April 23rd, 2012

Grub Street News

Welcome to the latest installment of the Grub Street Rag, a newsletter of the Boston literary scene brought to you by the devils on our shoulders 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.

Upcoming Multi-Week Workshops

If you think our Spring schedule couldn't possibly have more to offer you, you'd be wrong. Starting in May, we've got a whole new array of multi-week workshops, including Screenwriting II: Beyond Hollywood Structure, 6 Weeks, 6 Poetic Forms, Meditation and Writing, Jumpstart Your Writing, and Poetry: Revising the Words. Visit our website to sign up today.

Two Days Left: Non-Fiction Career Lab Deadine is April 25th

The deadline to apply for the Non-Fiction Career Labis April 25th and all details are on our website. To learn even more about the pedagogy behind the program, check out this great interview with one of the founding instructors, Pagan Kennedy. If you have specific questions, email Chris Castellani at chris@grubstreet.org or call the office anytime at 617.695.0075.

A Literary Night Out

Get those babysitters lined up now, because Grub Street has a wonderful (and free) literary night out planned for you. First, join us from 5:30-7pm on Saturday, May 5th for an illuminating lecture by digital-publishing visionary Richard Nash. Then, you're on your own for a quick bite at one of downtown Boston's many wonderful restaurants. Stay close to the Park Plaza hotel, though, so you can return at 8:15 for a reading and reception featuring the non-fiction and fiction winners of Grub's National Book Prize. Details below and on our website.

4 Days Left to Register For the Muse

As we announced last week, the last day to register for the Muse and the Marketplace conference is THIS Thursday, April 26th, at midnight EST. Don’t miss your chance to work with some of the country’s most accomplished authors and teachers of creative writing. With over one hundred sessions, the conference has something for every kind of fiction and non-fiction writer and is the year's most meaningful literary event. Visit museandthemarketplace.com to reserve your spot before they're all gone.

Pre-Muse Volunteers Needed  

Grub Street is preparing for the Muse and we need your help! We have volunteer opportunities this week and next week. We'll be doing lots of printing, stuffing, and organizing, and there will be music, snacks, and great company. If you’re available to volunteer any time on weekedays from 11:00am to 6:00pm on April 24th - , please contact Sean at sean@grubstreet.org.

Announcing Museflash

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

The P.S. We forgot to include this month's reminder to send us your writing news so that we can feature it in our Department of Congratulations, which goes out the first Monday of each month. To be included, please fill out our new and simplifed Congratulations Form (http://bit.ly/IziUEF) 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.

Muse Spotlights

For the next two months, The Rag will be spotlighting sessions from our annual conference, The Muse and the Marketplace. For all details, including registration info, go to www.museandthemarketplace.com. This year, Grub Street opened up 16 of our “Hour of Power” sessions to applications from the larger community of writers and teachers. We received hundreds of applications and are very pleased with the range of topics we are now able to offer.  Below are some samples:  four craft-based “Muse” sessions and three publishing-focused “Marketplace” sessions that will be led on Sunday, May 6th from 4:15 – 5:15. Participants choose their “Hour of Power” sessions on the day of the conference.
 
MUSE
 
Option 3: Flash Fiction: Jumpstart Your Writing
Treat yourself to an hour of writing and go home with a story or two. This seminar will discuss the genre of flash fiction and its market providing a handout of where to submit your flash. The instructor will provide two or three guided exercises and provide time for participants to read their work out loud.
Leader: Sarah Banse

Option 4: Raising the Stakes for your YA Characters
The lives of teenagers are full of drama and change: they’re making some of the most important and difficult decisions of their lives, they’re establishing who they really are and what they really believe. Are your characters living fully in this high-stakes world? Bring characters from your work in progress. The class will include a short lecture, handouts, and several exercises. We'll use point of view, dialogue, and plot to sharpen your own characters and focus the drama of their situations. Special issues in writing YA will be discussed.
Leader: Sarah Smith (The Other Side of Dark)

Option 6: Talk to Me: Interviewing People for Publication
So you're writing a feature article and want to speak with top subject-matter experts – but you're not sure how to approach them. Or you're interviewing people for a creative nonfiction piece on a highly sensitive or controversial topic, and you're wondering how best to phrase your questions. Or you're working on a memoir and need a difficult person from your past to fill in some gaps. Interviewing is a skill that comes in handy for just about any type of nonfiction writing (and, in some cases, for fiction as well). This high-energy session offers advice on interviewing just about anybody for publication, from setting up interviews to asking good questions to choosing what quotes to include in your piece. We'll touch on interview etiquette, logistics and ethical issues. You'll leave with a list of tips, examples and resources for further exploration.
Leader: Anne Stuart

Option 7: Spicing Up Your Non-Fiction with Non-Prose Elements
Have you ever found yourself stuck in the middle of writing a piece of argumentative or narrative nonfiction? Sometimes breaking out of prose can be a powerful way of getting yourself unstuck. In this session, I will discuss how use of non-prose elements such as charts, quizzes, drawings, tables, and plays can help you break out of a rut and get back on track. I will talk about how I have used these elements in my own writing and discuss examples from other sources. We will also do some group brainstorming about other non-prose techniques that we can use to spice up our nonfiction.
Leader: Jay Wexler (Holy Hullabaloos)

