August 1st, 2011

 
Grub Street News

Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene brought to you every Monday by the muses of famous photographers at Grub Street's world headquarters. As always, if you are receiving this email in horror, please advance to the bottom of the page to unsubscribe yourself.

Volunteers: We Want You

Grub is sending out our big annual mailing, and we need your help! We'll be stuffing and sealing 2,000 envelopes, so there's plenty of work for all. The fun starts on Tuesday and continues until the mailing is done (probably through Friday). Available volunteer hours are:

Tuesday, August 2nd: 10am - 6:30pm
Wednesday, August 3rd: 10:30am - 6:30pm
Thursday, August 4th: 10am - 6:30pm
Friday, August 5th: 10:30am - 6:30pm

If you're free and would like to help out, please email whitney@grubstreet.org to let her know you're coming.

In honor of the steamy weather and the lazy dog days of summer, we'll give all volunteers Starbucks treats! You'll have a great time chatting with fellow writers as you compete to see who can put stamps on the fastest. Thanks so much for your help!

Our Fall Workshop Schedule Is Live

What a fall! We have a record 100 evening, morning, afternoon, and weekend workshops to choose from, as well as all-new daytime seminars in every genre. Brand-new this fall are classes in self-publishing, haikus, the art of subtext, historical fiction, writing nonfiction books for a trade audience, and even literary translation. To see the complete list of fall offerings (and to search for the ideal class for you), go to http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=402. The online registration process is very easy, but if you have questions or need help selecting a course, please call 617.695.0075 and any of our staff will be happy to assist you.

Interested in taking a seminar this fall? Become a Sustaining Member and get a FREE SEMINAR (a $65 value!) For only $10/month, you can support your favorite writing center and take advantage of all the great benefits of Grub Street membership.

Department of Congratulations, Wowza-That's-a-Big-Watermelon Edition

Lots of great news this month! First up, book publication news from our members and students: Grubbie (and award-winning short story writer) Michael Schiavone has his first novel coming out this fall, Call Me When You Land, a tale of love, hate, frustration, and longing. Grubbie Jacqueline Rainey has a book of short stories coming out soon, Through Whose Eyes: Rise Child of God. Of her book, Jacqueline says: "In this current time of a crumbling economy the world as a whole is struggling with faith, be it in a higher power or the president. I chose God and so did the characters of my short stories in my book." Frank Roberts, a self-described concoctionist, dad, and writer, has a memoir coming out called Jackass on a Camel. Frank says he's grateful for the "Fat handfuls of help [that] came in from different directions -- even Grub Street's Facebook page. The frequent exchanges over style and device had me rethinking and making little tweaks to [the book]." Karen Stivali's novel, Meant to Be, will be published in Summer 2012 by Turquoise Morning Press. Jael McHenry's debut novel, The Kitchen Daughter, was named Pick of the Week in Jan Gardner's "The Word on the Street" column in the Boston Globe. Brian J. Foley's book, A New Financial You in 28 Days: A 37-Day Plan, was published in early July. Check it out at http://www.gegensatzpress.com/foley-28-days.html. Grub alum Dorie Clark, who's taken a couple classes and attended the Muse, has a book deal for her book, What's Next?: The Art of Reinventing Your Personal Brand (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). Former Grub intern (and amazing slam poet) Steve Subrizi has a new chapbook out, published by NAP. Check it out online at http://issuu.com/napmagazine/docs/hedgehog.

