February 13th, 2012
"The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible."
—Mark Twain
Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene brought to you every Monday by the Grub Street staff, who are standing by at Grub World Headquarters to accept your Valentine's Day wishes. As always, if you are receiving this email in horror, please advance to the bottom of the page to unsubscribe yourself.
Do you want a chance to read your work out loud? Join the new Grub Street Reading Series on Friday, March 9th for a fun open mic event and practice the art of reading to an audience. This event is open to the public, and limited to 10 readers. Sign-up begins at 6:30pm. Readings will run from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. This is a great opportunity for any members interested in sharing their work and connecting with other writers. For more information or to join the reading series mailing list, please email sean@grubstreet.org.
Don't miss out! Application deadlines for the 2012-2013 Novel Incubator, one of Grub's most exciting new programs, and the always-popular Weekend of Manuscript Consultations are both February 15th. See our website for details.
There's an almost intimidating wave of good news this month (at least from an editorial standpoint). We'll start with some timely nuptial news: Grub instructors Jenn De Leon and Adam Stumacher will be getting married this Sunday, February 19th, in Guatamala. They met through Grub Street, and we couldn't be more excited for them! In other Jenn and Adam news, Jenn was awarded a four-week fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center where she will be working on novel revisions, and Adam has been awarded a fellowship from Spiro Arts, which includes a six week residency in Park City, Utah.
Some of our other instructors and guest authors have been busy as well. Muse 2011 presenter Erika Dreifus reports that her story collection, Quiet Americans, has been named a 2012 Sophie Brody Medal Honor Title. Awarded by the American Library Association, the Sophie Brody Medal recognizes "outstanding achievement in Jewish literature." Muse 2010 presenter Daphne Kalotay's novel Russian Winter has won the Writers' League of Texas Fiction Award, and Daphne read with the 3 other winners (in nonfiction, poetry, and children's) on January 19th in Austin, TX. Becky Tuch just got news that one of her stories was accepted by Quarter After Eight journal. The story was written in fellow instructor Stace Budzko's 10 weeks/10 stories class this fall. Becky says, "Talk about teachers teaching other teachers how to be students! I love Grub for letting us all learn from each other in this way." Michelle Seaton and Chip Cheek are in the latest Harvard Review. Chip's story is called "Negative Six" and Michelle's is called, "Killer Kowalski's School of Love" and the Grub staff highly recommends them both. Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich’s essay “Cello”—“a brief bit o’ melancholia,” she writes—was published in the Winter/Spring 2012 issue of TriQuarterly Online.Kate Flora has a writing exercise and an essay on Story Arc vs. Character Arc in the new handbook, Now Write! Mysteries. Ben Berman just got his first book of poems accepted for publication through Able Muse Press. It's due out next spring. Rebecca Morgan Frank's book of poems, Little Murders Everywhere, comes out this month, and Morgan will have a variety of events in Boston in March, including an appearance at the Blacksmith House on March 19th. And our wonderful intern, Shannon Wagner, just received her first publication: a poem in The Fiddleback.
Next, we journey to The Stace Budzko & Sue Williams Corner Office of the DoC: Monkeybicycle published Stephanie Thurrott's short story, "Baby Teeth," in the December 2011 issue of Bartleby Snopes, and her one-sentence story, "Search & Rescue," was published in January. Stephanie wrote the first draft of the piece during a 3 Hours/3 Stories flash fiction workshop led by Stace Budzko and Sue Williams last spring. Barbara Bielinski Hermansen also got a publication out of Stace and Sue's class: "Batman #12,"in SmokeLong. Barbara tells us that her New Year's resolution is "to take more Grub Street classes." Stace Budzko was also helpful in the publication of a short story by Sean Lynch, who wrote it in Stace's "10 weeks, 10 stories" class. It will be published in a small publication called NAP Literary Magazine this spring. Sean says, "This is not to boast, but to show my gratitude towards Grub Street for your exceptional programs, and especially Stace for his helpful criticism and unrelenting encouragement in a field that most often contains neither." Erik Doughty had a story recently published in Flywheel Magazine, and a story accepted to be published in Red Lightbulbs. He wrote both stories for Sue Williams' 10 weeks, 10 stories class for flash fiction. Phyllis Alexander is taking Sue Williams' 10 Weeks, 10 Stories for the second time. She says, "Out of this wonderful course last spring came a story which has been published in the current issue of Boston Review. It's called "Summer of '76," and it's in the January/February issue."
