September 27th, 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 Rare E-Book Room 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.

Film Internship Opportunity

Are you handy with a video camera? Do you know the ins and outs of iMovie (or similar programs) and want to help Grub Street record our great readings and events? We need your help! The ideal film internship candidate will be free to cover evening and weekend events, have the requisite computer skills and have an interest in writing and the arts. Grub internships generally run each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer) and average 12-15 hours/week during office hours (Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm). Schedules are casual, as is dress code and office atmosphere. We have a lot of fun at work and get a LOT done; we expect the same from you. In exchange for your hard work, you'll get an insider's look at the Boston creative writing scene, free Grub Street classes, and some valuable skills to put on your resumé. We've also been known to write some killer recommendations for those who are worthy. This is a great opportunity for students, recent grads, and anyone interested in nonprofit work and the arts. Interested parties should contact chip@grubstreet.org

Mailing Party for A Taste of Grub

Starting Friday, we will be mailing out fancy invitations to Taste of Grub 2010 , and we're looking for help! If you enjoy folding, stuffing, licking, and/or stamping, please email Whitney at whitney@grubstreet.org. We'll be doing the mailing from 10am - 5pm from Friday, October 1st Wednesday, October 6th (if needed). Come hang with fellow writers and let us treat you to a delicious drink from Starbucks!

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

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.

PANEL: Tuesday, September 28th, 7:00pm, So You Want to Be A Writer?
Join three of Grub Street’s instructors, each of them recently-published authors in three different genres, for a frank and informative discussion about all aspects of the writing life. Bring your questions, your concerns and your curiosity as Ethan Gilsdorf (Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks) discusses narrative non-fiction, Jill McDonough (Habeus Corpus) discusses poetry, and Michelle Hoover (The Quickening) discusses the world of novels and short stories. Moderated by Grub Street’s artistic director, Christopher Castellani (A Kiss From Maddalena and The Saint of Lost Things). Each presenting author will read briefly from their work but spend most of the time offering advice, practical tips on craft and publicity, and answering audience questions.
FREE, Porter Square Books.

WORKSHOP: Tuesday, September 28th, 7:00-8:00pm, Creative Editing for Fiction Writers
Imaginative transitions, cutting for impact, experiments with juxtaposition, and other creative editing strategies for writers of fiction.
Instructor: Iris Gomez
FREE, Buttonwood Books, Cohasset, MA.

LUNCHTIME WRITING: Friday, October 1st, 12:30-1:15pm, Brown Bag Lunch Series
Do you work downtown and want to fit some writing into your day? Or do you have a schedule that gives you free afternoons instead of evenings? Bring your lunch and come on over to Grub Street for a Brown Bag Writing Workshop – a series recently profiled in the Boston Globe. For 45 minutes, you’ll meet visiting poet Ben Lowenkron and publisher Jason Cook to get your creative juices flowing with some cool writing exercises. Ben will use the methods of "Oraular Poetry" to help poets guide the evolution of their own writing. Feel free to bring along your favorite book of poetry to the class. No need to RSVP-- just come!
FREE, Grub Street headquarters.

SATURDAY SERIAL: Saturday, October 2nd, 10:00am-12:00pm The Inside Scoop On Writing Contests
San Francisco poet Eileen Malone, Founder/Director of the Soul-Making Literary Competition, will be reading prize winning poems from her new book of poetry I Should Have Given Them Water (Ragged Sky Press) and speaking about entering writing contests. Based on her 15 years experience of screening entries and working with a range of literary judges, as well as serving as a judge, Eileen will not only present tips and cautions, but field your concerns and questions about contests. She has published her poetry in over 500 literary journals and anthologies, a large amount of which have earned their own significant awards and prizes.
$3-5 suggested donation, Grub Street headquarters.

SEMINAR: Monday, October 4th, 7:00-10:00pm, The Unreliable Narrator in Fiction
The unreliable narrator, with his deceits and his confessions, with his justifications and evasions, is one of fiction-writing’s most venerable traditions, and one in which we’ve all probably dabbled ourselves, whether or not we know it. This one-night seminar will deal in isolating and exploring the various ways in which a first-person narrator can be made unreliable (there are many different types besides the scoundrel in Lolita); how unreliability can be used as a tool to draw more vivid characters, weave more complex plots, and complicate the interface of reader and writer; and how for better or for worse, for evil or for good, we are all unreliable narrators of our own experience, so why should our characters be any different, inextricably linked to our selves as they are? Discover how sometimes to lie to your reader is a way to expedite the truth. Or lie, if you want, for the sheer joy of lying. Lie, because that’s what writers do.
Instructor: Adrian Van Young
$65/$50 members, Grub Street headquarters.

