September 6th, 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 (except when we are celebrating workers by not working) from the traffic jam, a.k.a the First Sign of a Bostonian Fall, outside 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.

Muse and the Marketplace 2012 Keynote Speaker Confirmed

Grub Street’s tradition of top-flight keynote speakers at the annual Muse and the Marketplace literary conference continues. We are proud to announce that the incomparable Julia Alvarez — author of over 21 novels, essays, books for young readers and poetry — will address the conference over lunch on Sunday, May 6, 2012. Ms. Alvarez will have just published her newest book in April 2012, a work of non-fiction about a friend’s wedding in Haiti that takes Julia there before and after the earthquake. We’ve been trying to get Ms. Alvarez to Grub Street for over five years and are thrilled that the stars have finally aligned and her extremely busy schedule will allow her to join us. Information on the conference will be posted at www.museandthemarketplace.com in the coming months, but until then, save the date and start (re-)reading the work of this wonderful author and dynamic speaker. Thank you, Julia!

Additions to the Fall workshop schedule

Great news! We've added two popular courses to our Fall calendar: “6 Weeks, 6 Essays,” which begins October 12th and is taught by Michelle Seaton, and “The Smart Page-Turner Reloaded,” beginning September 19th and taught by Michael Marano. Michael wrote his own description of his class, which can be found here: http://michaelmarano.com/2011/09/06/the-smart-page-turner-reloaded/.

Announcing the Grub Self-Publishing Network

Department of Congratulations, This Tent Sleeps Twelve Edition

As always, we've got lots of great news to report this month. First up, news from poets. Lily Deng's poem, "Rekindling", has been selected for publication in The South Carolina Review, and will appear in early 2012. Member Mindy Pollack-Fusi's organization The Place for Words was given a grant by the Bedford Cultural Council to put together a collection of short stories and poems by local writers. Titled The Ice Cream Stand and Other Stories, it includes two pieces by another Grub Street member, Lea Ann Knight. Grub Street member Sandra Kohler's third book of poems, Improbable Music, appeared in May from Word Press. She has poems in recent issues of The Pedestal Magazine, The Cider Press Review, 5 AM, Blue Line, Hubbub, and Roar. A poem of hers was featured on Verse Daily on 4/26/11.

Next, great news from our instructors. Instructor (and longtime Grubbie) Randy Susan Meyers sold her next two books to Atria, at auction. Stéphanie Abou at Foundry Literary + Media brokered the world English deal with Greer Hendricks; the first book is tentatively titled Paper Baby. Meyers’s most recent book, The Murderer’s Daughter, which St. Martin’s published in January 2010, was an international bestseller. Paper Baby, about three women brought together over one child, is set for a January 2013 publication. Randy also had a great essay about her "Homemade MFA" published on the Huffington Post recently. Grub instructor Sue Williams, who will be teaching the "Writing Literary Lust" class on September 17th, just got a new story published in Monkey Bicycle. Another Grub instructor, Katrin Schumann, just co-authored The Secret Power of Middle Children with evolutionary phsychologist Catherine Salmon. The book came out on August 4th, and is an important and empowering book that debunks the outdated myth that middles are just middling. Schumann and Salmon were featured on The Today Show, as well as on NPR, in local newspapers and a bunch of national newspapers in the UK. Katrin will be teaching "Writing the Non-Fiction Book Proposal" at Grub Street on December 3rd. Grub instructor (and Friday Five-O advice columnist) Jim Scott has a story called "Downstream" in the Fall 2011 edition (40th anniversary) of Ploughshares. Grub instructor Adam Stumacher, who just embarked on a one-year writing trip that will take him from Maine to Guatemala and points in-between, got a story accepted by Granta (Bon voyage, Adam!)

