The Writer's Center Summer 2017

Summer 2017

Writing Workshops &

Literary Events

Your Writing Life Starts Here writer.org

ABOUT US Editor

Vanessa Mallory Kotz vanessa.mallorykotz@writer.org

Graphic Design

Virtually Detailed, LLC Copyeditor

Laura Spencer Cover Image

Book Gallery TWC’s book gallery carries an extensive collection of literary magazines and books on craft.

Marketing & Publications Manager

Ed Spitzberg

Vanessa Mallory Kotz

Assistant Director

Managing Editor of Poet Lore

Sunil Freeman

Ellie Tipton

Program Manager

Amber Sparks reads from her book at the 2016 Pub Crawl, photo by Mig Dooley.

Poet Lore is the oldest continuously published poetry journal in the United States. We publish semi-annually, and submissions are accepted year-round.

Subscription and submission information is available at www.poetlore.com.

Executive Director

Office Manager

Laura Spencer

Judson Battaglia

Development & Outreach Programs Manager

Community Relations Assistants

Kristen Zory King

James Ebersole & Tyler West

Board of Directors Chair: Sally Mott Freeman

Vice Chair: Mier Wolf

Treasurer: Margaret Meleney

Secretary: Patricia Harris

Chair Emeritus: James T. Mathews Ken Ackerman • Margot Backas • Linna Barnes • Naomi F. Collins Mark Cymrot • Les Hatley • John M. Hill Jeff Kosseff • Howard Lavine • Jim McAndrew Joram Piatigorsky • Bill Reynolds • Wilson W. Wyatt, Jr.

The Writer’s Center

cultivates the creation, publication, presentation and dissemination of literary work.

We are an independent literary organization with a global reach, rooted in a dynamic community of writers. As one of the premier centers of its kind in the country, we believe the craft of writing is open to people of all backgrounds and levels of ability. The Writer’s Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and donations are tax deductible.

Morowa Yejidé

Honorary Board Kate Blackwell • Tim Crawford • Dana Gioia • Jim & Kate Lehrer Alice McDermott • Ellen McLaughlin • E. Ethelbert Miller • Howard Norman

Supported in part by:

The Writer’s Center 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, MD 20815 301.654.8664 www.writer.org

The Writer’s Center also gratefully acknowledges the support we receive from: The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The Tau Foundation, The Omega Foundation, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, and The Bydale Foundation. for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE

The Writer’s Center

The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

– Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Photo by Herman Farrer Photography

Dear Writer’s Center Community, First, let me thank everyone—workshop leaders and participants, board and staff, and neighbors and partners—for the warm welcome you’ve given me in my first few months as Executive Director of this historic organization. I’m very excited to be part of that history by helping shape a bright, prosperous future for the Center and for writers in our community.

On that note, I’m pleased to announce we are breaking ground this summer on the next phase of our renovation. The entire ground floor will be updated and reconfigured for the comfort, accessibility, and convenience of our visitors. All are invited to our Open House on April 23 (see p. 7) to learn more about the

new layout and benefits of the renovated center—and to say hello if we haven’t yet met! The new space will include a lightfilled atrium for meeting other literaryminded people; a dedicated space for our programs for veterans, English language learners, and other at-need communities; an outdoor courtyard for contemplation; and an attractive, more prominent facade (with fewer steps and a ramp) to make sure all who go by know that this is a place for lit-lovers like you who are creating new writing inside our doors.

What does that mean for our workshops and events? We will continue to hold classes and programs, as usual, both onsite and at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center through the

rest of the year. And then we’ll kick off 2018 within a physical space that will strengthen and expand the five pillars of our arts and humanities programming: workshops, literary events, community engagement programs, writing-inspired arts programming, and publications.

Workshops Our core strength over the decades has been to provide high-quality writing instruction to aspiring and seasoned writers. Our workshop leaders are professional writers in every sense who, above all, offer encouragement and a warm, welcoming environment for writers to work on their craft. The lower level renovation in 2014 created a beautiful, airy

Renderings of the renovated space include a more striking facade and light-filled atrium by McInturff Architects.

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Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

PARDON OUR DUST space for workshop meetings, but access to that level is limited. Our plans include a lift next to the stairs to allow folks with mobility issues to use these rooms with ease. Additionally, the large workshop room on the first floor will be updated and reconfigured to decrease ambient sound from the Jane Fox Reading Room.

Readings and Literary Events Our new revitalized space will allow us to vastly increase both the frequency and profile of these events, providing a friendly entry point to our literary community.

Community Engagement Programming With increased, more accessible space, we plan to expand our programs serving veterans and English language learners in-house, and eventually serve other more diverse components of our community.

community, and professional theater programs. We will also continue to collect and display our permanent art collection and host temporary exhibitions that spark an exchange between writers and visual artists.

Publications The Writer’s Center is proud to publish and maintain the archives of Poet Lore, the oldest poetry journal in the country.

For 128 years, the journal has launched esteemed careers for poets of all backgrounds. We also publish The Writer’s Guide, a magazine full of writing tips, interviews, pieces written by workshop participants, and information on the literary community in D.C. and beyond. After the success and positive feedback of the last issue, which focused on the AWP experience, The Writer’s Guide will be back in the fall with more great resources.

Writing-Inspired Arts Programming

All five of these pillars will enhance and strengthen each other and the organization, as people visiting us for one purpose will learn about the others.

While renovations to the theater are not included in this phase, we plan to increase arts programming in the space—especially in the realm of playwriting—and present more TWC-based,

In 2018, The Writer’s Center will re-open as a more vibrant, communityoriented space, in turn enabling us to improve and expand all of our current offerings and become more sustainable

in the process. Our new ground level will be a gathering place where writers come up from their classes and hear higher profile authors in our expanded series; where audiences from our revitalized theater programming exit into the atrium to learn more about our classes; and where we serve a wider swath of our community within our doors.

In this last respect, I’m very pleased to end this letter by sharing the news of our pilot program of need-based scholarships, which we are starting this season.

Interested candidates should email laura.spencer@writer.org for more information.

So thank you again for your welcome over the past few months and your patience over the next few as we build this improved, accessible space; create a stronger, more sustainable organization enabled by that space; and engage a larger, more diverse portion of the community we serve.

With gratitude,

Ed Spitzberg Executive Director

E. Ethelbert Miller introduces poets at the 128th birthday celebration of Poet Lore in February, photo by Mig Dooley; Editors from independent presses and literary journals mingle with visitors during the Center’s 40th Birthday Bash and Book Fair in December, photo by Mig Dooley.

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

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EVENTS

The Writer’s Center

open door readings EVENTS

Join us on the following Sundays at 2 p.m. for a free reading with award-winning and emerging authors followed by a book signing. Please note: Readings May 7 through June 4 take place at The Writer’s Center.

Later readings take place at the *Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, located at 4805 Edgemoor Ln. #100, Bethesda, MD 20814.

May 7

Michael Salcman’s latest award-winning poetry collection, A Prague Spring, Before & After (Evening Street Press, 2015), honors the lives of people who were lost in the Holocaust—and those who survived. The son of survivors, Salcman is a poet, neuroscientist, and art critic. He is former chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Maryland and past president of the Contemporary Museum, Baltimore.

He will be joined by Lynn Silverman, professor of photography at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Silverman will discuss the suite of photographs she created for inclusion in A Prague Spring.

May 21

Marita Golden’s new, highly praised novel, The Wide Circumference of Love, (Arcade Publishing, 2017) introduces us to the Tates, a close-knit African American family coming to terms with the devastating impact of early onset Alzheimer’s. In addition to the many books she has written, Golden has served the community as a teacher, speaker, and literary activist.

She is a founder of the Zora Neale Hurson/Richard Wright Foundation, which presents the nation’s only national fiction award for college writers of African descent, and she organizes an annual writer’s workshop for Black writers.

June 4

Andrew Gifford reads from We All Scream: The Fall of the Gifford’s Ice Cream Empire (Stillhouse Press, 2017), his recent memoir about the fate of the iconic family-owned Washington-area ice cream stores. Gifford shares the inside “scoop” on the Byzantine plot twists in this bittersweet tale. He has since moved on to become an indie book publisher, founding the Santa Fe Writing Project. Novelist Cathy Cruise follows up this nonfiction family drama with her fictional debut, A Hundred Weddings (Possibilities Publishing Company, 2016). The protagonist dives into her own family matters—her love life falls apart just as her sister’s wedding approaches, on top of which she is asked by her mother to write a blog about weddings.

*June 11

Amber Sparks’s collection of short stories, The Unfinished World (Liveright, 2016), has received high praise since its release, including from The New York Times: “Sparks’s stylish second collection is the work of a young writer whose voice feels far wiser than her years, as she engages with ancient themes: the Greek myths, the rituals of death, the small tokens that lovers trade over a lifetime of experience.” Sparks is joined by Rion Amilcar Scott, who reads from his debut short story collection, Insurrections (The University Press of Kentucky, 2016), which explores the lives of the Black citizens of Cross Landing, a fictional town on Maryland’s

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Eastern Shore. “In Scott’s hands,” praised The Root magazine, “the short story collection becomes an epic album, each story placed in musical accordance with the next to craft a complete, melodic whole.”

*June 25

Tom Glenn reads from Last of the Annamese (Naval Institute Press, 2017), an autobiographical novel based on his experiences in 1975 at the end of the war in Vietnam. Glenn, who was an intelligence operative during the war, crafts a tragic love story set against the backdrop of geopolitical drama as communist forces take control of Saigon. Keith Fentonmiller reads from Kasper Mutzenmacher’s Cursed Hat (Curiosity Quills Press, 2017), a family drama with elements of magical realism set in the Jazz Age, the rise of Nazi Germany, and the Detroit riots of 1943.

*July 9

David O. Stewart reads from The Babe Ruth Deception (Kensington, 2016), his recent mystery novel blending fact and fiction in an era when the national pastime was rocked by scandal. He is joined by Dorothy Seyler, who reads from The Obelisk and the Englishman: Dorothy Seyler The Pioneering Discoveries of Egyptologist William Bankes (Prometheus Books, 2015). Bankes, a 19th-century pioneer in his field, was gay and faced persecution during his life, but rose abovt it to make major contributions to the understanding of Egyptian history and early civilization.