There's one more office this time: The Michelle Seaton Corner Office: Andrea Fox tells us, "Before taking my first Grub Class with Michelle Seaton, I had two published essays. Since that time, my parenting essays have been published/accepted in eight online and print magazines. I considered this a major coup since I'm a stay-at-home mom to a very active preschooler and I really like to sleep. And after participating in Tracy Mayor's "Where to Publish Your Parenting Prose" (Muse 2011) I published in Boston Parent's Paper, Babble.com, BlogHer.com, Horn Book Magazine, and Errant Parent.com." Lauren Norton Carson's "Dying Young" won 1st Place in the Flash Fiction Category of the Keat's Soul-Making Literary Competition sponsored by the National League of American Pen Women. The story grew out of a writing prompt given by Michelle Seaton at a Grub workshop.
There's tons of other great news from our students and members, too. Kim Freeman received another residency fellowship--this one in late spring at Ledig House at OmniArts in the Hudson Valley. Kerrie Kemperman has a short-short in the new issue of Brevity (Winter 2012, Issue 38), and she and Carrie Normand won grants from the Somerville LCC. Dave Sanfacon had a second essay published by The Good Men Project, after workshopping it in a class with Amy MacKinnon. Kathleen Nollet's essay "Joy in Preparation, Joy in Music" was published in December 2011 as part of Emmanuel College's series "Reflect Emmanuel." Atinuke Diver had her feature piece, "Why Bridal Showers Are the Worst Place to Learn About Marriage" published in the Winter 2012 issue of Wedding Nouveau Magazine. Grub Street member the Rev. Lyn G. Brakeman has published an essay "Becoming a Woman Priest" in the Winter, 2011 issue of online journal Persimmon Tree, a journal whose mission is to publish works of women over 60. Jim Agnew's Literary World book reviews and daily pick recommendations blog selected Grubbie Larry Kerpelman's recently published book, Pieces Missing: A Family's Journey of Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury, as a daily pick both on December 2nd and again on December 16th. Of the approximately 1,000 new books published each business day in the U.S., Larry is doubly honored that Pieces Missing appeared twice as a daily pick in Jim Agnew’s Literary World. Karen Lee Sobol's book Twelve Weeks: An Artist's Story of Cancer, Healing, and Hope is available to buy on Amazon.com. Lesley Mahoney's short story, "The Good Neighbor," earned honorable mention for Glimmer Train's November 2011 Short Story Award for New Writers. Three chapters from Gerald Zeitlin's memoir Laughing and Crying about Anesthesia will soon be serialized in Anesthesiology News. Gerald writes: "This newsletter is circulated to 50,000 anesthesiologists and related professionals in the U.S.of A. Many of those actually read it." Amy Cooper Rodriguez's piece about surviving Holiday Affective Disorder (a disorder that she coined and surely suffers from) was published in babble.com. She wrote the piece when she and a fellow Grubbie met at a coffee shop and swore "to keep their butts in their chairs" until they had written something. The butt in the chair thing really works. Rosalyn Feldberg's second book, Smart Mama, Smart Money: How to Raise Happy Healthy Kids Without Breaking the Bank will be released on March 6th, and just received an enthusiastic starred review in Publisher's Weekly. Michael Appell attended a workshop with instructor Ethan Gilsdorf that resulted in his essay "Exes in the Wedding Party" being published in the Boston Sunday Globe Magazine ("Couplings" section) on January 1st. Thomas Mickey just received a book contract from SUNY Press in Albany for his book, Landscape Design according to James Vick: A Nineteenth Century Seedsman Appeals to Middle Class America. And last but not least, Monica Hileman has a story in Final Fenway Fiction, and was the runner-up in the 2011 Miami University Novella Contest.