News from our workshops: Lisa Goell Sinicki's humor essay, "Lobster Lover", was published on Northeast Flavor's website as the July Flavor of the Month. She credits Steve Almond's humor writing class and personal consulting with Ethan Gilsdorf for her success. Atinuke Diver, former student of Grub Street instructor Amy Marcott's "Workshopping Your Blog" class, had her piece: "Suriving Your Interracial Wedding Without Killing Your In-Laws" featured on the homepage of BlogHer.com on June 17, 2011, as a BlogHer Spotlight in its new Race and Ethnicity series "World Weddings." She also had her first syndicated piece published on BlogHer, a feature piece on the forthcoming book Is Marriage for White People? by Stanford Law professor Richard Ralph Banks. Linda K. Wertheimer has won third place in Moment Magazine's memoir contest with an excerpt from her memoir about grief and faith. She credits the support from some Grub Street writers. Linda also wrote to tell us that after being motivated by her nonfiction book proposal class with Joanne Wyckoff at Grub Street, she shadowed a Wellesley Middle School class for months for an article on teaching about religion in schools. The story, "A Test of Faith", was the cover piece for the Aug. 28, 2011 Boston Globe Magazine. Diane M. Haynes debut YA fantasy, Rift Healer, was bought by Crescent Moon Press & is scheduled to be out late fall. Diane says: "I took a very enlightening "Hook and the Book " workshop with Sorche Fairbank during the Winter of 2010, had my first 20 pages critiqued by one of your editors, Jim Scott, and participated in last year's amazing Manuscript Mart." Rachel Roth and Eve Weinbaum published an op-ed about women's equality on the anniversary of women's suffrage in the Los Angeles Times; Rachel thanks her friends from Grub Street who workshopped the draft. Julie James just finished her first Grub Street class (Sue Williams' Six Weeks Of Passion), and, she tells us, "Full of enthusiasm, I came home and decided to submit a piece I wrote. The online magazine, Clean Sheets, has published it!" Julie writes under a pen name in the publication.

And last but not least, three pieces of book publication news. Nancy Rappaport, author of In Her Wake, will be reading at Harvard Book Store tonight at 7pm. Nancy says: "I am starting to get involved with Grub Street to learn how to write short stories . . . and because I realize now how important it is to have a community of fellow writers!" And Grubbie Mari Passananti's The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken came out last month from Rutland Square Press. It tells the story of a young woman who sets out to find a man to solve her problems. Guess how that works out. Grubbie Larry Kerpelman has published Pieces Missing: A Family’s Journey of Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury. It relates how his wife was injured, hospitalized, faced dysfunction and possibly death, underwent emergency surgery, and then, over the following year, recovered the pieces missing from her memory, speech, and joy of life.  “. . .Both inspiring and informative” writes Dr. Jo M. Solet, of Harvard Medical School, in advance praise.

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 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

• For Shame, Modern Writer! On Literary Embarrassment
• Friday Five-O: Should I sign with an agent?
• Jenna Blum writes in the midst of Hurricane Irene
  

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

The P.S.: We know there's a lot going on, but we don't want you to miss the two events that are going on next week: a free generative writing workshop and reading with the buzzed-about Justin Torres on September 14th, and the Summer Season Showcase on September 15th. Details below!

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.

LUNCHTIME WRITING: Wednesday, September 7th, 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!
Instructor: Midge Raymond
FREE, Grub Street HQ.