Our students and members are publishing shorter pieces, too. Laura Treacey Bentley's poem, "Keepsake," was chosen by guest editor Maria Shriver and the editors of O magazine to be featured on Oprah's website. Jane Dykema recently had a story she wrote in Jim Scott's 10 Weeks, 10 Stories class accepted by Meeting House, an online literary magazine. Robin Regensburg just had an essay published in the July 24th "Coupling" column in the Sunday Globe magazine. Robin has taken various workshops at Grub with instructors including Steve Almond, Lisa Borders, Ethan Gilsdorf, and Tova Mirvis. Another Grub alum, Amin Ahmad, has a new story out in the Missouri Review that features Barcelona, food, cricket, marital discord, and two characters named Ali. Cathy Elcik just published a piece of flash on Narrative Magazine's site that proves that sometimes the darlings you kill can be reincarnated. Cathy says, "This came out of a paragraph in my novel from a character I cut. The original paragraph had no business in my novel (but really, you don’t end up with a 923-page hulk of a first draft without taking a few hundred detours, right?), but I couldn’t let it go. Someone in my writing group was working on one-sentence flash, and I was like, I wonder if. . . and the rest, as they say, is history.  I promise my story is less clichéd than that last sentence." Mary Collins has been awarded a scholarship to the Norman Mailer Writers Colony in Provincetown to workshop for a week with Veronica Windholz, Mailer’s editor of 30 years. Mary says, "I was lucky enough to win a place last year, too. This is a competition that’s really worth entering." And Joyce Hager has two pieces of publication news: an essay on more.com, and a piece in a regional magazine, Echoes of LBI, the arts and lifestyle magazine of Long Beach Island, NJ, called "Discovering LBI."
 
Not to be outdone by their students, our instructors have quite a bit of good news, too. Erika Dreifus, who came up from New York to lead a session at this year's Muse & the Marketplace, has a new essay, "What's in a Title?" on the Center for Fiction's website. The essay describes the long and winding road that led to the title of her new collection, Quiet Americans. Grub instructor Sue Williams had a story accepted for Best Bondage Erotica 2012. Grub instructor Kate Flora has organized a blog group, MaineCrimeWriters.com, to talk about writing and living in the great state of Maine. Grub instructor Jessica Keener's debut novel, Night Swim, will be published by Fiction Studio Books in January 2012. Set in a Mad-Men-like world of upper middle class Boston suburbia in 1970, the novel follows sixteen-year-old Sarah Kunitz, a gifted singer aggrieved by her mother's pill-popping ways and sudden death, as she hurtles toward her own sexual awakening and the consequences. Grub instructor Amy Marcott's story, "The Mechanics of Love," which takes Newtonian physics for a tense ride on the Prague metro, was published in July in Necessary Fiction. That same month, instructor Tim Horvath was Necessary Fiction's writer in residence, offering science-inspired posts.

A sticky sweet plate of congratulations to all! Keep the good news coming.

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 fill out our brand new Congratulations Form (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/congratulations) or kick it old school and 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.

Our Daily Best

• The Five-O tells you the most important thing to know before you start your novel.
• Our intrepid Writer on the Road writes (gasp!) the old-fashioned way.
• What's so great about writing residencies?
  

Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Eve, Chris, and Rowan

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.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 6th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Developing Family Members as 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 memoirist, it is also appropriate for the writer of autobiographical fiction, and all exercises will be adaptable for both.
Instructor: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 6th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Telling the Story: Perspective, Narration and Imagination
Point of view is one of the most vital aspects of writing fiction, yet it’s also one of the most overlooked. When it’s done well, it evaporates into the background, allowing the reader to be enraptured by the story. But when point of view is done poorly, there are few things more destructive. In this seminar, we’ll tackle the strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives, determining which one best fits your story, and how to make the most of it. Additionally, we’ll illuminate broader issues of narration such as how to balance scene and summary, the role a good narrator plays, and the power of using your point of view character’s imagination.
Instructor: Cam Terwilliger
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 6th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Building Your Web PresenceReady to create a website or blog that promotes your writing and/or services? Interested in learning how social media can lead new readers to your work? Students in this class will learn how to create attractive sites and blogs using free, simple, and professional tools. They will also learn how to purposefully expand their online presence, without being spammers. No previous tech knowledge required!
NOTE: Participants MUST come with a laptop capable of wirelessly connecting to Grub Street's network. No additional software is necessary. Everything will be accomplished via web-based tools.
Instructor: Jorge Vega
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 6th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Jumpstart Your Writing-- Creative Nonfiction Focus
This one-day weekend version of one of our most popular courses has a very clear mission: spend the day writing. Through a series of fun directed writing exercises, we will explore the terrain of creative nonfiction (no five-paragraph essays here!) and some poetry: mining for material, constructing characters and settings, shaping vivid dialogue, understanding point of view, exploring the many forms of nonfiction today, and finding your voice. We will discuss the process of writing and the strengths and weaknesses of the work we produce in class. We will read and discuss some short published nonfiction pieces and poems in regards to craft, then write exercises inspired by the texts. A supportive and generative experience for both new and practicing writers.
Instructor: Jennifer De Leon
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 6th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Taking the Imaginative Leap
This seminar, open to fiction writers of all levels, will provide the chance to stretch your imagination and write outside your own experience. Many writers feel hesitant to take this leap, but whether writing historical fiction or telling the stories of characters from different identities, we often feel compelled to do so. After working through inspiring prompts and exercises and closely reading some outstanding excerpts by authors such as Anthony Doerr, Nam Le, and Toni Morrison, you will have the courage and skills to set your imagination loose.
Instructor: Adam Stumacher
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKLONG INTENSIVE: Monday, August 8th-Friday, August 12th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Jumpstart Your Memoir
One of our most popular courses has a very clear mission: to get you started on your memoir. Through a series of fun directed writing exercises, we will explore the terrain of memoir writing: mining for material, constructing characters and settings, shaping vivid dialogue, understanding point of view, and finding your voice. We will discuss the process of writing and the strengths and weaknesses of the work we produce in class. We may read and discuss some short published texts in regards to craft, then write exercises inspired by the texts. A supportive and generative experience for both new and practicing writers.
Instructor: Michelle Seaton
$255/$230 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

4-WEEK WORSKHOP: 4 Mondays, 11:00am-2:00pm, beginning August 8th, Monsters & Mayhem
Did your dragon break free? Is your superhero fretting? Did your fairy godmother forget to grant that wish? In this four-week course, you can either write a fantastical short-short, focus on a story or a section of a novel-in-progress, or work on a poem. With visuals to inspire and a rich range of prompts, we'll consider how to make speculative writing vivid for the reader. No flat characters or two-dimensional baddies for us! At the heart of this course is the notion of fantastical truth--the more we immerse ourselves in our imaginative worlds, the more rich and believable our stories will be. The course will also examine popular and literary publications, considering where, in the marketplace, our work would best fit.
Instructor: KL Pereira
$185/$165 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

WEEKLONG INTENSIVE: Tuesday, August 9th - Friday, August 12th, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Crash Course in Writing for Kids
Spend a fun and challenging week turning that great idea for a young adult or middle-grade novel into the actual beginnings of an actual book. Over four days we will cover everything that makes compelling kid lit: from the zing-pow opening to the unique and relatable lead character to obstacles, conflicts ‘n’ stakes. Each day will be a busy mix of mini-lectures, reading and discussing excerpts, and in-class writing. Prepare to work hard, and to emerge with a full outline, a solid set of characters, and a marvelous opening squence for your soon-to-be classic.
Instructor: Ben H. Winters
$205/$185 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

4-WEEK WORSKHOP: 4 Tuesdays, 3:00pm-6:00pm, beginning August 9th, Imagine This
Too often, students long to write, but fear they don't have anything to write about. Others have a story they want to tell, and no idea how to get started. Through exercises, class discussion, and personal observation, this class will focus on seeing and imagination--the fundamental what's that about? What's behind it? What does my character want/need, and what matters? that is the source of story. Six weeks of observing, wondering, and writing will lead to a portfolio of story ideas and a renewed connection to the writer's imagination.
Instructor: Kate Flora
$185/$165 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

