December 8th, 2009

Grub Street News

Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene sent out every Tuesday by the mime troupe at Grub Street's world headquarters. As always, if you are receiving this e-mail in horror, please advance to the bottom of the page to unsubscribe yourself.

The 2010 winter workshop schedule is (a)live!

We have a wonderful and robust lineup of 6- and 10-week workshops starting in January, as well as weekend classes and seminars, and all the information is available on our website now. We're pleased to be offering some great new classes this term, including a course on speculative fiction called Monsters and Mayhem and a great new nonfiction class, A Tour of the Essay. Go to http://www.grubstreet.org to read the descriptions of all the classes, and call us at 617.695.0075 to sign up!

Grub Street Holiday Gift Guide

Grubbies go. . . NEA!

It's always fun to announce this sort of news. There are not one, not two, but SIX Grubbies who have been awarded $25,000 NEA Prose Fellowships this year: Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, one of our most fabulous instructors; Sheri Joseph, winner of our first Grub Street Book Prize in Fiction; Adam Johnson, a contributor to our Literary Silent Auction at this year's Taste of Grub (and featured writer/artist on the cover of the upcoming Free Press); Lewis Robinson and Joan Wickersham, both authors who led sessions at last year's Muse and the Marketplace; and Christina Thompson, an editor at the Muse and the Marketplace. Huge congratulations to all--what a wonderful and well-deserved testament to your talent.
 
Cheers,
Whitney S., Sonya, Chris, Whitney O. and Alexis

Grub Events

In addition to our ongoing workshops, Grub Street offers numerous writing-related events around town. See our website for a long-term view of all we do. Ready to sign up? Call us at 617.695.0075 and we'll get you on the list.

REMINDER: SOLD-OUT SEMINARS TAKING PLACE DECEMBER 9th:
Obsessive Writing
Mapping the Memoir
Ask The Agent
Click links to access descriptions to these seminars.

EVENT: Adaptations III
Thursday, December 10th, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
The third installment of one of Grub Street's favorite series returns THIS Thursday, December 10th at 7:30 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Join host Andre Dubus III (author of House of Sand and Fog, which was made into a fantastic film) and an all-star lineup of acclaimed authors -- including Richard Russo, Elinor Lipman and Tom Perrotta-- as they read short excerpts from their novels, show the corresponding scenes from the film versions, and discuss the "translation" from page to screen. Films discussed include Russo's Nobody's Fool, Lipman's Then She Found Me and Perrotta's Little Children. Sure to be a lively, fun, informative and inspiring evening. Tickets are $12 for members of the Coolidge and Grub Street, and $15 for non-members, and are available exclusively from the Coolidge Corner Box Office: 617.734.2501 or www.coolidge.org/node/1042.

SEMINAR: Workshop Your Website or Blog
Monday, December 14th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Instructor: Amy Marcott
Do you have a website and/or blog but want to learn ways to enhance the design and content? Looking to broaden your reach or boost your professional appeal? This class will offer a venue for receiving feedback on your online presence. Along the way, you’ll learn strategies for more effective design, navigation, usability, search engine optimization, and content. We’ll also do some writing exercises to help your work stand out. Note: this course is only for those who already have a designed website or active blog. Submit the URL(s) of y our website and/or blog to sonya@grubstreet.org when you register for the class. If you have a blog, also submit two of your best posts that could be discussed in class. Amy Marcott is a web writer and editor at MIT who also assists with web redesigns and incorporating new technologies into online strategies.
$45/$40 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston

SEMINAR: More and Less: Varieties of Minimalism and Maximalism
Monday, December 14th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Instructor: Tim Horvath
Consideration of style is typically something we save for late in the writing process, but it often jumps off the page when we read. Scratch the surface of terms like "minimalist" and "maximalist" and you'll find a variety of ways of stripping down or amping up one's prose, and equally various reasons for doing so. By looking at authors like Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, and Kevin Canty and comparing them with authors like David Foster Wallace, Annie Proulx, and Stanley Elkin, we'll see how our writing can benefit from experimenting at both extremes, plus we'll get a new view of the middle ground. The evening may culminate in a fantasy baseball game in which the mins and maxes square off for bragging rights; literary history will never be the same.
$45/$40 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston

SEMINAR: Your First Page: Friend or Foe
Monday, December 14th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Instructor: Sorche Fairbank
An eye-opening session with agent Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank. Dig into the murky world of rejection, and the impact, good or bad, of your first page.
**This class is SOLD OUT! Please email sonya@grubstreet.org to be put on a waiting list.***
$45/$40 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston

SEMINAR: Plotting the Novel
Tuesday, December 15th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Instructor: Michelle Hoover
Have you started your novel but feel a sense of indecision encroaching your progress? Have you written hundreds of pages and now need to pull the bloody mass together into a workable book? Do you have a sense of dread that the pages you’ve left behind you are “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”? Starting with Aristotle and working through three contemporary authors’ ideas about plotting, this course will offer several plot forms to help you rethink your novel’s structure and the vital connection between character and plot. The goal is that, by the end of the evening, you will have a new outline for your book that gives your creation grounding but also leaves you open for further exploration and discovery.
$45/$40 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston

