January 3rd, 2011
"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential."
—Ellen Goodman
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene sent out every Monday from the good intentions paving the road to 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.
Start the New Year off right with a Grub Street workshop. Most classes begin next week, and there are still spaces available in great ones like 10 Weeks, 10 Poems, The Grub Street Sampler, How to Write a Lot, Speculative Novel in Progress, Essays in a Flash, Middle Grade and Young Adult Writing, Writing Children's Literature, Daytime Jumpstart Your Memoir, Evening Jumpstart Your Writing, and Writing From Real Life. Check out the full list of courses on our website and register online, too.
This year, we held our first "Give a Buck, Love a Book" campaign, and we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of everyone who sent in donations in honor of their favorite books (Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, anyone?) Without all of you, Grub Street's great plans for the future simply wouldn't be possible, and we hope you know how much we appreciate your contributions. If you meant to send us a donation and didn't get around to it, it's never too late! You can donate on our website here (and if you'd like to make the donation in honor of your favorite book that you read in 2010, just write its name in the comments field on the checkout page). Thanks!
We've got so much news this month, we had to let our belts out another notch to contain it all. First up, just in time for the New Year, you can find Grubbie Julia Maranan’s first book, The 100 Best Ways to Stop Aging and Stay Young (Fair Winds Press), at a fine bookstore near you. She is using many of the tips gleaned from Ethan Gilsdorf’s "Crash Course in Guerrilla Book Promotion" seminar to promote her book. Next, longtime Grubbie (and author of the acclaimed novel Still Alice) Lisa Genova has a new book coming out tomorrow. Called Left Neglected, it's the #1 Indie Next List pick for January!
Two Grubbies have been published in errant parent: Lisa Goell Sinicki's essay "The Good Parent Game," and Amy Rodriguez's essay "Road Trip." Amy has also started to be published in genres other than parenting, including last month's "Tea and Daisies" in Pulse magazine. Grubbie Atinuke Diver has some cool blogging news: her blog Yes, We're Together was selected as Black Blog of the Day for Wednesday, December 23rd by The Black Blogger Network and will also be the Featured Blogging Story for February 2, 2011 on Black Weblog Awards. Grubbie Margaret Holmes had a story accepted by the online magazine Amarillo Bay. She was especially excited about this publication because Grub Street nominated the story for Best New American Voices 2007 and it hasn't been published until now.
Winona Winkler Wendth wrote in with lots of exciting news: "Strapless," an essay she published in Third Coast, was listed as a "Notable" essay in this year's Best American Essays 2010; a piece of flash fiction that she workshopped with Grub instructor Tara Masih was just published by The Citron Review; her essay "Body Heat" was listed as a "Good Read" this summer by the Chicago Humanities Festival; and Left Hand Waving and The Moon Milk Review have published two of her flash pieces. Go, Winona! Next, more multiple pubs from Grubbie Lauren Norton Carson: her story "The Ironing" won second place in the Flash Fiction category of the 2010 Seven Hills Contest and her essay "Boys and Books in Lockup--It's Magic" is in the December issue of talkingwriting.com (posted on the same page as Grub Street's advertisement, no less).
Grubbie Carrie Normand wrote in to tell us that "The impossible happened: [she] sent out [her] first piece for consideration and it was accepted 50 minutes later." The essay, which she workshopped in Ethan Gilsdorf’s Spring 2010 Personal Essay class, is called “Renovating House and Husband” and is scheduled to be published in the January 23rd Boston Globe Magazine Coupling Column. Another Grub student, Bracken MacLeod wrote a story called "Nullification" in KL Pereira's recent class, "Writing Horror, Making Monsters," and it's been accepted for publication in Sex and Murder Magazine. And last but not least, Grub instructor Amy Marcott's palindromic flash fiction piece, "On the Menu at Marco's," appears in the newest edition of Salt Hill Review along with a Q&A. Big family-dinner-sized portions of congratulations to all!
Do you have writing news and want to be featured in the DoC? The first Monday of every month, we feature Grub Street members who have sent their good news to whitney@grubstreet.org. To be included, please send Whitney an email with information about your publication, award or fellowship. Limit your announcement to 60 words or less. Extra credit if the announcement is written in the third person, which is good practice for your writing anyway.