*July 30

David Goodrich reads from his new book, A Hole in the Wind: A Climate Scientist’s Bicycle Journey Across the United States (Pegasus Books, 2017). One of our success stories, Goodrich workshopped the book in several classes at The Writer’s Center. Learn more about his journey—by bike and through the publishing world. The travel theme continues with a reading by novelist and popular workshop leader Aaron Hamburger, author of Faith for Beginners (Random House, 2005), a novel in which an American family visits Israel.

David Goodrich

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

Aaron Hamburger

EVENTS Margaret Sessa-Hawkins reads from recent work. She is a recipient of The Writer’s Center 2016 Undiscovered Voices Fellowship, an author, journalist, and radio personality who has worked for organizations such as the PBS NewsHour and the BBC. Her work has also appeared in publications such as The Scotsman, Notre Dame, and Gastronomica. She will be joined by Donald Illich, president of The Federal Poets collective, who reads from his chapbook, The Art of Dissolving (Finishing Line Press, 2016), and CL Bledsoe, author of several books, most recently the poetry collection Trashcans in Love and the flash fiction collection Ray’s Sea World (both from lulu.com, 2017).

*Aug 13

The Writer’s Center welcomes workshop leader, poet, and head of the Mariposa Writers Retreat Maritza Rivera. Rivera will present a reading by poets who have participated in the retreat, a conference, limited to 25 participants that features workshops, consultations with published writers, and panel discussions.

*Aug 20

Contributors and editors of The Little Patuxent Review gather for a reading from recent issues.

POETRY & PROSE OPEN MIC

Sunday, April 23

Don’t be shy! Share your latest poem, flash fiction, or excerpt from a longer work-in-progress.

Sign-up for begins at 1:30 p.m., and the reading starts at 2 p.m.

Mother’s Day Open Mic:

May 14 *Father’ s Day Open Mic:

June 18

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Join us during the Bethesda Literary Festival for an open house! Meet new Executive Director Ed Spitzberg and learn about our exciting renovation plans. Mingle with workshop leaders, register for classes at a discount, and try your luck during Literary Trivia. Light refreshments will be served.

Lunch Time Lit Doubt: A Parable

Thursday, May 4, 12 to 1:30 p.m.

by John Patrick Shanley

April 7–May 7, 2017

Night Seasons

by Horton Foote

July 12–August 13, 2017 For The Writer’s Center discount on tickets and more information, call (301) 816-1023 or visit www.QuotidianTheatre.org

Lunch Time Lit is a new program designed to inspire professionals—as members of the community and writers. Join mentor Patty Alper for lunch and a riveting discussion of her new book, Teach to Work, and the different ways that Patty Alper corporations, professionals, and retirees can have a significant impact on education. Learn to be an ambassador of talent, grit, and skill. Reservations required. Please contact Kristen Zory King at kristen.zory.king@writer.org for more information and to RSVP. Free.

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

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EVENTS

*AUG 6

SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

SCHEDULE

ADULTS WRITE FOR CHILDREN (PAGE 11)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Creating Your Book for Children: Shape it, Submit it, See it in Print

Peter Mandel

6/12

M

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Start Your YA Novel

Caroline Bock

7/18–8/8

T

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

FICTION (PAGES 11-13)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Short Story I

Con Lehane

5/24–6/28

W

7–9:30 p.m.

B

4 Stories, 4 Weeks

Caroline Bock

5/24–6/14

W

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Complex Characters

Marija Stajic

5/27–6/17

S

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

Brenda W. Clough

5/31–6/7

W

7:30–9:30 p.m.

B

Power Plotting

Kathryn Johnson

6/7–6/28

W

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing the Horror Story

Alex Smith

6/7–7/12

W

7–9 p.m.

I/A

Short Story Skeletons

Julie Wakeman-Linn

6/8

Th

7–9 p.m.

I

Fiction I: The Elements of Storytelling

Aaron Hamburger

6/12–7/31

M

7–9 p.m.

B

Fiction II

Julie Wakeman-Linn

6/14–6/28

W

7–9 p.m.

I

How to Write a Novel*

John DeDakis

6/14

W

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Fiction: Point of View

Dana Cann

6/17

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

From Novice to Novelist*

John DeDakis

6/17

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

How to Write a Novel

John DeDakis

6/21

W

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

The Muddle in the Middle

Kathryn Johnson

6/24

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Fiction I

Marija Stajic

6/24–7/29

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B

From Novice to Novelist

John DeDakis

6/24

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Short Story II

Con Lehane

7/12–8/16

W

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

The Extreme Novelist

Kathryn Johnson

7/12–8/30

W

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

Brenda W. Clough

7/20–7/27

Th

7:30–9:30 p.m.

B

How to Write a Novel*

John DeDakis

7/26

W

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

Conflict & Tension

Kathryn Johnson

7/29

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

From Novice to Novelist*

John DeDakis

7/29

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Gaining Perspective: A Workshop on Point-of-View*

Nicole Miller

8/12

S

11 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

MIXED GENRE (PAGES 13-14)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Precision in Language

Virginia Hartman

5/20

S

1–4 p.m.

ALL

Plein Air Creative Writing

Lisa Leibow

5/23–6/27

T

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Write off the Map

Julie Wakeman-Linn

5/24

W

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Writing as a Path to Healing

Laura Probert

6/8

Th

6:30–9:30 p.m.

ALL

How to Write A lot

Kathryn Johnson

6/10

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing with Woolf*

Nicole Miller

6/10

S

11 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

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Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

MIXED GENRE continued (PAGES 13-14)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Applying Standup Comedy Techniques to Your Writing

Basil White

7/8–7/9

Sa/ Su

1–5 p.m.

ALL

The Style Workshop*

Nicole Miller

8/5

S

11 a.m.–3 p.m.

ALL

NONFICTION (PAGES 14-15)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal

John Lingan

5/2–5/9

T

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Writing from Life

Ellen Herbert

5/10–6/14

W

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

B/I

Informed Opinion Writing

Bob Levey

5/23–6/27

T

7–9 p.m.

ALL

How to Break Into Travel Writing

Christine Koubek

5/24–6/14

W

7–9:30 p.m.

B/I

From Perfect Pitch to Publication

Ellen Ryan

6/3–6/10

S

9:30–11:30 a.m.

I/A

The Non-Narcissistic Personal Essay

Mary McCarthy

6/5

M

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

How to Write an Autobiographical Narrative

David Hicks

6/10

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

All in the Family: A Memoir Workshop

Nicole Miller

6/19–7/31

M

6:30–9:30 p.m.

ALL

The Writer’s Notebook

Sara Mansfield Taber

6/27–8/22

T

1–3:30 p.m.

ALL

Advanced Personal Essay

William O’Sullivan

7/8–8/26

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

A

Telling and Writing Your Stories*

Solveig Eggerz

7/22–8/26

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B

POETRY (PAGES 15-16)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Getting Your Poetry Published

Michele Wolf

5/13

S

2–5 p.m.

ALL

Poetry as Emotion: An Introduction

Judith Harris

5/18–6/22

Th

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

B/I

Poetry as Autobiography

Judith Harris

5/20–6/24

S

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Poetry II*

Lucian Mattison

5/23–6/13

T

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

The Long Line

Melanie Figg

5/23–5/30

T

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Poetry II: Pushing Past Those Early Revisions

Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli

5/23–6/27

T

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

I/A

Making a Poetry Chapbook

Anne Becker & Linda Rollins

5/24–6/28

W

12–3 p.m.

I/A

Eroticism in Poetry

Maritza Rivera

6/3–6/24

S

1–3 p.m.

ALL

Villanelle Crash Course

Claudia Gary

6/3

S

11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

B/I

Line Breaks

Melanie Figg

6/10

S

1:30–4 p.m.

ALL

The Poetry Game

Zahara Heckscher

6/15

Th

6:30–8:30 p.m.

ALL

The Art of Writing Resistance Poetry*

Angela Maria Spring

6/19–7/31

M

6:30–8:30 p.m.

B/I

Poetry I: An Introduction to Craft & Beauty

Melanie Figg

6/27–8/22

T

7–9:30 p.m.

B

Reading & Writing Poetic Forms

Melanie Figg

7/10–8/14

M

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

B—beginner

I—intermediate

A—advanced

M—master

ALL—all levels

—online class

* Indicates workshops held at one of our satellite locations. Please see descriptions for more information. for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

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SCHEDULE

SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

SCHEDULE

POETRY continued (PAGES 15-16)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Sonnet Crash Course

Claudia Gary

7/15

S

11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

B/I

Writing From Your Roots: A Multicultural Poetry Workshop

Maritza Rivera

8/5–8/26

S

1–3 p.m.

ALL

PROFESIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PAGES 16-17)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Publishing in Literary Magazines*

Meg Eden

6/3

S

10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

ALL

Applying and Preparing for Your M.F.A.

Claire Handscombe

6/8

Th

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Choose the Best Path to Publishing Your Book Katherine Pickett

6/21–7/12

W

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Self-Publishing Roundtable*

Cherrie Woods

6/24

S

1–3 p.m.

I

How to Write a Grant Proposal

Cara Seitchek

7/15–7/29

S

1:30–4 p.m.

ALL

How to Land a Literary Agent

Eva Langston Patrone

7/25–8/1

T

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Write Like the News

Hank Wallace

8/31

Th

7–9 p.m.

ALL

STAGE AND SCREEN (PAGE 17)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

How to Write Great Dialogue for Film & TV

John Weiskopf

5/16–7/11

T

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Protagonists in Film & TV

John Weiskopf

5/27

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

all

The First Ten Pages of Your Script

John Weiskopf

8/5–8/19

S

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

all

Playwriting: Process

Richard Washer

8/19

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B

Playwriting: Theatricality

Richard Washer

8/26

S

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B

ONLINE

LEADER

DATES

LEVEL

Intro to the Novel

T. Greenwood

4/21–6/9

ALL

Writing About Place

John Lingan

5/10–5/31

ALL

Introduction to the Short Story

Christopher Linforth

5/22–7/10

B

Advanced Short Story

Christopher Linforth

5/22–7/10

I/A

The World in a Flash

Tara Campbell

6/5–6/26

B/I

Getting Started: Creative Writing

Mathangi Subramanian

6/5–6/26

B/I

Mythology Today

Carolyn Clark

6/12–7/17

A

Crafting Short Stories

Christopher Linforth

6/19–8/7

ALL

Poetic Forms Workshop

Meg Eden

6/20–7/25

ALL

How to Pitch Magazines and Sell Your Work

Jenny J. Chen

7/7–7/28

B

Introduction to the Picture Book

Mathangi Subramanian

7/10–7/31

B/I

Foundations of Poetry Workshop

Meg Eden

7/10–7/31

ALL

Plotting Your Novel

T. Greenwood

7/28–8/18

ALL

Creating Novel Characters

T. Greenwood

7/28–8/18

ALL

Poetry Chapbook Workshop

Meg Eden

8/7–8/28

A

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Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

WORKSHOPS For THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION & class descriptions, please visit WWW.writer.org Note: TWC will be closed Memorial Day and Independence Day. Creating Your Book for Children: Shape it, Submit it, See it in Print Peter Mandel Publishing a children’s book in today’s tough market can seem like an impossible dream. But getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge on just the right advice from a pro. Do you need an agent? Should you connect with an artist? What about self-publishing? In a one-session workshop, nationally known author Peter Mandel will pass on the insider tips you need to create a marketable first book and get it into the hands of gatekeepers in the publishing world.

