December 19th, 2011
"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene brought to you every Monday from the "How Many Licks Does It Take To Finish That Candy Cane" contest 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.
Last week, we launched our campaign to raise $50,000 to cover the costs of our move to 162 Boylston Street. The response has been thrilling: so far, 65 people have sponsored items for our new home, including chairs, staples, a new podium, toilets and toilet seats (very popular!) and hours of Jason the Carpenter's time, for a total of almost $10,000! To everyone who has donated, THANK YOU. We are so touched by your generosity.
We're especially inspired by the outpouring of support and enthusiasm you all feel about our community. We thought donor Tom Champoux summed it up perfectly when he included the following message with his sponsorship of a bookshelf: "I've played softball, I've taken classes, I've hit the Muse (many times), I've gone out drinking, I've met tons of fantastic people...now it's time to put my name on something. Great idea."
If you're a part of the Grub Street community, we need your help. Help us create an inspiring and innovative haven for
writers in our nation’s most literary city.
How can you help?
Sponsoring an item is a great way to show your support of Grub Street, and donations like these are crucial to the ongoing success of our small non-profit organization. Thank you for your support!
We're excited that our Novel Incubator program is featured in the Jan/Feb issue of Poets & Writers. The whole article is only available in the print edition, but they sum it up online by saying: "The Grub Street literary center has created a long-form fiction class that might offer a cure for the novel-writing anxiety that the traditionally story-centric MFA workshop isn’t equipped to resolve." Be sure to check it out, and thanks to co-instructors Michelle Hoover and Lisa Borders for leading such a great program, as well as student R.J. Taylor for her great quote.
Git certificates, gift memberships, editorial consultations, sponsored items in our new space, passes to the Muse and the Marketplace conference: all this and more could be next to the yule log this year for the writer in your life. Visit our holiday guide online now, and give the gift of Grub this holiday season! We've extended the deadline: order by 5pm today, Monday, December 19th, to receive delivery by Christmas. Shipping is free to your house or theirs.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Eve, Chris, Rowan and Sean
The P.S.: The Grub Street office will be operating with limited staffing December 26th - 30th, and will reopen on Monday, January 2nd at 10am. In our absence, feel free to register for winter workshops on our website. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
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.
SEMINAR: Thursday, January 5th, 6:15-9:15pm, Dynamic Scene Writing
Instructor: Michelle Hoover
* SOLD OUT* Click here to join waiting list.
SEMINAR: Thursday, January 5th, 6:30-9:30pm, So You Want to Be a Writer?
Instructor: Ethan Gilsdorf
* SOLD OUT* Click here to join waiting list.
SEMINAR: Thursday, January 5th, 6:15-9:15pm, How to Make Your Prose Sing (and Why It Should)
The best moments in our prose are ones in which the language rises into the lyric register -- aspires to song. In this workshop, we'll look at the work of Tobias Wolff, Joyce Carol Oates, Frank O'Connor and others in an effort to figure out how they manage to sing on the page. And we'll do some exercises that will help you do the same. No musical instruments necessary. Just bring your voice.
Instructor: Steve Almond
*4 spots left* $65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
SEMINAR: Thursday, January 5th, 6:30-9:30pm, Social Media Trends in Author Promotion
Self-promotion is an unavoidable reality for any writer looking to build readership and a viable career—and most of it is going to be DIY (Do It Yourself) and PFIY (Pay For It Yourself). Even if you have a solid book deal, much of the marketing and promotion is going to fall squarely on your shoulders. The stakes are high, and the options are virtually limitless. Using real world examples, Digital marketer Crystal King will share how social media is changing the landscape for both new and established authors. You'll hear about the latest tools, tips and trends in social media.
