Weg winterspring 16 final by The Writer's Center

EVENTS 14

WORKSHOPS 18

Workshop & Event Guide

s r a e 40 Y

BOOK TALK 43

Winter/Spring 2016

the writer’s center presentS

ORGANIC ELEMENTS

October 27, 2015 - January 17, 2016

4508 WALSH STREET - BETHESDA, MD 20815 - WRITER.ORG

The Writer’s Center Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

DEPARTMENTS

writer.org

Editor

DIRECTOR’S NOTE 5

Vanessa Mallory Kotz

INSTRUCTOR BIOS 34

EVENTS 14

vanessa.mallorykotz@writer.org

BOOK TALK 43

WORKSHOPS:

Contributors

Matthew Brinkley Claire Handscombe John M. HIll Nan Huidekoper Mohini Malhotra Vanessa Mallory Kotz Caitlin O’Beirne

ON THE SCENE 44

Schedule 18 Descriptions 22

REGISTRATION 47

FEATURES 6 Forty Years of Literary Inspiration

Graphic Design

Caitlin O’Beirne takes a look back at how The Writer’s Center got its start.

Virtually Detailed, Inc. Copyeditors

10 From the Workshops

Claire Handscombe Laura Spencer Ellyn Wexler

In this issue, writers from the workshops explore loss in different forms—from the loss of loved ones to loss of a sense of self.

13 In Memoriam: Barbara F. Lefcowitz

Cover Image

Founding member John M. Hill marks the passing of Barbara Lefcowitz, who, along with her husband at the time, Allan, were the creators of the Center.

Shutterstock Contact Us

4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, MD 20815 301-654-8664 (p) 240-223-0458 (f) Writer.org

32 A Year-Long Birthday Party Take a sneak peak at the exciting events we’re planning to celebrate our 40th.

Facebook.com/writerscenter Twitter: @writerscenter Instagram: thewriterscenter Allan Lefcowitz claiming the old community center as a new home for writers.

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 ages. Writing is interdisciplinary and unique among the arts for its ability to touch on all aspects of the human experience. It enriches our lives and opens doors to knowledge and understanding. The Writer’s Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request. Contact The Writer’s Center at 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

ABOUT US

The Writer’s Center

Other Locations Annapolis Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts 801 Chase Street Annapolis, MD 21404 marylandhall.org

Capitol Hill

Executive Director

Marketing & Comnmunications Manager

Stewart Moss

Vanessa Mallory Kotz

Assistant Director

Managing Editor of Poet Lore & Membership Manager

Sunil Freeman

The Hill Center 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003 hillcenterdc.org

Genevieve DeLeon

Program Manager

Office Manager & Graphics Assistant

Laura Spencer

Judson Battaglia

Development Manager

Glen Echo

Night Receptionists

Rachel Colombana

Glen Echo Park 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, MD 20812 glenechopark.org

Liz McGuire Amanda Stoltz

Board of Directors Leesburg

Chair: Sally Mott Freeman

Leesburg Town Hall 25 West Market Street Leesburg, VA 20176 leesburgva.com

Treasurer: Margaret Meleney

Vice Chair: Mier Wolf Secretary: Patricia Harris

Chair Emer: James T. Mathews Ken Ackerman • Margot Backas • Linna Barnes • Naomi F. Collins Mark Cymrot • Michael Febrey • Les Hatley • John M. Hill Jeff Kosseff • Howard Lavine • C.M. Mayo • Jim McAndrew Ann McLaughlin • E. Ethelbert Miller • Joram Piatigorsky

Poet Lore is the oldest continuously published poetry journal in the United States. We publish it semi-annually, and submissions are accepted year-round. Subscription and submission information is available at poetlore.com.

Bill Reynolds • Wilson W. Wyatt, Jr.

Honorary Board Kate Blackwell • Dana Gioia • Jim & Kate Lehrer Alice McDermott • Ellen McLaughlin • Howard Norman

Supported in part by:

Book Gallery TWC’s book gallery carries an extensive collection of literary magazines and books on craft. 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, MD 20815

The Writer’s Center also gratefully acknowledges the support we receive from: The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The TauFoundation, The Omega Foundation, and The Bydale Foundation.

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE our anniversary: readings by distinguished writers and poets, including Bruce Weigl, M. Nzadi Keita, Jim Lehrer, Alice McDermott, Chris Matthews, and the beloved Ethelbert Miller, (with more in the works) and we’ll also host panel discussions, special workshops, and social gatherings for you to mingle with fellow writers. (See page 14, 32)

Stewart Moss, Photo by Judson Battaglia

lthough popular media insist that “40 is the new 20,” in all honesty, it’s a big birthday. This milestone kindles serious introspection and should be celebrated with much fanfare. Forty is a long time to be alive, after all, and even longer for a nonprofit organization not only to survive but also to thrive and grow. Formed by a small band of bellbottomed literary enthusiasts in 1976 (some of whom are still active in the organization), The Writer’s Center has matured from an almost commune-like, ad hoc writing group into an established, financially secure, nationally recognized nonprofit organization that serves thousands of writers every year through workshops, readings, and other programs. Despite the passing decades, new faces (and skinny jeans), the Center is still based on the concept of community. We hope that you always feel welcome, cared for, and nurtured in your art within our building’s walls, at our satellite locations, and through our online workshops and social media. We have an exceptional, year-long line-up of special events to celebrate

fifth decade ambitiously—plans are in the works to launch a capital giving campaign to continue to improve the Walsh Street facility, making it more accessible, beautiful, and inspiring for writers. We recently redesigned our website to make it more organized, intuitive to navigate, and easier on the eyes. We are expanding our efforts on social media, digital platforms, and increasing the number and

Forty is also a time of contemplation and transition— and so it is for The Writer’s Center. After serving as Executive Director for the past five years, I’ve decided to retire. It has been a privilege to lead this dynamic, and important, organization as it has developed exciting new partnerships, programs, and initiatives in an effort to engage with the larger literary community, ultimately Allan Lefcowitz, Jane Fox, Barbara Lefcowitz, Werner Low, and empowering individu- other early pioneers at Glen Echo. als to write their own variety of our online workshops. stories. (See page 6 for a history of These endeavors will help establish these efforts) our national presence and reputaOther highlights of my tenure tion for offering the highest poshave included celebrating Poet sible quality resources for writers Lore’s 125 years of continuous throughout the country and beyond. publication, establishing the Novel And, as one who has been associYear program to serve our growated with the Center for nearly 20 ing population of serious novelists, years, as a workshop participant, enriching our weekly author series event attendee, and administrator, to include not only local authors but I’ll always treasure it as a place that also those from outside the area and has helped me improve as a writer winners of the First Novel Prize, and and enriched me as person. As the of course, renovating the lower level adage goes, “Life begins at 40.” So to include updated seminar rooms, a let’s celebrate The Writer’s Center as writers studio, and lounge. if we were still 20-somethings! So, as I embark on a new phase of my life (writing poetry, enjoying my home and family in Annapolis, teaching), the Center enters its own new phase. We begin our

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

From a Small Visionary Writing Club to an Established, Thriving Literary Hub

40 Years of The Writer’s Center By Caitlin O’Beirne

“O

nce upon a time, in a small town near a mighty river on the edge of a big city, a community of writers gathered to read their stories and poems and hone their craft,” wrote Assistant Director Sunil Freeman in an article about The Writer’s Center for Beltway Poetry Quarterly in 2010. The 1970s were, obviously, a time of upheaval and change in the U.S. The Baby Boom

generation’s energy and determination to make the world a better place resulted in a surge of new nonprofit organizations and artists’ spaces. In 1976, a group of literature enthusiasts embarked upon a mission to create an independent home for the literary arts in the D.C. area. They envisioned

a community where likeminded individuals could share their love of literature, build relationships with each other, and create great art. Since those modest days in Glen Echo Park, their efforts have flourished, growing to serve thousands as the largest literary center in the mid-Atlantic. Over the course of four decades, the Center has remained dedicated to the core aspirations of its founders. In addition to providing writing workshops—in locations throughout the DMV and online—the Center hosts more than 70 outstanding literary events each year, most of them free, featuring authors of local, national, and international renown. As the Center embarks on its 40th year of supporting and cultivating literary arts, it’s fun to look back and appreciate those early days. By understanding where we, as an organization, came from, we can plan for an even brighter future.

Humble Beginnings In 1976, when Allan Lefcowitz spotted an advertisement for an

Founding member Ann McLaughlin freshens up the paint in the Walsh Street Kitchen.

available arts space in Glen Echo Park, he felt a spark of inspiration. As an English professor at The U.S. Naval Academy and a theater buff, Lefcowitz wanted to create a place where all were welcome to participate in the arts. Although he originally pitched the idea of a theater to his friends and colleagues, they soon all agreed that a non-academic literary center was just what the D.C. area needed. Founding members Allan and Barbara Lefcowitz, Merrill Leffler, Ann McLaughlin, Richard Peabody, John Hill, and

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An early workshop; Barbara Esstman giving a reading; the Center once had a typesetter and other printing machines.

others met at the Lefcowitz home where they began to shape their ideas into the mission and vision for what eventually would become The Writer’s Center. After setting their goals and signing the papers for the Glen Echo location, the group began the demanding task of creating a welcoming space for literature lovers to create and share their art. Writers from throughout the community rallied in support and contributed their efforts to help renovate the aging building. Merrill Leffler was one of Lefcowitz’s colleagues at The Naval Academy, but he hadn’t always been associated with the literary arts. After graduating with a degree in physics, Leffler worked for NASA. Despite his immediate success in the scientific field, he felt unfulfilled. “I loved it, but I also felt that this is not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life,” Leffler said. “I had an interest in poetry…and I wanted to be a writer.” He left NASA and went to graduate school to pursue a career in writing, eventually leading him to a teaching position at The Naval Academy, where he met Lefcowitz.