 
MARKETPLACE
 
Option 5: Essentials of the Blog
This session will focus on the two most important parts of a blog post for engaging readers – the title and opening. Through a series of guided exercises, you'll discover what to write about, try some proven formulas for success based on current blogging trends, and learn how to quickly capture the attention of your audience. Beginning and established bloggers alike will find this session useful for writing posts that others will want to read – and you'll be able to gauge interest by bouncing ideas off of fellow audience members. Think of it as a large and invaluable focus group as well as a useful networking opportunity. You'll leave with several titles and some solid beginnings and inspiration.
Leader: Amy Marcott

Option 8: Ghostwriting: The Shadowy Path You Should Consider
Do you have your own voice, but have always been a writer who could write in anyone's style? Are you a polymath – someone who knows a bit of everything and can learn the inside of a topic in a blink? Or is there a field you know – say science or engineering or business – full of people who can think and do great things, with money and great ideas – but without the specific skills or time to write their own thoughts down? Then taking up the role of ghost writer may be the path to earning an honest living while giving you a base income to write your own words, whether those are words you want to publish free as a blogger, or save up for your first novel, or if you love to write but need to stay home with your kids or aging parent most of the time.
Leader: Shava Nerad

Option 9: Submitting Your Non-Fiction: A Strategic Plan
In this session, you'll get a crash course in making smart decisions about choosing where to submit your work. You'll learn how to develop a working knowledge of the media landscape, how to formulate a creative submission strategy that includes publications you might not have considered, and how to adapt to dealing with editors at very different types of publications. Most importantly, you'll learn how to be an active advocate for what you want, that during the process of submitting the last thing you should be is submissive. [Note: while this session focuses on non-fiction, the strategies will also apply to fiction writers]
Leader: Steve Macone

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, April 28th, 10:00am-5:00pm, The Messy Essay
Don't have time to take six weeks, six essays? Come to this workshop where we'll tackle the joys and pitfalls of essay writing. The first half of the course will be spent looking at the essay form and dissecting a few essays to see what makes them tick. Next, we'll take a look at our own essay attempts, talk about the challenges that come up during revision, and discuss tools and ideas to help take your work-in-progress or ideas to the next level. Bring an essay you are working on, your ideas and your questions!
Instructor: Amy Yelin
$115/$95 members, Grub Street HQ.

LECTURE: Saturday, May 5th, 5:30-7pm, "Don't Get Left Behind: New Opportunities for Writers" with Richard Nash
Part of Grub Street's Publish It Forward lecture series, funded by the NEA. What does it mean to be a writer in a world where seemingly everyone is a writer? Richard Nash, serial entrepreneur, maverick, and student of books and media, draws on legal, economic and intellectual history, on his experience running iconic indie Soft Skull Press, and on his start-ups Small Demons, Red Lemonade and Cursor to offer writers a new framework for understanding the business of writing and the culture of reading. You will leave with a new perspective on the incredible range of opportunities now available to writers which will enable you to make the best possible choices in your own life and career. Registered Muse and the Marketplace attendees do not need to register for this session; they may simply come. The event is also open to the public.
Instructor: Richard Nash
FREE, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street, Boston

READING: Saturday, May 5th, 8:15-9:30pm, National Book Prize Reading & Reception with Wendy Call and Eileen Pollack
Join us for a festive reading and reception to honor Wendy Call and Eileen Pollack, the most recent winners of the Grub Street National Book Prize. Non-Fiction winner Wendy Call of Seattle will read from No Word for Welcome: The Mexican Village Faces the Global Economy, and Fiction winner Eileen Pollack of Ann Arbor will read from her novel, Breaking and Entering. Margot Livesey and Michelle Seaton will introduce the authors.
The Grub Street Book Prize is awarded once annually to an American writer outside New England publishing his or her second, third, fourth (or beyond) book. First books are not eligible. Writers whose primary residence is Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut or Rhode Island are also not eligible. Click here for more information.
FREE, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street, Boston.

DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, May 11th, 11:00am-2:00pm, How to Write Riveting Scenes
The key to any unforgettable work of prose resides in the quality of its scenes. In this workshop, we'll look at some of the best scenes ever written, and investigate what it takes to write a scene that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. We'll also do an in-class exercise (or two) to see if we can improve the tension and emotional impact of our own scenes.
Instructor: Steve Almond
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.

DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, May 11th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Yoga and Writing
The goal of this unique seminar is to let our inner writer flow using breath, guided meditation, movement, and all-inclusive awareness of self in order to access our creative muse, and continue to develop our authentic voice. We will begin with a free-write and a discussion of techniques for creating grounding, vibrant imagery. We will then dive deep with a prompted Proprioceptive writing exercise in order to “Write the Mind Alive,” using our stream of consciousness to create mindful transitions in our writing, invoke the senses, and create powerful direct experience for our readers. We will also spend time grounding into our physical bodies using breath and yoga in order to write from a body-centered space. Finally, we will discuss ways of using breath and movement to address writer’s block, and will learn some therapeutic exercises and take home tools for easing the cramped fingers, hands, and shoulders that exist as the by-product of our passionate love affair with our life’s work: our writing. 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: Lindsey O'Neill
$65/$50 members, Grub Street HQ.

DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, May 11th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Crafting the Pitch Letter for Nonfiction Projects
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, and for submitting nonfiction book proposals to agents. (Sorry, we won’t discuss how to pitch short fiction or novels.) 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.

DAYTIME SEMINAR: Friday, May 11th, 11:00am-2:00pm, Surviving the Slush Pile
Ever wonder what happens after you click submit and your story is sent through cyberspace to a literary magazine? This course, led by a journal editor and author, will take you through the maze of the submissions process from submissions peccadilloes to editorial hallelujahs. We’ll take a close look at opening lines and final paragraphs through the lens of narrative; and we’ll also talk about cover letters, bios, and story format. Relying on exercises and prompts, our focus in the second half will be on stirring up our creative minds and sending you – and your work, into the world of publication. Please bring a copy of a story you are working on; we'll use it for an in-class exercise. Instructor: Catherine Parnell
$65/$50 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.

--VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: The Drum at the Muse
The Drum is looking for volunteers for Muse weekend. Help us record walk-in short fiction for our Third Annual MuseFlash contest. No previous audio experience required. We just need someone to greet writers as they wait their turn, hand out releases, and keep people happy. MuseFlash recordings are scheduled during registration both days and the Hour of Power. If you're interested in being involved in the literary magazine you listen to, email Grubbie Henriette editor@drumlitmag.com.

--FUNDRAISER: Wednesday, April 25th, 5:30pm, The Big Thrill
The Boston Public Library Foundation and the International Thriller Writers are hosting The Big Thrill at the Central Library in Copley Square on Wednesday, April 25, at 5:30pm. Join in on this wonderful opportunity to meet authors like Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Charlaine Harris, David Hosp, Karin Slaughter, and more. Tickets include hors d'oeuvres and open bar. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Boston Public Library Foundation and programs we support at the library such as out-of-school time programming for children and teens, the Lowell Lecture Series, and cultural and historical exhibitions that are always free to all. Tickets and information here: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=2e70b9
$95 VIP/$65 general admission, Central Boston Public Library, Copley Square.

--PANEL: Thursday, April 26th, 12:15pm, "Art and Angst: Is Pain Necessary?"
"Art and Angst: Is Pain Necessary?" is WSRC’s 14th Annual Panel on Creativity as part of Brandeis University’s Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. Stereotypically, artists are characterized as “suffering.” This year’s panel with a composer, a poet, visual artist, and other music scholars will delve into the layers of this model, and why suffering may or may not be necessary to the process of creating. Panelists include: Dana Maiben, Composer; Diana Durham, Poet; Laury Gutierrez, Music Scholar, Viola da gambist; Michele L’Heureux, Artist & Curator of WSRC, Kniznick Gallery. Moderator: Rosie Rosenzweig, Writer.
FREE, Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University 515 South Street, Waltham, MA.

--PARTY: Tuesday, May 1st, 7pm, AGNI 75 Reading & Launch Party
Featuring never-before-seen photographs of Robert Lowell and reflections on the man and his poetry. Readings by Tom Sleigh, Gail Mazur, Fred Marchant, Fanny Howe, Saskia Hamilton, Robert Gardner and Christopher Benfey
FREE, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 949 Commonwealth Avenue.

--READING: Sunday, May 5th, noon-6:00, Spoken-Word Trolley at Somerville Open Studios
Somerville Open Studios is hosting six hours of live humor, story-telling, and poetry on its Spoken-Word trolley bus. The bus is free and will run loop around Somerville with stops in Davis Square, Union Square, and other areas. Grubbies who will be performing include: Randy Ross, Susan Phillips, Heather Campbell, and Joan Fitzgerald from noon - 1:00, Erica Ferencik from 3:00-4:00, and instructor Judah Leblang from 5:00-6:00. For more information: http://somervilleopenstudios.org/events/1002/

--FUNDRAISER: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Please help Grub Street Board Member Christy Cashman in supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) by making a donation to her fundraising campaign. Every dollar she raises counts as one vote and the candidate who gets the most votes/raises the most money is named the local Man or Woman of the Year. Her efforts, with your help, will support the discovery of blood cancer therapies and fund research to find cures. Please visit her donation page: http://bit.ly/I5PIIR

--FUNDRAISER: May 11th, 8pm, Nine Authors, Nine Items: A Storytelling Auction
The Endowment for Unexceptional Humans helps regular folks with a good plan for future success achieve their goals.  Right now, they're hosting a fantastic fundraiser called "9 Authors 9 Items" where authors including William Giraldi,  Micah Nathan, Stace Budzko,  and Sarah Braunstein will read short works about a item that is close to their heart --everything from signed books to childhood art projects, to gift certificates for a massage.  After each reading, the item will be auctioned off.  
FREE (though bidding on auction items is strongly encouraged), First Church Somerville, Davis Square.