SEMINAR: Monday, October 4th, 7:00-10:00pm, Ask the Producer: The Craft and Marketplace of Screenwriting
Visiting Grub Street from L.A., award-winning producer and manager Marilyn Atlas will spend three hours demystifying the process of screenwriting as well as sharing her insider’s opinion on elements of what makes a good screenplay. Her focus, craft-wise, will be on how to create non-stereotypical characters. Her focus, business-wise, is on your questions and concerns. Join us in welcoming this special guest and sit back for what is sure to be an entertaining and informative evening with someone who knows the business better than just about anyone.
Instructor: Marilyn Atlas
$65/$50 members, Grub Street headquarters.

SEMINAR: Monday, October 4th, 7:00-10:00pm, The Business of Writing for Children and Young Adults
While the market for publishing books for children and young adults bears many similarities to the adult trade market, there are some major differences you should know about before you send your work out into the world. In this seminar, agent Maribeth Sanabria, whose clients include Grub’s own Beth Raisner Glass, will offer a nuts-and-bolts overview of the agent-stage of the process (manuscript review, query letter writing, etc) and take your questions on the burgeoning world of writing for these populations.
Instructor: Maribeth Sanabria
$65/$50 members, Grub Street headquarters.

SEMINAR: Monday, October 4th, 7:00-10:00pm, Provoking Thought: The Art of Science Writing
One of the most commercially successful science writers is Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers. One of the most intellectually acclaimed science writers is Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, author of Blank Slate. Though both authors write books about ideas, their literary techniques couldn't be more different. In this seminar, we'll discover how Gladwell and Pinker represent two opposing sides of a set of choices that every writer must make when communicating ideas from science, technology, or medicine to a mainstream audience. We'll read and discuss passages from several recent nonfiction books to learn about the benefits and pitfalls of each literary choice. You'll also take a shot at writing a short piece in both a Gladwell-style and in a Pinker-style. The goal? To help you find the best approach for writing your own nonfiction book of ideas. We'll also cover state-of-the-art topics like getting a science-savvy agent, writing a science book proposal, managing web controversy, leveraging Amazon.com, and the unprecedented opportunities of e-books.
Instructor: Ogi Ogas
*SOLD OUT*, email chip@grubstreet.org to be put on a waiting list. $65/$50 members, Grub Street headquarters.

LUNCHTIME WRITING: Wednesday, October 6th, 12:30-1:15pm, Brown Bag Lunch Series
Do you work downtown and want to fit some writing into your day? Or do you have a schedule that gives you free afternoons instead of evenings? Bring your lunch and come on over to Grub Street for a Brown Bag Writing Workshop – a series recently profiled in the Boston Globe. For 45 minutes, you’ll meet fellow writers and get your creative juices flowing with some cool writing exercises. Led by one of our award-winning instructors or ambassadors. Best of all, you’ll leave lunch with some new ideas to ponder for the rest of your day, and beyond. No need to RSVP-- just come!
FREE, Grub Street headquarters.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, October 17th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Art of the Scene
Scenes play important roles in fiction and nonfiction—an opportunity for the reader to experience the action as it unfolds in the real time of the story and for the writer to dramatize crucial encounters and key moments. But combining numerous narrative elements into a successful scene can be a challenge. This one-day class – an expanded version of the popular seminar -- will look at the way scenes work and strategies employed by various authors. We’ll focus on pacing, choreography, tension, details, subtext, and more and practice these with in-class writing exercises designed to inspire and elevate your own writing. We'll also workshop a short scene you bring (up to about five pages double spaced) in small groups. Bring 5 copies.
Instructor: Amy Marcott
$115/$95 members, Grub Street headquarters.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, October 17th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Our Lives in the Middle Ages
This is a workshop for writers of a certain (middle) age, according to their own definition. Based partly on James Atlas’ book My Life in the Middle Ages, and partly on the instructor’s own experience in facing ‘50’ and beyond, this session will explore how we can use the universal themes of aging—letting go, dealing with physical illness, the earning of hard-earned wisdom, and laughing at our own foibles—as the raw material for personal essays, memoir vignettes, radio commentaries, etc. In this day-long session, we will examine the work of writers such as Nora Ephron, David Sedaris and others, and then write on a series of prompts, which touch on themes of growing older and (hopefully) wiser. We will share ideas to strengthen and further develop these drafts. Finally, we’ll share ideas about getting our work ‘out there’ through publication in various media, including literary journals, newspapers, and on-line publications.
Instructor: Judah Leblang
$115/$95 members, Grub Street headquarters.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, October 17th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Screenplay Suspense 101: Creating Dramatic Tension through Character Development
Most scripts aren't terrible, just terribly mediocre. The characters are too familiar, the execution is clichéd, and the plot doesn't build to an inevitable boiling point. Tepid stories are usually due to the writer relying on superficial, predictable character types instead of delving deeply into the whys of their actions. A successful story—even a comedy—imbues its characters with complexity, pushes them to the edge of reason, and compels them to face their deepest, darkest fears. In this workshop, you will learn to intensify plot by creating complex, captivating, and enigmatic characters that audiences not only will care about, but will be haunted by for days afterward. The workshop will utilize lecture, interactive writing exercises, and clips from a number of great movies. Bring your informal pitches, screenplay ideas, or the first ten pages of a script in progress, and additional copies for the group.
Instructor: Neil Landau
$115/$95 members, Grub Street headquarters.