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.
Cheers,
Whitney, Sonya, Eve, Chris, Rowan and Sean
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.
DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, February 17th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Yoga and Writing
Ground, stretch and enlighten your writing through the tools of gentle yoga postures and guided breathing and meditation exercises. Yoga practitioners use physical postures, breath and meditation as their tools. Writers use words. However, whilst their methods might be different, both embrace a journey inwards to sharp awareness of both self and the world around us. Both are on a journey with the mind which can only develop with disciplined practice, effort and patience, and a willingness to embrace change/the unexpected, rather than to force – whether that be in real life or our written pieces.
During this seminar, we will use the tools of yoga to generate new ideas and pages, to tighten and reinvigorate our existing pages, and to stretch ourselves as writers in ways we have never done before. Whether you are beginning or finishing a work, or stuck in the mud in the middle, join us on this ground-breaking journey which seeks to truly transform your writing life, habits and words.
Note: A yoga mat is needed for this course, but no prior yoga experience. Please wear comfortable clothes to class that you can do gentle movements in.
Instructor: Sophie Powell
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, February 17th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Legal Issues in Self-Publishing and eBook Publishing
Navigating the maze of self-publishing and eBook publishing can be confusing, hectic, and overwhelming. Unfortunately there hasn't been a GPS invented yet that can help get through the litany of contract language and unfamiliar legal terms. This course will empower you with the basics of publishing on your own or in the eBook realm. By the end of the course, we will discuss the basics of copyright law, the basics of libel law, general legal terms that apply to writing and publishing, and trustworthy resources that can help solve potential legal problems that you might encounter. Time and interest permitting, we will also discuss how to apply many of these same principals to more traditional publishing contracts.
Instructor: Mitchell Bragg
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 25th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Psychology of Strong Characters
In an atmosphere of exploration and support, you will create more compelling characters by revealing their fears, desires, and dreams. We’ll use a series of writing prompts that will challenge our characters to take actions to reveal the white hot core of your story. It’s a tall order, but it’s what all good stories are about.
Instructor: Jacqueline Sheehan
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 25th, 10:00am-5:00pm, Building Your Platform
So you’ve been writing some essays or chapters of your memoir, getting feedback on them and being told that if you want to publish them, you have to “build your platform.” In this seminar, you will look at how to do just that: help your work reach a broader audience while raising your author profile. We will look at various publications that accept work from new or emerging writers and how to approach queries and pitch letters. We will also delve into social networking and how to become involved in the conversation and discuss putting these efforts together into a coherent effort at platform building. This seminar is designed for those who are just beginning to build their platform or for those who have started and want to make sure they’re on the right track.
Instructor: Suzanne Cope
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 25th, 10:30am-5:30pm, Developing the 'I': Perspective & Voice in Memoir
Yes, that’s right, memoir! Perspective is often discussed as an important aspect of fiction, but the truth is it’s just as important in first-person memoir.
Instructor: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Saturday, February 25th, 9:30am-4:30pm, Historical Fiction (Without All the Extra Buttons)
Historical novels, at their worst, can feel like veritable textbooks, laden with obscure details about fashion trends, hinges, and salted cod. So what’s a writer to do with all the ‘information’ she’s worked so hard to gather? We’ll look at examples of great literary historical fiction, discuss how and why it works, and practice our own hand at flushing out the excess and focusing on what’s really important: the story.
Instructor: Anna Solomon
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 26th, 10:30am-5:30pm, Understanding and Developing Your Characters
A literary agent-led workshop focusing on character development, from a marketplace perspective. Be it memoir or fiction, projects that initially capture an agent’s attention most often get rejected because of flat, stock, or unengaging characters. Are you relying on one of the six stock characters we agents see all too often? Do you have sufficient internal conflict on the page without turning your character(s) into clichés? Have you drowned your poor character(s) with description?
