June 28th, 2010

Grub Street News

Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene sent out every Monday from the 138th game of our tennis match 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.

Thank you for beautifying our space

We had a fantastic crew of painters help out over the last two Fridays, and our home is looking snazzier than ever. Stop by to check out our new paint palette, or just to say hello. Our home is open to you! A huge thanks to Lauren Blakeslee, Quentin Lucas, Benaiah Sunde, Eve Bridburg, Milo and Theo Rosen, Marie Claflin, Stacie Clemens, Connie Duff, Liza Katz, Alan Kennedy, and Stephie Klostermann for all their hard work.

Featured Grub Instructor: Michelle Hoover

Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Chris, Chip, Eve and Alexis

The P.S.: It's a double header! This Rag has news enough for this week and next week, so we'll be taking a break on the 4th of July and will resume on July 12th.

The P.P.S.: Remember how we told you that the Department of Congratulations would come out the first Monday of each month? Well, the Rag's little vacation next week has made liars out of us already. Look for the DoC on Monday, July 12th instead!

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.

SEMINAR: Monday, June 28th, 7:00-10:00pm, Essays in a Flash
Instructor: Kathleen Willis Morton
We'll spend the night exploring the sub-genre of short-short nonfiction (700-900 words), which has opened up new creative and publishing opportunities for writers the past few years. We will look at examples of these itsy-bitsy essays, explore potential journals for submission, and do a few writing exercises.
Level: All
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

SEMINAR: Monday, June 28th, 7:00-10:00pm, The Art of Column Writing
Instructor: Suzette Martinez Standring
We can’t offer this seminar enough! It always sells out, and always gets glowing evaluations. With the explosion of blogs and websites, everyone is a columnist with a memory, opinion or skill to be shared. But creating compelling prose in 500 words or less is a special art. Vivid and insightful columns written in a unique voice catch an editor’s eye or a syndicate’s attention. The skills required to craft a taut and memorable column improve all types of writing. Learn the tips and techniques used by award-winning newspaper columnists to stand out and fuel a faithful readership.
Level: All
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