Founding member and current board member John Hill was also an instructor at the Academy when Lefcowitz approached him about the idea for the Center. “I always had literary interest outside of scholarship,” Hill said, “so it seemed to me a nice prospect and something I could join in with as a supporter and member.” The organization started ambitiously. “It would be a place where we would have writing workshops in the Allan Lefcowitz different genres,” Hill said. “It would be a small press bookstore. And it would also be a place where some people actually could make their own books. We had a printing press and a couple of other typesetting devices.” The Center debuted with a membership of about 70 people who formed a tight-knit com-

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

munity. “It was a little like a commune,” said Hill, explaining that everyone was willing to help out—from attending readings to leading workshops. Even early on, the Center hosted lively readings. Prominent literary figures such as Gerald Stern, William Stafford, and Allen Ginsberg read to a rapt audience of D.C.-area writers. However, from the beginning, workshops were the heart and soul of the Center. Leffler spoke highly of the bonds formed between writers in the intimate, supportive workshop setting. His fondest memories include “the camaraderie with other writers, meeting other writers, the excitement that so many felt that they had a place to go to speak to.” The workshop setting creates a unique classroom experience, fostering creativity in the form of constructive responses and advice

Sunil Freeman in the early days of the Walsh Street location; Lucille Clifton gives her authograph to a fan; breaking ground for improvemnts to the Walsh Street location.

from peers without the pressure of grades or a strict curriculum. Richard Washer, a screenwriter and longtime instructor, sees himself as more of a guide. “I used to always say at the start of workshops that I am not a teacher, but rather a facilitator. I want to facilitate learning and discovery,” he said. Workshops cover a wide range of genres, including fiction, memoir and nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and professional writing. Courses vary in levels from beginner, intermediate, advanced, to master classes. Ellen Herbert, a workshop leader at the Center since 1992, explained the importance of the workshop environment, saying, “The writing workshop offers writers an immediate audience for their work. Hearing what works in a piece of writing is as important as finding out what doesn’t. A good workshop will blow on the coal of creativity in a piece, so that it flames into life.”

Growth Over time, the Center became an important literary hub. After

bouncing around to a few different locations, the organization eventually settled into its current one in 1992—a former community center on Walsh Street in Bethesda. The space was renovated and expanded, adding classrooms on the first level. The organization also became more structured and increased the professional staff. “It’s become more institutionalized, with satellite programs, more presence in the larger Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Mid-Atlantic region, than it once had,” Hill explained, adding that that had been something they’d hoped for. Enhancing the prestige and presence of the Center, in 1988, the organization acquired Poet Lore, the oldest running poetry journal in America, published biannually. Two Shakespeare scholars, Charlotte Porter and Helen Clarke, had founded the journal in Philadelphia in 1889. The journal moved to Boston and then was purchased by Heldref Publications in Washington, D.C., before moving to the Center. “Deciding to acquire

Poet Lore fulfilled two of four focuses of the Center’s mission: to publish literary work and disseminate it,” said Managing Editor Genevieve DeLeon. “Poet Lore is also a way for the Center to have a national presence. Our subscribers are distributed over 6 countries and, within the U.S., 47 states. We hope, in that way, to be an ambassador for the Center.” Poet Lore is a unique publication in that the editors accept all forms and modes of poetry. Current editors Jody Bolz and Ethelbert Miller make it a point to read each submission carefully, without regard to the author’s reputation. “It’s gone through a long, inspiring history, and I think [the anniversary] is just a good moment to express Poet Lore’s gratitude to the Center,” DeLeon said. Assistant Director Sunil Freeman has been with the Center for more than 25 years. “One thing that’s very important about the Center is that everybody has a story to tell, and for some people, many stories,” he said. “We are a welcom-

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Instructor Amin Ahmad leads an information session about The Novel Year Program; Architect Mark McInturff presents his ideas for further renovation of the Center, photos by Judson Battaglia.

ing place for people coming at whatever level they are.” The Center continues to expand and provide programs for writers of all skill levels, while also initiating new programs for underserved parts of the community, including offering fellowships to emerging writers, establishing the McLaughlin-EsstmanStearns First Novel Prize, and the Write Who You Are program for immigrants in collaboration with the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School. “The program at Carlos Rosario, which benefits people from all over the world, most of whom don’t speak English as their first language, is very significant outreach into the community,” Freeman said.

to share the healing power of artistic expression. “It was a really good vote of validation for what The Writer’s Center does that the NEA approached us to participate in that program,” Freeman said.

The Future So what’s next? “As we approach the fifth decade of the Center, we will focus on two primary goals,” said Board of Directors Chair Sally Mott Freeman, “maintaining the high quality of our workshops and readings and renovating our 1960s-era building so that it is accessible to the

The Center is also involved in the NEA/Walter Reed Healing Arts Partnership, a landmark partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Defense. The program is being conducted with programmatic support from The Writer’s Center. Professional writers lead workshops for activeduty service members in an effort Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

broadest possible population of writers and lovers of the written word.” Sunil Freeman expanded: “The core mission will essentially stay the same while it adapts and adjusts and struggles with changing realities, be they technologies, or forces of how literature gets out into the community,” he added. The story of The Writer’s Center began like a fairytale, inspired by the vision of a group of talented, dedicated writers. What happens next is yet to be told and will be written by you, our workshop participants and supporters.

Reykjavik, 13 -17 April, 2016 2016 Faculty: Cheryl Strayed Mark Kurlansky and more

FROM THE WORKSHOPS

The Writer’s Center

Many talented writers have passed through The Writer’s Center’s halls, taking multiple workshops and honing their craft. We present here a small sampling of the amazing work they produce.

Blink By Mohini Malhotra

went into Grandmother’s room with her morning tea. She lay still. Her white hair was tucked around her face like a halo. Her hands were clasped as in prayer. White bedsheets crumpled behind her like folded wings. We are to mourn her death for a year, no festivals, no celebrations. That’s how it is where we are from and how it has always been. Three months have gone by. My thirteenth birthday came and left unsung. Now it is Diwali. I convince everyone that she would not want to deprive us

of our most important festival. So my sisters and I light clay lamps. The small flames wink, tease, lick the night air. Fireworks sizzle the sky. We gather around the family table in the center of the kitchen to eat together. I am about to taste my first bite— lamb nestled in almond sauce—my favorite festival dish. I feel a breath on the back of my neck, like a whisper. It reminds me we are not yet to celebrate, that’s how it is where we are from and how it has always been. A glass shatters onto the tile

floor behind me. I turn around to see how—we are all around the table. Grandmother is leaning against the kitchen counter. She is staring straight at me. Her hair billows around her face in wild wisps and strands. Her arms are folded, as though in reproach. I spin around to the table. Everyone is eating and talking. I look back, and it is her. I blink. She starts to fade. She fades fainter and fainter like diluting watercolors. I blink and look again. I see only a blotch of water on the floor glinting with splintered glass.

Breathe By Nan Huidekoper

eated cross-legged and breathing deeply, I murmur my meditation’s mantra and try to still my mind. It’s not easy. So much interference. Film clips invade my thoughts. My children gambol through the movies in my brain. In brilliant Technicolor, they play together in the fields of sunflowers and lavender surrounding our French home. My daughter with her butterscotch hair and my son with his contagious grin step out of the harbors of a mother’s mind. Laughter and joie de vivre

reign under the blue skies of Provence. The wind sings its song in the grass, and they are gone. I need to think in the present. The quietude of a house, once full of frenetic energy, lies like a heavy blanket on my shoulders. The blanket that covered my husband’s eyes when he died is on the chair, my mother’s Louis XIV chair that she loved in a lifetime cut short. Breathe and focus on the present. Who am I now but an old woman, alone, in the stillness of the night?

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FROM THE WORKSHOPS

The Dissolution of Sense By Matthew Brinkley

y wife, Mara, sent me out to buy paper plates for a family picnic. She was clear: she wanted a specific kind of plate. So I went to the Bi-Lo, found the paper plates, and, resolving to buy the correct variety, I photographed the Dixie Pink & Blue Chevron packets with my phone and texted the photo to Mara. “These?” “No!” she wrote back. “No styrofoam, no plastic! Paper! The ones with the pie-crust rims.” “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You do! You grew up eating off of them.” Which wasn’t true: I didn’t and I hadn’t. My family never went on picnics, we barely went out at all, and when my mother did take me to the pool, it was “James, rub my calves? Get the SPF-50 and do my back? And use your normal hand. Massage it into my skin in circles, like I showed you.” Bi-Lo didn’t have “pie-crust” paper plates. Chaz, the aisle attendant, was stumped by the description. I said, yeah, believe me, that makes sense, it isn’t me who wants pie-crust paper plates, they’re for my wife. Chaz looked me in the eye and nodded, and then touched my cheek with his fingertips, saying, “This is about more than paper plates, you know. You do know this.”

Which whopped me like an oar to the nose. I did know this. The truth, it had been staring me in the tonsils. Tottering, I turned toward Mara, who sat beside me, and I glanced at Dr. Schu. As I sat back down on the couch, Mara continued, “He’s shrinking, James is shrinking—if he were a vegetable he’d be pickled, the sour disconsolate type in a sealed jar, dusty lid, unlabeled—never thrown out but never suiting the present hunger. This is how you become at once seen but forgotten. Fourteen years of atrophy and now I’m small and insensate, barren, I have sand in my vagina, no collagen…” Dr. Schu interrupted. “Mara, Mara, okay. James? I want to hear from you. Is it your experience that you’re at a remove from Mara? You’ve said before that you feel trapped, as though you’re within an infinitely long tube, crawling and crawling toward an unreachable exit. Does this apply here too?” Dr. Schu looked at me and rested his hands on a stiff decorative pillow, which he’d leaned against a folded knee. I shrugged. “What do you expect me to say? We’ve been married for fourteen years. It’s been like this, like this very conversation, for the entirety of our, you know, so malignant. She puts my nail clippers in the peanut butter; she once placed a bowl of mephitic seawater in my underwear drawer: why does she do that?”

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

Mara fake-coughed and sniggered, “So you see, our disconnection owes to James’s failure to play, to engage. He does not—no cannot—grasp that an incongruity of narrative schemata does preclude neither laughter nor a dexterity of riposte. The…” I was laughing, laughing and roaring, I couldn’t help it, truly, she was so funny sometimes. I looked at Dr. Schu, he was blank, but he raised his eyebrows at me. Still gurgling, I raised mine back. “I’m remembering, I’m thinking of the time my mom told me about Robert. I was ten. I’d never heard of Robert before. She said, James, there’s this man, Robert, he’s going to live here. My mom had already scuppered my dad who, by that point, had moved out and, anyway, point is, I’ve seen all of this before.” I was about to get up when the nightstand lamp hit the floor as Mara pushed the pillows off the bed. “Jesus!” I yelled. Mara rolled over, arched her back, butt in the air, whisper-yelling “Shred me, shred me hard, you stupid twit.” My pincer ached, but I sighed and forced open my nipper around Mara’s neck, slowly pushing her head into the mattress. We billowed. We distended and billowed. We billowed and continued to billow until Mara screamed and seized and yelled, “God, stop! Stop! Stop.” I withdrew from Mara and lay behind her. My nipper creaked

FROM THE WORKSHOPS as it closed. Mara quivered and shook, her body curled by the headboard. She pounded the wall with her fist. I smiled. “What might I give her?” I wondered. Our anniversary was coming up. We’d met almost fourteen years ago on the patio of Mulligan’s on the southwest corner of Draff and Slag. I was tiny then, so tiny, and I was choking on black pepper, garlic, flour paste. I was scalded, all but cauterized. And Lord, was I thirsty. I squirmed to the top of a wet heap, pushing family and friends and complete strangers out of the way.

