Summer Staff Shuffle at TWC

Hello loyal readers of First Person Plural! Zachary Fernebok here—you know, the guy who you probably talked with on the phone the last time you called TWC, or saw at the front desk. Dark hair? Well-dressed? Yep, that’s me!

I’m blogging today (and it seems for more days to come) with exciting news. We here at TWC are coming out of the summer totally re-energized and completely pumped for a stellar selection of Fall Workshops and our 35^th Anniversary Reading Series. In fact, the year-long party begins Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 with a reading by poet Martin Espada, referred to as “the Pablo Neruda of North American Authors” by the world, and “I can’t believe he’s really going to be reading at TWC!” by his fans.

Former staff member Kyle Semmel has done a great job promoting all of the wonderful workshops and events we have to offer, and I’m picking up the torch as the new Marketing & Program Manager. I started at TWC as Kyle’s intern in 2009, and I’m so honored to be coming full-circle. In my new position, I will be continuing work on all of Kyle’s marketing initiatives, and starting a few things of my own. Additionally, I will be assisting Sunil with workshops by putting together our Bethesda batches of workshops.

Yes—that’s right! Sunil Freeman is back in business this month after a few weeks away doing what we can only hope was working on a new collection of poetry. I personally like to imagine he was trying his hand at cape-crusading, keeping our streets safe, and being the hero that this city needs. Sunil will be continuing his work as Assistant Director, but focusing more on the programming of our satellite venues (check out our workshops at Capitol Hill and Annapolis, for example!) and our events.

And last but not least, I’m overjoyed to announce Laura Spencer as our new full-time receptionist. She has served TWC very well for over a year as a part-time employee, and now she gets a chance to shine even brighter from nine-to-five. Next time you’re in TWC to sign up for a workshop or meet with your writing group, don’t be shy and say hi!

With that, I hope everyone has an enjoyable and relaxing Labor Day weekend. I would even say it’s the perfect three days to finish your entry for our poetry slam competition in preparation for our event with slam poet Taylor Mali. Thanks for reading!