Instructor: Crystal King
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
SEMINAR: Thursday, January 5th, 6:00-9:00pm, Coping with Rejection: A Key Survival Skill for Writers
In Hillary Rettig's class on overcoming writer's block, a frequent scenario involves the class discussing a particular type of rejection or harsh criticism, and a student saying, “Wait – I just realized! That happened to me and I never finished a work again.” Or submitted one. Or took a writer's workshop. Make no mistake: unhealed rejections can cause your writing or career to grind to a halt. Rejection also comes in many more forms than most writers realize. In this workshop, Hillary will discuss the many forms of rejection, and the factors that can make a rejection worse. Then she'll offer ways to recover from toxic rejections in your past, and avoid them in the future. If you've ever thought you needed to develop more resilience or a "thicker skin" this class will show you how.
Instructor: Hillary Rettig
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
WORKSHOP: 6 Sundays, 1:00-4:00pm, beginning January 8th, Fiction II: Revising With Intention
This section of Fiction II is designed to give intermediate/more experienced writers, and those with workshop experience, the intensive review and analysis that leads to deeper and sharper prose. We’ll begin each class by examining a nuanced element of craft (such as narrative urgency or thematic structure) as a lens through which students can determine potential next steps for their work. Workshops will focus on problem areas in novel chapters and/or short stories, and will include brainstorm sessions to devise clear revision objectives. Feedback on revised pages will be given through class discussion as well as in-depth written comments from the instructor. The goal is to write fiction that has “a sturdy sense of itself, of being built of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you,” as Alice Munro put it.
Instructor: Lara JK Wilson
$305/$280 members, at Yoga Mandala in Winchester, MA.
SEMINAR: Monday, January 9th, 6:15-9:15pm, Social Media for Writers
Instructor: Lauren E. MacLeod
* SOLD OUT* Click here to join waiting list.
SEMINAR: Monday, January 9th, 6:00-9:00pm, PR 101 for Writers
These days, all authors need to understand and know how to use basic PR tools to build a platform and publicize their work, even long before it’s published. From press releases and pitches to blog posts and tweets, this primer will lay out in clear, actionable terms the various tasks PR includes, their purposes, how they intersect with other types of promotion and how authors can use them effectively. It will offer a practical PR resource “tool-kit” and a realistic look at the potential outcomes.
Instructor: Sharon Bially
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
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: Zip-Code Stories
Zip-Code Stories is a collaboration between The Drum and WBUR's Radio Boston. Each month, we name four zip codes from the Greater Boston area and we ask you to send in your 500-word stories (fiction or non-fiction) about one of those zip codes. The next four zip codes are: 01930 (Gloucester), 02301 (Brockton), 02131 (Roslindale), and 02482 (Wellesley). Send us your 500-word story by January 9th, or record it straight onto Broadcastr so we can add it to The Drum's playlist. Submission guidelines are here.
--AWARD: Beyond the Margin's 1st Annual Above and Beyond Award
Nominate a writer who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help fellow writers. Extra editing, mentoring, putting writers in touch with each other, putting writers in touch with agents and editors, running classes for young people and seniors, organizing readings: If there’s someone you know who has done one or more or all of these things, we want to hear about it. Workshop leaders or class instructors are eligible, but no formal teaching position is required. Read full details on the BTM blog.
--POETRY AND ART: 10 weeks, begins January 5th: Ekphrasis course at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Be guided through the MFA’s collections to find inspiration and content for your writing. Discover and explore the deep relationships between visual art and creative writing. The class includes weekly presentations of artists and poets, group discussions, and a personalized tour of the galleries that can expand on the ideas for your writing. Develop a polished poem or a work of short prose, meet other writers, and experience the museum in a whole new way. To register: Ten-week sessions for Adults and Teens (15-18) start Jan 5th.
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like accidentally putting on your child's oxygen mask first, we offer you the chance to win a prize. After reaching forty, this housewife and mother of five began writing her first books, which went on to become one of the fastest-selling in publishing history. Email your answer to whitney@grubstreet.org. The first correct respondent wins a Starbucks gift card for a coffee treat.
Last week's trivia: Jules Verne's descriptions of a periscope were so prophetic that a real inventor was denied a patent for it later. Winner: Lynne Weiss.