I saw Mara as I emerged. Her cheeks were pale relative to her lipstick, but healthy. Her teeth stained with wine, eyes half open, slanting toward the man across from her, a guy she called Chaz. She hadn’t noticed the arrival of her food. But Chaz had noticed. And he’d spotted me. I’d made my way to the edge of Mara’s plate when Chaz glanced down and picked me up. He held me between forefinger and thumb up to the dusk sunlight. I looked him in the eyes as I tried to move my legs.

The Writer’s Center “Fuck, you can’t eat this one,” he said. “Actually, we really shouldn’t eat any of these.” And with that, Chaz placed me on the white paper plate intended for shells and crushed my back with his fork. He called for a waiter. Mara was calm during the discovery, and she touched me with a fingernail. But, at that juncture, I wasn’t concerned with connection. No, I was trying not to pass out. I was trying to move my legs. And I was trying to will myself off the table and well beyond the pie-crust rim of that God-forsaken paper plate.

The work published here has been nominated by workshop leaders John Morris and Lynn Stearns and was selected by the editor.

leighmosley.com 202.276.3686 bookcovers readings events: stills/video

Walter Mosley

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IN MEMORIAM

Barbara F. Lefcowitz By John M. Hill Photo by Michael Ventura, 1979.

ith considerable sadness, we note the passing of Barbara F. Lefcowitz who, born on January 1, 1935, died on October 8, 2015. She was attended in her last hours by Eric, her son, and via phone by Marjorie, her daughter. Along with her then husband, Allan Lefcowitz, Barbara was an influential founder and nurturer of the early Writer’s Center. She was a prolific poet, a co-editor of Poet Lore, and an energetic visual artist –all while teaching composition and literature full-time at Anne Arundel Community College. Her nine volumes of poetry included three that appeared during her first decade of involvement with The Writer’s Center and the area’s small press scene: A Risk of Green (Gallimaufry, 1978), The Wild Piano (Dryad Press, 1981) and The Queen of Lost Baggage (Washington Writer’s Publishing House, 1986). Her ninth volume, The Blue Train to America, appeared in 2007 from Dancing Moon Press. A photograph in the Center’s archives shows Barbara, Allan, and others seemingly holding up the front porch of the Glen Echo-era Writer’s Center (on page 5), an appropriate image for all that she and others did to develop the Center’s programs, workshops, and community. Barbara’s bold oil paintings filled her house, seemingly room by room. Her poetry, equally bold, has been called “a marvelous braid of the ordinary made strange and new,” something Linda Pastan characterized in Barbara’s words as “the cargo of surprise.” Barbara’s prose was also lively and arresting, whether her subject was John Milton or Seamus Heaney. She and Allan were generous hosts, frequently opening their home to visiting poets and literary passers-by. As a collector of odd things, Barbara once delightedly held up a tie left by the estimable Allen Ginsberg after his post-reading sleepover. Barbara was a painter, a literary critic, and a collector, but preeminently, a gifted poet.

“Driftwood Dybbuk” from A Risk of Green By Barbara F. Lefcowitz

All day the driftwood reconstructed itself in the rock-pillowed cove, a waterskeined face with two perfect eyes & shanks of kelp-hair, roughly rounded breast, arms of green gnarl— under unrelenting gullsong I watched it clink & bang into place, then slipped wild iris in its groove of a smile. That night, when the gulls became white looping stars I felt a chill of wood follow me with its iris tongue until my skin sprouted knobs & my hair became strings of kelp. Do not look for me on any shore unless you are patient enough to wait for me piece by seabattered piece.

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

EVENTS

The Writer’s Center

We host more than 50 events annually, including free Sunday Open Door readings & ticketed productions in our historic black box theater. For details, visit www.writer.org/events. EVENTS

open door readings & events

Stanley Plumly reads from The Immortal Evening: A Legendary Dinner with Keats, Wordsworth, and Lamb. He is joined by Donald Berger, who reads from his recent collection of poems, The Long Time.

January 2 p.m.

Visiting poet Terese Svoboda reads from her new collection, 2 p.m. When the Next Big War Blows Down the Valley: Selected and New Poems. She is joined by novelist Morowa Yejide, who reads from Time of the Locust.

February

Morowa Yejide

Donald Berger

Authors published in the new issue of The Delmarva Review will read, joined by editors who will speak about the journal. Readers include Wendy Mitman Clarke, Arden Levine, Sue Ellen Thompson, and Sheila Walker.

January 2 p.m.

February 7:30 p.m.

40th Anniversary Event: An Evening of Poetry and Prose with Jane Shore and Howard Norman

Jane Shore is the author of five books of poems: Eye Level, winner of the 1977 Juniper Prize; The Minute Hand, awarded the 1986 Lamont Prize; Music Minus One, a finalist for the 1996 National Book Critic Circle Award; Happy Family (1999); and A Yes-or-No Answer (2008), winner of the 2010 Poets’ Prize. She is joined by her husband, Honorary Board Member Howard Norman, whose latest novel was praised by The New York Times as “eerie enough to make the skin crawl. Next Life Might Be Kinder is narrated by a blocked, troubled writer named Sam Lattimore, who delivers an opening sentence worthy of the Noir Hall of Fame.” $15 nonmembers/$10 members

February 7:30 p.m.

February 6:30 p.m.

Join us as we kick off the 2016 Writer’s Center Leesburg season with an interactive session of prompts and exercises that will jump-start your creativity and put you on the track to writing success. Lower Level Meeting Room, Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Va. 20176. $4 TWC members & residents of Leesburg; $6 General admission.

40th Anniversary Event: Art and Poetry

Spend an evening enjoying great art and poetry during a free wine reception. In collaboration with the Corcoran School of Art/GW, The Writer’s Center presents Ekphrasis, an exhibition of artwork by advanced painters paired up with advanced poets and instructors from the Center. Ekphrasis describes a poem inspired by a work of art (or vice versa). Meet the artists and writers, see the resulting paintings and poems, and stay for a reading. The show will be on view from January 25 through April 30.

February 2 p.m.

ka ren b ra n an

Karen Branan reads from The Family Tree: A Lynching in Georgia, A Legacy of Secrets, and My Search for the Truth. She is joined by poet Susan Tichy, who reads from Trafficke.

a lynching in georgia, a legacy of secrets, and my search for the truth.

Karen Branan

March 2 p.m.

Leesburg FF: Ready, Set, Write!

Susan Tichy

Franklin Portugal reads from The Least Likely Man: Marshall Nirenberg and the Discovery of the Genetic Code. He is joined by poet Danuta Kosk Kosicka, who reads from Oblige the Light.

March 2 p.m.

Ann Bracken, reads from her collection of poems, The Altar of Innocence. She is joined by Roberta Beary, who reads from Deflection. Roberta Beary

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EVENTS 2 p.m.

Novelist Ellen Herbert reads from The Last Government Girl. She is joined by Cindy Gueli, author of The Lipstick Brigade: The Untold True Story of Washington’s World War II Government Girls.

Ellen Herbert

March 7:30 p.m.

Cindy Gueli

40th Anniversary Event: Jim Lehrer

Join us for an evening with Honorary Board Member Jim Lehrer, best known as the longtime host of the “News Hour on PBS,” when The Writer’s Center presents him with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. Lehrer is the author of 20 novels, 2 memoirs, 3 plays, and a non-fiction work about presidential debates, Tension City. His latest novel, Super, tells the story of celebrity and murder aboard the Sante Fe Railroad’s famous Super Chief, known as “The Train of the Stars” during its Hollywood heyday. $15 nonmembers/$10 members

Visiting novelist Colin Sargent reads from The Boston Castrato, 2 p.m. and Maryhelen Snyder reads from Never the Loss of Wings, her new collection of poems.

April

April 7:30 p.m.

The author reads from The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller (Willow Books 2016). A 2015 Inductee into the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame, Miller is a writer, literary activist, and editor of the Center’s E. Ethelbert Miller Poet Lore, the oldest poetry magazine published in the United States. A two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist Program Fellow, Miller holds an honorary Doctor of Literature from Emory and Henry College. Founder and former chair of the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C., Miller is the author of several collections of poetry. $15 nonmembers/$10 members

April 2 p.m.

Visiting poet Martin Espada reads from Vivas to Those Who Have Failed.

Martin Espada

April 2 p.m.

24 28

Reading by poets who have been published by the Broadkill River Press.

7:30 p.m.

POETRY & PROSE OPEN MIC Don’t be shy! Share your latest poem, excerpt from your novel-in-progress, piece of flash fiction, or other short piece. Sign-up for readers begins at 1:30 p.m. Readings begin at 2 p.m. and are followed by a reception. JANUARY 24 • February 21 • April 10

E. Ethelbert Miller

5:30 p.m. Members-Only Cocktail Party Mingle with poets and the guest of honor during an exclusive event.

April

Colin Sargent

40th Anniversary Event:

40th Anniversary Event: Poet Lore’s 127th Birthday

Poet Lore celebrates its 127th birthday with a reading by Bruce Weigl and M. Nzadi Keita. Weigl is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, including The Abundance of Nothing, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, Bruce Weigl M. Nzadi Keita The Unraveling Strangeness, Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems, and Song of Napalm, which was also nominated for a Pulitzer. He has won numerous awards, including the Robert Creeley Award, the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, the Paterson Poetry Prize, and two Pushcart Prizes. M. Nzadi Keita is the author of Birthmarks, and her work has appeared on public television, in MELUS, Poet Lore, nocturnes literary review, and Crab Orchard, among other journals.

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

EVENTS

March

AWARD WINNERS

The Writer’s Center

n addition to the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize winner, Bret Anthony Johnston (see page 39), The Writer’s Center recently awarded two promising authors with the Emerging Writer Fellowship, and one with the Undiscovered Voices Scholarship. Thirty submissions came in for the Emerging Writer Fellowship this year. Writers applied from across the country and included a diverse pool of voices from a variety of backgrounds and traditions. Six writers in various genres were selected as finalists, and from those six, the committee recommended that Brian Simoneau and Clifford Garstang receive fellowships. Emerging Writer Fellows will be featured at the Center as part of a special celebration and reading. Fellows living within a 250-mile radius of the center will receive a $250 honorarium, and all others will receive $500.

