November 8th, 2010
"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self."
—C.S. Lewis
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene sent out every Monday from our favorite view of the Boston Harbor 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.
A Taste of Grub was last Friday night, and if you were one of the 240 people who attended, we hope you'll agree that it was a great event. Featured authors Anita Shreve, Marianne Leone and Chuck Hogan shared some exquisite "teachable sentences" with us, and the Memoir Project's John Vacarro and teen program's Justin Singletary wowed us with their powerful readings. We're proud to say that Friday night felt like an important one for Grub Street, and the incoming energy, funds, and commitment of our guests signaled great promise for Grub’s future. The evening wouldn't have been possible without the insight, support, vision, and hard work of our board of directors, our incredible volunteers and our staff — thanks to everyone involved. (Pictures, videos and other updates coming soon!)
A Taste of Grub got us one giant step closer to reaching our yearlong fundraising goal, but we still have some work to do. If you weren't able to come to the event, or if you were able to come and would like to make an additional donation to support literature and writers, please click here. Any amount helps, and we thank you so much for your generosity.
Do you want to support Grub Street but weren't able to come to A Taste of Grub? There's still a chance to bid in our online silent auction. This final week features a killer lineup of items, including Manuscript Feedback Sessions with Best American Short Stories Series Editor Heidi Pitlor, a baseball signed by Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield, a one-night stay for two at gorgeous Porches Inn in the Berkshires, a one-year family membership to the stately Boston Athenaeum (a perfect writing space!), and much more. Bid for yourself, bid to buy the perfect Christmas present for the writer in your life, but most of all: bid to support your favorite non-profit, Grub Street.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Chris, Chip, and Eve
The P.S.: There's always something great going on at Grub, and this weekend is no exception. We've got tons of cool writing workshops going on, including a great seminar on marketing your writing online, a class to get you prepared to apply to MFA programs, and for those of you with books coming out soon, a course on "what to do before you debut." Details below; sign up online on our website.
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.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, November 13-14th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Developing Your Personal Brand: New Media Marketing for Writers
Novelists, poets, freelancers and writers around the world are benefiting from the possibilities of the Internet, building both their personal brand and at the same time driving visibility (and sales!) of their work. Writers face the same challenges as other entrepreneurs: competition; resource restrictions; the need to be first, the best or the most original to market; and, most importantly, the need to be innovative. Publishers are feeling the pinch which means that fewer and fewer writers will get “lucky” and score it big through traditional means. Instead, they need to engage in techniques that move them past hurdles and into the minds of their potential buyers. This class will explore both the basic tenets of what comprises a personal brand as well as to talk about the best ways to use new media tactics such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LibraryThing and much more.
Instructor: Crystal King
$220/$195 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, November 13-14th, 9:00am-4:00pm, MFA Prep Boot Camp
An MFA program can provide a writer with insight, time, and motivation. But when is the right time to apply? How does one choose the right program? How does one improve his or her chances of being admitted? Instructor James Scott (who received his MFA from Emerson College) has gathered tips and wisdom from MFA graduates, professors, and administrators around the country to explore common questions and anxieties of potential students. The weekend will include a workshop of student’s sample work, MFA application reader, discussions of programs and how to get the most from them, and a look at essays and essay questions. Students will leave with a greater understanding of the MFA process and an application piece better fit for a reviewer’s eye.
Instructor: James Scott
$220/$195 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, November 13-14th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Encountering the Past: How to Research and Write Your Historical Novel
Writing a novel is difficult enough to begin with, but the historical novel faces a slew of unique challenges on top it. How do you conduct research successfully? How much is historical accuracy to be protected at the expense of the story? How do you transform the glut of historical detail into a compelling plot? This seminar provides an overview of effective strategies for investigating the past, organizing information into a storyline, then bringing it to life with your prose.