1 Monday Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

 Introduction

6/12 $50

to the Picture Book

Mathangi Subramanian Do your stories keep kids entertained for hours? Are you an artist who wants to find a way to put words to pictures?

In this workshop, explore the art of writing picture books that are fun and entertaining for both adults and children.

Participants will leave with at least two manuscripts-inprogress, along with plenty of ideas for more stories.

4 Weeks Online

N/A Beginner/Intermediate

7/10–7/31 $195

Start Your YA Novel Caroline Bock The young adult novel is one of the most sought-after genres in publishing. In this four-week intensive course, participants will jump-start their novels and develop an opening chapter that establishes characters, plot and setting, and then map out a plan for completion. Writing exercises, revision, and discussion of craft and the business of publishing round out the course.

4 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

7/18–8/8 $195

8 Weeks Online

N/A Beginner

 Advanced

Short Story

5/22–7/10 $360

Christopher Linforth In this advanced class, we will attempt to answer two questions: Why didn’t my story get published? And what does my fiction need to get there? Participants will learn to distinguish between familiar workshop-type stories and the ones that achieve publication. With writing prompts and in-depth critiques on sentence-level writing, as well as discussions about plot, character, and point of view, participants will leave class with a body of work close—if not ready—to submit.

8 Weeks N/A Online Intermediate/Advanced

5/22–7/10 $360

Short Story I Con Lehane This workshop will help beginning fiction writers find the stories they were meant to write. Participants will come to understand the importance of substance and structure to a story, for example, why a story is not a collection of incidents. They will learn to develop the habits of a writer—to look at the world with a more careful eye. At the end of the course, participants will have written at least one draft of a story and become familiar with the basic elements of story writing. Come to the first class prepared to write!

6 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

Beginner

 Intro to the T. Greenwood

5/24–6/28 $270

Caroline Bock

Novel

Delving into everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view, this workshop boils down the process of writing a novel. Participants will learn all about the elements of fiction, including dialogue and setting. Most important, each author will discover the writing process that works best for them.

N/A All Levels

 Introduction

4/21–6/9 $360

to the Short Story

Christopher Linforth “My short stories are like soft shadows I have set out in the world, faint footprints I have left,” wrote Haruki Mu-

Start out short, with flash, and move to longer pieces over four weeks. You’ll produce four new pieces of fiction generated by in-class prompts, exercises, and revision.

Readings, in and out of class, writing assignments, and a discussion of craft and the publishing process will get you set for a summer of writing.

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

All Levels

5/24–6/14 $195

Complex Characters Marija Stajic How do you build a believable character whom you imagine to be a polyglot, immigrant, expat, worldly, or well-traveled? Do you need to know someone who resembles your character or could you create him/her with

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

diligent research? Will your reader believe you unless you personally know or inhabit your character in some way? In this workshop, participants will explore answers to all these questions and support them with published examples. We will build our own characters through writing exercises and place them in stories or excerpts built around them.

4 Saturdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

All Levels

5/27–6/17 $195

Beginning Fantasy Fiction Brenda W. Clough

4 Stories, 4 Weeks

Fiction

8 Weeks Online

rakami. This workshop invites aspiring writers to consider what makes a good short story. After reading examples, participants will explore the craft of short fiction through a set of writing exercises. They will gain a sound grasp of the essential building blocks: character, point of view, dialogue, setting, plot, structure, and theme. By the course’s end, participants will have written, workshopped, and revised a complete story and have material for many others.

Vampires, zombies, and halflings with swords! Participants will build a world and write in it. The first session of this workshop will be devoted to the basics of fiction and story construction. In the second session, participants will do an exercise to help get them started on a longer work.

2 Wednesdays Bethesda

7:30–9:30 p.m.

Beginner

5/31–6/7 $80

2 Thursdays Bethesda

7:30–9:30 p.m.

Beginner

7/20–7/27 $80

 The

World in a Flash

Tara Campbell How do you fit the world into 1,000 words or less? In this four-week online course, you’ll explore the genre of flash fiction and create your own compact masterpiece.

Topics include the elements of fiction, fundamentals of storytelling within the constraints of flash, best practices in workshopping and revision, and opportunities for publication. You will find out where to read exciting flash, write multiple flashes from prompts or your own imagination, and choose one draft to polish into a small, bright gem of your own.

4 Weeks Online

N/A Beginner/Intermediate

6/5–6/26 $195

Power Plotting Kathryn Johnson Whether you’re writing a short story, novel, memoir, or creative nonfiction—plot drives your tale. Discover painless ways to create a plot that will add power, depth, and reader interest to your work-in-progress. If you have a plot with holes in it, bring it to class and we’ll fill them.

Clueless about where to begin? You’ll leave this course with all tools you need to develop original and compelling plots.

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/7–6/28 $195

Writing the Horror Story Alex Smith Learn to generate fear and tension in your work, daring your readers to plunge forth into the darkness you create.

In the first meeting three selected stories will be discussed, considering what scares us, what leaves us cold, and what inspires us to write. In so doing, we touch on the

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workshops

Adults Write for Children

WORKSHOPS elements of horror, attending to suspense, character, violence, and fear. In the following meetings you’ll workshop your newly written or in-progress scary stories, returning to and building on the understanding of the genre as we go.

With determination, participants will finish the workshop well on their way to a completed horror story. Note: No meeting on July 5.

look at strategies for finding an agent and marketing the finished product.

5 Wednesdays 7–9 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

6/7–7/12 $195

1 Wednesday Annapolis

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

All Levels

6/14 $50

1 Wednesday Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

All Levels

6/21 $50

1 Wednesday Capitol Hill

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

All Levels

7/26 $50

workshops

Short Story Skeletons

Elements of Fiction: Point of View

Julie Wakeman-Linn

Dana Cann

The vast majority of successful stories have conflict, character, and complexity embedded in the structure that holds a piece together. This workshop will help aspiring writers uncover these elements—the bones–in three published stories (emailed to them ahead of class) and then learn to identify these elements or their absence in their own stories. Participants will shape their own story arcs, finishing the workshop with a plan for strengthening their stories’ anatomy.

Of the countless decisions one must navigate when writing a short story or novel, point of view is perhaps the first and most important. In this interactive craft session, we’ll go beyond the basics—first person, third person, etc.—and explore how point of view serves to develop character, introduce and deepen themes, strengthen setting, and enlighten elusive elements such as voice and tone. We’ll look at examples from contemporary literature and apply these lessons to our own work through brief, in-class prompts.

1 Thursday 7–9 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate

6/8 $50

Fiction I: The Elements of Storytelling Aaron Hamburger In this interactive workshop, you will learn the elements that make fiction writing dynamic and exciting. Guided discussion, readings, and exercises will help you write new pieces. Your work will be thoroughly vetted in a supportive class conversation moderated by the instructor. All participants will produce written responses to the work at hand, plus the instructor provides written comments and edits on each piece.

8 Mondays Bethesda

7–9 p.m.

Beginner

6/12–7/31 $290

Fiction II Julie Wakeman-Linn This workshop provides a chance for motivated fiction writers with a rough draft to work with Potomac Review editor Julie Wakeman-Linn to polish their stories. The first session will explore the strengths of the story draft through discussion and sharing of preliminary pages circulated in advance. Writers will take away a revision strategy, both structural and stylistic. The second session will provide workshop time to share revised stories and gain feedback from the group and instructor’s comments. In session three, writers will learn how to polish for publication and how to prepare submissions, including cover letters and opening lines.

3 Wednesdays 7–9 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate

6/14–6/28 $115

How to Write a Novel John DeDakis Writing a novel doesn’t have to be intimidating. Learn a practical 16-point plan that takes you from the germ of an idea all the way through the writing process. We’ll discuss how to transform your idea into a book-length project populated with memorable characters, a twisty-turny plot, snappy dialogue, and an interesting setting. We’ll also

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1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/17 $50

From Novice to Novelist John DeDakis This day-long workshop deconstructs and demystifies the novel-writing process for struggling and/or aspiring writers. We’ll go all the way from generating the nub of your idea to getting your book into the hands of expectant fans.

Along the way, you’ll learn how to stay organized, write in the voice of the opposite sex, appreciate the art of rewriting, and overcome your writing and marketing fears. By the end of our time together, you’ll be prepared to begin work on a novel and will be equipped with the skills to perfect it.

The session will include time for writing.

1 Saturday Annapolis

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

6/17 $115

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

6/24 $115

1 Saturday Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

7/29 $115

 Crafting

Short Stories

Christopher Linforth In this workshop, participants will examine the qualities of good writing and good storytelling. After a recap on the constituent elements of short fiction, they will take a fresh look at contemporary and classic stories alike. Each week, writers will craft a new piece and offer feedback to fellow participants. By the course’s end, authors will have workshopped several stories each and revised them with an eye toward publication.

8 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

6/19–8/7 $360

The Muddle in the Middle Kathryn Johnson Are you stuck in the middle of your novel? Don’t know how to grow the tale? You’re not alone. Writers who fail

The Writer’s Center to finish their books often report they began losing their confidence and direction after the second or third chapter.

This workshop, led by a successful and prolific novelist, offers helpful prompts and tasks that will open up a wealth of fresh ideas to get stories moving toward a satisfying climax and resolution.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/24 $50

Fiction I Marija Stajic In this workshop, learn how to write fiction and how to write it well. What does “show, don’t tell” really mean?

What is point of view in fiction? How do you build complex characters? Learn about these and other elements of the craft. Participants will analyze excerpts from well-written fiction, participate in writing exercises, and workshop each others’ stories.

