Haters gonna hate. Creators gonna create!
The Creators Program is a series of short community workshops, panels and talks focused on key skills and knowledge essential to “creating” for mass media and art. The Creators Program, directed by WVSU EDC's director Tiffany Ellis-Williams and Artist in Residence, Eric Douglas, packages expertise from West Virginia State University, WVSU Cultural Activities and local artists and entrepreneurs to deliver information you need to move your ideas forward.
About the ARTIST in RESIDENCE
Our current Artist in Residence is Mr. Eric Douglas, a hybrid author, with books published by traditional publishers and an independent author.
Through his fictional works, Eric takes readers on adventures of their own. His stories have everything thriller junkies crave; action, adventure and intrigue, set against a backdrop of beautiful locations, the ocean and the environment, and scuba diving. The fast-paced stories are exciting, but Eric also hopes to inspire future generations of explorers and adventurers like Cousteau did for him.
After completing a program at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Eric jumped into documentary work, creating nonfiction works on lobster divers, war veterans, and cancer survivors.
He has authored eight novels and two novellas in the Mike Scott thriller series, written a series of dive thriller short stories , authored four children’s stories, and has recently released the inspirational biography Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story through Best Publishing.
As a documentarian, Eric has worked in Russia, Honduras and most recently in his home state of West Virginia, featuring the oral histories of West Virginia war veterans in the documentary West Virginia Voices of War and the companion book Common Valor and the FestivALL Oral History Project that led to the Memories of the Valley documentary.
Fall Schedule 2020
October 2020
Independent Publishing w/Eric Douglas
Oct 14 | 7pm
Eric Douglas is a hybrid author, with books published by traditional publishers and an independent author. His talk will cover the pitfalls and plusses of being an indie and he will also talk about what to do when your book is “out there”. He will discuss marketing your books, staying “exclusive” or “going wide” and lessons he’s learned.
Return of the Mothman w/Herb Gardner & Calvin Grimm
Oct 28 | 7pm
Herbert Gardner and Calvin Grimm are the co-founders and co-directors of Vandalia FilmWorx Foundation; dedicated to telling WV stories, filmed here in the state. They have just begun primary filming of their next feature length film based on the novel, “Return of the Mothman,” by Bram Stoker Award winning author Michael Knost. The story is suspense/horror drama. This marks a departure from earlier period piece (River of Hope, released 2/15/2020) and the crime documentary “Mountain of the Missing” now in post-production. They will address, anecdotally, the challenges of independent filmmaking in WV and the creative process.
November 2020
What is a Producer? w/Racquel Foster
Nov 12 | 7pm
What is a Producer? He or she is the person who curates a story. Their purpose is to find the truth. A truth. It's a very important role, because this person is the one that has the passion to seek the answers to questions that many have. But what does it take? What skill set do you need? What are the steps that are required to pull this together? Who or what else is involved? This workshop will answer those questions and more. At the end, the goal is to ignite a desire in you to seek out the truth in the stories that mean something to you.
December 2020
Audio Storytelling w/Glynis Board
Dec 2 | 7pm
There is more to creating a good podcast, or creating an audio documentary, than simply buying a microphone for your computer. You have to know how to tell a story that will engage your listeners and keep them paying attention throughout. Glynis Board is the award-winning Assistant News Director of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting news department. She has crafted news stories and documentaries on a variety of topics, along with coaching reporters and interns on how to write and read a script and how to tell a good story.
Poetry During the Pandemic w/Josephus Thompson
Dec 9 | 7pm (Part 1)
Dec 16 | 7pm (Part 2)
Each week participants will engage in a 60 min session to discuss and create a series of poems around the pandemic and how it has affected life as we know it. At the end of the series there will be an opportunity to share your work in order to tell your story and bring the community together through the art form.
All workshops will be held online under further notice.
The WVSU EDC is located at 1506 Kanawha Blvd. West in Charleston.
Questions: give us a call or email
