Join us to celebrate the revival of Littoral Books, a local independent publisher with strong ties to the MECA&D community. A reading by authors included in North by Northeast (new short fiction by writers from Maine and New England) will be followed by an interactive conversation about the synergies between literature and the visual arts and how these collaborations evolve. Hosted by Maine College of Art & Design.
5-7pm, Friday, October 11
Osher Lecture Hall, 2nd Floor, Porteous Building
522 Congress St., Portland, Maine
Featuring readings by Joshua Bodwell, Robert Diamante ’93, Rita J. Doucette, and Annie Seikonia. Followed by an interactive conversation with the authors and special guests artist Judith Allen-Efstathiou; author/educator Agnes Bushell; publisher James Bushell; graphic designer and artist Lori Harley ’91; and artist/educator Celeste Roberge ’79.
For more information, contact Annie Wadleigh at awadleigh@meca.edu or 207-332-0253. Books can be purchased through littoralbooks.com and will be available at the event.
Founded in 1975 by members of the Portland Women’s Group for the express purpose of publishing the work of women writers, Littoral Books is a small press based in Portland, Maine. The press went into hibernation in 1976, but forty-three years later, in 2018, it renewed publication. Littoral Books is now committed to publishing quality books in a variety of genres by writers of all genders from Maine and New England. Newly published titles include Balancing Act 2: An Anthology of Poems by 50 Maine Women; North by Northeast: New Short Fiction by Writers from Maine and New England; The House on Perry Street, a novel by Agnes Bushell; and the upcoming Chasing the Grass, poems by Jacqueline Moore.
Judith Allen-Efstathiou splits her time between Maine and Greece. Her artwork is informed by her negotiations between these two vastly different worlds and has been included in many international printmaking biennials. She has taught classes through MECA&D’s Continuing Studies Program.
Agnes Bushell helped to organize the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and for over twenty years she taught literature and writing at the Maine College of Art & Design, where she is Professor Emerita in Liberal Arts.
James Bushell is a retired lawyer and the publisher of North by Northeast, which includes his photography.
Joshua Bodwell is an award-winning writer and editor who is currently the editorial director at David. R. Godine publishing. He was executive director of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance for nearly a decade and recently edited a three-volume edition of the collected short stories and novellas of Andre Dubus.
Robert Diamante ’93 is a professional photographer and writer with a BFA in Photography from MECA&D. He earned an MA in Theology from the Bangor Theological Seminary and his images and articles related to jewelry and the fine-craft industry have appeared in multiple books, magazines, and trade publications.
Rita J. Doucette’s work has been published in Kenyon Review, StoryQuarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, FICTION, and other literary magazines. A successful freelance grant and technical writer for over two decades, she is married to the novelist Tom Molloy.
Lori Harley ’91 earned her BFA in Graphic Design from MECA&D and has been designing a myriad of visual materials for a wide variety of clients in Maine and New England since 1991.
Celeste Roberge ’79 was born in Maine and received her art education at the Maine College of Art & Design, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She is Professor Emerita at the College of the Arts, University of Florida, maintains a studio in South Portland, Maine, and her work has been widely exhibited and collected.
Annie Seikonia has been drawing and writing stories, poems, journals, and essays since she was eleven. Her work has been published in Balancing Act 2: An Anthology of Poems by Fifty Maine Women, and Cafe Review. As Annie Wadleigh, she has worked at MECA&D in the fundraising department for over seventeen years.
Illustration: Below the Branches by Judith Allen-Efstathiou.