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Camy Sorbello Receives
Writers & Books 2003
Literary Award
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Camy Sorbello honored in ceremonies by nationally reknowned literary institution.
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ROCHESTER -- Camy Sorbello, a Palmyra resident and correspondent for the Courier-Journal, was honored last week as a Literary Award winner for Writers & Books.
Sorbello was honored at a reception at the Rochester Academy of Medicine on Friday, Nov. 21, as a "teacher of adults who has inspired the creation and appreciation of literature."
Sorbello graduated in 1972 from the University of Rochester with a bachelor's degree in English.
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After college, she opted to work in the fields of retail, horticulture and agriculture in a family tree farm business.
She returned to literature in her early 40s, when she began writing a memoir of her grandmother's life.
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Sorbello started working as a freelance reporter for the Courier-Journal some six years ago. She credits then-editor Steve Buchiere, now with the Daily Messenger, with helping to launch her writing career by being "so flexible and generous with topics and always printing my stuff without hacking it up." |
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| At the same time she started contributing stories to the Courier-Journal, Sorbello started teaching classes on memoir writing for Writers & Books. She has since added journalism, fiction and children's classes to her repertoire.
Additionally, Sorbello teaches creative writing for the Continuing Education Department at Finger Lakes Community College, the Perinton Recreation Center, The Writer's Studio in Honeoye Falls and with private groups and individuals.
As a writing teacher, Sorbello said she tried to emphasize to her students that they don't need a fancy college degree to succeed.
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"I try to de-mystify writing and knock it off the pedestal of academia so everybody can enjoy it," she said.
"Reading and writing should be fun."
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Sorbello continues to contribute feature stories to the Courier-Journal; her other works have been printed in publications across the United States and in Cananda.
Courier-Journal Editor Jessica Pierce said Sorbello was very deserving of the Writers & Books award. "Working with Camy is an honor," she said. "Her writing style is exemplary; her stories always enhance the newspaper."
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When Sorbello is not writing or teaching courses about it, she continues to work in
agriculture and spends much of her time advocating for and assisting Mexican farm workers. She has worked to end cultural stereotypes of migrant farmworkers and improve communication with Spanish-speaking people through a course she offers to private companies, farms and through Cornell Cooperative Extension called "Spanish for Working People."
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| Sorbello's work can be seen on her Web site: www.camysorbello.com. |
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