Brian Simoneau is the author of the poetry collection River Bound (C&R Press, 2014). His poems have appeared in Boulevard, Crab Orchard Review, The Georgia Review, Mid-American Review, RHINO, Southern Humanities Review, and other journals. Originally from Lowell, Massachusetts, he graduated from Amherst College and earned an M.F.A. at the University of Oregon. Clifford Garstang won the 2013 Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction for his novel in stories What the Zhang Boys Know (Press 53, 2012). He is the author of a story collection, In an Uncharted Country

(Press 53, 2009), and the editor of an anthology, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet (Press 53, 2014). His work has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Blackbird, Cream City Review, The Tampa Review, and elsewhere, and has received Distinguished Mention in the Best American Series. He holds an M.F.A. from Queens University of Charlotte and is the co-founder and editor of Prime Number Magazine. A former international attorney, Garstang practiced law in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Singapore with one of the world’s largest law firms and with the World Bank in Washington, D.C., where his work focused on China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Margaret Sessa-Hawkins has received the Undiscovered Voices Scholarship for 2015–16. She will be able to attend writing workshops offered by The Writer’s Center free of charge. In addition, she will give a reading from her work after the close of the scholarship period ( June 2016) and will be invited to join our community in ways most interesting to her. Sessa-Hawkins is a writer, journalist, and radio personality who has worked for high-profile organizations such as the PBS NewsHour and the BBC. She also has a body of freelance and creative work that has been published in outlets including The Scotsman, Notre Dame magazine, and Gastronomica magazine.

View online at www.writer.org/guide

WORKSHOP GUIDELINES WORKSHOP GUIDELINES Learning to write is an ongoing process that requires time and practice. Our writing workshops are for everyone, from novices to seasoned writers looking to improve their skills, to published authors seeking refinement and feedback, to professionals with an eye on competition. Group settings encourage the writing process by teaching writers to prioritize and to help each other using many skills at once. From our workshops, participants can expect: • Guidance and encouragement from a published, working writer; • Instruction on technical aspects such as structure, diction and form; • Kind, honest, constructive feedback directed at individual work; • Peer readers/editors who act as “spotters” for sections of writing that need attention, and who become your community of working colleagues even after the workshop is completed; • Tips on how to keep writing and integrate this “habit of being” into your life; • Tactics for getting published; • Time to share work with other writers and read peers’ work, and • Help with addressing trouble areas and incorporating multiple, sometimes conflicting, ideas into a revision.

BEGINNER LEVEL We strongly suggest that newcomers start with a beginner-level workshop. They are structured to help you discover the fundamentals of creative writing, such as:

• Getting your ideas on the page; • Choosing a genre and the shape your material should take; • Learning the elements of poetry, playwriting, fiction, memoir, etc.; • Identifying your writing strengths and areas of opportunity and • Gaining beginning mastery of the basic tools of all writing, such as concise, accurate language, and learning how to tailor them to fit your style.

smaller groups with distinguished writers on a specific project or manuscript. Workshop leaders select participants from the pool of applicants; selection is competitive.

REGISTRATION Workshop registration is available online at www.writer.org, in person at The Writer’s Center, via mail, online or by phone at (301) 654-8664.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

refund policy

These workshops will build on skills you developed in the beginner level, and are designed for writers who have: • Critiqued some published works; • Taken a beginner-level workshop; • Achieved some grace in using the tools of language and form and • Have projects in progress they want to develop further.

To receive a credit, you must notify TWC by e-mail ( judson.battaglia@ writer.org) within the drop period. • Full refunds are given only when TWC cancels a workshop. • Workshop participants who have enrolled in and paid for a workshop and choose to withdraw from it within the drop period (see below) will receive a full credit to their account that can be used within one year to pay for another workshop and/or a membership.

ADVANCED LEVEL Participants should have manuscripts that have been critiqued in workshops at the intermediate level and have been revised substantially. This level offers: • Focus on the final revision and completion of a specific work; • Fast-paced setting with higher expectations of participation and • Deep insight and feedback.

MASTER LEVEL Master classes are designed for writers who have taken several advanced workshops and have reworked a manuscript into what they believe is its final form. Master classes are unique opportunities to work in

Find Your Niche The Writer’s Center recognizes that all writers and styles are unique! Our staff can help you find the right course(s) for your level of experience, preferred genre and overall goals. Call us at (301) 654-8664.

Drop Period for Credit 5 or more sessions: 48 hours notice required before the second meeting 4 or fewer sessions: 48 hours notice required before the first meeting Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

FALL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

SCHEDULE

FICTION (PAGES 22-24)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Fiction I

Ann McLaughlin

1/16–3/5

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B/I

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

Brenda W. Clough

1/20–1/27

7:30–9:30 p.m.

The Extreme Novelist

Kathryn Johnson

1/20–3/9

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

Conflict & Tension

Kathryn Johnson

1/23

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Short Story II

Jim Beane

1/27–3/16

7–9:30 p.m.

Fiction III: Going from Good to Excellent*

Aaron Hamburger

2/2–3/22

7–9 p.m.

Hybrid Fiction

Kathryn Johnson

2/6

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Advanced Fiction

Virginia Hartman

2/13–3/19

9:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

The Joy of Writing Historical Fiction

Kathryn Johnson

2/20

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Fiction: Dialogue

Alan Orloff

2/27

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Write Tight!

Alan Orloff

2/27

2–4:30 p.m.

How to Write a Lot

Kathryn Johnson

3/5

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Guides on Craft and the Writing Life*

Nicole Miller

3/19

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

B/I

The Extreme Novelist II: Revising to Publish

Kathryn Johnson

3/23–4/27

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

Your Marketing Package

Kathryn Johnson

3/26

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Queer Fiction

Sinta Jimenez

4/4–4/25

6–8 p.m.

ALL

Whodunnit? Writing the Mystery

Alan Orloff

4/9

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

B/I

NONFICTION (PAGES 24-25)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

The Writer’s Toolbox

Sara Mansfield Taber

1/19–3/15

10:30–1 p.m.

ALL

Narrative Non-fiction: Telling True Stories

Peter Lovenheim

1/19–3/8

7–9 p.m.

B/I

4 Essays/Memoirs, 4 Weeks

Dave Singleton

1/19–2/9

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Pay Attention, Be Amazed, Write About It

Maxine Clair

1/21–3/10

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Non-Narcissistic Personal Essays

Mary McCarthy

2/9

6–9 p.m.

ALL

Intermediate Memoir Writing: Moving Marilyn W. Smith Forward

2/10–3/16

1–3 p.m.

Memoir and Essay Critique Group

Janice Gary

2/20–4/9

2–4:30 p.m.

ALL

Advanced Personal Essay

William O’Sullivan

2/20–4/9

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Transitions: Writing From the Heart

Mary Carpenter

2/23–3/29

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Writing Narrative Nonfiction

Gina Hagler

3/15–4/26

7–9:30 p.m.

Writing from Life

Ellen Herbert

3/30–5/4

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

View online at www.writer.org/guide

NONFICTION (continued)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

The Writer’s Toolbox

Sara Mansfield Taber

4/5–5/31

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Life Stories Intensive

Lynn Schwartz

4/9

9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ALL

Literary Travel Writing

C.M. Mayo

4/16

10 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

The Memoirist and the Memoir*

Nicole Miller

4/16

10 a.m.–1 p.m.

How to Write an Effective Essay

Susan Tiberghien

4/23

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

POETRY (PAGES 25-28)

LEADER

DATES

DAY TIME

LEVEL

6 Poems, 6 Weeks

Mark Cugini

1/12–2/16

7–10 p.m.

ALL

All About Tone*

Sue Ellen Thompson

1/16

1–4 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Poetry

Nan Fry

1/19–2/23

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Performance Poetry Workshop

Canden Webb

1/19–2/16

7–8:30 p.m.

ALL

Walking/Breaking the Line*

Lucian Mattison

1/21–2/11

7–8:30 p.m.

ALL

The Force of Poetry

Elizabeth Rees

1/23–3/19

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

I/A

Making It Whole: Poetry Chapbook Workshop

Anne Becker

2/4–3/31

7–10 p.m.

Burn Notice

Terese Svoboda

2/7

11 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

The Poem Starts HERE!

Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli

2/10–3/16

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Revising Your Poems

Sue Ellen Thompson

2/14

1–4 p.m.

ALL

International Poetry

Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli

2/18–4/7

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Poetry Workshop*

Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers

3/1–4/5

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Revitalize Your Creativity

Nan Fry

3/5–4/2

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

The Wonder of Falling: A Poetry Intensive

Sandra Beasley and Charlotte Matthews

3/13

1–4 p.m.

ALL

Poetry II

Rose Gebken

3/16–5/4

7–9 p.m.

The Mystery of Line Breaks*

Sue Ellen Thompson

3/19

1–4 p.m.

ALL

Revising Your Poems

Nan Fry

4/9–4/30

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Beads on a String: Organizing a Book of Poems

Sue Ellen Thompson

4/10

1–4 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.

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

SCHEDULE

FALL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

SCHEDULE

MIXED GENRE (PAGE 28)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Reading and Writing Women’s Lives

Sara Mansfield Taber

1/19–3/15

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Harness Your Fears and Generate New Work

Rose Gebken

1/20–3/9

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Creative Writing

Elizabeth Rees

1/23–3/19

1–3:30 p.m.

The Writing Staycation

Zahara Heckscher

3/21–3/25

M–F

10 a.m.–5 p.m.

ALL

Reading and Writing Women’s Lives

Sara Mansfield Taber

4/5–5/31

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Applying Standup Comedy Techniques to Your Writing

Basil White

4/16–4/17

S/Su 1–5 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Creative Writing*

Patricia Gray

4/23–4/30

PROFESSIONAL WRITING (PAGES 29-30)

LEADER

DATES

DAY TIME

LEVEL

Blogging 101

Nancy L. Wolf

1/12–2/2

11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Ask an Agent

Zahara Heckscher

3/7–3/21

6:30–8:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing Persuasively: Putting Together James Alexander Effective Speeches and Op-eds

3/16–4/20

7–9:30 p.m.

B/I

Write Like the News

Hank Wallace

4/6

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Grammar for Your Writing and Your Career: A Review

Marilyn W. Smith

4/7–5/12

1–3 p.m.

ALL

Writing the Dreaded Query Letter

Alan Orloff

4/9

2–4:30 p.m.

ALL

7 Easy Steps to a Self-Published Book

Kathryn Johnson

4/16

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

STAGE AND SCREEN (PAGE 30)

LEADER

DATES

DAY TIME

LEVEL

The Art, Craft, & Business of Screenwriting*

Khris Baxter

1/23

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Great Films Have Great Structure

John Weiskopf

1/23–2/27

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing for Television

Khris Baxter

1/26–2/16

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing Great Screen Dialogue

John Weiskopf

2/11–3/31

7–10 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Playwriting: Exposition

Richard Washer

2/27

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Adapting Your Story for the Big Screen

Khris Baxter

3/5

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Playwriting: Character

Richard Washer

3/23

7:30–10 p.m.

