November 15th, 2010
"As if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose."
—Rilke
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene sent out every Monday from the double-decker tourist bus parked 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.
Each quarter, we host a fun open mic reading showcasing the talents of our students from the previous term. If you're in a Grub class now, get your excerpts polished and ready to be read in front of an adoring crowd at our Season Showcase on December 9th. Or come out to Newtonville Books on November 21st at 2pm for our annual Grub Street Showcase, this year featuring the work of four of our awesome instructors. Details on both below (including the answer to the question: "Will there be snacks?")
Whatever your feelings about reading digitally vs. good old fashioned paperback books, there's no denying that the e-book market is alive and thriving. Take this recent article in the New York Times, for example. Starting in the new year, the venerable New York Times best seller list will publish an e-book best seller list--a nod, perhaps, to e-book sales increasing 190% in the past year and now making up 10% of publishing revenue.
According to the venerable smarty-pants at Oxford Dictionary, each year we lose more words from the English language, and as of now 90% of everything we write is communicated in only 7,000 words. Help Oxford Dictionary and A Word A Day reverse this trend by adopting your favorite word from the English language at their cool Save The Words site. No, seriously, do it. We're asking you kaleusmatically.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Chris, Chip, and Eve
The P.S. The Grub Street staff will be in tryptophan-induced comas on November 25th and 26th, and will be back in the office as fatter versions of ourselves on Monday, November 29th. Happy Thanksgiving!
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.
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.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, December 4-5th, 9:00am-4:00pm, The Murky Middle
Writing the middle of a novel can feel, for many writers, like being lost in the forest with neither a breadcrumb trail nor a compass. You know where you want to end up, but are not sure how to get there. If you’ve written at least 50 pages and feel lost in the murky middle of your novel, this class will help you forge a path toward the story’s climax. Through intensive in-class exercises and brainstorming as well as an overnight assignment, you will leave on Sunday afternoon with a new mid-novel scene, and a possible path out of the forest.
Please come to class with 12 copies of both the first paragraph of your novel and a plot outline of what you’ve written so far, broken down chapter by chapter. We will be working with these outlines in class.
Instructor: Lisa Borders
*2 spots left* Register now! $220/$195 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, December 4-5th, 9:00am-4:00pm, The Hook and the Book
Do you know the secrets to writing a winning query? Join agent Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank of Fairbank Literary Representation for a weekend of intensive query and writing critique, lessons on the basics of a powerful synopsis, help on the first five pages, review of a laundry list of Dos and Don’ts, and group and one-on-one analysis of your submission package.
*Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.*
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, December 4th, 9:00am-4:00pm,Workshop Your Website or Blog
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 seminar is only for those who already have a designed website or active blog. Submit the URL(s) of your website and/or blog to chip@grubstreet.org by noon on Tuesday, November 30th. If you have a blog, also submit two of your best posts that could be discussed in class. The instructor will prepare thorough critiques of each site before class so submitting URLs as early as possible is appreciated. Amy Marcott is a web writer and editor at MIT who blogs frequently and assists with web redesigns and incorporating new technologies into online strategies.
Instructor: Amy Marcott
Register now! $115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, December 4th, 9:00am-4:00pm, The Confident Writer
If you had more faith in your writing, what would you do? Submit more work to magazines? Finish that draft of your novel? Share your nonfiction in public? Receive critiques with delight? In a world where writers are often asked, "What novels have you published?" it can be difficult to build the confidence we need to progress. In this one-night seminar, we'll view our writing through an honest and encouraging lens, learning the art of positive self-talk and interpretation, while also finding ways to celebrate and inspire. Led by a writing teacher and psychology grad who has specialized in self-esteem, we'll practice tried and tested techniques including self-talk, community building, the praise sandwich, achievable goal-setting, arts activism, and alternative methods of showcasing our work. If possible, please come with two 500 word samples of your writing or excerpts from a longer piece, which you would be willing to share.
Instructor: Sue Williams
Register now! $115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, December 5th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Jumpstart Your WritingThrough a series of fun directed writing exercises, we will explore the terrain of fiction and some non-fiction: mining for material, constructing characters and settings, shaping vivid dialogue, understanding point of view, and finding your voice.
Instructor: Grace Talusan
*Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.*
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, December 5th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Poetry Revision Clinic
A poem is never finished, wrote Valery, only abandoned. In this workshop, we will spend the day exploring different methods of revision – focusing on such techniques as storyboarding, reconsidering form, and attending to imagery and language. We will also try out a variety of revision protocols that can be used in writing groups. Participants should bring two to three poems (at any stage – from idea to completed draft) that they are interested in revising.
Instructor: Ben Berman
Register now! $115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
DAYTIME INTENSIVE: Monday-Friday, December 6-10th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Week-Long Revision ClinicThough it's often said that revising is the key to publishable writing, revision is a process that many fiction writers find frustrating. Once you have a first draft, what happens next? How do you follow through on the ideas your workshop suggested? How do you add depth to characters? How do you make the structure more direct? This week-long intensive course will teach the crucial concepts of revision that will allow you to address these issues. Whether it's exploring the possibilities of an initial draft or adding the final touches, revision is a process no successful writer can do without.
Instructor: Cam Terwilliger
Register now! $285/$260 members, Grub Street headquarters.
READING AND OPEN MIC: Thursday, December 9th, 8:00-10:00pm, Fall Season Showcase
Join Grub students from the Fall 2010 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. Open only to students who've taken courses, seminars or weekend workshops in Fall 2010. And yes, 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 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.
--CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 13th Annual Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award
Each year, the PEN New England Children's Book Committee honors emerging writers and writer/illustrators with its Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award. Winners will present their work to the public at the PEN New England Children's Book Discovery Evening in May 2011, and winning manuscripts will be read by editors at major publishing houses. In past years, editors from Knopf, Candlewick, and Houghton Mifflin have read winning submissions. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, February 1, 2011.
For guidelines: http://www.pen-ne.org/news/cat_childrens_book_caucus.html#a000129
--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.
--READING: Sunday, November 21st, 2PM: Grub Street Showcase
Join us for and afternoon of readings by Grub Street instructors Ethan Gilsdorf, Wendy Mnookin, Sue Williams, and Cam Terwilliger. Hosted by Chip Cheek.
FREE, Newtonville Books.
--READING: Sunday, November 21st, 5PM, Myla Goldberg
Come for the Grub showcase, buy some books, and then stay for Myla Goldberg, author of The False Friend. It's a Super Sunday at Newtonville Books. Please note that the bookstore will be extending its hours for this event.
FREE, Newtonville Books.
--TEA AND READING: Sunday, December 5th, 1:30pm–4:00pm, The Women’s National Book Association/Boston Chapter Holiday Tea
Holiday Tea featuring Kim Ablon Whitney, The Other Half of Life; Joan Houlihan, The Us; and
Hobson Woodward, A Brave Vessel. All these books named by the Massachusetts Center for the Book as “must reads” Enjoy this WNBA/Boston holiday tradition. Bring a children’s book to donate to the Women’s Lunch Place, win fabulous raffle prizes and indulge in the sumptuous Copley Plaza high tea.
$30 for WBNA members, $35 for nonmembers, $150 for a table of 5, The Fairmont Copley Plaza, 138 St. James Avenue (Copley Square)
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like mooing like a duck and quacking like a lion, we offer you the chance to win a prize. Name three famous authors who were under five feet tall. 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: Marcel Proust self-published In Search of Lost Time in 1913 after being rejected by many publishers. Winner: Alex Kaplan.