SEMINAR: Monday, September 12th, 6:30-9:30pm, Ask the Agent
In this Grub Street seminar, you will sit down with two accomplished literary agents to ask any question what's on your mind about the role of the agent and get an insider’s view on life inside a literary agency. You’ll learn how to pitch agents and how not to pitch them, how agents make decisions, how the business works, what happens once you have an agent, how nonfiction projects get developed and more. Come with questions. The agents will tell all.
Instructor: Katherine Flynn, Kathryn Beaumont
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Monday, September 12th, 6:30-9:30pm, How to Pitch Your Articles, Op-eds, and Essays for Publication
In this seminar, you will learn how to write killer pitch letters (AKA “query letters” or “cover letters”) for submitting essays, op-eds, articles and feature stories to editors of magazines, newspapers, literary magazines, and online publications. We'll look at top mistakes that writers make and examine pitch letters that actually worked. We'll also see how to leverage your background and expertise to best present yourself, even if you don't have a lot of publishing experience. Optional: Bring 15 copies of a draft of any pitch letter (it’s OK if you’re not sure how to write one) for a piece you are currently working on and we’ll try to quickly workshop as many of them as we can.
Instructor: Ethan Gilsdorf
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Monday, September 12th, 6:30-9:30pm, How to Write H-O-T Sex Scenes Without Even Blushing!
An intensive seminar that will aim to make sure we're exciting the right parts (our, ahem, hearts) when we write sex scenes. Check your inhibitions -- if not your clothing -- at the door.
Instructor: Steve Almond
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Monday, September 12th, 6:30-9:30pm, Hocus Pocus, Abracadabra, Presto!
Magic is firmly embedded in our culture and contemporary fiction. From pint-sized wizards to levitating chocolate, make believe is a powerful tool in a writer’s toolkit. It’s called world-building in the fantasy genre, magical realism in literary fiction, and plot device and setting in children’s literature. In this one seminar, we’ll examine methods used by contemporary adult and children’s authors to successfully incorporate magic into their work. If students bring the first page of a current work, we will read and critique as many as time allows after the presentation.
Instructor: Cheryl Lawton
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Monday, September 12th, 6:30-9:30pm, You Are Here: Creating a Sense of Place
Journalist Wendy Call and fiction writer Midge Raymond offer tips for all prose writers in this team-taught class that focuses on place. As authors whose recent books are grounded in foreign settings, Wendy and Midge will offer tips for how to offer a strong sense of place no matter where your scenes unfold, whether it’s a small Mexican village, the lonely islands of the South Pacific, or a character’s own living room. We’ll demonstrate what place can reveal about character and how a single setting can create a more universal picture—all with plenty of writing prompts along the way.
Instructor: Wendy Call and Midge Raymond
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-9:30pm, Raising the Titanic: Giving Power to Weak Novel Scenes
Drafts of many novels contain scenes that sink the book. They are flat, meandering, tangential, or just plain boring. Attempts to spruce up the prose or dialogue may not fix such scenes because they lack crucial structural elements. Don’t waste time rearranging deck chairs! In this seminar you will bring a troublesome scene from your novel and we will discuss not only how to give your scene internal propulsion, but also how to nail your scene to the novel’s central story arc and drive it forward. Land, ho!
Instructor: Julie Wu
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

SEMINAR: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-9:30pm, Freelance Writing Essentials
In this seminar we’ll discuss how to come up with ideas that editors want, where to get insider information on who edits what. We’ll also look at the do’s and don’ts of contacting editors and cover the basics of pitching stories and writing pitch letters.
Instructor: Ethan Gilsdorf
Sorry, this class is sold out. Join the waiting list.

SEMINAR: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-9:30pm, Funny Is the New Deep
In this informal class, we'll look at the work of Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, and others, in an effort to learn how you can be funny and break hearts while doing it.
Instructor: Steve Almond
Sorry, this class is sold out. Join the waiting list.

SEMINAR: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-9:30pm, Dynamic Scene Writing
Scenes are the flesh and blood of every piece of fiction, but they often get crowded out by exposition, stage directions, cliched cigarette smoking, poor pacing, literary showmanship, and the writer's own nervousness over letting characters get out of control. We will discuss cinematic techniques for writing scenes, infolding/unfolding of time, and the necessity of the senses, desire, curiosity, and conflict.
Instructor: Michelle Hoover
Sorry, this class is sold out. Join the waiting list.

SEMINAR: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:30-9:30pm, Rewriting is Writing: Investigating Revision
A masterful work of fiction often draws exclamations like, "I can't believe someone just sat down and wrote that." But what’s truer of the writing process is more like, "I can't believe there are people who persist through six humiliating years, twice that many drafts, all-encompassing self-doubt, and still produce a book at the end." Revision's difficulty is matched only by its necessity; it is almost always where the story or novel starts to become what it's meant to have been all along. Rare is the opportunity to study a work’s transformation from in progress to finished, and ask ourselves the questions, what changes did the writer make? Why? What implications do they have for the story? Is the revision a more successful story? Lucky for us, Wells Tower’s story “Retreat” offers us just such an opportunity. We’ll look at both versions of “Retreat,” published first in McSweeney’s #23, then again two years later, as a fairly different story, in McSweeney’s #30, and ask ourselves all of these questions. We’ll consider, as part of our discussion, parts of Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life, and ideas from psychoanalysis and the words the Ancient Greeks used for love. Familiarity with all of this material will be helpful, most especially if you’ve read either version of “Retreat” (there’s a slightly different version in Tower’s collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned). Feel free to come to class with a tale of your own experiences with revision; after all, we’re all in this together.
Instructor: Mary Medlin
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WRITING EXERCISES AND BOOK LAUNCH PARTY: Wednesday, September 14th, 6:00–6:45pm, An Evening with Justin Torres
Meet Justin Torres, author of one of the most exciting debut novels of the year, who will guide you through a few writing exercises and talk a little bit about the craft of fiction. This will be a FREE and informal gathering of Grubbies and friends before Justin reads from We Are Animals at 7:00pm, hosted by Jenn De Leon. After the reading, join us for drinks at Daedalus, where we will continue to celebrate and talk about writing and the writing life.
FREE, Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge.

