The ACW Connection Series: Brian Mann came to the Adirondacks after working as a public radio journalist in Alaska and Missouri. He founded the Adirondack news bureau for North Country Public Radio and has won three national Edward R. Murrow Awards. His work appears regularly on National Public Radio. His 2006 book, Welcome to the Homeland, was widely reviewed. Mann is Adirondack bureau chief for North Country Public Radio and has built a thriving business as a freelance writer and producer. He was a recent panelist at an ACW Journalism Conference at the Blue Mountain Center, which was a great success, where he spoke about nuts and bolts issues of multiple sales, quality control, contract arrangements, and deadline management. He also took part in a blogging panel discussion at the conference, as he actively maintains the blog titled The In Box.

Brian shares his "Adirondack Center for Writing" connection:

It was an ACW workshop on publishing that opened the door to one of the big writing adventures of my career. I had been a working journalist for twenty years and had tossed a lot of longer, half-finished manuscripts into bottom drawers. But during a practice pitch-session with a couple of big-league publishers, I tossed out an idea that drew some interest. Those folks didn't decide to buy my book, but their involvement helped me score an agent, who connected me with a great house called Steerforth Press in New Hampshire. In the years since, I haven't written more books, but ACW's programs have helped me improve my craft in other ways, sharing ideas, networking, and learning from other talented people here in the Adirondacks. Maybe the best continuing value I receive from the Center is the sense that I'm not isolated. I work as part of an incredibly rich community of writers, many of them connected in one way or another through ACW. In our rural, winter-bound part of the world, having people you can lean on for edits, ideas and collaborations can make all the difference.

Those with an ACW “Connection” story that they would like to share, about how the Adirondack Center for Writing has had an impact on their career, should contact ACW at 518-327-6278 or acwevents@gmail.com.