LEGAL ADVICE: Tuesday, August 9th, 2:30pm-5:30pm, Members-Only Offering: Free Legal Consultations for Writers
If you've been working on your manuscript for a long time, you probably have a million questions about the next steps to getting published and/or protecting your work. Maybe you want clarification on confusing clauses in publishing contracts, advice on whether to register the copyright in your latest piece, or a few basic tips on what legal issues exist for budding writers. While he may not be able to answer every question you have, Attorney Mitchell Bragg of Ascentage Law, PLLC, will be offering free 30-minute consultations to help explain the law as it applies to aspiring, emerging, and established writers. This is meant to provide writers at all stages in their career with basic answers to legal questions and issues they may be facing. All sessions are by appointment only; to reserve a slot please email mab@ascentagelaw.com. Be sure to arrive early to your appointment and be prepared with specific questions. Only active Grub Street members may participate.
Instructor: Mitchell Bragg
FREE, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.

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.

--READING AND BOOK LAUNCH PARTY: Saturday, August 13th, book-launch party at Scholars American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge (Upstairs)
Join WritersAnonymous for a fun afternoon full of literary and literal conversations about their inaugural book, Seven At The Sevens, a highly creative collection of seven-word short stories, memoirs, and poems. The seven-words range from profound to humorous to witty to melancholy to inspirational. Seven At The Sevens takes you on a literary journey of the past and present, and includes a vast array of eclectic and diverse contributions from all fifteen writers of WritersAnonymous, a Beacon Hill based writers' group. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SevenAtTheSevens.  Steven Pinker, Prof. of Psychology at Harvard University and world-renowned thinker and author of seven books including The Language Instinct and The Stuff of Thought, says, “Enjoy this delightful new genre of wordplay.”
FREE Admission but food and drinks are NOT included, Scholars American Bistro (Upstairs), 25 School Street, Boston, MA, (617)248-0025  http://www.scholarsbostonbistro.com/

--POETRY WORKSHOP: September 2011, “The Ekphrastic Problem”: A workshop for ten writers at the advanced level
There are no crosswalks or stoplights at the intersection of the image and the word—but there is a lot of traffic. Welcome to “The Ekphrastic Problem,” a workshop focused on poems that respond to works of art and animated by a fundamental skepticism about whether words ought to be considered necessary by-products of seeing. “The Ekphrastic Problem” pays close attention to the ramifications of decisions made by artists who have made verbal works of art “about” visual works of art, and it asks writers to make choices of their own in light of that attention. It looks hard at paintings, photographs, and sculptures by artists such as Brancusi, Zurbaran, Utamaro, Breughel, and Uccello, and it grapples with poems by the likes of W.H. Auden, William Carlos Williams, Kay Ryan, Philip Larkin, and Jorie Graham.  Writers in “The Ekphrastic Problem” compose their own experiments in ekphrastic verse each week.  But at heart this course is an opportunity to stand, for a time, and very thoughtfully, where seeing, saying, and doing converge. “The Ekphrastic Problem” comprises of an introduction, seven workshops, one joint museum visit, and a final symposium on ekphrasis.  Most of the images discussed will be accessed online.  A packet of crucial texts will be provided.  More details at http://www.lineofverse.blogspot.com.

--READING: August 16th, 7:00pm, Elisabeth Townsend reads from Lobster
From pauper’s food to cultural icon, this book tells the story of our relationship with the lobster, from coastal hunter-gatherers through the Industrial Revolution to modern times. As lobsters became a status symbol for the rich, they became the subjects of both artists and writers. The lobster has been depicted in Egyptian temples and Pompeiian feats; Dutch still-lifes and Japanese woodcuts; Lewis Carroll and Salvador Dali. And the social history of its consumption takes us from the Stone Age, through the early European settlers in New England and Australia, to today’s Japanese live lobster sashimi. Lobster will appeal to anyone who loves this fascinating crustacean, or who has chased a lobster across a kitchen floor.
FREE, Porter Square Books.