In this one-day intensive workshop we will tackle these problems and many more; study effective character descriptions and scenes that go much deeper than the words on the page; work on an assortment of character development exercises (including a very telling protagonist Mad Lib type exercise); and use small group critiques and one-on-ones with the instructor to guide the class to really get into the skin of their character(s) so as to write more richly about them.
Email rowan@grubstreet.org the completed character and story questionnaire (provided when you sign up), and the one to two pages where an important character is introduced, no later than 5:00pm on Wednesday, February 22nd. For class, bring notepaper to write on, and a laptop, if you’re more comfortable working electronically. Be prepared to have your work critiqued with other members of the class.
Instructor: Sorche Fairbank
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 26th, 9:30am-4:30pm, The Art of the Scene
Scenes play important roles in fiction and nonfiction—an opportunity for the reader to experience the action as it unfolds in the real time of the story and for the writer to dramatize crucial encounters and key moments. But combining numerous narrative elements into a successful scene can be a challenge. This one-day class—an expanded version of the popular seminar—will look at the way scenes work and strategies employed by various authors. We’ll focus on pacing, choreography, tension, details, subtext, and more and practice these with in-class writing exercises designed to inspire and elevate your own writing. There will also be time to workshop a short scene you bring (up to about five pages double spaced) in small groups. Bring 5 copies.
Instructor: Amy Marcott
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 26th, 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. 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.
Instructor: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Sorry, this class is sold out. Please click here to be put on a waiting list.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP: Sunday, February 26th, 10:00am-5:00pm, How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book: Section B
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.
BOOK CLUB: Sunday, February 26th 12:00pm to 2:00pm, Grub Street Book Club
The Grub Book Club will offer a chance to read and discuss great books with a focus on reading from a writer's perspective. The book club's pick for the month of February is the novel Cloud Cuckoo Land by Grub Street instructor Lisa Borders. On Sunday, February 26th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm the club will discuss Cloud Cuckoo Land for the first hour and will then be joined by author Lisa Borders for a Q&A about her novel.
For more information or to join our book club please contact sean@grubstreet.org.
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.
--READING: Tuesday, February 14th, 7pm, Kohler, Albert and Steinberg
Grub Street member Sandra Kohler will read in the Newton Free Library Poetry Series on Tuesday, February 14, at 7 pm., along with Alan Albert and Judith Steinbergh.
FREE,
The Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton Centre, 024590.
--READING: Wednesday, February 15th, 7pm, Margot Livesy
Harvard Book Store is delighted to welcome novelist MARGOT LIVESEY for a reading of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a captivating homage to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. "In The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey offers a new telling of Jane Eyre, for which no contemporary writer is better suited. As always, Livesey’s prose is a garden of pleasures: precision here, lyricism there, wit and compassionate insight throughout." (Amy Bloom). Margot Livesey is a member of Grub Street's Literary Council and the acclaimed author of the novels The House on Fortune Street, Homework, Criminals, The Missing World, Eva Moves the Furniture and Banishing Verona. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Livesey was born in Scotland and grew up on the edge of the Highlands. She currently lives in the Boston area and is a distinguished writer-in-residence at Emerson College.
*Please note: Grub Street promises that this is the right date and time for this event!
FREE, Harvard Book Store.
--READING: Tuesday, February 21, 7pm: Salamander Reading featuring Siobhan Fallon and Elyse Fenton
Fiction writer Siobhan Fallon, author of You Know When the Men are Gone, and poet Elyse Fenton, author of Clamor, will read at the Suffolk University Sawyer Library Poetry Center, 3rd floor. Hosted by Salamander.
FREE, 73 Tremont Street, Boston (one block from Park Street T ) - Entrance is around the corner on Tremont Place.
Welcome to the end of the e-mail, where like that regretful 17th slice of cake, we offer you the chance to win a prize. On this day in 1945, Allied planes started bombing Dresden in WWII. What author survived the attack on Dresden and spent 20 years trying to write about it? Email your answer to whitney@grubstreet.org. The first correct respondent wins a Starbucks gift card for a coffee treat.
Last week's trivia: After disappearing for ten days, Agatha Christie claimed amnesia brought on by her husband's infidelity. Winner: Kate Racculia.