Springing Ahead  

Jessica Bram

Founder/Director

Westport Writers'  Workshop 

Last Chance to Register!

How To Find a Literary Agent for Your Novel
and

Write a Captivating Query Letter 

with NY Literary Agent Denise Marcil  

You have written - or are writing - a novel.  Somewhere out there, you imagine, is a literary agent who will fall in love with your work and lead you to literary fame.  But how do you go about finding that key professional in an author's life, the literary agent?   

In this workshop New York literary agent Denise Marcil, president of Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc., who has launched the writing careers of hundreds of authors, will attempt to answer that question.   

First, Ms. Marcil will explain what agents do, how they develop and guide the careers of writers, and how they advocate for their writers in negotiations with their publishers.  She will then outline the steps a writers need to take in order to secure an agent, such as: identifying which agents to pitch, how to find and contact them, and how to manage the submission process.

Ms. Marcil will give special focus to the art of  the agent query letter, which is the critical first step in attracting an agent.  She will give examples of some winning query letters, describing how they are constructed, what works, and what does not.  

Workshop participants will have an opportunity to receive feedback on a sample agent query letter that they may bring to the workshop to shared with the group (time permitting).  There will also be ample time for Q&A in which participants may discuss his or her own publishing goals.

As president of Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc. which she founded at age 24, Denise Marcil represents a wide variety of commercial fiction and non-fiction, from thrillers to management books.  She has been an active board member of ILAA, the Independent Literary Agents Association and the AAR, the Association of Author's Representatives. She has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, Business Week, More and Working Woman. 

SPACE IS LIMITED,  REGISTER NOW 

NEW THIS SUMMER!  

Workshops for Teens and Young Writers

Throughout the year we receive many calls from parents saying:

"My son (or daughter) loves creative writing.  Do you have anything available for kids to write creatively, without the pressure of a grade or a deadline?"

You asked, we answered.  We are thrilled to offer summer workshops for young writers who want to unleash their creativity in an environment that's fun, social, and without pressure.  

No grades...no pressure...just inspiration!  

Workshops are scheduled for one-week-long sessions from July 5 through August 12. These include: 

Grades 5-6 

• Creative Writing: Unleash Your Imagination, Publish a Book   

Grades 7-9   

• Creative Writing: Fiction and Fantasy
• Journalism: Reporting and Column Writing

Grades 9-11

• Creative Writing - Anything Goes 
• Be a Blogger 
• The World According To Me

Entering Grade 12  

• Write Your College Essay - Then Enjoy Your Summer! 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

What do writers need most?

I will admit to having spent much time at stationery stores over the years, scribbling on tiny pieces of scrap paper in search of the perfect pen.  But today I have a different take on it.  What have several decades of both writing and teaching taught me about what writers really need in order to write? A deadline.

For more explanation, read my article in the Spring 2011 issue of Connecticut Muse, "What Does A Writer Need Most?")  

Only 1 space left!

Wouldn't you like four days of peace and quiet to write on a veranda overlooking the ocean, or you own private room, with evening workshops, gourmet meals, and the supportive company of other writers?

Then join us in Watch Hill, Rhode Island on May 13-17, 2011 where only one space remains for our Spring 2011 Writers' Retreat.

We are excited this month to introduce our newest workshop leader, novelist Sandra Rodriguez Baron, author of the novels Stay With Me (HarperCollins 2010) and The Heiress of Water (HarperCollins 2006).  

On Saturday, June 4 she will conduct a workshop called Writing About Intimacy.  In this workshop, which was one of the most popular workshops she conducted as a Jane Tinkham Broughton Fiction Fellow at the 2008 Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, she will offer techniques for conveying intimacy and share her experience as a novelist grappling with this critical but exciting challenge.

Click here for more information
Or to register for Writing About Intimacy 

Westport Writers' Workshop workshop leader Sandra Rodriguez Baron's second novel, Stay With Me (HarperCollins, December, 2010), won first place in the novel category of the 2011 Connecticut Press Club awards. Sandra will be conducting a high level half-day workshop "Writing about Intimacy" at the Westport Writers' Workshop on June 4. Registration is now open. (More information.)  

Just released:Twelve Breaths a Minute: End of Life Stories (Southern Methodist University Press, 2011) which includes the essay "A Better Place" written by Westport Writers' Workshop instructor Valerie Seiling Jacobs. Originally published in Creative Nonfiction magazine, Valerie's essay  was written and shaped in WWW's "The Examined Life" workshop.

After attending Marcelle Soviero's "Get Published Now!" workshop in November, Bonnie Council had her essay "On My Mother's Mind" named "Editor's Pick" on Salon.com's Open Salon.  Also recently named "Editor's Pick" were Elizabeth Dimmette Coyne's essays "When the Wig Falls Off" and "Taking House;" and Marcelle Soviero's  "The Divorce Photo" and "The Red Shirt."  

 What We're Reading 

This month, a contribution from workshop leader Joe Freitas:

"On a recommendation from one of my fellow writers (Kate Corr), I have just begun reading David Foster Wallace's book of essays Consider the Lobster.

"It's a must read. His humor, attention to crazy detail, and penchant for sentences that simply do not end (yet make perfect sense) create a somewhat dizzying read. Still, the overall impact is strong and clear. His unrelenting focus on truth - what is really being said and felt - are his trademarks. And though some of the essays are comic in nature, there is often an underlying sadness. Wallace understood just how fine a line we walk between the two.  

"Foster's cult-like following began after the1996 publication of his novel Infinite Jest. It has reached new heights since his suicide in 2008 and the posthumous publication of his unfinished novel, The Pale King, earlier this year. His literary notes show the care that he brought to his work, but the finished pieces always feel like they're coming off the top of his head, spoken from the heart, and like he's talking just to you."

 Summer Workshops  

We are excited that one of our most popular workshop leaders, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, who is currently a teaching fellow in the Columbia University MFA program, will be returning this summer to lead the Wednesday 7 to 9 pm "Writing About Your Life: A Memoir and Personal Essay Workshop."

Once again, participants currently enrolled in a workshop have priority to re-register for their spots for the next session.   Let your workshop leader know if you would like to re-register.

One-On-One Coaching/ Editing 

Did you know that the Westport Writers' Workshop offers private one-on-one consultation, coaching, and/or editing by our workshop leaders and other professionals? These include:  

• Fiction and Nonfiction Manuscript Consulting and Critiquing by Suzanne Hoover, Ph.D. 

• Writing Coaching and/or manuscript editing with Jessica Bram, Marcelle Soviero, Joe Freitas, Matt Debenham.

• Playwriting and Fiction Consulting and Critiquing by playwright David Wiltse. 

• Copy editing/proofreading with Marggie Graves, others. 

Click Here for More Information 

Saturday, June 4, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., WRITING ABOUT INTIMACY with author Sandra Rodriguez Barron, 3 Sylvan Road South, Westport, $65 or $55 for WWW members.   

Thursday, June 9, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., ESSENTIALS FOR THE FICTION WRITER: POINT OF VIEW  with Suzanne Hoover, Ph.D., at the Greenwich Arts Council, 299 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, $65 or $55 for GAC or WWW members.  

Make sure you are on our email list for announcements of all events and openings. 

"I write the first sentence and trust in God for the next."

~ Laurence Sterne, Anglo-Irish Novelist  1713-1768

Author of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman  

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