6 Saturdays Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Beginner

6/24–7/29 $270

Short Story II Con Lehane In this workshop, we’ll concentrate on writing stories— those things with beginnings, middles, and ends— that delve into the human spirit to reveal to us who we are.

Participants will examine such craft elements as character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, setting, pacing, and voice, as well as the importance of substance and structure to a story. We’ll do this primarily through workshop discussions of participant writing, as well as exercises, and an occasional reading. By the end of the workshop, participants should expect to polish their stories and preparing to submit them for publication.

6 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

7/12–8/16 $270

The Extreme Novelist Kathryn Johnson Can’t find the time/energy/inspiration to write your novel?

This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just eight weeks. Participants must commit to an aggressive writing schedule as they learn the tricks pros use to create a productive working environment. Sessoions will include troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture with handouts, in-class writing time, and the opportunity to submit portions of the work-in-progress to the instructor for individual feedback. Note: This is not a workshopping course. Further information will be sent to registered participants in advance of the first class.

8 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

 Plotting

7/12–8/30 $360

Your Novel

T. Greenwood Whether participants are planners or writers who fly by the seats of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for building their plots.

4 Weeks Online

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

N/A All Levels

7/28–8/18 $195

WORKSHOPS Novel Characters

Precision in Language

T. Greenwood

Virginia Hartman

When writing a novel, you must know your primary characters inside and out—understanding their desires, motivations, histories and futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of other novelistic elements, and then delve into the challenge of creating and integrating these elements into a credible whole. Writers will then apply what they’ve learned to the main character(s) in their novels-in-progress.

Learn the skills to identify precisely the right word to express your meaning, feeling, or subtext. We’ll look at examples in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Each participant may (not required) bring in one or two pages of work.

We’ll discuss what makes an expression fresh rather than expected, where and how to find the mot juste (the exact, appropriate word), and why precision can succeed in getting your work noticed.

4 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

7/28–8/18 $195

Conflict & Tension It’s often said that without conflict there is no story.

Strengthening the conflict in your fiction will bump up the tension and turn a limp, ordinary tale into an extraordinary adventure that will keep readers turning pages. Whether participants choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi, or fantasy—they will learn techniques for drawing readers into their tales through action, dialogue, setting, details, and plot twists that make their work stand out from the crowd. Come for a Saturday morning coffee chat with a prolific novelist, and leave with materials chock-full of ideas to apply to your stories.

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

All Levels

7/29 $50

Gaining Perspective: A Workshop on Point-of-View Nicole Miller Edith Wharton wrote, “the storyteller’s first care is to choose [the] reflecting mind deliberately, as one would choose a building site, or decide upon the orientation of one’s house, and when this is done, to live inside the mind chosen.” Picking a point of view can be a dizzying proposition. Each perspective we inhabit leads down a different path, and often a different story. The resulting complications and inconsistencies can seem endless.

This workshop will help you find the best vantage for yourself and develop it to the utmost. We will discuss the philosophical underpinnings for omniscient, first-person, and second-person narration and do exercises to project intimacy, subjectivity, scrutiny, exhortation, and distance.

Please bring a piece of writing to class.

1 Saturday Capitol Hill

11 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

8/12 $100

Mixed Genre  Writing About John Lingan

Place

This class will help writers of all backgrounds and genres deepen the sense of place in their work through scenic description, history, local customs and language, and other “world building” techniques. Each week will include a reading in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, as well as brief writing prompts and reviews of participants’ projects.

4 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

1–4 p.m.

All Levels

5/20 $50

5/10–5/31 $195

As spring turns to summer, become a Plein Air Writer!

Leave behind your desk to paint with words outside. Participants will meet three times at various locations in the D.C. area, and three times (including the first session) at The Writer’s Center, completing writing assignments inspired by their field trips. This is a hands-on writing lab in which writing exercises emphasize creative writing techniques.

In-class meetings provide an opportunity to discuss elements of fiction and creative nonfiction such as dialogue, setting, physical description, and sensory details. Note: Participants are responsible for their own transportation.

6 Tuesdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

All Levels

5/23–6/27 $270

Write Off the Map Julie Wakeman-Linn Where will your writing go if you drive it off the map? In this generative workshop, participants will write from a timed prompt like “what if” and “three a.m. epiphanies” and then share their work for positive and constructive feedback.

Learn to shake off bad habits and let the images and characters flow without barriers. If you are feeling stuck or trapped in an overworked plot, this is an opportunity to get to the business of writing again. At the end of the session, participants will have generated three new story ideas.

1 Wednesday Bethesda

 Getting

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

5/24 $50

Started: Creative Writing

Mathangi Subramanian Do you have a memoir, novel, or chapbook trapped inside you? Set it free! This course introduces participants to the basic elements of creative writing in a series of fun and interactive activities. Every week participants will read examples of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as essays about the writing process from published authors.

Participants will finish the workshop familiar with multiple genres; initial drafts of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction pieces; and a set of exercises they can do to maintain their creative momentum.

4 Weeks Online

N/A Beginner/Intermediate

6/5–6/26 $195

Writing as a Path to Healing Laura Probert Learn to use your writing as a tool toward achieving healing and happiness. In this workshop, we’ll explore the top-

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

1 Thursday Bethesda

6:30–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/8 $50

How to Write A lot Kathryn Johnson

Plein Air Creative Writing Lisa Leibow

Kathryn Johnson

1 Saturday Bethesda

1 Saturday Bethesda

ics of taming the inner critic, using fear as a compass, and mindset magic. Body awareness exercises, breath work, and therapeutic writing prompts will help participants feel more connected to their soul and be able to tap into that place where their best writing is possible. By the end of this course, participants will enjoy an enhanced level of awareness that will inspire their creative endeavors, make their writing come alive, and create a path toward healing and happiness they didn’t know was possible.

Do you wish you had the time, energy, or inspiration to write, but feel your lifestyle is too hectic? In this workshop, a seasoned novelist will help you shed those doubts. Learn what professionals know about organizing time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting stories written. You will be able to adopt these methods to complete your books in months, instead of years, and short stories in mere weeks.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/10 $50

Writing with Woolf Nicole Miller Virginia Woolf maintained that the writer’s job was to represent life and the experience of living. Out of her fearless, flowing fabric of observation and feeling, Woolf composed short stories, literary criticism, novels, biography, and memoir that stretched the bonds of these genres. This one-day workshop will introduce writers to a number of Woolf’s lyrical works and explore her experiments in point of view, time, consciousness, and character to embolden participants’ own explorations of form. In-class exercises inspire and generate new projects.

1 Saturday Capitol Hill

11 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

 Mythology

6/10 $100

Today

Carolyn Clark Themes from Ancient Mythology are more relevant today than ever. This workshop invites writers to explore issues of concern in our globalized world that date back to the famous plays and philosophical texts of the past: nature, environment, power struggles between men and women, hubris-nemesis stories, identification with one’s ancient roots/alter ego, and name power.

6 Weeks Online

N/A Advanced

6/12–7/17 $270

Applying Standup Comedy Techniques to Your Writing Basil White If you can read this and you can laugh, you can write humor! Learn the basic psychology of how your brain gets a joke to discover what’s “gettable” about your subject matter—real or fictional—for humor writing or other ironic purposes. This is a fun introduction to workshopping for those new to the expectations of creative writing workshops. Class meets over one weekend on Saturday and

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workshops

 Creating

WORKSHOPS Sunday. Must be at least 18 years of age. Please bring the handout found at: basilwhite.com/ comedyworkshop 1 Saturday/Sunday 1–5 p.m.

Bethesda All Levels

7/8–7/9 $80

The Style Workshop

workshops

Vladimir Nabokov said, “style and structure are the essence of a book. Great ideas are hogwash.” In this one-day workshop, participants will look closely at the smaller units that make great writing—the right word, the elegant turn of phrase, the startling epithet, the apt metaphor. Participants will analyze opening lines and paragraphs of classic works and contemporary prize-winners, including sharp, lyrical, and downtempo lines from authors ranging from William Shakespeare to Junot Diaz. Study the pauses, predicates, parallel structures, and punctuation of sentences that endure and then imitate the syntax of writers whose style contrasts with our own. Part of the class will be dedicated to a workshop of participant paragraphs and the metrical test of reading aloud.

11 a.m.–3 p.m.

All Levels

8/5 $80

John Lingan Whether you have a great idea, a few sample pages, or a finished manuscript, this workshop will help you bring it all together in a proposal that conveys your work and vision. We’ll go over the necessary components of a nonfiction book proposal and the best practices for pitching agents.

5/2–5/9 $80

Writing from Life Ellen Herbert Stories we need to tell live undiminished by time in the complicated tangle of memory. This workshop is dedicated to their untangling, or as David Foster Wallace has said, choosing what “to attend to and represent and connect.”

Participants will be encouraged to use literary techniques such as recreated dialogue, compression of time, and authenticity to write short personal narratives that will be shared with the class.

6 Wednesdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

5/23–6/27 $215

How to Break Into Travel Writing For beginners interested in learning the basics of travelwriting and writers looking to sharpen their skills, this workshop will help participants experiment with various forms of travel writing—from news items to round-ups, reviews, and personal essays. We’ll begin by examining work in major newspaper and magazine travel sections, as well as travel publications and websites—all with an eye on each outlet’s specialized formats. Workshop participants will then research an outlet that fits his or her particular geographic niche or interest (Italy, Africa, family travel, cruises, spa, food, adventure travel, etc.) and craft a piece that adheres to that publications’ format and style. We’ll workshop the assignment and discuss the basics of how to seek publication.

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

5/24–6/14 $195

Ellen Ryan

Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

From Perfect Pitch to Publication

Nonfiction

2 Tuesdays Bethesda

6 Tuesdays Bethesda

Christine Koubek

Nicole Miller

1 Saturday Capitol Hill

subject, how to arrive at a “take,” how to write with impact, and how to develop a persuasive, individual style.

5/10–6/14 $270

Informed Opinion Writing Bob Levey This workshop will teach participants how to weld reporting, argument, and voice into a persuasive piece of writing. Participants will study the work of some of the best columnists in the business and identify the strengths of their approach.

Each session will include writing exercises designed to hone skills that will distiniguish your work from a casual blog.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have learned key techniques of informed opinion writing: how to study a

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How do you get your great idea through the static and into national publication? In this workshop, successful writers share queries and the strategy that led them to be published in the likes of Bloomberg Businessweek, Pacific Standard, AARP, and New York Times Sunday Business.