Instructor: Cam Terwilliger
*ONE SPOT LEFT*, $220/$195 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, November 13th, 9:00am-4:00pm, What To Do Before You Debut
The time between signing your publishing contract and holding your book can easily slip away. Most book promotion now falls on the writer, but what to do and when to do it baffles debut and experienced authors. After "What To Do" you should be able to plan your pre-publication schedule and outline your promotion campaign. This seminar includes: planning websites, author photos, social media overview and decisions (including to blog or not to blog,) pros and cons of outside publicists, material you should have, connecting with writers, mailings and e-mailings, book launch parties, taking and rejecting advice, best practices for readings, Ms. Manners for writer’s relationships, your public persona and more. This class will be useful mostly for people who have an accepted published book in the pipeline or newly on the street. For an overview of what to do before your book finds a publisher, check out Grub Street’s other offerings.
Instructor: Randy Susan Meyers
*5 SPOTS LEFT*, $115/$95 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, November 14th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Free-Writing Sunday
This day-long workshop will be built around freewriting—excavations of your subconscious and conscious thoughts—to spark and develop detailed assignments for longer, more polished work.
Instructor: Jill McDonough
*SOLD OUT*, Grub Street headquarters.
FREE LUNCHTIME WRITING: Tuesday, November 16th, 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.
Be sure to check out our website for a comprehensive view of upcoming events.
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.
--CONTEST: Soul-Making Contest
Three Boston area Grub members, Jamie Cat Callan, Tara Masih, and Kathy Handley, are involved with the National League of American Pen Women, Nob Hill Branch's annual Soul-Making Contest. It was created to encourage, support, and validate a diversity of creative expressions and honor all others who do the same. Categories include Short Story, Poetry, Prose Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Novel Excerpt, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Young Adult Poetry and Prose, Humor, and Intercultural Essay. Date for Award ceremony is March 20, 2011. DEADLINE: November 30. Check website for details: www.soulmakingcontest.us.
--READING: Wednesday, November 10th, Authors' Night at Stellina Featuring Daphne Kalotay and Michelle Hoover
Each month, Stellina hosts authors who speak about their and answer questions from the audience. This month, we welcome two fabulous Grubbie authors: Daphne Kalotay, author of Russian Winter, and Michelle Hoover, author of The Quickening. Stellina will provide light antipasti; beer & wine will be available for purchase. Don't miss a chance to hear two of our very favorite authors reading together!
FREE, 47 Main Street, Watertown, MA.
--READING: Monday, November 15th, 7-9 pm, Four Stories hosts The Drum Literary Magazine
Can't get enough of The Drum from the website or your headphones? Come to the Four Stories event at the Enormous Room! Grubbies Ethan Gilsdorf, Michelle Hoover, and Lynne Griffin, and director of Harvard's Creative Writing program Bret Anthony Johnston will read, and the event is hosted by Faith Salie, Drum contributing editor.
FREE, The Enormous Room, 567 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge.
--CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: The Drum Literary Magazine
More Drum! More Drum! Submit your work to The Drum, an online literary magazine publishing short fiction and essays exclusively in audio form. We're also looking for submissions in our Stories on the Street and Dispatches categories. For more info, visit http://www.drumlitmag.com.
--FESTIVAL: Saturday, November 13th, 11:00am - 10:00pm, The Somerville News Writers' Festival
The Festival kicks off with a Book Fair from 11am - 4:30, where Grub Street will have a table. At 7pm join us as author Timothy Gager hosts an evening of readings by acclaimed authors and poets: Malachy McCourt, Sam Cornish, Jennifer Haigh , Steve Almond, Michelle Hoover, Ethan Gilsdorf, Fred Marchant, Diana Der-Hovanessian, David Ferry, Martha Collins and Douglas Holder, Rusty Barnes. Co-sponsored by Grub Street and Porter Square Books.
$10, The Center for Arts at the Armory, Somerville.
--FAIR: Sunday, November 14th, 12-3PM: Lit Mag Fair
Join the editors and contributors of AGNI, One Story, Ploughshares, Salamander and Redivider for a celebration of the latest issues of these literary magazines.
FREE, Newtonville Books.
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like outsourcing your novel, we offer you the chance to win a prize. This author self-published his now-famous novel in 1913 after being rejected by many publishers. Name the author and book, please. Email your answer and your postal address to whitney@grubstreet.org. First correct respondent wins a J.P. Licks gift card.
Last week's answer: To defeat writer's block, G.K. Chesterton fired arrows out his window at a tree in his yard.