Alice McDowell has accepted an offer of publication for her new book, Dance of Light: Christian, Sufi, and Zen Steps to Spiritual Realization, from Wisdom Editions, an imprint of Calumet Editions, to be released in April 2022. Dance of Light offers practical wisdom for the contemporary spiritual seeker. Whether beginner or advanced, readers will receive guidance on the dynamics of the spiritual journey, learn how to further develop their inner life, and find ways to move forward when unmotivated, stuck, or lost. Teachings of mystics across time and place will inspire readers to stay true to their calling. Instructive tales and humorous stories from each tradition add light and insight to the reader’s journey. Now more than ever, people search for answers to the current uncertainty and confusion. Alice McDowell, Ph.D., is an author, spiritual director, retreat guide, senior teacher, and founder of the Hidden Treasure Program—a three-year training in personal and spiritual growth. She co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991 where she continues to guide individuals and groups on their spiritual journeys. She is author of Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self (She Writes Press, 2017). As a professor of religious studies at Ithaca College for eighteen years, she taught courses in mysticism, world religions, depth psychology, and women’s studies, and received the Dana Fellow for Excellence in College Teaching. McDowell has a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University and has trained with Sufi and Buddhist teachers, Christian…

In its fifth year the Ithaca Literary Festival, Spring Writes, presents a weekend full of workshops, readings, and performances. Check the calendar for the full schedule of activities. Here’s a few highlights to entice to you to one of the dozen venues downtown to participate in the festivities. There are more than 30 events to inspire you. Sponsored by the Community Arts Partnership in Tompkins County, all events are free and open to the public. Friday, May 2, 5:30pm-7:00pm at Buffalo Street Books The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts presents an all-local group of past and current Saltonstall Fellows. They include Sarah Jefferis (2014 Non-fiction), Fran Markover (2010 Poetry), and Bob Proehl (2013 Fiction). Saturday May 3, 10am-11:45am at Buffalo Street Books If you’ve ever heard the expression “Write what you know” and thought, “Hey, I don’t know anything worth writing about,” this is for you! Especially geared to teens with an interest in storytelling, three local fiction writers — Anne Mazer, Shawn Goodman, and Rob Costello — will lead a fun and freewheeling workshop designed to introduce some of the basic writing tools that can help any writer spin a good story out of practically anything. Pen, paper, and imagination are all that’s required! * Anne Mazer is the author of 45 books for young readers: The Salamander Room, The Oxboy, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes series and more. * Shawn Goodman is the award-winning author of the Young Adult novels, Kindness for Weakness, and Something Like Hope. * Rob Costello has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young…

Shortly after her novel Ten Thousand Saints came out in early 2011, Eleanor Henderson answered a question at a book reading held at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca. When asked how long it took her to write the novel, Henderson said nine years. Nine years. She explained that the first version didn’t even include several of the central characters in the final version. It made the New York Times 2011 Top 100 Notable Books, has since come out in paperback, and filming ended March 3, 2014, for the 2015 movie starring Asa Butterfield, Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch and Julianne Nicholson. What if she’d rushed that first version into print? She had an agent interested in her writing, but he didn’t think he could sell that manuscript as is. Working with him as a developmental editor, Eleanor Henderson continued to improve the manuscript instead of putting it away in a desk drawer. Good writing takes time. Don’t be in a rush. Daniel Kahneman wrote about two different modes of thought in his bestselling book Thinking, Fast and Slow. The first is automatic, emotional and erupts from the subconscious. Thinking fast serves writers very well in the creative process. Reasoning is intuitive and inductive. The second system is slow, deliberative, and logical. Thinking slow is what distinguishes writers from authors. Deductive reasoning results in strategy. Thinking through all of the various options, weighing the costs and benefits, plotting out eighteen steps in advance and weighing the ramifications of each choice…