Grub Street is starting a new blog (yippee!), and we need a volunteer to "skin" it for us. Do you know what this word means? By our overuse of quotation marks, it's probably fairly clear that we don't. If you have the design and computer skills to help us out, and the ability to explain "skinning" to us in a way that doesn't make us think of coonskin caps, we'd love to have you. Email whitney@grubstreet.org if you're interested in volunteering for what we're told is a fun, quick and easy volunteer job.
Around these parts, the minute the calendar turns to January 1st, we start thinking about the Muse and the Marketplace. This year is—can you believe it?—our tenth annual, so you know it's going to be fantastic. Mark it in your calendar for the weekend of April 30th - May 1st, and check out some preliminary information here: museandthemarketplace.com.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Chris, Chip, and Eve
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.
NEW WORKSHOP! Begins January 9th, 6 Sundays, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Novel in Progress II
You’re in the middle of your novel manuscript, and you have a fairly good idea where it’s going, but some sections just don’t seem right. This course is designed to help writers at this stage better understand what's working and what's not in their work, and to develop greater clarity and insight when returning to challenging passages. We'll operate on the premise advocated by the late Andre Dubus, who was a proponent of reading work aloud to hear the poetry and to find the clunkers. Pages will not be shared in advance; rather, we'll briefly re-look at various aspect of craft (opening pages, voice/tone, character development, setting, dialogue), after which students will read aloud 3-5 pages for the class to critique. Workshop discussions will try to identify where the prose is alive and how to improve sections where it’s not. One-on-one half-hour meetings with the instructor will be scheduled for the last class to share revised pages and to discuss the scope of the project as well as next steps. Please bring opening pages of your novel to the first class. Note that this class is designed for students who’ve taken fiction workshops in the past, are comfortable discussing manuscripts in process, and who have made some significant headway on their books.
Instructor: Lara JK Wilson
$305/$280 members, at Yoga Mandala in Winchester.
SEMINAR: Monday, January 10th, 6:30-9:30pm, Everything a Writer Needs to Know about the Law
This course will provide writers at all stages in their career with a basic understanding of what they need to know about the law. Attorneys Jenny Milana and Mitchell Bragg will share their inside scoop and offer a fun and exciting look at the law as it applies to aspiring, emerging and established writers. Through an interactive activity and Q&A, attendees can expect to learn: the importance of registering the copyright in your work; what it means to be a "work for hire;" why a trademark for your business is a good idea; what tricks attorneys use in contracts that cause confusion; how to negotiate your own contract even if you have an agent or publisher; why it is important to plan for the future; how to create a business plan to house your projects; and so much more! This is an open forum workshop, so bring your notebook, a pen, and plenty of questions.
Instructor: Jenny Milana
Register now! $65.00/$50.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
SEMINAR: Monday, January 10th, 6:30-9:30pm, Social Media for Writers
In this very practical and generative seminar, literary agent Lauren MacLeod will guide you through the world of social media and explain how and why it works for aspiring, emerging and established writers.
*Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.*
SEMINAR: Monday, January 10th, 6:30-9:30pm, Considering Self-Publishing
If you’re wondering whether self publishing is the right route for you and what the implications are, this seminar will give you the tools and information you need.
Instructor: Sharon Bially
*Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.*
SEMINAR: Monday, January 10th, 6:30-9:30pm, Great Ideas: Selling and Writing the Science Nonfiction Book
There's a burgeoning market for science nonfiction books. Fortunately they're much easier to sell than fiction or memoirs. All you need is a great idea--and a great proposal. In this seminar, you'll learn everything you need to know to market your science or medicine book to a publisher. You'll learn about the state of the science nonfiction publishing industry, what editors are looking for, what readers are looking for, how to find the best agent for your project, and how to craft a winning proposal. We'll analyze both successful and failed science books published in the past few years, giving special attention to the different styles of Malcolm Gladwell (author of Outliers) and Steven Pinker (author of Blank Slate). You'll also learn what to expect when you do sell your book--and the challenges you'll face when you must actually get the research and writing done by a deadline. We might also address special topics such as e-books, Amazon, and endorsements.
Instructor: Ogi Ogas
Register now! $65.00/$50.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
SEMINAR: Monday, January 10th, 6:30-9:30pm, What's Your Tense?
You know the characters and you have an inkling about the plot, so you sit yourself in front of the computer and prepare for brilliance to emerge. You’re reasonably sure of the setting and point of view, but which tense should you choose – present or past? It may sound like a small decision, but each tense brings implications and limitations beyond basic verb conjugations, and the wrong decision could set you back. In this class, we will investigate the pros and cons of past and present through in-class exercises and discussion. Bring a page of fiction or nonfiction to find out how a fresh approach to its tense could open up new possibilities and make an already good story great.
