting open submissions at this time.

Whit Press and Hedgebrook have initiated this series in 2006 with a collection of poetry entitled Flowers Blooming Against a Bruised Gray Sky by Uchechi Kalu. Ms. Kalu is a Nigerian born poet and performer who currently resides in Oakland, California. She was a student and friend of June Jordan and her work reflects that dynamic influence. Her poems have been heard on National Public Radio and she has published her work in several literary journals and anthologies.

Our second book in this series, is from the spectacular LA based poet Ruth Forman. Her new collection, Becoming, will be released in 2008. Ruth's poems have been described as "alive and kicking; they pound and pulse with a hard-won sense of self, beauty, femininity, strength and righteous indignation."

In keeping with our mission to create publishing opportunities that serve and showcase the diverse voices of the Northwest, Whit Press has launched the Northwest Writers Series.

As with the Emerging Voices Series, Whit Press shall select one manuscript of exceptional merit and promise annually from a Northwest writer or nonprofit writing program with the intention of creating a first-quality book that will assist a local writer or writing program gain recognition for their vital work.

Whit Press selects manuscripts of exceptional merit and promise from Western States writers or community service oriented writing programs with the intention of creating a first-quality book that will assist in gaining recognition for this vital work.

Whit Press initiated the Northwest Writers Series with 'Beloved Community-The Sisterhood of Homeless Women in Poetry', an anthology of poetry from the women of W.H.E.E.L. - The Women's Housing, Equality and Enhancement League .

WHEEL is "a grassroots organizing effort of homeless and formerly homeless women organizing to make positive changes for ourselves and our community." This organization's commitment to poetry as a creative force for change is evident in the outstanding work their writing program has produced.

The second book of this series PLAY- An Anthology of Student Plays is a collaboration between Whit Press, ACT Theatre's Young Playwrights Program, and the Rainer Valley Youth Theatre.

The mission of the Whit Press-Young Playwrights Program Collaboration is to:

1. encourage students to express themselves fully, honestly and passionately, about subjects that are important to them, without fear of censorship,
2. bring all the energy and expertise we have, in the form of excellent teaching artists and administrative support to the table in service of our young writers, and
3. show all the students we serve the power of their own voices when written for and performed by actors in front of an audience!

This anthology - the first of a yearly series -includes some of the strongest and most creative voices from the Young Playwrights Program classroom sessions. Each of these plays and playwrights took the full journey from development in the classroom to selection by an artistic panel for inclusion in the ACT & RVYT playwright's festivals. They then went on to the rehearsal hall, where the plays were further developed with directors, dramaturges, and actors before they appeared onstage in front of live audiences.