SEMINAR: Child’s Play: The Art of Writing for Children and Young Adults
Tuesday, December 15th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Instructor: Beth Raisner Glass
All work and no play…you’ve heard it before, but when it comes to writing for children, you can do both! Have you ever thought, I have a great book idea for children! or, I’ve always wanted to write for young people, but how do I begin? Join children’s author, Beth Raisner Glass as she leads an introductory seminar exploring the craft and thrill of writing literature for children. Whether you fancy writing a picture book, a chapter book, a middle grade novel or a Y.A. (Young Adult)--and you know you have-- come and experience what this unique genre is all about. In this seminar you will not only hear first hand what it takes to write for the incredible child through teen audience but you will also get a peek into the world of publishing and promotion. Writing for children is a craft that when honed and nurtured, can blossom into a work of art that stays with the reader for a lifetime. In this seminar, you will learn how authors go from inspiration to publication. You will be introduced the art of revision, the structure of a picture book. a chapter book and Y.A. book and even learn about the relationships between authors, illustrators, editors and publishers. If you have ideas you’d like to turn into books for children, this is a hands on writing seminar you do not want to miss!
$45/$40 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston

OPEN MIC AND READING: Wednesday, December 16th, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Fall Season Showcase
Join Grub students from the Fall 2009 term, plus two of our award-winning instructors, as they read (for 5 minutes each) from recent work. You’ll hear great fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and maybe even a screenplay or video game script. Open only to students who’ve taken courses, seminars or weekend workshops this spring. Everyone gets free snacks and drinks. Sign-ups begin around 8pm. A great event for current Grubbies and those who want to check us out. Bring friends!
FREE, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston.

Be sure to check out our events calendar for a comprehensive view of upcoming events.

Spreading the Love

Grub Street wants to promote YOU! Please send events for consideration to whitney@grubstreet.org. Our apologies in advance if we cannot fit you in. Please note that we do the best we can to evaluate requests, and do privilege requests from members, but can not be held responsible for the quality of these events and programs or the legitimacy of contests. We expect that readers will do their own due diligence before sending their work or their money to any individual or organization.

--READING: Thursday, December 10, 7:30pm, Steve Coronella reads from This Thought's On Me
Medford native Steve Coronella will be signing copies of his new book, This Thought’s On Me: A Boston Guy Reflects on Leaving the Hub, Becoming a Dub & Other Topics at The Book Oasis in Stoneham. The book is a collection of Steve’s many essays and humorous pieces dealing with his new life in Dublin and the Boston upbringing he left behind. Steve has written for the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and Cape Cod Times. In Ireland, his work has appeared in The Irish Times and been broadcast on radio. Cider, cookies & good chat also on offer.

--FUNDRAISER: Friday, December 11th, 6:00-8:00 PM 826 Boston’s Benefit for Children’s Literacy
Join 826 Boston for an evening celebrating art, writing, and the mingling of the two. The event will include a silent auction of 25 pieces of individual artwork and a set of 20 one-of-a-kind letter-pressed broadsides featuring professional artists’ responses to writing done by 826 Boston students. This year's auction includes work by Julie Blackmon, Dawn Clements, Dave Cole, Matthew Connors, John Crowe, T.R Ericsson, Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson, Sean Keenan, Fish McGill, Sheryl Pace, Jon Racek and by a host of other acclaimed visual artists. All proceeds from this event will benefit 826 Boston’s free writing and tutoring programs, which have reached over 3,500 students to date and provided more than 15,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring.
Prices vary, Robert Klein Gallery, 4th Floor, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116

--CONFERENCE: The 7th Geneva Writers' Conference, February 5-7th, 2010
Once again 190 writers from around the world will gather in Geneva for a full weekend of workshops, panels, readings and networking. Organized by the Geneva Writers’ Group, the Conference offers workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and children’s writing; panel discussions with agents, editors, publishers; question & answer periods; and two evenings of readings. The faculty includes well known authors Martina Evans, Thomas E. Kennedy, Annette Kobak, Getta Kothari, Robert Root, Richard Scrimger, Susan Tiberghien, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, John Hartley Williams; agents Jane Dystel, Karolina Sutton; editors / publishers David Applefield, Robert Stewart, and web buffs Catherine Nelson Pollard, Alistair Scott, John Zimmer. The Conference takes place at Webster University, Bellevue, along the shore of Lac Leman, ten minutes from Geneva. Visit the website, www.genevawritersgroup.org  for more information.

--CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: MARY Magazine
MARY Magazine is the online arts journal sponsored by Saint Mary's College of California's MFA in Creative Writing program. Since 2002, MARY has published contemporary poetry, prose, and new media arts from a diverse group of established artists, including Peter Orner, Brian Doyle, Gillian Conoley, Bruce Smith, Elizabeth Robinson, Nora Pierce, Rebecca Curtis, Brian Glaser, Carol Snow, Maria Hummel, as well as talented emerging writers. There is no fee to submit to MARY. Writers selected for standard publication are awarded $50. Those who are chosen for the NouVeau section, which is dedicated to emerging writers who have not yet been published, are not paid. Please visit www.maryjournal.org for more information and submission guidelines. When you’re ready to submit, send work to mary@stmarys-ca.edu.

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