OPEN MIKE: Thursday, September 15th, 8:00-10:00pm, Summer Season Showcase
Join Grub students from the Summer 2011 term, plus two of our award-winning instructors -- Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich and Ben Winters -- as they read (for 5 minutes each) from recent work. You'll hear great fiction, non-fiction, poetry and maybe even a screenplay. Signups for open mike open only to students who've taken courses, seminars or weekend workshops in the summer of 2011. Limited to 15 readers. 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.
FREE, Grub Street HQ.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, September 17-18th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Psychology of Character
In this weekend workshop, novelist and family life expert Lynne Griffin will share her unique ideas for crafting characters from the inside out; ones who are more than the sum of their physical traits, showing you how to get to the heart of character motivation. You’ll learn how to use behavioral research on human nature to answer all kinds of questions like, “What would this character really do?” “What makes a person do this and such?” “How would my character react to that?” Through lecture, discussion, close reading, and writing exercises, you’ll practice new techniques for crafting three dimensional, compelling and memorable, major as well as minor, characters.
Instructor: Lynne Griffin
$220/$195 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, September 17-18th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Hook & the Book
Most literary agents receive at least one hundred query letters each week, yet respond positively to less than two percent. Decisions on writing samples (partials) are often made within the first five pages. Would yours make the cut? 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, tips on how to stand out in a pile of queries, help on the first five pages, a review of a laundry list of Dos and Don’ts, and both group and one-on-one analysis of your submission package. By the time you leave on Sunday, you can expect to have a strong query letter that gets an agent’s attention, (or at least a strong framework), and first pages that sing. Open to all levels, all genres.
Important: Please prepare and email to rowan@grubstreet.org no later than noon on Monday, September 12th, a query letter of no more than 400 words, and the first five pages of your manuscript (double spaced, single sided, 12pt font, 1 inch margins, pages numbered) for the instructor.
For Day One: Bring four copies of the query and the first five pages to the first class for group review. Note: you will be reworking your query and first five pages between classes.
For Day Two: Please bring thirteen copies of your reworked query and first five pages. If the class size is smaller than 12, you will be notified on the correct number of copies.
Instructor: Sorche Fairbank
$220/$195 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, September 17-18th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Writing for Radio
Public radio is a writer's dream come true. From commentaries to personal essays, memoir to satire, it's a perfect place to pitch your wackiest ideas. But writing for broadcast is nothing like print. It's a beast all its own. Whether it's the distinct voice of This American Life or the fast-paced daily news of All Things Considered, NPR is one of the most exciting places for today's storytellers to air their work. Problem is most people don't know enough about broadcast to navigate their way through the NPR system, no less a radio script. You will learn the basics of how to write for the ear, the critical differences between print and broadcast, how to read your copy on air, and how to pitch your stories. Participants will begin writing a radio script so that by the end of the weekend each student will have some version, finished or not, of their ideal radio piece. There will be an opportunity for you to receive feedback as well as share your thoughts with others. Taught by an instructor who was a producer for NPR's nationally syndicated program "The Connection” and a six-and-a-half-year producer for CNN.
Instructor: Jennifer Mattson
$220/$195 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, September 17th, 10:00am-5:00pm, A Deeper Kind of Naked: Writing Literary Lust
Literary work often shines best when desire is not only enticing to read, but lays its characters bare both literally and figuratively. In this day course, you will practice crafting sex scenes that raise the stakes by building authentic desire. Placing an emphasis on feeling, sensation and transformation, we will lend fire to your work while revealing your characters at their most vulnerable and/or powerful. Whether you are writing a novel, short story, or are crafting brand new scenes, you will benefit from this supportive class. All sexualities warmly welcomed.
Instructor: Sue Williams
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, September 17th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Memoir: Making Smart Choices Behind the Scenes
Capturing your story on paper requires dozens of choices, from the creative (Who are you as a character? How do you represent family & friends in a way that won't crush those relationships? How do you find the best narrative arc?) to the practical (What legal hurdles do you need to clear? How do you put together a winning proposal?) In this class we'll look at the "behind the scenes" aspects of writing memoir, and help you create a personalized strategy for for telling and selling your story. Class will include writing exercises, goal setting, and opportunities to share your work.
Instructor: Trish Ryan
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, September 18th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Sonnet Generator
Have you always wanted to write a sonnet but didn't know how to start? Or maybe you started and then got bogged down somewhere around the sixth line, when the rhyme scheme became daunting. This class is for you. In the morning we will follow an exercise designed to produce a "modern sonnet," using fourteen 10-syllable lines without end rhyme, and in the afternoon an exercise will guide us in writing a sonnet with borrowed end-rhyme. We will also read published sonnets, both modern and traditional. As time allows, we may critique each other's poems, but the emphasis will be on writing. All levels welcome. Bring to class one or two of your favorite sonnets that use end rhyme.
Instructor: Wendy Mnookin
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, September 18th, 10:00am-5:00pm, How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book: Section A
Books often start with a simple yearning to explore new territory: fascinating topics, characters who won’t leave you alone, a good story. But manuscripts get unwieldy, fast. One out of ten writers never finish their manuscripts because most first-time book writers get lost without good structure and planning. Mary Carroll Moore, award-winning author of 13 books in three genres and a PEN/Faulkner nominee, will guide you through a simple and successful book-writing process that can take your book from idea to publication, a process using a three-act structure that eases organization and makes a manuscript vivid and engaging to readers. Find out why Aristotle believed that three acts formed a perfect structure for all stories, why humans lean toward beginning, middle, and end, and why we crave the emotional catharsis of that format in literature too. For all levels of writers working on nonfiction, memoir, or novels, at any stage from seed idea to draft. Learn why strong structuring is the key to selling a book in today's competitive publishing industry.
Instructor: Mary Carroll Moore
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ. Register Now.
Not a member? Become a Grubbie today!

