January 24th, 2011

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 all the mercury at the bottom of the thermometers 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.

What Not To Write, Or, Get Your Free Writing Advice Here

What not to wear, who not to date, what to do about those upstairs neighbors with the all-night bacchanals. There are a lot of advice columns out there, and many of them give you great answers to tough questions. But where do you go to get answers to your burning writing questions? Grub Street, of course! We are currently soliciting writing questions from YOU to be answered by a panel of fantastic writers and editors. Mulling about metaphor? Wondering how to make and stick to a writing schedule? Can't decide what type of facial hair to give your protagonist? Send your questions about writing to whitney@grubstreet.org, and our panel of experts will get you on the right track fast. Answers to questions will appear on Grub Street's new blog starting in February (more on that soon!)

We Need a Shoehorn To Fit In All These Classes

You thought Grub Street's workshop calendar couldn't get any fuller, but oh, how wrong you were. We've added even more weekend workshops to the already extensive schedule, so be sure to visit our website to see what's new. Examples of great stuff coming up include "Your Family, Your Characters," where you'll get to make sure Aunt Edna isn't flat on the page, and "From Blog Post to Personal Essay," where you'll learn how to Joan-Didionize your online ramblings. More details below and always on our website.

New Rates for Manuscript Consulting

Starting February 1st, 2011, Grub Street’s manuscript consulting rates will increase for the first time since we opened in 1997.  Doing this allows us to give our consultants a raise and to expand our range of services, while ensuring that the service remains one of the most affordable in the country.  Please see all details here: http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=23, and contact Sonya at sonya@grubstreet.org if you have any questions.  Get your requests in now to lock in the old rate.

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

The P.S. One of our favorite events, the Literary Death Match, kicks off what promises to be a wild and newsworthy 2011 at Cambridge's Enormous Room on January 25th with a blinding array of talent that'll set the stage aflame. Donning metaphorical judging wig-and-gowns will be a trio of sensational judges including Boston Phoenix's comedian of the year Mehran Khaghani, Broken Singles rock goddess Sarah Borges, and Grub Street's own Artistic Director Chris Castellani. They'll witness the seven-minute or less tale-tellings of a can't-miss foursome including Best American Short Stories series editor Heidi Pitlor (author of The Birthdays), PEN Discovery Award-winner Eugenio Volpe (representing New York Tyrant), 2010 Flatmancrooked Fiction Prize winner Myfanwy Collins, and humor mastermind Christopher Monks (The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life). Read all the details and buy tickets.

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.

--GRUB STREET SOUTH AT BUTTONWOOD BOOKS: Tuesday, January 25th, 7pm, Your Story—Our Story: Moving the memoir from the Personal to the Universal…and publishing it.
A compelling memoir is about the human journey. Whether revealing a devastating family secret, reminiscing about a childhood home, or revisiting the summer spent in Paris when you couldn’t speak a word of French, you need to be as focused on the reader as you are on the details of your story. This session will explore how to look inward and outward to make the reader-- the stranger-- care. It will also look at self-publishing and how that can work in today’s tough economy. This is a free event, but reservations are required. Please call Buttonwood at 1-781-383-2665 to reserve a spot.
Instructor: Susan Trausch
FREE, Buttonwood Books & Toys, Shaw's Plaza, Rt.3A, Cohasset, MA 02025