SEMINAR: Monday, June 28th, 7:00-10:00pm, Making Your Writing Richer
Instructor: Kate Flora
Do you want to expunge all clichés from your writing? Do you struggle to find interesting ways to disclose your characters to your reader or make your scenes more vivid? This seminar will use a series of exercises and discussion to open you up to new strategies to move beyond the ordinary and find the distinctive, individual voice that is yours. WARNING: There will be homework for those who sign up!
Level: All
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP, Saturday, July 10th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Writing the Hard Truths
Instructor: Kathleen Willis Morton
A one-day version of this popular weekend seminar! Exploring ways to approach difficult topics in memoir and narrative non-fiction, artfully and with compassion, we’ll write about the things most people don’t want to talk about: death, traumatic events, and taboo subjects in ways that will be digestible to the reader although the subject matter is a hard dose to swallow. We will not be writing with intent on psychotherapeutic results, though this is often the byproduct when difficult experiences and situations are the subject matter we plumb for story. Craft comes first; crisis is merely the setting for our narratives.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, July 10th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Telling the Story: Perspective, Narration, Imagination
Instructor: Cam Terwilliger
Point of view is one of the most vital aspects of writing fiction, yet it’s also one of the most overlooked. When it’s done well, it evaporates into the background, allowing the reader to be enraptured by the story. But when point of view is done poorly, there’s few things more destructive. In this seminar, we’ll tackle the strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives, determining which one best fits your story, and how to make the most of it. Additionally, we’ll illuminate broader issues of narration such as how to balance scene and summary, the role a good narrator plays, and the power of using your point of view character’s imagination.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, July 10th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Improv For Prose Writers
Instructor: Andrew Ladd
Improvised theatre promotes quick thinking, self-confidence, and cooperation - all useful skills for life in general. But, for writers, improv can be even more beneficial, as it's based largely on the same building blocks as good fiction -- strong characters, satisfying plot arcs, and realistic dialogue - and it teaches you to create all of those on the spot and with minimal "inspiration", several times an hour. Students in this very hands-on workshop will learn basic exercises for idea generation and getting out of your usual thinking patterns, as well as the principles of good improvised "scenecraft", plot-shaping, and character work - which will then be directly applied in a series of concluding writing exercises. By the end of the workshop you'll feel like your stories are writing themselves!
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, July 11th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Sportswriting: Inside the Rings
Instructor: Steven Wilstein
This new seminar, designed to give a broad introduction to the world of sportswriting, will cover beat reporting, columns, features and investigative reporting. It will also offer a behind-the-scenes look at what the sportswriter's life is like at big events like the Olympics, World Series, Super Bowls and Grand Slams. We will talk about the kind of logistical commitment covering such events takes, as well as some instruction of how to conduct interviews and attend news conferences. This is a class for anyone thinking of what it would be like to be a sportswriter, and/or who wants a front-row seat at the games, to talk to the players in the locker rooms and write stories that everyone else reads over breakfast the next morning. Optional: come to class with two pieces of writing: (1) a basic, 400-word game story written within an hour after any Red Sox game you’ve seen in person or on TV; (2) a 700-word column written within a few hours of any sports event you’ve seen recently.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, July 11th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Troubleshoot Me
Instructor: James Scott
A full-day version of the recent seminar. Asking the proper questions about your writing can lead to the greatest improvements. A great editor, of course, can provide such a sounding board. Weak writing, however, often doesn't find its way to an editor's desk. Trying to figure out how to make that next leap alone can often be frustrating. In this class, using one to two pages of students' own writing that has proved troublesome, exemplifies a recurring problem, or just isn't quite working, we'll concentrate on finding our weaknesses and developing exercises and strategies to turn them into strengths. The instructor will also offer each a student a manual with strategies to address each common issue.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, July 11th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Playwriting
Instructor: Martha Jane Kaufman
How do you tell a story onstage? What theatrical devices will best help you tell the story you want to tell? How do you express character in a play or structure a piece of theater? This course will introduce writers from all genres and backgrounds to playwriting. We'll work through a number of prompts, models, and techniques for writing a short play. Students will develop a personal toolbox of exercises, structures and strategies. At the end of the workshop all students will leave with several beginnings and outlines for plays to continue working on. We will also spend time learning where to send plays, how to market yourself as a playwright and how to find space and collaborators for producing your own work.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Poetry for Prose Writers, Sunday, July 11th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Poetry for Prose Writers
Instructor: Ben Berman
Worried that your prose is becoming overly prosaic? Want to make your sentences stand out in a positive way? Ever wanted to take a poetry class without actually having to write poems? In this seminar, we’ll look at some strategies that are used across genres – in particular, we’ll study how you might use form, imagery, metaphor and attentiveness to language to breathe new life into your prose. We will spend time reading and discussing poems, but the focus of this workshop will be on generating new pieces of prose.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

DAYTIME INTENSIVE: Monday-Friday, July 19-23rd, 11:00am-2:00pm, From Revision to Submission
Instructor: James Scott
Intended for the writer who needs a final push to submit their work, this class provides one last objective look to make certain that the writer is in the best possible position for publication. The first half of the class will be a revision workshop, focusing on the art of sanding down, smoothing out, and touching up the writing. The second half will help students discuss and find markets for their work. The last class will partially be devoted to assembling submissions and celebrating finished pieces.
$285.00/$260.00 members, Grub Street HQ, 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

SEMINAR: Tuesday, July 27th, 6:30-9:30pm, Funny is the New Deep
Instructor: Steve Almond
Contrary to popular belief, writing funny doesn't mean sacrificing depth. On the contrary, for most literary writers the comic impulse is inextricably linked to tragedy. In this informal class, we'll look at the work of Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, and others, in an effort to learn how you can be funny and break hearts while doing it.
$65.00/$50.00 members, at the Arlington Center for the Arts.

SEMINAR: Tuesday, July 2oth, 6:30-9:30pm, Why Your Manuscript Was Rejected
Instructor: Steve Almond
If you're like most writers, you've gotten lots of rejections. Like, maybe even one earlier today. The big question in the mind of all of us is: WHY? Why didn't you take my brilliant prose? Is something WRONG with you? In fact, there is a reason your piece was rejected, and probably several. In this intensive and often incoherent seminar, Steve Almond (man of a million rejections) will provide a cogent summary of mistakes writers make, both in fiction and non-fiction prose. Among the topic's we'll cover: disorienting the reader, wandering plots, canned dialogue, and the ever-popular flowery prose. Taking this course virtually guarantees that you will NEVER BE REJECTED AGAIN. At least until such a time as you send out more work.
$65.00/$50.00 members, at the Arlington Center for the Arts.

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.