We’ll read both the pitches and the resulting articles and discuss how each approach focused on its market and sold the research/audience appeal involved.

2 Saturdays 9:30–11:30 a.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

6/3–6/10 $80

The Non-Narcissistic Personal Essay Mary McCarthy There’s no “I” in essay. Just because you are telling a story from your point of view, it doesn’t mean it has to include repeated use of the first person. In this workshop, we’ll review ways to make your essays ring true with audiences in a compelling, universal way. Come prepared with a personal essay in-progress or an idea to start.

1 Monday Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/5 $50

How to Write an Autobiographical Narrative David Hicks Learn to compose a riveting story about a major or minor incident that changed your life. In this one-day workshop, participants will write the beginnings of several autobiographical stories, either as nonfiction or fiction, and then chose one to develop, finish, and polish. You’ll gain a better understanding of how plot, character development, and setting work in autobiography. Participants will leave the workshop with solid draft of a new essay, memoir chapter, story, or novel, along with the initial framework of two more. This is an all-day workshop with a lunch break.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

6/10 $115

The Writer’s Center All in the Family: A Memoir Workshop Nicole Miller Learn to write about family memories in a way that engages readers. Excerpts from memoirs and essays by Richard Hoffman,Vivian Gornick, Phillip Lopate, Maggie Nelson, and Joann Beard will inform and inspire your writing. Participants will create three-dimensional portraits of people close to them, transforming memories into viable scenes, capturing and recreating dialogue, and cultivating a voice of objectivity, reflection, and meaning. Participants will also discuss the question of revealing vs. withholding and where delving deeper is necessary and desirable. The workshop format will allow for generating new writing and receiving feedback from the instructor and peers. Please bring ideas of what you would like to work on to the first meeting. Note: No meeting July 3.

6 Mondays Bethesda

6:30–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/19–7/31 $360

The Writer’s Notebook Sara Mansfield Taber Virginia Woolf said, “Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded.” This workshop is for those wishing to keep a lively record of their experiences and reflections.

Travelers, journal-keepers, bloggers, essayists, memoirists, novelists, journalists, naturalists, and others with the impulse to set down life in words are welcome. During the workshop, participants will read excerpts such writing and apply related elements of craft to their own descriptions of people, places, and life as it is lived. By the end of the workshop, writers will have notebooks rich with riveting conversations, delicious moments, and scenes bustling with life. Bring along a fresh notebook to fill! Note: No meeting July 4.

8 Tuesdays Bethesda

1–3:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/27–8/22 $360

 How

to Pitch Magazines and Sell Your Work

Jenny J. Chen Learn to pitch journalistic and nonfiction essays to local and national magazines, get bylines, and get paid for your work. In this workshop, we’ll drill down into the mechanics of selling your articles and essays, from how to research markets to marketing yourself. We’ll also talk about how to overcome pitch-block, imposter syndrome, and fear of failure, and learn the etiquette of networking for referrals.Then we’ll workshop some of your real-life pitches.

4 Fridays Online

N/A Beginner

7/7–7/28 $195

Advanced Personal Essay William O’Sullivan This advanced workshop is for writers who are already working seriously in the personal essay genre. We will focus on participants’ writing, supplemented with assigned readings. Participants will workshop two essays (or drafts of the same essay, if they prefer). The class is designed for self-contained essays, not book-length memoirs. To be considered for admission, please submit an essay or excerpt of no more than five double-spaced pages to laura.spencer@writer.org by June 23. Do not

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

WORKSHOPS serve to structure or contain events viewed through the child’s perspective.

8 Saturdays Bethesda

6 Saturdays Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Advanced

7/8–8/26 $360

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

All Levels

5/20–6/24 $270

Telling and Writing Your Stories

Poetry II

Solveig Eggerz

Lucian Mattison

Using a variety of pre-writing activities that gently lead to actual writing, participants in this workshop will discover and enhance the stories that reside in their memories.

Class discussion will focus on aspects of writing such as narrator, conflict, and dialogue, after which participants will write and share their work and request feedback if they so wish. Participants shoul expect to develop at least two solid first drafts during the workshop.

It is often true that as soon as a poem leaves our hands, we immediately begin to read it differently, as if this simple act were a way of stepping out of the self. This notion, coupled with discussion and the workshop leader’s guiding hand, is what makes the workshop environment invaluable. In this class, participants will generate new writing, workshop both new and old poems, and identify publications for submission. Participants should expect a short lecture followed by in-class writing or exercises, with the bulk of the time spent workshopping poems. By the end of the course, participants should have a set of three to six poems to send out for publication in local and national journals. Bring writing utensils or a laptop, as well as one or two poems.

6 Saturdays Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Beginner

7/22–8/26 $270

Poetry

4 Tuesdays 7:00–9:30 p.m.

Capitol Hill Intermediate/Advanced

Getting Your Poetry Published Michele Wolf Whether participants have yet to submit their first poem to a literary journal or are ready to offer a publisher a book-length manuscript, this intensive one-day workshop will give all poets hands-on advice on how to succeed in publishing. Participants will learn how to place poems in print and online journals, why anthologies are such an appealing platform, how to publish chapbooks and books, the pros and cons of contests, the etiquette of poetry submission, ways to develop a poetry network, and how to keep morale high while facing rejection in a highly competitive field. Magazine handouts will be provided.

1 Saturday Bethesda

2–5 p.m.

All Levels

5/13 $50

Poetry as Emotion: An Introduction

5/23–6/13 $195

• Concert

Melanie Figg

• Conference

Are you intrigued by poems with super long lines? In this class, we’ll explore how longer lines affect a poem’s rhythm, pace, and punch. You’ll study exmples to inspire your own practice, and explore how extending your lines can affect the range and musicality of your poetic voice.

• Writing Group Meet-up

2 Tuesdays Bethesda

• Book Club

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

5/23–5/30 $80

Poetry II: Pushing Past Those Early Revisions Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli

6 Thursdays Bethesda

6 Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

5/18–6/22 $270

• Film Screening • Play

Poetry is, in part, emotion in language. Cultures throughout the world use poetry to share their histories, shape their stories, and express ideas in lyrical form. In this workshop, participants will look at their inner language and experience and then write poems from personal and cultural memory. Formal elements of poetry as well as the history of the poetry genre will be explored.

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

Our Allan B. Lefcowitz Theatre, Jane Fox Reading Room, and gorgeously renovated classrooms are available for extremely fair prices. Consider The Writer’s Center for your next:

The Long Line

Despite three or four revisions, your poem still falls flat.

Intuitively, you know it has great potentional, but you can’t seem to jump the gap between here and there.

Acquire strategies to look at it with fresh eyes, change directions or point of view, and finaly uncover the poem that’s been waiting for you all this time. We’ll do this in a supportive workshop environment where participants learn from each other’s poems and the processes that shape those poems. Some outside reading will be assigned.

Judith Harris

Need a place to meet, celebrate, or play?

5/23–6/27 $270

Poetry as Autobiography

Making a Poetry Chapbook

Judith Harris

Anne Becker and Linda Rollins

The child’s perspective (or our perception of it anyway) functions as a method of mediating and transcending early events that surface through writing practice. From the Romantics to the Confessional poets, the revivification of the past and childhood are fundamental to gaining insights into both culture and spirit. In this workshop, participants will use the techniques of these poets as springboards for their own autobiographical re-invention of the child within.

In each session, we will consider how formal elements (rhyme, meter, metaphor, simile, formal patterns, etc.)

In this intensive workshop, participants will turn a selection of their poetry into a chapbook. In the first four meetings, we’ll explore how groups of poems work together to create a focused, whole experience; read model chapbooks; and consider various strategies of organization.

We’ll then prepare the manuscripts and critique them as a group. In the final two meetings, particpants will learn about the book-making process and create their own. The first four sessions will be held at The Writer’s Center and the last two at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville. In

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

• Book Launch Party • Study Group

Allan B. Lefcowitz Theatre Rehearsals (no access to the public) $65/hr Performances - $125/hr Pre- and Post-Performance - $80/hr The Writer’s Center Staff Time* - $25/hr

Jane Fox Reading Room Rehearsals (no access to the public) $35/hr Performances - $80/hr Pre- and Post-Performance - $25/hr The Writer’s Center Staff Time - $25/hr

Classrooms $15/hr (members) $20/hr (non-members) For details, terms, and conditions, visit www.writer.org/resources/ space-rentals Please contact judson.battaglia@ writer.org for availability inquiries and to book our space.

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workshops

purchase the course unless you have been accepted by the instructor.

WORKSHOPS addition to the registration fee, a $15 material fee will be paid to the instructor at PAAC. 6 Wednesdays 12–3 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

5/24–6/28 $360

Eroticism in Poetry Maritza Rivera Explore the erotic in poetry. Discover how you can interject subtle imagery and metaphor into your work that makes the reader ponder: does this mean what I think it means?

Let yourself go where you have not gone before and see what you uncover. This class will free your mind and expand your language of creative expression.

4 Saturdays Bethesda

1–3 p.m.

All Levels

6/3–6/24 $135

The Art of Writing Resistance Poetry Angela Maria Spring While the very act of writing poetry can be considered a form of resistance, “protest” poetry can have many definitions. In this workshop, participants will explore different voices and styles, as well as begin developing their own.

The first session will be an overview of poetry and resistance poets in the 20th and early 21st centuries, ending with a writing prompt. At the beginning of each subsequent class, we will focus on two different poets’ work and then workshop the participants’ poems from the previous week’s prompt. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a portfolio of five poems and ideas of forums where they can share their work. Note: No meeting July 3.

6 Mondays Capitol Hill

6:30–8:30 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

6/19–7/31 $215

workshops

Villanelle Crash Course

 Poetic

Claudia Gary

Meg Eden

Improve your villanelle skills or write your first one with the help of a widely published author of villanelles, sonnets, and other poems. You’ll read several classic and contemporary examples and then write your own. Next, you’ll see how your new poem can be improved by revision. (Feel free also to bring one you’ve been working on.) You’ll leave this session with at least one new or improved villanelle, as well as insight into unlocking deeper meaning through form.

In this workshop, we’ll explore why form is relevant to contemporary poets and how we can take advantage of it to strengthen both traditional and free-verse poems. Poetic form is not only meter and rhyme, it also encompasses a range of vessels that poems can inhabit. Form can help focus our poems and reinforce tone—and even conquer writer’s block. We’ll write in several forms and explore what content works well within each type.