Instructor: Jenn Scheck-Kahn
Register now! $65.00/$50.00 members, Grub Street headquarters.
SATURDAY SERIAL: Saturday, January 15th, 10:30am-12:30pm, Approaches to the Memoir
It’s been said that when a person dies, a library dies with them. How will some of your library live on? “Memoir” usually implies an autobiography in book form, an effort too daunting for many. In this Serial, Bill Buffett will speak about other ways he’s used to leave some his library behind. He urges others to think about it. The group will explore many ways to leave something behind besides grandma’s candlesticks or writing a “Memoir.”
Instructor: Bill Buffett
FREE, Grub Street headquarters.
LUNCHTIME WRITING: Wednesday, January 19th, 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. 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!
Instructor: Jennifer Elmore
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.
APARTMENT FOR RENT in Newton Corner—perfect for a writer!
Grub Street's landlord has a vacancy in her 1838 Victorian in Newton Corner. Very quiet, this writer's haven has been rented by Grubbies for years. Two bedroom, top floor of 3 story, private roof deck, one parking space.
$1200 / month, heat, h/w, electric included. First and last month required, available January 15th. If you are curious or have any questions, contact John LaFleur at acetylene9@aol.com. You can also stop by 160 Boylston and meet the landlord herself, Pat Bartevian of the antiques shop on the first floor.
--READING: Thursday, January 6th, 5pm, PEN New England invites you to a conversation with
Christopher Lydon & Paul Harding
Paul Harding, 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning author of Tinkers, has an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop (2000) and was a 2000-2001 Fiction Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. He has published short stories in Shankpainter and The Harvard Review. Paul currently teaches creative writing at Harvard. Tinkers is his first novel. 5:00 - 5:45 Wine Hour; 5:45 - 6:45 Reading & Conversation.
FREE, UpStairs on the Square, 91 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
AND...A DOUBLE SHOT OF ALMOND:
--BOOK CLUB: Tuesday, January 4th, 7PM: Celebrity Bookclub meets to discuss Stoner by John Williams. Hosted by Steve Almond
This reprint of Williams's remarkable 1965 novel offers a window on early 20th century higher education in addition to its rich characterizations and seamless prose. Sent by his hard-scrabble farmer father to the University of Missouri to study agriculture, William Stoner is sidetracked by an obsessive love of literature and stimulated by a curmudgeonly old professor, Archer Sloane. Sloane helps Stoner avoid service in WWI, and Stoner eventually becomes an assistant professor. He then meets and marries a St. Louis beauty, Edith, who quickly subjugates her contemplative, passive husband. As decades pass, Stoner entrenches himself deep into the life of the mind, developing into a master teacher but never finding solace in the outside world. Stoner's single joy is Grace, their daughter, whom Edith appropriates as a weapon in her very personal war against Stoner's quest for inner peace. Williams (1922–1994) won the NBA for Augustus (1973), and NYRB will republish his western, Butch's Crossing next year. Williams's prose flows in a smooth, efficient current that demands contemplation.
FREE, Newtonville Books.
--READING: Monday, January 10th, 7pm, Barbara Almond explores The Monster Within: The Hidden Side of Motherhood
Whether it is uncertainty over having a child, fears of pregnancy and childbirth, or negative thoughts about one ’s own children, mixed feelings about motherhood are not just hard to discuss, they are a powerful social taboo. In her new book, Barbara Almond draws on her extensive clinical experience to bring this highly troubling issue to light. In a portrait of the hidden side of contemporary motherhood, she finds that ambivalence of varying degrees is a ubiquitous phenomenon, yet one that too often causes anxiety, guilt, and depression. Weaving together case histories with examples from literature and popular culture, Almond uncovers the roots of ambivalence, tells how it manifests in lives of women and their children, and describes a spectrum of maternal behavior—from normal feelings to highly disturbed mothering characterized by blame, misuse, abuse, even child murder.
FREE, Harvard Book Store.
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like dentures for crocodiles, we offer you the chance to win a prize. This author liked to write in bed and often dressed in his pajamas to receive visitors. 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: William Faulkner dedicated As I Lay Dying to "Dr. Cointreau." Winner: Mike Attisha.