ALL

Elements of Playwriting: Process

Richard Washer

3/31

7:30–10 p.m.

ALL

Practical Dialogue

Richard Washer

4/6–4/27

7:30–10 p.m.

ALL

View online at www.writer.org/guide

1-3:30 p.m.

ADULTS WRITE FOR CHILDREN (PAGE 31)

LEADER

DATES

DAY TIME

LEVEL

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

Peter Mandel

1/25

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

YA & Middle School Novel

Eva Langston

2/5–3/25

1–3:30 p.m.

B/I

Mix It Up: Writing + Art

Mary Quattlebaum and Joan Waites

3/3–3/10

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Writing Picture Books

Mary Quattlebaum

4/14–4/28

7–9:30 p.m.

YOUNGER WRITERS (PAGE 31)

LEADER

DATES

DAY TIME

LEVEL

Performance Poetry for Teens

Canden Webb

2/20–3/26

1–3 p.m.

B/I

Teen Poetry Workshop

Lucinda Marshall

4/9–4/30

2–4 p.m.

B/I

ONLINE

LEADER

DATES

LEVEL

Mythology for Writers

Carolyn Clark

1/6–2/17

ALL

Introduction to the Short Story

Christopher Linforth

1/11–2/29

B/I

Poetry and the Personal Experience

Alexis Pope

1/18–2/29

ALL

The Art of Songwriting

Mary Alouette

1/18–2/22

ALL

Digital Writing from the Heart

Nneka M. Okona

1/20–2/24

ALL

Establishing Your Online Presence

Bernadette Geyer

2/22–3/14

ALL

Intro to the Novel

T. Greenwood

1/22–3/11

B/I

Intermediate Novel

T. Greenwood

1/22–3/11

I/A

Odes, Elegies and More

Bianca Stone

2/1–2/29

ALL

We Are the Alchemists: Dark Stories

Morowa Yejidé

2/4–3/24

I/A

4 Essays/Memoirs, 4 Weeks

Dave Singleton

2/23–3/15

ALL

Creating Novel Characters

T. Greenwood

3/11–4/1

ALL

Plotting Your Novel

T. Greenwood

4/8–4/29

ALL

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.

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

workshops

WORKSHOPS

The Writer’s Center

For more detailed class descriptions, please visit writer.org Note: TWC will be closed for New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day.

Fiction

pants in advance of the first class. Please check your junk mail!)

 Introduction to Christopher Linforth

the Short Story

8 Wednesdays Bethesda

workshops

Participants will read classic and contemporary short stories, and develop their own theories and opinions on the constituent elements of the genre. That is: what makes a short story, and more importantly, what makes a good short story. Through a set of writing exercises, explore the craft of short fiction and establish a sound grasp of the essential building blocks: character, point of view, dialogue, setting plot, structure, theme. By the course’s end, participants will have written, workshopped, and revised a complete story and have plenty of material for others.

 Intro

8 Weeks Online

N/A 1/11–2/29 Beginner/Intermediate $360

Fiction I In this workshop, designed for novelists and short story writers, participants will critique excerpts of their work with special emphasis on telling details, structure, and meaning. Participants will get close readings and thoughtful criticisms of their work. They will gain the inspiration and excitement of classes and the support of other writers working in the same art. 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 1/16–3/5 Beginner/Intermediate $360

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

8 Wednesdays Bethesda

T. Greenwood If you have always wanted to write a novel but didn’t know where to start, this workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. We will touch on many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc), but the emphasis will be on discovering the writing process that works best for you. N/A 1/22–3/11 Beginner/Intermediate $360

Novel

T. Greenwood In this workshop, participants will expand upon what they have learned in the Intro to the Novel workshop about the key components of novel writing. The focus will be on character development, scene building, narrative structure and the process of writing a first draft, using John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story as a guiding text. Participants will be encouraged to submit a chapter of their work for peer review. 8 Weeks Online

N/A 1/22–3/11 Intermediate/Advanced $360

Conflict & Tension

Brenda W. Clough Vampires, zombies, halflings with swords! Build your 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 a start-up exercise to help get them started on a possibly longer work. 2 Wednesdays 7:30–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

to the Novel

 Intermediate

Ann McLaughlin

8 Saturdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. 1/20–3/9 Intermediate/Advanced $360

1/20–1/27 $80

The Extreme Novelist Kathryn Johnson Can’t find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course will help you complete a rough draft in just eight weeks, with the encouraging guidance of a professional writing coach and author of more than 40 published books. Participants commit to an aggressive writing schedule and learn the tricks pros use to create a productive environment and meet their deadlines despite distractions. Each class will include troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture and handouts, in-class writing time, and the opportunity to submit portions of your work-in-progress for individual feedback and guidance. (Note: This is not a workshopping course. Further information will be sent to registered partici-

Kathryn Johnson It’s often said that without conflict there is no story. It also holds true that strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the emotional investment between characters and reader—and turn a limp, ordinary tale into an extraordinary adventure that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy— you can learn techniques for drawing readers into your tales through action, dialogue, setting details, and plot twists that make your work stand out from the crowd. Join us for a Saturday morning coffee chat and leave with a handout chock-full of ideas to apply to your stories. 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

work. Bring an understanding of fiction elements, at least one story ready for peer critique (preferably two), a willingness to accept constructive criticism and an interest in developing the ability to interpret what does and does not contribute to the making of a successful story.

1/23 $50

Short Story II Jim Beane This workshop will be a more in-depth examination of how traditional elements of fiction collaborate to create successful modern short stories. Participants will study published contemporary short stories and hone their skills to effectively critique their peer’s

7–9:30 p.m. 1/27–3/16 Intermediate $360

Fiction III: Going from Good to Excellent Aaron Hamburger This course is designed for participants who have covered the basics of fiction writing and want to take their writing to a higher level. The workshop will proceed in the same manner as a graduate school creative writing workshop. Each participant will get an opportunity to have their work thoroughly vetted in a class discussion, and everyone is required to produce written responses to the work at hand. The instructor also provides a written comment letter plus line-edits. In addition to critique, each week the class will tackle different topics related to elements of fiction and the contemporary practice of the art form using excerpts of published writing and in class exercises. 8 Tuesdays Capitol Hill

7–9 p.m. Advanced

2/2–3/22 $290

 We

Are the Alchemists: Dark Stories

Morowa Yejidé Writers practice the ultimate courage. We look in the mirror and into the soul of humanity. Sometimes the view isn’t pretty. Stories of adversity, strangeness, or the underside of life don’t need to be true, but they do need to be believable. In this online workshop, participants will examine short pieces of traditional and contemporary dark fiction (Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Song for Night by Chris Abani, Talking to the Dead, by Sylvia A. Watanabe), with an eye to story elements that invoke resonance and “truth.” Participants will experiment and apply those elements to their own work. By course end, participants will have a polished piece (short story or novel excerpt) ready for the next stage of development or publication. 8 Weeks Online

N/A 2/4–3/24 Intermediate/Advanced $360

Hybrid Fiction Kathryn Johnson We sometimes think of literary fiction as sophisticated and serious, while genre fiction (mysteries, romance, sci-fi or fantasy) is reserved for beach reads and fun. Today, some best-selling authors have discovered the joy (and profit) of combining the best of both worlds. Novels like The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt) and Purity (Jonathan Franzen) combine prize-worthy prose with complex plots,

View online at www.writer.org/guide

WORKSHOPS work. Improve clarity, pacing, and readability using fewer words! The class will cover concepts like: show, don’t tell; in late, out early; in media res; redundancy; pesky adverbs; purple prose; and much, much more. Say goodbye to bloated manuscripts!

1 Saturday Bethesda

1 Saturday 2–4:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

2/6 $50

2/27 $50

Advanced Fiction

How to Write a Lot

Virginia Hartman

Kathryn Johnson

You need a deadline. You need the eyes of other short story and novel writers you can trust. You need a supportive community of people who will encourage you in your solitary endeavors. If these three statements are true, this workshop may be ideal for you. This will be a gathering of writers with previous workshop experience who regularly toil away at their craft, perhaps while juggling other obligations. To assure that everyone in the class is at a similar level, prospective participants should submit five double-spaced pages of their best fiction by January 15 to laura.spencer@writer.org.

You may think you don’t have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Join us for coffee & pastries, and learn what Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We’ll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use to complete their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Become the dedicated author you’ve always dreamed of being.

6 Saturdays Bethesda

9:30 a.m.–12 p.m. 2/13–3/19 Advanced $270

The Joy of Writing Historical Fiction Kathryn Johnson The rebirth of historical fiction has opened up exciting opportunities for fiction writers. Is your story set in ancient Rome, during the American Civil War, or in more recent history, the 1960s, for instance? Write for readers of any age—everyone loves historical adventures. Weave in a love story, paranormal elements, Game of Thrones deceptions, sea battles, fantasy or realism—you have unlimited options. Participants in this half-day course will learn how to weave historical details into their stories and bring the past to life for their readers. Come join us for coffee, pastries, and a dynamic discussion! 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

2/20 $50

Elements of Fiction: Dialogue Alan Orloff Having trouble getting your dialogue to sparkle? In this workshop, you will see that writing realisticsounding dialogue has little to do with how people actually speak. Participants will learn how to use dialogue to advance the plot and reveal character, and cover the effective use of tags, oblique dialogue, and subtext. In addition, the class will discuss how to incorporate actions within conversations to make written scenes spring to life. Don’t let one of the most important building blocks of fiction fall flat! 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 2/27 Beginner $50

Write Tight! Alan Orloff In this workshop for beginning fiction writers, you’ll learn how to excise excess prose to streamline your

1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

 Creating

Novel Characters

3/5 $50

When writing a novel, you must know your primary characters inside and out. You need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of the other novelistic elements, and the challenge of creating and integrating these various elements into a cohesive and credible whole. Participants will explore the main character(s) in their novelsin-progress. N/A All Levels

3/11–4/1 $195

Guides on Craft and the Writing Life Nicole Miller This workshop will offer highlights from a number of the classics, including E.M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel, Edith Wharton’s The Writing of Fiction, and Henry James’s famous prefaces to the New York Edition of his books. From these oldies but goodies, participants will turn to fiction’s more recent gurus and apostles (John Gardner, Charles Baxter, Robert Olen Butler, James Wood) for some controversial dos and don’ts. Participants will also look at accounts of the writing life and the host of books that have sprung up following Francine Prose’s Reading like a Writer. This class is designed as an introduction to the guides and resources available to the fiction writer, and will also include “warm-up” exercises. At the end of class, the instructor will distribute a general bibliography as well as suggestions tailored specifically to the participant. 1 Saturday Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–2 p.m. Beginner/Intermediate