1 Saturday Bethesda

11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

6/3 $50

Melanie Figg

N/A All Levels

6/20–7/25 $270

Melanie Figg

Are you baffled by line breaks? Unsure what makes a good line? In this class, we’ll explore how line length affects pace and content and how good line breaks add to the poem’s meaning and energy. Through in-class exercises, you’ll not only start to notice your own habits with the line, but you’ll also discover new options of where to break it—and why. Bring a copy of a poem you wrote that could benefit from being re-lined. You’ll leave the class with a stronger understanding about the line and more confidence in your line breaks.

1:30–4 p.m.

All Levels

6/10 $50

7–9:30 p.m.

Beginner

6/27–8/22 $360

Reading & Writing Poetic Forms

Zahara Heckscher Whether you are an experienced poet seeking a new generative technique, or you haven’t written a poem in decades, The Poetry Game makes it easy and fun to write a poem. The game involves a variety of prompts, a supportive and encouraging environment, and an attitude of warmth, fun, and poetic camaraderie. Sharing is optional and work will not critiqued or judged. Everyone wins!

Educators are welcome to come and learn how to use this game in their classrooms. It’s also a great activitiy for a date or night out with your girlfriends. There will be snacks! Workshop registration includes a copy of this creative game for yourself or to give as a gift.

6:30–8:30 p.m.

All Levels

Are you eager to learn more about the mechanics of poetry or re-kindle your writing practice? Each session of this class will be devoted to an aspect of craft (line, sound, imagery, form). We’ll also learn by close readings of great poems and weekly writing assignments. Participants will receive helpful, encouraging feedback from the instructor and have the chance to have a poem workshopped by their peers. You’ll come away with a solid knowledge of how poems are built and an appreciation for their strength and magic. We’ll use The Poet’s Companion as a text, so bring a copy to the first session. Note: No meeting July 4.

8 Tuesdays Bethesda

The Poetry Game

1 Thursday Bethesda

6 Weeks Online

Poetry I: An Introduction to Craft & Beauty

Line Breaks

1 Saturday Bethesda

Forms Workshop

6/15 $50

Melanie Figg In this fun, encouraging class, particpants will learn and practice a variety of poetic forms. Working in form will teach you about line breaks, rhythm, rhyme, word choice, and voice. Helpful feedback from the instructor and tips for improving your poems will have you finishing the class with new skills to improve your free verse poems, too.

6 Mondays 7–9:30 p.m.

Bethesda Intermediate/Advanced

 Foundations

7/10–8/14 $270

of Poetry Workshop

Meg Eden Over the course of four weeks, we’ll discuss four key elements of poems: image, sound, form, and realization.

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The Writer’s Center Participants will produce a variety of poems and learn tips for maintaining the practice of writing. They will have the opportunity to workshop and revise four poems and will receive personalized feedback on their work from classmates and the instructor.

4 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

7/10–7/31 $195

Sonnet Crash Course Claudia Gary Under the guidance of a widely published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other poems, explore classic and contemporary examples of sonnents and then write your own.

Next, you’ll see how your new poem can be improved by revision. (Feel free also to bring one you’ve been working on.) You’ll leave with at least one new or improved sonnet, as well as insights about how writing poetry in form can unlock deeper meaning and enhance everything you write.

1 Saturday Bethesda

11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Beginner/Intermediate

7/15 $50

Writing From Your Roots: A Multicultural Poetry Workshop Maritza Rivera What is your favorite meal? What was your first job? What cultural customs and traditions do you follow? Although these may sound like password security questions, these and other topics unlock commonalities among cultures. By exploring the poetry of Richard Blanco, Rita Dove, Martin Espada, Leslea Newman, DJ Renegade, Naomi Shihab-Nye, and other poets, this workshop will help you uncover your poetic roots and help you better express them.

4 Saturdays Bethesda

 Poetry

1–3 p.m.

All Levels

8/5–8/26 $135

Chapbook Workshop

Meg Eden This workshop provides participants with the tools for forming and submitting poetry chapbooks. Lessons will focus on identifying what makes a chapbook, exploring your voice in the chapbook medium, choosing and ordering poems within your chapbook, and researching publishers.

By the end of the four-week course, participants will have a chapbook manuscript that can be sent out to publishers.

4 Weeks Online

N/A Advanced

8/7–8/28 $195

Professional Development Publishing in Literary Magazines Meg Eden Do you want to submit your work to magazines but don’t know how? In this workshop, we’ll talk about literary magazines, what editors are looking for in submissions, do a “translation” exercise, learn tips to get the most out of a lit mag, and uncover the secrets to writing a great cover letter. The skills you learn in this session can easily apply to other publication realms, including writing to agents and editors of independent presses. All participants will receive a complimentary magazine of their choice.

1 Saturday Annapolis

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/3 $50

WORKSHOPS Claire Handscombe What are the options for the serious study of writing, and which is right for you? In this session, we’ll explore the difference between low-residency programs, genre-focused writing programs, M.F.As and M.A.s. This information will help you choose what’s best for you and prepare to make the experience a success.

1 Thursday Bethesda

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

6/8 $50

Choose the Best Path to Publishing Your Book Katherine Pickett There are many paths to book publishing—commercial publishers, academic or independent publishers, and self-publishing. How do you know which one is right for you and your book? In this class, participants will explore the range of publishing options and evaluate the pros and cons of each. Participants will also learn to assess their own strengths and weaknesses, including the particulars of their book, to determine which path will lead to success.

By the end of this class, participants will be primed to start their publishing journey.

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

6/21–7/12 $195

Cherrie Woods Bring all your questions about the pros and cons of selfpublishing to this roundtable discussion led by a PR Consultant Cherrie Woods and her guests from the publishing industry.

6/24 $50

How to Write a Grant Proposal Learn how to request grants from funders! This workshop will guide fundraisers on how to research prospective funders, identify the elements of a good proposal, and how to approach potential funders. Proposal writing is a practical skill for those who work or volunteer for nonprofit organizations and can be a good source of freelance writing income. Please come to class with a nonprofit organization or project in mind. This class meets in person for the first and third sessions, and via email for the second class.

1:30–4 p.m.

All Levels

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

7/25–8/1 $80

Write Like the News Hank Wallace Lead with the future—not background. It’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise, be brief, and choose strong verbs.

Highlights: communicate in a crisis, correct errors the correct way, choose between raw numbers and a ratio, and write around generic “he.” At 7 p.m. sharp, we’ll critique the day’s WallStreetJournal.com homepage, seeing how to communicate your main point in just a few words.

1 Thursday Bethesda

7–9 p.m.

All Levels

8/31 $50

Stage and Screen How to Write Great Dialogue for Film and TV

Richard Washer Process—it’s one of the more personal and varied aspects of a creative writer’s craft. In this session, we will discuss, explore, and attempt to demystify the process of putting words on paper. We will identify strategies for getting started, generating a first draft, constructive selfcriticism, and revision. We will also discuss opportunities available once a draft is ready for readings, workshops, rehearsals, and productions. Although the focus in this session will be on playwriting, writers of all genres are welcome.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Beginner

8/19 $50

Playwriting: Theatricality Richard Washer Writing for the stage offers opportunities for authors that other forms don’t. In this workshop, participants will explore components that go into stage production and how they can communicate their story in powerful new ways that are exciting for an audience to attend. In this context, we will discuss the collaborative nature of playwriting and theater and how the script operates as a blueprint for production not a final dictate.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Beginner

8/26 $50

Good films and television shows work because their dialogue follows certain techniques. In this workshop, participants will study scenes from film and television and workshop their own scenes for critique. We’ll analyze dialogue, pacing, and choices the screenwriter makes in the design of the scene. Note: No meeting July 4.

8 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m.

All Levels

5/16–7/11 $360

YOUR WORKSHOP YOUR WAY

Protagonists in Film and TV

Cara Seitchek

3 Saturdays Bethesda

2 Tuesdays Bethesda

Playwriting: Process

John M. Weiskopf

Self-Publishing Roundtable

1 Saturday 1–3 p.m.

Capitol Hill Intermediate

of their choice. Although you do not need to bring it to class, you should have a completed manuscript you are hoping to publish through traditional publishing before taking this course.

7/15–7/29 $135

How to Land a Literary Agent Eva Langston Patrone If you want to publish your book through a major publishing house, you need an agent. In this class, you will learn what an agent does and where to find the right one for you. We will discuss Twitter pitches, agent contests, conference pitch sessions, and other ways to land a literary agent. After studying sample query letters, participants will practice writing their own, which will be critiqued by classmates. By the end of the workshop, participants will be ready to send queries to the agents

John M. Weiskopf Are you stumped determining where to go in Act 2 of your script? The problem is usually embedded in the basic design of your main characters and their experiential, emotional, and psychological worlds. During this one-day course, we’ll study three to five successful films and/or episodic television shows whose protagonists are memorable and famous.

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

5/27 $115

The First Ten Pages of Your Script

ONLINE WORKSHOPS AT THE WRITER’S CENTER For 40 years, The Writer’s Center has served the D.C. community by providing hands-on writing workshops led by the District’s most renowned voices. Now, you can study with us from anywhere.

John M. Weiskopf Producers, directors, and agents are busy, and a screenwriter has only two to three pages to grab their interest, and ten to set the hook. This workshop will show participants how writers of Academy Award-nominated and winning scripts captured readers within minutes. Participants will study successful scripts and workshop their own first ten pages with class members.

3 Saturdays Bethesda

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

All Levels

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

8/5–8/19 $315

For more information, visit

WRITER.ORG/ONLINEWORKSHOPS 17

workshops

Applying and Preparing for Your M.F.A.

WORKSHOP LEADERS Anne Becker, author of The Transmutation Notebooks: Poems in the Voices of Charles and Emma Darwin, The Good Body (chapbook), and Human Animal has presented programs at Johns Hopkins, University of Connecticut, Folger Library, and Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. Poet Laureate Emerita of Takoma Park, she is now poetin-residence at Pyramid Atlantic.

Caroline Bock is the author of two critically acclaimed young adult novels: LIE and Before My Eyes (St. Martin’s Press). Her short fiction is included in the 2017 District Lines anthology published

by Politics & Prose. Her short story, “Gargoyles and Stars,” was the 2016 winner of The Writer Magazine competition judged by Colum McCann.

Tara Campbell is the winner of the 33rd Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Award and the 31st Annual Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding New Artist.

She’s an assistant fiction editor at Barrelhouse and columnist for the Washington Independent Review of Books. She also teaches at American University.