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: Wednesday, September 7th, 7PM, Michael Griffith and Brock Clarke
Michael Griffith, author of Trophy: A Novel, and Brock Clarke, author of Exley.
FREE, Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St., Newton.

--READING: Wednesday, September 7th, 7pm, William Giraldi
Harvard Book Store is pleased to host a book launch party for Busy Monsters, the first novel by local writer and writing instructor (sometimes at Grub!) William Giraldi. The evening will include a reading from the novel as well as wine and light refreshments.
FREE, Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138.

--PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Saturday, Sept. 24th, 9:30 am-1:00 pm, Write It Like It Is Intro workshop, and Eight-Week Group, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7:00-9:00 pm.
Reduced rates for Grubbies! If you’ve ever wanted to write freely without censors, editors, or critics, now is your chance. Experience the exhilaration of tapping in to your authentic voice. No holds barred. No worries about publication or perfection. It’s all about letting go and having fun in a nonjudgmental, creative atmosphere. At every meeting, we’ll do freewriting exercises in response to prompts. Sharing is optional but encouraged. Discover new avenues for self-expression and creativity through writing! Workshop: $65; $55 for Grubbies. Group: $295; $280 for Grubbies. Grub member Debbie Sosin, LICSW, facilitator, is a writer, editor, and psychotherapist. Her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine, on Salon.com, forthcoming in Zone 3, and elsewhere. She has taught at the Arlington Center and Cambridge Center for Adult Education. For details, visit www.deborahsosin.com, email Debbie at debbie@deborahsosin.com, or call 617-448-5769.