Kathryn Johnson Graduates of the Extreme Novelist course will join other fiction writers who have completed one or more short stories, a novella, or at least half of their novel to take on the challenge of revising and polishing their work to meet the tough demands of today’s fiction market. This course is intended for writers serious about their publication goals and in need of gentle but experienced guidance. Participants will learn ways to avoid the most common issues that result in rejection. Exposition, dialogue, characterization, focus, and pacing will be analyzed and corrected when necessary. The goal is to arrive at a story that will entice literary agents (in the case of a novel) and acquiring editors to request a full read and, ultimately, accept it for publication. Opportunities for individual consultation with the instructor—who writes and publishes an average of two novels a year—will be available. Due to the intense nature of this course, and time invested by the instructor, space is limited; please register early to guarantee a seat. 6 Wednesdays Bethesda

T. Greenwood

4 Weeks Online

The Extreme Novelist II: Revising to Publish

3/19 $80

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

7–9:30 p.m. 3/23–4/27 Intermediate/Advanced $270

Your Marketing Package Kathryn Johnson Do you know what to do with your novel once it is written? Here’s your chance to experiment with marketing materials in preparation for submitting your novel to literary agents and publishers. Avoid the mistakes that many new authors make when sending a query letter or sample of their work for consideration. The workshop leader has succeeded in selling more than 40 of her own books to major New York publishers. Her advice to writers and coaching clients has resulted in even more success stories. Participants will gain useful tools and the confidence to show their “baby” to the world. Use this Saturday morning over coffee to launch your book-length fiction on its way toward publication. 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

3/26 $50

Queer Fiction Sinta Jimenez This workshop class will focus on LGBT issues and literature providing a strong community for LGBT writers and allies. Participants in this workshop can expect to learn and refine their storytelling abilities while in an accepting LGBT environment in contrast to traditional heteronormative class settings. 4 Mondays Bethesda

 Plotting

6–8 p.m. 4/4–4/25 All Levels $135

Your Novel

T. Greenwood Whether you are a planner or a writer who flies by the seats of your pants when it comes to plot, your novel still needs structure. Participants will study

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suspense, crime, and many other elements part of the popular fiction writer’s toolbox. In this Saturday morning breakfast chat, participants will learn how to blend literary and genre techniques to make the most of their work-in-progress.

WORKSHOPS the architecture of a novel and devise a plan for plotting their own. 4 Weeks Online

N/A 4/8–4/29 All Levels $195

Whodunnit? Writing the Mystery Alan Orloff If you’ve always wanted to write a mystery novel but didn’t know where to start, this workshop is for you. We’ll discuss writing fundamentals as they apply to the mystery. We’ll examine characteristics of the many subgenres (thrillers, too!) and learn about mystery-specific conventions and pitfalls such as TSTL syndrome, macguffins, red herrings, killer twists, wacky sidekicks, and smooth clue-dropping, among others. Fun, educational, and… mysterious! 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 4/9 Beginner/Intermediate $50

Nonfiction workshops

The Writer’s Toolbox Sara Mansfield Taber Writing is “a careful act of construction,” William Zinsser notes. “You must know what the essentials tools are and what job they are designed to do.” This is a workshop for those who wish to sharpen the tools in their writer’s toolbox to create fine literary nonfiction. Participants will examine published essays and memoirs and practice aspects of the writer’s craft such as: concrete detail, use of the senses, figurative language, characterization, dialogue and scene, summary and musing. Time for the sharing of work and a free-write are included in the meetings. Note: No meeting February 16. 8 Tuesdays Bethesda

10:30–1 p.m. All Levels

1/19–3/15 $360

Narrative Nonfiction: Telling True Stories Peter Lovenheim Narrative nonfiction is writing based on fact but built with the traditional elements of story: theme, setting, character, plot, climax. It’s an increasingly popular genre as it allows writers to observe the world, explore what they’re curious about, and then transform it into a compelling narrative to engage, instruct, and challenge the reader. Participants will learn the basics of the craft and apply it across a range of forms: personal narrative, interpretive profile, persuasive essay, and more. 8 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9 p.m. 1/19–3/8 Beginner/Intermediate $290

4 Essays/Memoirs, 4 Weeks Dave Singleton What’s your story? What are the tales you’ve been dying to tell, but haven’t had the time or structure to put pen to paper? Get started and write about your life in this hands-on, practical course in which you’ll write four pieces in four weeks and get individual feedback from the workshop leader on each. Whether you have family stories you’d like to record for posterity or different moments of your

life you want to capture, you’ll learn new strategies every week to help you write effectively about your life. The class will focus on exercises that will help you develop disparate memories and thoughts into a meaningful and organized form. Deadlines make you write, so give yourself four weeks of deadlines. 4 Tuesdays Bethesda

 Digital

7–9:30 p.m. 1/19–2/9 All Levels $195

Writing from the Heart

Nneka M. Okona This interactive, digital workshop will help writers create inspired pieces from the heart for digital audiences on digital platforms, whether it be posts on a personal blog or essays for a publication online. Over the course of six weeks, participants will learn how to create a writing space (physical, emotional, and mental) conducive to creating (week 1); use writing mantras, affirmations and other sources of inspiration to push past writing fears (week 2); tap into their most creative self with writing prompts to jog writing flow (week 3); structure tackling writing assignments or projects (week 4); approach selfediting in a way guaranteed to strengthen writing (week 5); pull the trigger and release their work in the world (week 6). By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to approach written pieces with the confidence and assurance they are writing from an inspired, creative space within. 6 Weeks Online

N/A 1/20–2/24 All Levels $270

The Writer’s Center Participants should have basic experience in writing memoir or have previously taken one memoir writing course. Interactive and supportive sessions will focus on dialogue, theme, storyline, setting, scenes, review, and revision. Participants will draft, revise, and share one memoir written in story form in five pages. Classes combine discussion, writing exercises, text analysis, and small-group sharing. 6 Wednesdays 1–3 p.m. 2/10–3/16 Bethesda Intermediate $215

Memoir and Essay Critique Group Janice Gary The one thing a writer must do is write, but it’s not always easy to stay on track and keep coming back to the page. The best way to keep motivated and produce new work is to meet regularly with a group to support you in your goals. This workshop provides a supportive setting for writers of narrative nonfiction, including memoir, who would like to receive regular feedback on their work and have a deadline as they work toward finishing or polishing their manuscript. Every two weeks, writers will bring new material (500-1,000 words) and receive constructive feedback from their instructor and peers. With a regular deadline and encouragement from the group, you will come away from this session with new material, a base of support and a renewed commitment to your work. 8 Saturdays Bethesda

2–4:30 p.m. 2/20–4/9 All Levels $360

Pay Attention, Be Amazed, Write About It

Advanced Personal Essay

Maxine Clair Capture pivotal moments of your life—moments of challenge, expansion, and discovery. As you learn to unearth material from memory, fact and fiction collide, and basic elements of craft come into play. Participants will look at scene, exposition, figurative language, dialogue, and the use of other elements in works by established writers. Four-to-eight page pieces by participants will be the focus of each workshop, with a full revision of at least one piece.

This workshop is for writers who have a good understanding of what a personal essay is, are open to exploring further the many forms a personal essay can take, and are already working seriously in the genre. Our focus will be participants’ writing, supplemented with assigned readings. The workshop 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 by February 6 to laura.spencer@writer.org.

8 Thursdays Bethesda

8 Saturdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. 1/21–3/10 All Levels $360

William O’Sullivan

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 2/20–4/9 Advanced $360

Non-Narcissistic Personal Essays

4

Mary McCarthy

Dave Singleton

There’s no “I” in essay. A story told by you doesn’t always have to include repeated use of the first person. In this workshop, we’ll review ways to tell your story and make it more about your reader than yourself. Come prepared with a personal essay in progress or one to start. We’ll also cover how to publish your essay online or in print.

What’s your story? What are the tales you’ve been dying to tell, but haven’t had the time or structure to put pen to paper? Get started and write about your life in this hands-on, practical course in which you’ll write four pieces in four weeks and get individual feedback from the workshop leader on each. Whether you have family stories you’d like to record for posterity or different moments of your life you want to capture, you’ll learn new strategies every week to help you write effectively about your life. The class will focus on exercises that will help you develop disparate memories and thoughts into a meaningful and organized form. Deadlines make you write, so give yourself four weeks of deadlines.

1 Tuesday Bethesda

6–9 p.m. All Levels

2/9 $50

Intermediate Memoir Writing: Moving Forward Marilyn W. Smith This workshop is designed for those interested in capturing their memories through writing.

Essays/Memoirs, 4 Weeks

4 Weeks Online

View online at www.writer.org/guide

N/A 2/23–3/15 All Levels $195

WORKSHOPS Transitions: Writing From the Heart

Life Stories Intensive

Mary Carpenter

Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, college essay, letter to your granddaughter, or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life story writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Learn to identify your story’s essence and to engage the reader through fictional techniques. Participants will leave inspired to begin or improve a work-in-progress.

6 Tuesdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. 2/23–3/29 All Levels $270

Writing Narrative Nonfiction Gina Hagler The facts rule in narrative nonfiction, but the way the facts are used will result in a straight piece of reporting or a piece of narrative nonfiction. In this class, participants will discuss the elements of strong narrative nonfiction and study examples. By the end of the class, they’ll have a thorough understanding of narrative nonfiction, how to go about reporting a piece, and the elements to consider before sitting down to write. Note: No meeting on March 29. 6 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. 3/15–4/26 Intermediate $270

Writing from Life Ellen Herbert This workshop is dedicated to culling the stories you need to tell from the complicated tangle of memory. Participants will be encouraged to use literary techniques such as recreated dialogue, compression of time, and authenticity to write short personal narratives, which will be shared with the class. Also we will read and discuss the “Modern Love” essay from Sunday’s New York Times. 6 Wednesdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. 3/30–5/4 All Levels $270

The Writer’s Toolbox Sara Mansfield Taber Writing is “a careful act of construction,” William Zinsser notes. “You must know what the essentials tools are and what job they are designed to do.” This is a workshop for those who wish to sharpen the tools in their writer’s toolbox to create fine literary nonfiction. Participants will examine published essays and memoirs and practice aspects of the writer’s craft such as: concrete detail, use of the senses, figurative language, characterization, dialogue and scene, summary and musing. There will be time for the sharing of work and a free-write. Note: No meeting on May 3. 8 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. 4/5–5/31 All Levels $360

1 Saturday Bethesda

9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

4/9 $50

Literary Travel Writing C.M. Mayo Take your travel writing to another level: the literary, which is to say, giving the reader the novelistic experience of actually traveling there with you. For both beginning and advanced writers, this workshop covers the techniques from fiction and poetry that you can apply to this specialized form of creative nonfiction for deliciously vivid effects. 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–1 p.m. All Levels

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This workshop will help participants free up personal experiences, discover voices, and choose the best words. In each session, participants will write one piece on an assigned topic, and read these pieces out loud for others to comment on what’s strongest, what’s most engaging, and where they hear the clearest voice. In addition, participants may bring in work written or rewritten at home for us to read. By the end, everyone will have six writing fragments, along with suggestions about where to go with each piece, as well as experience working on writing in a group; many Transitions groups have continued meeting after the class.