LEADERS

Dana Cann in the author of the novel Ghosts of Bergen County (Tin House Books). His short stories have appeared in The Sun, The Massachusetts Review, and The Gettysburg Review. He’s earned fellowships from the Maryland State Arts Council, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Jenny Chen is an award-winning science and health journalist. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, NewYorkTimes.com, Shape, and Marie Claire.

Carolyn Clark, Ph.D. has been a workshop leader and writing coach affiliated with The Writer’s Center since 2006. Her poems appear in Mnemosyne: The Long Traverse (Finishing Line Press), Amish Mimesis: a poetry manuscript, Journal of Modern Poetry 18, Avocet: a Journal of Nature Poetry, and Society of Classical Poets.

Brenda W. Clough is a novelist, short story, and nonfiction writer. Her novels include How Like a God, The Doors of Death and Life, and Revise the World. She has been a finalist for both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. Clough has been teaching science fiction and fantasy workshops at The Writer’s Center for more than ten years. More about her at: www.sff.net/people/brenda/ Novelist and writing coach John DeDakis is a former editor on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” DeDakis is the author of four

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mystery-suspense novels, most recently Bullet in the Chamber, which deals in part with the death of his son in 2011 due to an accidental heroin overdose.

More about him at: www.johndedakis.com.

Meg Eden’s work has been published in Rattle, Drunken Boat, Poet Lore, RHINO, and Gargoyle. She teaches at the University of Maryland. has four poetry chapbooks, and a novel, Post-High School Reality Quest from California Coldblood, an imprint of Rare Bird Books. More about her at: www.megedenbooks.com or on Twitter at @ConfusedNarwhal.

Solveig Eggerz is author of the award-winning novel Seal Woman. Her second novel, Sigga, is near completion. Eggers’s short stories and essays have appeared in The Delmarva Review, The Northern Virginia Review, and Palo Alto Review. A native of Iceland, she lives in Alexandria, VA, where she teaches a writing/storytelling class to individuals who are transitioning from difficult situations.

A 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow, Melanie Figg has more than 25 years experience teaching creative writing and mentoring writers of all levels. She has publisned a chapbook, Hurry, Love, and her poems have appeared in dozens of journals. Figg curates Literary Art Tours in D.C. galleries, named a Washington Post Editor’s Pick. She also offers creative, career, and personal coaching. More about her at: www.melaniefigg.net.

Claudia Gary is author of Humor Me (David Robert Books) and several chapbooks, including Bikini Buyer’s Remorse. Internationally published, she has a villanelle in the anthology Villanelles (Everyman’s Library). She chaired the “Sonnet in 2016” panel at the West Chester University Poetry Conference. Read more at pw.org/content/claudia_gary.

T. Greenwood is the author of eleven awardwinning novels, includiing Two Rivers, Bodies of Water, and Where I Lost Her. She teaches creative writing for San Diego Writer’s Ink, Grossmont College, and online for The Writer’s Center.

Aaron Hamburger was awarded the Rome Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his story collection The View From Stalin’s Head.

His novel Faith For Beginners was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, and he has published work in The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Claire Handscombe is a British writer who moved to the U.S. in 2012 to purse an M.F.A. in creative writing, which she earned from American University. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and Bustle.

The Writer’s Center Judith Harris is the author of three books of poetry, Night Garden, The Bad Secret, and Atonement, and the the book Signifying Pain: Constructing and Healing the Self Through Writing. Her poetry has appeared in The Nation, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Slate, The New York Times, Ploughshares, The Hudson Review, The Southern Review and the syndicated column “American Life in Poetry.” She is a recipient of a Yaddo fellowship and multiple arts grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts.

Harris has taught at several universities in the D.C. area and has been a resident seminar leader at Frost Place. She has performed her poetry at the Library of Congress, The Folger Shakespeare Library, and the American Association of Psychoanalysis and the University of North Iowa.

Virginia Hartman has taught writing at George Washington University, American University, and the Smithsonian Institution, and has been teaching at The Writer’s Center for a decade. Her work has appeared in The Hudson Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Potomac Review, Delmarva Review, and The Washingtonian. Her writing has been anthologized in Gravity Dancers: Even More Fiction by Washington Area Women (Paycock Press), and she is the co-editor, with Barbara Esstman, of a literary anthology called A More Perfect Union: Poems and Stories About the Modern Wedding (St. Martin’s Press). The Sewanee Writer’s Conference and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts have granted her fellowships, and her stories have been shortlisted for the New Letters prize judged by Benjamin Percy, the Tennessee Williams Festival Prize, the Dana Awards, and the Washington Writers’ Publishing House Prize.

Zahara Heckscher, M.A., is co-author of the book How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas. Her articles have appeared in books and the online travel magazine www.TransitionsAbroad. com, where she serves as contributing editor. She is a breast cancer survivor who prefers to be known as a “cancer thriver.” Heckscher is chief poetic officer of The Poetry Game, PoetryGame.org, and offers workshops at schools, universities, senior centers, and faith communities.

Ellen Herbert’s novel, The Last Government Girl, won the Maryland Writers’ Best Novel Award. Short stories in her collection, Falling Women and Other Stories, have won PEN Fiction and Virginia Fiction fellowships. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, First for Women, and multiple literary magazines.

Her novel-in-progress won first place in the National Pen Women’s Soul-Making Keats Competition.

David Hicks, Ph.D., is a professor of literature and writing at Regis University in Denver, where

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

WORKSHOP LEADERS John Lingan has written for The Oxford American, BuzzFeed, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Baffler. His first book, a narrative nonfiction account of the last honky-tonk in the Virginias, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2018.

Kathryn Johnson is author of forty+ popular novels, which have been nominated for the Agatha Award and won the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller’s Best Awards. She writes Victorian thrillers as Mary Hart Perry and a suspense series, “Affairs of State.” Her most recent book, The Extreme Novelist, is based on her popular course at The Writer’s Center.

Peter Mandel is the author of eleven books for children, including Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan), Zoo Ah-Choooo (Holiday House), Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster), Planes at the Airport (Scholastic), and Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (Hyperion). He’s a regular contributor to the travel sections of The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Huffington Post. Learn more about him at: www.petermandel.net.

Christine Koubek is an award-winning travel writer and essayist. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Coastal Living, Washingtonian, Dallas Morning News, Budget Travel, and CruiseCritic.com. Koubek also writes the “Get Away” column for Bethesda and Arlington magazines. She earned an M.F.A. in creative writing from Fairfield University, as well as residencies from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Ragdale.

More about her at: http://christinekoubek.com.

Con Lehane’s Murder at the 42nd Street Library (Minotaur Books) is the first in a new series, the second of which will be out in November 2017.

Recent or forthcoming stories appear in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He is also the author of the “Bartender Brian McNulty” mystery series. More about him at www.conlehane.com.

Lucian Mattison is an Argentinean American poet and author of Peregrine Nation (The Broadkill River Press, 2014) and Reaper’s Milonga, forthcoming from YesYes Books in 2017. He is the winner of the 2016 Puerto Del Sol Poetry Prize and his poems appear or are forthcoming in The Adroit Journal, The Boiler, Hobart, Inter|rupture, Muzzle, and Nashville Review. His fiction appears in Fiddleblack, Nano Fiction, and Per Contra. Mattison works at The George Washington University and is a poetry editor for Big Lucks. More about him at: lucianmattison.com.

A #1 Amazon bestselling novelist and senior editor at SpliceToday.com, Mary McCarthy’s 23-year writing career includes Salon.com, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Baltimore Sun, as well as editorial positions at regional magazines and newspaper humor columns.

Bob Levey spent more than 23 years as a prizewinning daily columnist for The Washington Post.

He was named one of Washington’s best columnists

by Washingtonian Magazine seven times and has taught journalism and writing at six major research universities.

Nicole Miller has published essays in New Letters (Dorothy Cappon Prize, 2014; Best American Essays, Notable 2016) and Arts & Letters. Her fiction has appeared in The May Anthologies, edited by Jill Paton Walsh and Sebastian Faulks, and Abundant Grace, ed. Richard Peabody. After completing an M.Phil in Victorian literature at Lincoln College, Oxford University, she earned a Ph.D. in English at University College, London, and an M.F.A. in creative writing at Emerson College, where she held a graduate fellowship. She is a scholarly reader for The Oxford English Dictionary and teaches literature and writing at Politics and Prose, Grub Street (in Boston), and Kingston University (UK).

Christopher Linforth holds an M.F.A. from Virginia Tech. His debut short story collection, When You Find Us We Will Be Gone, was released in 2014. He has published fiction and nonfiction in dozens of literary magazines, including The Millions, Gargoyle, Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, Notre Dame Review, and Denver Quarterly.

William O’Sullivan is an editor at Washingtonian Magazine. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and North American Review. He has earned two D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities fellowships and been listed three times among the notable essays in The Best American Essays.

Lisa Leibow, M.A., has taught writing at NVCC, UMUC, and JHU. Her work has appeared in CommuterLit, Diverse Voices Quarterly, Eleven-Eleven, Pisgah Review, and Sand Hill Review. She’s a Vermont Studio Center grant winner, Pitchapalooza D.C. winner, and a John Gardner Award for Best Character Description honorable mention.

for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

Eva Langston Patrone is the author of four books, is features editor for Compose Journal, and is an avid blogger. She earned an M.F.A. from the University of New Orleans.

Poet and visual artist Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli has been a Fellow at both VCCA and the Ragdale Foundation. Her poems have appeared in Raleigh Review, Watershed Review, Prime Number, and Poet Lore. She holds an M.F.A. in poetry from Warren Wilson College and is a recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Grant. More about her at: www.mariepavlicek.com.

Katherine Pickett is the owner of POP Editorial Services, LLC, and the author of the awardwinning book Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro. In her 17 years in the publishing industry, she has gained experience with nearly every type of publishing, from traditional and academic publishing to textbooks, to indie and hybrid publishing. Her writing credits include Freelancing as a Business: 7 Steps to Take Before Launch Day (Editorial Freelancers Association) and “Dented,” a personal essay published and anthologized by Lowestoft Chronicle.

Laura Probert, MPT, is a holistic physical therapist, published author, inspirational teacher, poet, and black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She’s serious about integrating mind, body, and soul as a journey to passion and power. Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Best Self Magazine, The Wellness Universe, Wild Sister Magazine, PersonalGrowth.com, and Tiny Buddha. More about her at: www.BraveHealer.com.