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, January 29th, 10-5pm, Memoir: Behind the Scenes
If you've ever wondered about the perils and pitfalls of writing about your life, here's an overview of the structural, emotional, and legal hurdles to putting your story in print. Participants will leave with an inside perspective on the business side of the memoir craft, along with some funny anecdotes to encourage them as they dive into the powerful experience of writing their own story.
Instructor: Trish Ryan
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, January 29-30th, 10:00am-5:00pm,The Hook and the Book
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. Read full details and submission requirements.
Instructor: Sorche Fairbank
*3 Spots Left* $220.00/$195.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, January 29-30th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Revision ClinicYou have a story or stories (or novel) that's not quite working, or that's very good but not quite good enough, or that keeps getting narrowly rejected. Whatever the case, you've lost perspective on it, but you know it needs revision – macro, micro or both. This weekend, get macro revision tips on Saturday, and then come back on Sunday for tips on line-editing and style. Or just pick one workshop or the other. Read full details and class material requirements.
Instructor: Cam Terwilliger
$220.00/$195.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sat., January 29th, 10am-5pm, Plotting the Novel, Section A
Starting with Aristotle and working through three contemporary authors’ ideas about plotting, this course will offer several plot forms to help you rethink your novel’s structure and the vital connection between character and plot.
Instructor: Michelle Hoover
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 30th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Jumpstart Your Writing Weekend
This one-day weekend version of one of our most popular courses has a very clear mission: spend the day writing.
Instructor: Grace Talusan
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 30th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Revising Poems
How do we know when a poem is finished? How do we know what should change and what should remain? In the first half of this seminar we'll take a hard look at some revisions of sonnets by Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Robert Frost to articulate a working definition of revision, to observe the choices involved in the making of great poems, and to begin developing a list of principles by which to revise our poems. In the seminar's second half we'll apply these principles to our work. Participants are expected to bring a poem that excites them as a work-in-progress, which they'll work on and have the opportunity to share at the seminar's end. Participants can also expect to leave the seminar with more contemporary examples of revision to examine on their own.
Instructor: Scott Challener
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 30th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Bed Me With Roses: Writing Erotic Romance
With its feet firmly planted in both e-book and traditional markets, erotic romance is popular and demand for stories is high. The genre also provides us with a great way of sharpening our storytelling craft - after all, nothing raises the stakes like love and passion! Taught by an author who publishes erotic romance under a pen name, this course will allow you to specialize in the literary and/or popular genres.
Instructor: Sue Williams
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, January 30th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Your Family, Your Characters
One of the most difficult tasks of the memoirist is learning to see family members as fully developed characters. As writers, we must set aside self-interest to understand our characters' motivations and allow them to live on the page. Only then will our characters have as much emotional reality for our readers as they do for us as writers. This is as true when our characters are our family members as it is for fictional characters-- only sometimes more difficult (as writers are human, too)! Fortunately, writing exercises can help. In this class, we'll use writing exercises to develop the characters that just happen to be our family members. We'll also read and discuss exceptional examples of family member characterization in published memoirs, and use these examples as models for our own writing. Come prepared with family stories and ready to write! Please note that while this class is intended primarily for the family memorist, it is also appropriate for the writer of autobiographical fiction, and all exercises will be adaptable for both.
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, February 12-13th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Getting Published in Literary Magazines
In this weekend seminar, students will learn to navigate the literary magazine landscape. We will discuss how you can position your story for the best possible read and common mistakes made by submitters, study examples of “good” and “bad” cover letters, workshop first pages of student manuscripts, discussing what’s likely to engage a reader or dismay them from continuing with the story, and learn how to determine which magazines are appropriate for your work. In addition, students will draft their own cover letters and leave the class with a specific and personalized submission plan.
Instructor: James Scott
$220/$195 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 12th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Psychology of Strong Characters
Spend a day creating deeper characters with the help of prompts that will reveal the white-hot core of their fears, desires, and dreams.
Instructor: Jacqueline Sheehan
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 12th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Flash Fiction Marathon
The market for flash fiction is booming, and this seminar is perfect for writers ready to crank out some new short-short stories. At the end of the day, you’ll walk away with a brand new assortment of stories, each created through writing exercises designed to unleash your flash fiction genius. The seminar will also feature discussion of published flash fiction—which we’ll draw inspiration from—as well as feedback on your own work.
Instructor: Stace Budzko
*4 spots left* $115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 12th, 10:00am-5:00pm, How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book
Whether you're a nonfiction author, memoirist, or novelist, and whether you have a book almost finished or merely a concept for one, this workshop will help you get to know your book--what it is about, how to structure it, how to finish it!
Instructor: Mary Carroll Moore
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 13th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Time of Your Life
One of the keys to success in writing is using your time properly. That can be tough when you have a job, family, home or other major commitments – and when occupational hazards like procrastination and writer’s block rear their ugly heads. The good news is that all of these issues can be addressed once you’ve figured out the root causes of your time “issues” and applied some practical strategies to address them. (Hint: it’s not that you’re lazy or uncommitted—so stop blaming yourself! Another hint: it is not so difficult to create and stick to a time “budget” and schedule that will help you achieve your goals.) Author Hillary Rettig (The Lifelong Activist) will help you achieve these goals with two three-hour seminars offered on the same day: “Time Management” first, then a lunch break, then “Stop Procrastinating!” The best news of all is that once a writer actually starts solving his or her procrastination problems or blocks and starts managing his/her time better, change can happen amazingly fast!
Instructor: Hillary Rettig
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 13th, 10:00am-5:00pm, From Blog Post to Personal Essay
In the blog you write (or the blog you’ve imagined) you already have a record of the ideas you find most interesting. The next step is to develop them into fully realized literary explorations, and in this one-night seminar we’ll discuss how to do just that.
Instructor: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 13th, 10:00am-5:00pm, 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 workshop, 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 and articles to learn about the benefits and pitfalls of each literary choice. You'll also take a shot at writing pieces in both Gladwell-style and Pinker-style. The goal? To help you find the best approach for your own science writing, whether you want to write articles, blogs, or books.
Instructor: Ogi Ogas
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 13th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Writing for Radio: An Introduction
Public radio listeners are often surprised to learn that much of what they hear on air is scripted. Everything from newscasts to commentaries, hard-news stories to soft features; it was all written primarily to be heard, not seen -- a skill that requires knowing which writing rules to follow, and which ones to break. In this 6-hour class you'll learn the basics of how to craft a radio story from pitch to final product. Read full details.
Instructor: Shannon Mullen
$115.00/$95.00 members, Grub Street HQ.