--BOOK LAUNCH AND PARTY: Tuesday, July 6th, 7pm, Michelle Hoover's The Quickening
Grub instructor Michelle Hoover just published her first novel, The Quickening, and as you read in our Gossip section, it's already garnering great reviews. All of us at Grub are looking forward to celebrating her launch at her reading at the Brookline Booksmith. After the reading, join Michelle and other Grubbies at local Thai restaurant Khao Sarn (250 Harvard Street, Brookline) for drinks and appetizers. Grub Street has reserved the bar area and will provide snacks, and everyone who buys a book at Brookline Booksmith and shows the receipt to the bartender/server gets a free drink!
FREE, Reading @ Brookline Booksmith; after-party at Khao Sarn.

--READING AND MUSIC: Thursday, July 8th, 8pm, Rock & Roll Will Save Your Life: The Musical
An evening of words, musics, drinks, dancing, and bad hair.
Steve Almond will read from his new book, AND bless the rains down in Africa. Billy Giraldi will spin the records. And the amazing Dayna Kurtz will sing beautiful songs. Anyone who clicks here (https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8226175) to buy tickets now will automatically receive a FREE CD from Steve's personal record collection. This offer brought to you by Steve's wife, Erin! Also, the Grub staff can vouch for the awesomeness of Dayna Kurtz as a lyricist and singer – we all saw her perform at Johnny D’s a couple years and immediately became rabid fans. If you want to spread the word, or see what other Grubbies will be there, check out the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132390163439178&ref=mf.
$10, Club Oberon, Two Arrow Street, Harvard Square.

--PARTY: Tuesday, June 29th, 6:30 - 9:00pm, SheWrites First Birthday Party
Join Women, Action & the Media and other Boston-area writers for a meetup to connect with each other and celebrate SheWrites.com's first birthday in style. There'll be candles, tshirts for the first 5 to arrive, writing prompts for those who want 'em, and general networking and merriment! Please bring a book, either your own or a book of another woman writer (new or gently used), and leave with another one. We will also all make a wish for our upcoming writing year. Women in 16 cities will gather together that day to celebrate; be part of this international celebration of women writers. RSVP on facebook.
FREE, Redline, 59 JFK Street, Cambridge.

--Fantastic discount for Fine Arts Work Center fiction course this summer!
Grubbie Dawn Dorland has been asked to spread the word that the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown will be offering a handsome discount (depending on your digs, equal to one night of lodging!) for a particular fiction course this summer.  The course, Crafting Fiction, runs from July 18-23 and is taught by the warm and wonderful Dean Albarelli, author of the short story collection Cheaters.  By way of endorsement, Dawn has taken this course TWO SUMMERS IN A ROW.  Dean is a gracious, dedicated teacher who holds his students to high standards.  The course is appropriate for both short fiction and novel writers.  If you'd been wanting to try the FAWC, but always felt it a wee bit out of your price range, this is for you! For more information on Dean and the course, please visit http://www.fawc.org/summer/write_courses.php#albarelli.   For questions about the discount, or Dean, or the FAWC experience in general, please email FAWC cheerleader dawndorland@gmail.com.  

--BOOK RELEASE: Thursday, July 8th, 7pm, Lynne Griffin's Sea Escape
Buttonwood Books & Toys celebrates the release of Scituate author Lynne Griffin’s new novel Sea Escape with a reception. Sea Escape is a story about relationships, what happens when trust is lost, and a daughter’s diligent and ultimately successful, efforts to coax harmony back into a fractured family. Griffin will discuss her new book and answer questions about her writing. Lynne Griffin is a nationally recognized expert on family life. She is the author of the novel Life Without Summer and the parenting book Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Parental Authority Without Punishment. She teaches family studies at the graduate level and writing at Grub Street. Free event. If you are unable to attend and would like to order a signed copy, please call Buttonwood at 1-781-383-2665.
FREE, Buttonwood Books, Shaw’s Plaza, Rt.3A, Cohasset.

--WORKSHOP: Thursday, July 8th, 7pm, Mini Writers' Workshop
Don't miss this opportunity to take a FREE mini Writers’ Workshop with Grub instructor Jamie Cat Callan, creator of The Writer’s Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the ‘Write’ Side of Your Brain. Jamie is fantastic, and this class is guaranteed to be fun and engaging. Be sure to bring paper and a pen!
FREE, Jamaicaway Books and Gifts in Jamaica Plain

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