Be sure to check out our website 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. Bonus points and undying gratitude for submitting your event info in the same format as the events below. 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 cannot 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.

--LECTURE: Tuesday, September 28th, 7pm, Jane Brox: Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light
Jane Brox’s latest book, Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light, was recently published to widespread critical acclaim. Brox is the author of Clearing Land: Legacies of the American Farm, Five Thousand Days Like This One: An American Family History, a 1999 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction, and Here and Nowhere Else, which won the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award. She has received the New England Book Award for nonfiction, and her essays have appeared in anthologies including Best American Essays, The Norton Book of Nature Writing, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Brox has been awarded grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For additional information about this or any other upcoming lectures, please visit http://www.bc.edu/lowellhs.
FREE, Boston College Murray Function Room, Boston College Yawkey Center.

--READING: Thursday, September 30, 7-8:30 PM, The Roving Raconteurs
Three up and coming local writers, Grub Instructor Judah Leblang, and freelance writers and humorists Dan Gewertz and Randy Ross, will read/perform a series of related pieces about their search for love, a place to call home, and a good garlic bagel. For more information about this free event, check out
http://eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=MEDFORD&curApp=events&curMonth=9&curYear=2010#9/30/2010 or call 617-395-7950
FREE, Medford Public Library in Medford Square.

--READING: Thursday, October 14th, 6:30pm, Women’s National Book Association Boston Meet the Authors
In recognition of National Reading Group Month, a celebration of the joys of shared reading, five distinguished authors read from their works as we mark the occasion with light fare and lively conversation.
The evening will feature a panel discussion, publisher giveaways, and books available for purchase from independent bookseller Village Books. Author readers are Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision – a collection of stories, a feast for fiction aficionados; Joseph Monninger, Eternal on the Water – a love story rooted in the forests of Maine; Ilie Ruby, The Language of Trees – a haunting, lyrical novel of love, loss, and second chances; Michelle Hoover, The Quickening – intertwined fortunes of two early 20th-century Midwestern farm women; and Suzanne Berne, Missing Lucille – A woman’s search for the lost mother of her lost father.
FREE, The Library, Hotel 140, located at 140 Clarendon Street, Boston (corner of Clarendon and Stuart)

--BOOK FESTIVAL: October 16th, all day, Boston Book Festival
Time to charge up your eReader, bound to the bookstore, or locate your library card.   The Boston Book Festival will take place on October 16th in and around Copley Square.   Join BBF for a free all-day literary celebration and exciting street festival with food and vendors.  Watch over 100 world-class novelists, thought leaders, children's authors and illustrators, poets, scientists, technologists, memoirists, and more share the stage in one exciting day. Featuring superstar authors Bill Bryson, Jeff Kinney, Joyce Carol Oates, Tyler Florence, Atul Gawande, and many more.   Not to mention that there are NINE sessions being led by Grub Street instructors all aspects of creative craft. Bring the kids for fun events for the whole family!   For more information, visit www.bostonbookfest.org.

--PLAYWRITING AND SCREENWRITING: Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA in Stage & Screen at Lesley University
Calling all playwrights and screenwriters! Get your Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA in Stage & Screen at Lesley University.  From now until October 15, 2010, Lesley University is accepting rolling applications for its 2011 Spring semester (residency in January, 2011). Each fall, Lesley produces the Student Reading Series for the Kennedy Center where Stage & Screen students interact with actors and directors from the Boston area and their full-length plays received staged readings. Our 2010 Reading Series will be held November 11th to the 14th at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.  It's free to the public.  Email Jami Brandli for more information: Jamibrandli.lesley@gmail.com
For more information about applying to Stage & Screen, contact Janet Pocorobba, Interim Director of the Creative Writing Program at Lesley University:  jpocorob@lesley.edu;  617-349-8601
http://www.lesley.edu/gsass/creative_writing/index.html.