Maritza Rivera is the publisher of Casa Mariposa Press. She hosts the annual Mariposa Poetry Retreat and the annual Mariposa Poetry Reunion Reading at The Writer’s Center. Rivera is author of About You, A Mother’s War, A Baker’s Dozen, Twenty-One Blackjack Poems, and the Blackjack Poetry Playing Cards.

Linda Rollins’s passion for bookbinding started at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina in the early 1990s. An apprenticeship near her home in South Florida combined with study in Massachusetts led to the opening of her bindery, Capella Book Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, 1995. Rollins joined Pyramid Atlantic Art Center as their Binder in Residence in 2003. She continues to teach bookbinding classes there for groups and individuals.

Ellen Ryan’s writing has been published in AARP, Outside, Good Housekeeping, USNews.com, Washingtonian, ForbesLife,Executive Woman, and

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LEADERS

he co-founded and co-directs the Mile-High M.F.A. in Creative Writing. He has published stories in Glimmer Train, Colorado Review, Saranac Review, and many other magazines, and a novel-in-stories, White Plains (Conundrum Press, 2017). More about him at: www.david-hicks.com.

WORKSHOP LEADERS Sister2Sister. She writes poetry and articles about aging and welleness.

Cara Seitchek has written grant proposals for local, state, and national nonprofit organizations.

She evaluates proposals for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, American Association of Museums, and the Maryland State Arts Council. She earned an M.A. in writing from The Johns Hopkins University.

Alex Smith is the author of Hive (Muzzleland Press), The Berserk, and Blown (Superchief Press).

His stories and poems appear in Theaker’s Quarterly Fiction, Black Ink Horror, Sink Review, and the Best American Poetry blog. He holds an M.F.A. from The New School, and lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Angela Maria Spring is originally from Albuquerque, NM, where she was a poetry slam organizer. She holds an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence and has led poetry workshops at Politics & Prose. Her poems have appeared in District Lines, Tar River Poetry, and Revolution House.

LEADERS

Marija Stajic is The Writer’s Center’s 2013 Undiscovered Voices Fellow, a winner of a Neoverse short story award, and a WWPH novel competition finalist. She earned a B.A. in literature, an M.A. in international journalism, and she studied fiction at the George Washington University under Tim Johnston (The Descent), worked for The New Yorker, and her fiction has been published in dozens of literary journals and two anthologies.

Mathangi Subramanian, Ed.D., is an award-winning writer and educator who believes stories have the power to change the world. In 2016, her middle-grades novel, Dear Mrs. Naidu, won the South Asia Book Award and was shortlisted for the Hindu-Goodbooks Prize. A Bethesda native, she currently lives and works in India.

Sara Mansfield Taber is the author of the award-winning Born Under an Assumed Name: The Memoir of a Cold War Spy’s Daughter, Dusk on the Campo: A Journey in Patagonia, and Bread of Three Rivers: The Story of a French Loaf. Her essays, memoirs, and cultural commentary have appeared in literary journals and newspapers including The Washington Post and have been produced for public radio. More about her at: www.sarataber.com and www.sarataberwritingservices.com.

Julie Wakeman-Linn has edited the Potomac Review since 2005. Her short stories have appeared in many literary magazines, and she has taught fiction writing for fifteen years. Her novel, Chasing the Leopard, Finding the Lion, a finalist for Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize, was published by Mkuki Na Nyota in 2012. Her short story collection was a finalist for the WWPH 2014 Fiction prize, and she has presented at the F. Scott Fitzgerald | Literary conference, the Yale Writer’s Conference, and AWP. Hank Wallace, a Columbia Law School graduate, was a government reporter for New Jersey’s Middletown Courier and Red Bank Daily Register, and the assistant director of law-school publishing for Matthew Bender. He also wrote the FCC’s plainlanguage newsletter. More about him at: www.wsln.com.

Richard Washer is a founding member of Charter Theater, and he works with First Draft as a playwright and director. He holds a B.A. (University of Virginia) and an M.F.A. (American University).

Washer’s full-length plays include Missa at New Works Theatre, Of a Sunday Morning (Charter Theater), Monkeyboy (co-written with Keith Bridges and Chris Stezin; Charter Theater), The Chicken of the Family (a children’s musical co-written with award-winning author Mary Amato; Charter Theater), The Fetish (The National Conservatory of

The Writer’s Center Dramatic Arts), Getting It (The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts),and Quartet at the Hamner Theatre. Other plays produced at various theaters and festivals include Shalimar, Loops, Elegy, and Fulcrum.

John Weiskopf teaches screenwriting at American University. He earned an M.F.A. in film production from UCLA and has written eleven motion-picture screenplays. He went on a U.S. book tour for his novel, The Ascendancy, for Barnes & Noble and wrote the adapted screenplay. Weiskopf co-authored and will be executive producer of a pilot for an episodic television series called “Fear And Loathing In Wonderland.” He has partnered with Roger Alan Stone and Academy Award-winner Russell Williams in their company called White Rock Pictures LLC. Basil White is a speechwriter, published joke writer (Judy Brown’s Squeaky Clean Comedy, The Comedy Thesaurus, and Larry Getlen’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes), public speaker, and business humor consultant. He also writes articles and online courses on technology design and science writing. More about him at: basilwhite.com.

Michele Wolf is the author of Immersion, Conversations During Sleep (Anhinga Prize for Poetry), and The Keeper of the Light. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, The Hudson Review, North American Review, and The Southern Review. Wolf serves as a contributing editor for Poet Lore. More about her at: michelewolf.com.

Cherrie Woods is a sixteen-year public relations (PR) veteran who has been featured in several media outlets for her work with authors. She is the author of a book of poetry and Where Do I Start?10 PR Questions and Answers to Guide Self-Published Authors.

Do you want to teach for us?

The Writer’s Center is always looking for instructors to add to our talented pool of workshop leaders. If you are a published writer with teaching experience, please send a cover letter and resume to the attention of Program Manager Laura Spencer at laura.spencer@writer.org

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Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2017

WE ARE GRATEFUL Thank you to all of our Annual Fund Circle Level donors who have helped make our programs possible between February 2016–February 2017.

Flannery O’Connor Circle—$10,000+ The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Sally Mott Freeman & John Freeman The Reva & David Logan Foundation Maryland State Arts Council The Omega Foundation Langston Hughes Circle—$2,500+ Margot Backas—The Christian Mixter and Linna Barnes Charitable Fund— Juan Gaddis—John & Barbara Ann Hill—Bill Reynolds—The Nora Roberts Foundation—Joram Piatigorsky—The Tau Foundation Zora Neale Hurston Circle—$1,000+ Kenneth and Karen Ackerman—Pat Alper—Bydale Foundation—Timothy Crawford—Mark Cymrot & Janinne Dall’Orto — Ann Friedman—David Goodrich—Virginia Grandison—Patricia Harris & Sandor Slager—James & Kate Lehrer—Neesham and Ed Spitzberg—The T.A. Todd Foundation—Mier Wolf—Wilson Wyatt Jr. Anton Chekhov Circle—$500+ The Catalyst Foundation Inc.—Roberta Beary—Naomi F. & James F. Collins—Felix A. Jakob—Greenbaum Family Foundation—Melinda Halpert—Shelby Harper—Erika Horton—Kathryn King—Joseph Kolar—Howard Lavine—Peter Lovenheim— Desiree Magney—James & Diana Mathews—Jim McAndrew—Jan and Charles McNamara—Margaret & Calvin Meleney— John Montgomery—Roberta Spitzberg—Jonathan Tycko—The Viner Foundation—Ernst & Sara Volgenau—Ira Wagner Emily Dickinson Circle—$250+ A Friend of The Writer’s Center in Memory of Candida Fraze—Margaret & Dale Bell—Margaret Blair—Maria Bothwell—Brooks Cressman—Ralph S. & Frances R. Dweck Family Foundation—Nancy Folger—John Ford—Lesley Francis—David Fry—Trish Glowacki— Les Hatley—Ellen Herbert—Joanna Howard—Laurel Huber—Eugenia Kim—Koubek Family Rainbow Fish Fund—Perry Maiden—Steven and Janice Marcom—David Metz—Robert & Irene Morrissey—William & Louisa Newlin—Gaurang Parikh—Chalres Parsons—Peter Pastan & Amy Kessler Pastan—Mary Pope Hutson—Claudia Smith—Craig Tregillus—Robert Winter Founder’s Circle—$100+ Krista Adams—Linda Adcock—Kathy Elaine Anderson—Erin Archuleta—B. K. Atrostic—Frances Baldwin—Deborah Barger—Jamie Bennett—Carmelinda Blagg—Donald—Bliss—Kathy Borrus—Phil Budahn—Dana Cann—Nancy Carlson—Patricia Carrico—J T Caruso—Lauretta Clough—Jennifer Cockburn—Henry Crawford—Christopher Dann—John DeDakis—Joe Dellinger—Anthony Dobranski—Robert and Mary Eccles—Solveig Eggerz—Jonathan Eig—Leslie Ekstrom—David Everet—Donald Franck—Neal and Mary-Margaret Gillen—Robert Giron—Ann Haman—Brigid Haragan—Jay and Linda Herson—Teresa Hill—Tim and Sharle Hussion—Lane Jennings—Frank Joseph and Carol Jason—Peter Kissel—Kathleen Krause—Rhys and Sue Kuklewicz—Susan Land—Raima Larter—Nancy Lasater—David Lees—Dee Leroy—Charles Lewis—John Malin—Steven and Janice Marcom—Judith McCombs—Ellen McL:aughlin—Claire Mcgoff—Carole McShane—Henry Morgenthau—Allen Murabayashi—Terrance O’Connor—Arne and Sara Paulson—Susan Pigman—Marilyn Regier—Rich Reichley—Barbara Rosing—Phyllis Rozman—Kenneth Sala—Betty Sams—Colin Sargent—William Schofield—Mady Segal—Richard Seldin—Larry and Louise Farmer Smith—Robert Atcheson and Gene Smith— Maryhelen Snyder—Elias Souri—Robert Specht—Irving Spitzberg and Virginia Thorndike—Erik Stearns—Stanley Stern—David Stewart—Stacy Swann and Paul Kraske—Karla Taylor—Sandra Vince—David and Jane Winer—Robert Axelrod and Christy Wise—James and Jane Yagley For a full list of our supporters, please visit www.writer.org/about/donors for the most up-to-date news and information, visit www.writer.org

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