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.

--CONFERENCE: March 18th - 20th, Barbara Pym Society North American Conference
The Barbara Pym Society is holding its 13th annual North American Conference on March 18-20 in Cambridge. Fans of the 20th-century English writer will gather for insightful talks on Pym's 1961 novel No Fond Return of Love, enjoy group discussions, a bring-and-buy sale, and more. For details and registration, please visit www.barbara-pym.org.

--FILM: Sunday, January 30th, 7pm, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Ceremony
The 4th Annual Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Ceremony will take place January 30th at the Brattle Theater. Last year's guest was Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, this year it will be Jeff Malmberg who won the BSFC’s 2010 honor for Best New Filmmaker Best Documentary (for his film, Marwencol). To buy tickets go to the Brattle's website at brattlefilm.org/2011/01/30/boston-society-of-film-critics-annual-awards-and-screening/, and for more info and a full list of the 2010 winners go to www.thebsfc.org.

--READING: Wednesday, January 26th, 7pm, Alice Hoffman reads from The Red Garden
Alice Hoffman is the bestselling author of twenty-five acclaimed novels, including The Story Sisters, The Third Angel, The Ice Queen, Blackbird House, and Here on Earth, an Oprah Book Club selection. In a starred review of her newest book, Booklist says: "In gloriously sensuous, suspenseful, mystical, tragic, and redemptive episodes, Hoffman subtly alters her language, from an almost biblical voice to increasingly nuanced and intricate prose reflecting the burgeoning social and psychological complexities her passionate and searching characters face in an ever-changing world."
FREE, Porter Square Books.

--CALL FOR INTERNS: The Drum Literary Magazine "Stories on the Street" Audio Literature Project
The Drum is looking for dynamic and engaging people to manage a Stories on the Street project. As a Stories on the Street intern, you're responsible for producing recordings of random people on the street (or other locations) reading short excerpts from public-domain works aloud. You get to choose which public-domain literary texts The Drum should give a contemporary voice to, and you get to match those texts with appropriate and interesting recording locations. You'd also be involved in selecting Stories on the Street entries submitted to the magazine by Drum listeners. As you can imagine, you set your own schedule, but we're looking for someone who can generate roughly one Stories on the Street piece every couple of weeks. If you're interested in being a part of this project, you should have a good knowledge of older English and American literature, and should be familiar with the basics of audio recording and uploading files through an FTP system like box.net and the like. If you have your own mp3 recorder, that's a plus, though not a necessity. And you can't be shy about talking to strangers. To apply, use the contact form on their site: http://www.drumlitmag.com/index.php?page=contactus.

--POETRY: Harvard Bookstore's Bad Poetry Contest
Fans of Mortified, this one’s for you. In the spirit of Steve Almond’s new book, Bad Poetry, Harvard Bookstore wants you to dig back into your old poetry journals to find the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy poetry you’ve written. Maybe it was the birthday poem you wrote your mom back when you were seven. Maybe it was your most earnest expression of adolescent angst. Or maybe it was an awkward early effort in a now flourishing poetic life. Whatever the origin, the bookstore will pick the best (by which they mean worst) for inclusion in a small chapbook published on Harvard Book Store’s own book making robot, Paige M. Gutenborg. Winning entries will be chosen to read at the Bad Poetry event with Steve Almond on Friday, February 11, while all contributors to the chapbook will receive a complimentary copy. Submissions must be sent to badpoetry@harvard.com by Thursday, February 3. Please include your name, contact information, and a line about the origin of your poem.