Lynn Schwartz

4/16 $50

The Memoirist and the Memoir Nicole Miller This workshop will address the resources available to the memoirist or essayist who is seeking inspiration, models, and methods for approaching creative nonfiction. Participants will look at the techniques outlined in the Graywolf ‘Art of’ series, the books of Natalie Goldberg and Julie Cameron will supply prompts for autobiographical writing; Annie Dillard will guide us in observing nature and ourselves. We will draw on Mary Karr and Louise De Salvo. This workshop will jog your memory and shake-up overreliance on the conventional narrative structures that may not be fitting or reflecting the way we experience time or remember the past. 1 Saturday Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–1 p.m. Beginner

4/16 $50

How to Write an Effective Essay Susan Tiberghien “The essay is all over the map...” wrote Annie Dillard close to 30 years ago. Today it covers the map -- personal essays, narrative essays, lyrical essays, travel essays, opinion essays. This workshop will reveal four steps to writing the effective essay. With handouts and guided writing exercise, participants will write a first and second draft of the essay that calls to be written today. 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

4/23 $50

Poetry 6 Poems, 6 Weeks Mark Cugini In this class, participants will write, workshop, and critique six new poems. Class discussions will focus on poetic devices, modes, forms, and tech-

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

WORKSHOPS niques, and writers will be given weekly prompts to “jumpstart” their writing. The goal of this course is to complete six new poems. 6 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–10 p.m. 1/12–2/16 All Levels $315

All About Tone Sue Ellen Thompson Robert Frost said, “It’s tone I’m in love with; that’s what poetry is, tone.” The ability to control tone in a poem is what makes the poet credible and his or her intention clear. But tone has not always been easy to define, let alone control. In this workshop, participants will learn to distinguish tone from voice, style, and mood. Writers will explore what contributes to a poem’s tone and how these elements can be used to convey attitude and emotion. 1 Saturday Annapolis

1–4 p.m. All Levels

1/16 $50

workshops

 Poetry

and The Personal Experience

Alexis Pope This workshop will examine the ways personal experiences play a vital role in our poems. Whether written about directly, or simply in our back thoughts while writing, our lives determine who we are as poets. By focusing on the intensity of the line and the tension/pressure of breaks and the importance of what is left unsaid, we will begin to find out who we are within the poem. Readings will include poems by Amber Atiya, Emily Kendal Frey, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Alice Notley, Hoa Nguyen, and James Schuyler. This workshop will culminate in creating a small chapbook of participants’ work. 7 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

1/18–2/29 $315

Elements of Poetry Nan Fry What makes a poem a poem? In this workshop, participants will explore some of poetry’s key elements such as imagery, metaphor, voice, tone, sound, and structure by reading and discussing poems from a variety of periods and cultures, including our own, both for inspiration and to see what works. Participants also will experiment with in-class exercises and out-of-class assignments to generate new work and to sharpen our powers of observation and imagination. By the end of the workshop, participants with have a stronger sense of these elements and of how they interact and will have written several poems. 6 Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

1/19–2/23 $270

Performance Poetry Workshop Canden Webb Learn how to best use your writing skills and creativity off-stage to master performance on-stage. Participants will build skill in editing poems for the stage, determining the perfect gestures, dramatic appropriateness, when to do what poem, and how

to overcome nervousness. Each week, participants will get more comfortable with themselves through expression and get closer to becoming performers in addition to their identity as writers. Participants will serve as sharpening tools for each other in the form of positive critique. Please bring an original poem or body of work to the first class. 5 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–8:30 p.m. All Levels

1/19–2/16 $135

Walking/Breaking the Line Lucian Mattison Whether a seasoned poet or a newcomer, the poetic line break can seem like an intimidating or even arbitrary craft. This is a four-week, writing intensive workshop dedicated to the craft of building and breaking the poetic line. Each week will focus on different aspects of the line: length, nested meanings, rhythm, and form. Expect in-class writing, revising, peer review, reading, and learner-driven discussion. Leave with a more secure and theoretical approach to crafting poetic lines. Bring paper, pen, laptop, tablet, or whatever device on which you are most comfortable composing. 4 Thursdays Capitol Hill

7–8:30 p.m. All Levels

1/21–2/11 $115

The Force of Poetry Elizabeth Rees In this workshop, intermediate and advanced poets will concentrate on reading, writing, and critiquing poetry. Each session will include a brief discussion of selected contemporary poems, an in-class writing prompt, and workshopping every participant’s poem. Specific exercises will be given to free the imagination, and quiet the inner censor. The class will explore formal considerations, stylistic choices, and moments when a poem catches its own voice. By the end of the class, participants will have produced seven original poems and one revision, and will have refined their poetic voice. Please bring 15 copies of a poem you love (not your own) to the first session, as well as 15 copies of one of your own. Note: No class on February 13. 8 Saturdays Bethesda

 Odes,

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 1/23–3/19 Intermediate/Advanced $360

Elegies and More

Bianca Stone In this online workshop, participants will read examples of poetry in free forms, such as odes, elegies, list poems, and ekphrastic. From those examples, participants will write their own poems, and respond to one-another’s work. By the end of the class, participants will also write one creative essay based on a form they find most engaging. 5 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

2/1–2/29 $225

Making It Whole: Poetry Chapbook Workshop Anne Becker In this advanced, intensive workshop for those who are ready to put together a chapbook (must have 30

The Writer’s Center pages of strong poetry), we’ll explore how groups of poems can work together to create a focused and whole experience. During the first seven weeks, participants will read model chapbooks and consider various strategies of organization, prepare their chapbook manuscripts for group critique, revise their chapbooks, and have the final draft critiqued. The eighth meeting will consist of an hour-long private session with the instructor. Note: No class on March 3. 8 Thursdays 7–10 p.m. Bethesda Advanced

2/4–3/31 $430

Burn Notice Terese Svoboda This one-day workshop will pose the question makes a successful political poem? Participants will read examples of successful political poetry, as well as share their own work. This workshop will be followed by an Open Door Reading featuring the instructor. 1 Sunday Bethesda

11 a.m.–1 p.m. All Levels

2/7 $50

The Poem Starts HERE! Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli Honoring William Stafford’s dictum: “Writer’s block? Lower your standards!” in this workshop, participants will put together a toolbox of exercises and strategies for jumping into the poem’s first draft without hesitancy or over-thinking. Revising these drafts toward finished poems to be shared in workshop will open discussion on matters of craft and the often mysterious and unpredictable ways that language itself works to lead the making of the poem forward. 6 Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. 2/10–3/16 Bethesda Intermediate $270

Revising Your Poems Sue Ellen Thompson All you have to do is to read the early drafts of a well-known poem to realize how crucial revision is. This workshop will focus on how to distance yourself from your poem so you can identify its weaknesses. Participants will examine the strategies other poets have used to get “unstuck” and look at various approaches to the revision process. Then participants will look at how some very wellknown poems have benefited from their authors’ willingness to be more specific and concise. 1 Sunday Bethesda

1–4 p.m. All Levels

2/14 $50

International Poetry Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli “Languages are many,” said Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky, “poetry is one.” This workshop will focus on a close reading of international poetry as a window into landscapes, histories, cultures, different from our own but tied to the universal nature of what it means to be human. Poets participants will read, in translation, include: Holub, Popa, Brecht, Bachmann, Herbert, Szymborska, Follain, Tranströmer, and Christensen. Essays, when

View online at www.writer.org/guide

WORKSHOPS

8 Thursdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. All Levels

2/18–4/7 $360

Poetry Workshop

5 Saturdays Bethesda

Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers This poetry writing course will be composed of in-class “studio” prompts to stretch our imaginations, the reading of contemporary and modern poems, and workshopping of participants’ poems. Consideration of image, voice, the line, form, and syntax, among other elements, will be emphasized. Participants will produce a series of original poems by the end of the course, approximately one poem a week. 6 Tuesdays Capitol Hill

7–9 p.m. All Levels

The goal is not perfection (which “tamps the womb,” according to Sylvia Plath), but abundance. Participants will also investigate ways to tame their internal critic, learning when a poem is ready for editing. Participants will be encouraged to explore what stimulates their own creative process and to write several poems. Note: No class on March 26.

3/1–4/5 $215

Revitalize Your Creativity Nan Fry Has your muse gone AWOL? In this generative workshop, participants will explore ways to revitalize their creativity. They’ll try prompts based on other poems, exercises, experiments, and games.

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. All Levels

3/5–4/2 $225

The Wonder of Falling: A Poetry Intensive Sandra Beasley and Charlotte Matthews Explore the notion of “falling,” or being “fallen,” as it can relate to your poems: unmask the placid exterior of our human selves to reveal a riotous core. This one-day intensive, co-taught by two acclaimed poets, will include a close reading of several poems on the subject of falling; a writing exercise to generate new work; and the opportunity to share a draft brought from home. Participants will talk about how to steer and protect their riskier impulses on the page. Please bring paper and pen, and copies of a draft-in-progress if you wish to volunteer for workshop. 1 Sunday Bethesda

1–4 p.m. All Levels

3/13 $50

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

Poetry II Rose Gebken This workshop will explore the history of poetry with a goal of providing intermediate poets with a strong foundation in historical techniques, as well as a firm grasp of the poets who developed and practiced these techniques. Participants will leave the class with writing samples of original work that explore different forms. Each workshop will begin with historical examples and an examination of models. The second half of each session will be devoted to exercises and discussion in class. Participants will be using The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux as a reference book. For the first session, please bring a poem that exemplifies your favorite form. If time permits, participants will share their examples with the class. 8 Wednesdays 7–9 p.m. 3/16–5/4 Bethesda Intermediate $290

The Mystery of Line Breaks Sue Ellen Thompson Many free verse poets write for years without really understanding how a line of poetry functions and where it should end. Should it be as long as a breath, or should it end wherever there is a comma,

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applicable, will be added to the mix. This is not a writing workshop per se, though the readings and conversation are guaranteed to widen the scope of one’s own writing.

