April Ossmann
Encyclopedia
April Ossmann is an American
poet, teacher, and editor. She is author of Anxious Music (Four Way Books
, 2007), and has had her poems published in many literary journals including Harvard Review
, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Puerto del Sol, Seneca Review, Passages North
, Mid-American Review
, and Colorado Review
, and in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009), and Contemporary Poetry of New England (Middlebury College Press, 2002). Her awards include a 2000 Prairie Schooner Reader’s Choice Award. Publishers Weekly
, in reviewing Anxious Music, wrote that Ossmann’s voice is "remarkable for its confidence and fierceness."
Ossmann was executive director of Alice James Books
from 2000–2008, presiding over a period of growth that, according to Poets & Writers, saw the press budget more than double in size, and saw the publication of the best-selling Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner
, which garnered major media attention. According to Publishers Weekly, which interviewed Ossmann on the occasion of Alice James Books’ thirtieth anniversary, "the press received a three-year, $250,000 stabilization grant from an anonymous donor...With the grant, the press added two full-time staffers, upgraded its equipment, and launched a website with secure online ordering. The press also signed with a trade distributor for the first time, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution." According to Valley News
(West Lebanon, NH) reporter Kristen Fountain, “It was an all-consuming, life-changing position, during which she stabilized the company's financial structure, increased its output and helped push its books into the national press.”
Ossmann is currently a publishing, editing and writing consultant and teaches poetry workshops at The Writer’s Center in White River Junction, Vermont
. She has taught literature and creative writing at the University of Maine at Farmington
and at Lebanon College
, and has performed at Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing
residencies and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
as a visiting publisher.
Ossmann was born in Santa Barbara, California
and raised there and in Richmond
and Vacaville, California
. She moved to Vermont
in 1985, and worked her way through college as a waitress, receiving her A.B. from Dartmouth College
in 1992, then earned her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts
. Before working for Alice James Books, she worked as an assistant, and then associate, editor for the University Press of New England
for over three years. She currently lives and works in Post Mills, Vermont
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet, teacher, and editor. She is author of Anxious Music (Four Way Books
Four Way Books
Four Way Books is an American not-for-profit literary press located in New York City, New York, which publishes poetry and short fiction by emerging and established writers. It features the work of the winners of national poetry competitions, as well as collections accepted through general...
, 2007), and has had her poems published in many literary journals including Harvard Review
Harvard Review
The Harvard Review is a literary magazine published by the Harvard University library system.Its origins can be dated to 1986, when Stratis Haviaras, the curator of the libraries' poetry room founded a magazine called Erato to publicize poetry room authors.The first issue included a poem by Seamus...
, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Puerto del Sol, Seneca Review, Passages North
Passages North
Passages North is an American literary magazine published by the Northern Michigan University. Essays that have appeared in Passages North have been recognized in the anthology, The Best American Essays, on numerous occasions. The magazine was established in 1980. It sponsors the Waasmode Short...
, Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, MAR is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University...
, and Colorado Review
Colorado Review
Colorado Review is a major American literary journal published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.The journal presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction...
, and in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009), and Contemporary Poetry of New England (Middlebury College Press, 2002). Her awards include a 2000 Prairie Schooner Reader’s Choice Award. Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, in reviewing Anxious Music, wrote that Ossmann’s voice is "remarkable for its confidence and fierceness."
Ossmann was executive director of Alice James Books
Alice James Books
Alice James Books is an American non-profit poetry press located in Farmington, Maine and affiliated with the University of Maine at Farmington.- History and mission :...
from 2000–2008, presiding over a period of growth that, according to Poets & Writers, saw the press budget more than double in size, and saw the publication of the best-selling Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner
Brian Turner (American poet)
Brian Turner is an American poet, essayist, and professor. He won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award for his debut collection, Here, Bullet, the first of many awards and honors received for this collection of poems about his experience as a soldier in the Iraq War...
, which garnered major media attention. According to Publishers Weekly, which interviewed Ossmann on the occasion of Alice James Books’ thirtieth anniversary, "the press received a three-year, $250,000 stabilization grant from an anonymous donor...With the grant, the press added two full-time staffers, upgraded its equipment, and launched a website with secure online ordering. The press also signed with a trade distributor for the first time, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution." According to Valley News
Valley News
The Valley News is a seven-day morning daily newspaper based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, covering the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont....
(West Lebanon, NH) reporter Kristen Fountain, “It was an all-consuming, life-changing position, during which she stabilized the company's financial structure, increased its output and helped push its books into the national press.”
Ossmann is currently a publishing, editing and writing consultant and teaches poetry workshops at The Writer’s Center in White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States...
. She has taught literature and creative writing at the University of Maine at Farmington
University of Maine at Farmington
The University of Maine at Farmington, established in 1864 as Maine’s first public institution of higher education, is a public liberal arts college, and a founding member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges offering programs in teacher education, human services and arts and sciences as...
and at Lebanon College
Lebanon College
Lebanon College is a two-year private not-for-profit college located in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The College is approved by the New Hampshire Post-secondary Commission to offer the associate degree, and is certified by the State of Vermont Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary to offer...
, and has performed at Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing
Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing
The Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing is a graduate program in creative writing based at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. It enrolls approximately 100 students in four major genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and popular fiction...
residencies and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont...
as a visiting publisher.
Ossmann was born in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
and raised there and in Richmond
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
and Vacaville, California
Vacaville, California
Vacaville, California is a city located in the northeastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Solano County. The city is nearly half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80. It sits approximately from Sacramento, and from San Francisco...
. She moved to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
in 1985, and worked her way through college as a waitress, receiving her A.B. from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1992, then earned her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
. Before working for Alice James Books, she worked as an assistant, and then associate, editor for the University Press of New England
University Press of New England
The University Press of New England , located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and founded in 1970, is a university press consortium including Brandeis University, Dartmouth College , the University of New Hampshire, and Northeastern University...
for over three years. She currently lives and works in Post Mills, Vermont
Thetford, Vermont
Thetford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,617 at the 2000 census. Villages within the town include East Thetford, North Thetford, Thetford Hill, Thetford Center, Rices Mills and Post Mills. The town office is in Thetford...
.
Sources
- Author website
- & Writers Directory, April Ossmann Listing
- Interview with Ossmann by Publishers Weekly | Alice James Books at 30 | by Judith Rosen | 05/19/2003
- Interview with April Ossmann | Foreword Magazine | Archive: Foreword This Week | 07.23.03 | Independent Anniversaries of Note | 30 Years-Alice James Books, Farmington, ME
External links
- AUTHOR WEBSITE
- FOUR WAY BOOKS | AUTHOR PAGE | April Ossmann
- VIDEO: April Ossmann Reading with Ed Pavlic | Poetry Santa Cruz
- AUDIO: April Ossmann Reading for Fishousepoems.org
- INTERVIEW with April Ossmann | The Southeast Review Online | By Amber Pearson | 08/06/2008
- REVIEW of Anxious Music | Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers | By Kenny Brechner
- REVIEW of Anxious Music | By Alan West | Stride Magazine | 2007
- THE WRITER’S CENTER WEBSITE
- EVENT PHOTOS: Washington College: Events | 2009 | Poet + Editor = Book: Frank Giampietro & April Ossmann