WORKSHOPS a period, or a break in the syntax? In this workshop, we will look at how modern poets have dealt with this issue and how their decisions can help us manage line breaks in our own poems. 1 Saturday Annapolis

1–4 p.m. All Levels

3/19 $50

Revising Your Poems Nan Fry How can we recapture the energy of creation in revising our poems? One helpful approach is to find the emotional core of the poem and then reenvision it from that vital center. We’ll also study revisions of published poems to see what strategies can help focus and redirect the poem. Finally, we will look at ways of expanding, condensing, reordering, and polishing the poem. Please bring poems that need revision for feedback, and expect to revise three or four poems. 4 Saturdays Bethesda

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. All Levels

4/9–4/30 $195

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Beads on a String: Organizing a Book of Poems Sue Ellen Thompson Poets who are putting together their first chapbook or full-length book often agonize over what they can do to make their manuscript “hang together” and grab the attention of an editor or contest judge. But there is no one approach to arranging a sequence of poems that is inherently superior. Instead, it has more to do with gaining some perspective on your own work and identifying the themes, images, and impulses that certain poems share. In this workshop, participants will gather advice from a number of successful poets and then take a close look at how a Pulitzer Prize-winning volume was put together. 1 Sunday Bethesda

1–4 p.m. 4/10 Intermediate/Advanced $50

Mixed Genre  Mythology Carolyn Clark

for Writers

Apply fundamentals of mythology (classical, Norse, other) and practice techniques for weaving mythological themes into your chosen genre. This workshop will include critique and editing of writing samples, writing tutorials (individual and group), live chats, and post-reading reflections. Discover a wide variety of uses of mythology in different genres ranging from poetry to fantasy, science fiction, journalism, rhetoric (speech writing), blogs, and marketing/advertising. 7 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

1/6–2/17 $315

Reading and Writing Women’s Lives Sara Mansfield Taber In this workshop, participants will read and discuss memoirs, stories, essays, letters, and poetry written by women about their lives as girls and mature women. Mining these readings for perspectives on

what it means to be a woman, writers will sample a variety of approaches to writing about our lives. Each session will be devoted to conversation, with discussion of craft and a writing prompt included. The short readings will include such authors as Woolf, Olds, and Walker. Each eight-session round of the workshop includes a new batch of readings. No meeting on February 16. 8 Tuesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. All Levels

1/19–3/15 $360

Harness Your Fears and Generate New Work Rose Gebken Participants will explore the role of fear in writing and how to use collaborative work as a generative technique. Writers will look at how they can use each of their fears to delve deeper into their writing lives and gain a more lucid understanding of their work. Some of the techniques will include: generative prompts, discussion about the nature of writing as art, and collaborative exercises with a writing partner in the class. This workshop is open to all genres, but will begin by focusing on models in poetry. Moving forward, the class will explore models in other genres. Requirements: an open mind regarding our workshop format and a desire for generative stimulus. Must be willing to explore new places in your writing life. 8 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9 p.m. All Levels

1/20–3/9 $290

Getting Started: Creative Writing Elizabeth Rees In this workshop, beginning writers will have the chance to explore three different genres: memoir writing, short fiction, and poetry. Each week, participants will be given a writing assignment and several readings, to be followed by a critique of each participant’s assignment. Writers will l earn about voice, point of view, dialogue, description, imagery, and sound. By the end of this workshop, everyone will have written one personal memoir, one short story, and three original poems, and have developed a greater understanding of their own writing interests. Note: No class on February 13. 8 Saturdays 1–3:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

1/23–3/19 $360

The Writing Staycation Zahara Heckscher Do you dream of participating in a writing retreat, but can’t get out of town? Then this workshop, a non–residential retreat at The Writer’s Center, is for you. Join us for an intensive, supportive, exhilarating, focused week of writing. Each day begins with a short reading, writing warm-up prompt and brief discussion. After that, you’ll have tons of time for working on your own writing–whether it is a poetry chapbook you are compiling, a novel you are writing, a nonfiction work in your brain, or a manuscript that needs some final polish. Engaging and successful local writers offer lunch workshops and one-on-one sessions. The days include unlimited coffee, tea, and delicious healthy snacks. We nurture you so you can focus on your writing and make

The Writer’s Center a great leap forward in your priority writing project! 1 Monday–Friday 10–5 p.m. Bethesda All Levels

3/21–3/25 $430

Reading and Writing Women’s Lives Sara Mansfield Taber In this workshop we will read and discuss memoirs, stories, essays, letters, and poetry written by women about their lives as girls and mature women. Mining these readings for perspectives on what it means to be a woman, we’ll sample a variety of approaches to writing about our lives. Each session will be devoted to conversation, with discussion of craft and a writing prompt included. The short readings will include such authors as Woolf, Olds, and Walker. Each eight session round of the workshop includes a new batch of readings. No meeting on May 3. 8 Tuesdays Bethesda

10:30–1 p.m. All Levels

4/5–5/31 $360

Applying Standup Comedy Techniques to Your Writing Basil White If you can read this and you can laugh, you can write humor! Learn to apply 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 class also works as a fun introduction to the fundamentals of workshopping for those new to the expectations of creative workshops. Before class, read the handout at basilwhite.com/comedyworkshop and bring questions. Must be 18 years or older. 1 Saturday/Sunday 1–5 p.m. Bethesda All Levels

4/16–4/17 $135

Getting Started: Creative Writing Patricia Gray Before the holiday madness sets in, why not take a personal breather? In just two Saturday afternoons, you can explore several forms of creative writing and find the one or ones that suit you best. Using fun exercises, we will circumvent the analytic brain and give imagination a chance to thrive. You will also receive tips on how to free up memories and experiences and use them as inspiration for memoir, fiction, poems, creative nonfiction or journalwriting. Hallmarks of the workshop include in-class assignments, opportunity to read your writing—or not, as you choose—and receive positive, helpful feedback that will point the way toward your writing talents. Please bring digital or print writing implements to the first workshop meeting. 2 Saturdays Capitol Hill

1–3:30 p.m. Beginner

4/23–4/30 $100

Professional Writing Blogging 101 Nancy L. Wolf Have you always wanted to start a blog, but don’t know where to start? This workshop will help define the purpose of each blog, teach participants what

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WORKSHOPS

4 Tuesdays 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

 Establishing

1/12–2/2 $135

Your Online

Presence Bernadette Geyer Afraid to dive into the waters of social media for fear of getting all wet? This online workshop for writers, freelancers, and small business owners provides an overview of ways to use the Internet and social media to broaden their outreach (e.g., website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr). Participants will receive feedback from fellow classmates and the instructor in response to weekly assignments. At the end of four weeks, you will have established a basic online presence and have a good foundation of knowledge on which to build. 4 Weeks Online

N/A All Levels

2/22–3/14 $195

Ask an Agent Zahara Heckscher Everything you want to know about agents -- with a different agent in all three sessions to answer your questions: When do you need an agent? How do

you find an agent? What do agents love (and hate) in queries and manuscripts? How does the financial arrangement work with an agent? Optional: Each participant will get feedback on a query letter or first page of a manuscript. The first session will focus on the role of the agent and logistics of finding and working with an agent. The second session will guide you through preparing your manuscript for an agent. The final session will focus on query letters. 3 Mondays Bethesda

6:30–8:30 p.m. All Levels

3/7–3/21 $115

Writing Persuasively: Putting Together Effective Speeches and Op-eds James Alexander This workshop is designed to teach the basics of persuasive writing. The focus will be on learning about the concepts, processes, strategies, and tools of op-ed and speechwriting, which are two of the most time-honored and most effective methods of persuasive writing. The workshop will offer participants hands-on experience, as everyone will be asked to pen either a speech or op-ed in the course of the workshop, using principles discussed in class, as part of the learning experience. The workshop will cover types and styles of persuasive writing, message development, strategic research, structure, and audience analysis. 6 Wednesdays Bethesda

7–9:30 p.m. 3/16–4/20 Beginner/Intermediate $270

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

Write Like the News Hank Wallace Lead with the future—rather than with background. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform queries, proposals, and manuscripts. 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: master crisis communication, correct errors the correct way, choose between absolute numbers and ratios, and write around generic “he.” (Plus a Speak Like the News skill: avoid “uptalk?”) Emulate the striking news examples in this workshop and strengthen your writing voice with lively, engaging news style. 1 Wednesday Bethesda

7–9 p.m. All Levels

4/6 $50

Grammar for Your Writing and Your Career: A Review Marilyn W. Smith This course is designed for those who want to brush up on English grammar and composition. Quite often, we are rusty on the basic principles and forms which challenges our writing and frustrates our work performance. During interactive and supportive class sessions, we will review elementary rules of usage, punctuation, and basic principles of composition to enhance your writing. 6 Thursdays Bethesda

1–3 p.m. All Levels

4/7–5/12 $270

workshops

to write about in posts, help find their own relatable voice, and advise how to find and grow an audience. Participants will learn practical considerations (blogging platforms, categories, tags, links, images, SEO) as well as how to draft, structure and edit a well-crafted blog post. By the end of this course, participants will have drafted a blog plan and a first post.

WORKSHOPS Writing the Dreaded Query Letter Alan Orloff You’ve spent months (or years) of your life—not to mention copious amounts of blood, sweat, and tears—writing a dynamite novel. Don’t simply spend five minutes slapping together a weak query letter; you owe it to yourself to write a great one that will break through the slush-clutter at top literary agencies. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to entice your dream agent into reading your masterpiece by writing a tight query that really sings (while avoiding those pitfalls that will land your query in the trash). Bring four copies of a draft query and a red pen with lots of ink! 1 Saturday Bethesda

2–4:30 p.m. All Levels

4/9 $50

7 Easy Steps to a Self-Published Book Kathryn Johnson

workshops

Many authors are choosing self-publishing (also called independent publishing) over the traditional practice of seeking a major New York publisher for their novels. There are pros and cons to both plans. Whereas one method offers the author the ultimate independence for cover art, pricing, and speed of publication, the other provides esteem, wide distribution, and critical reviews. How do you know what’s best for you? How do you get started publishing on your own? Will it cost a lot? And who should you go to for professional looking paper books and digital books that can be downloaded from a variety of sources? Then there’s the question of how you will you get paid. You’ll learn all of the basics and have plenty of time to ask questions during this Saturday session over coffee and pastries. 1 Saturday Bethesda

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

4/16 $50

N/A All Levels

10 a.m.–4 p.m. All Levels

1/23 $115

Great Films have Great Structure John Weiskopf

Stage and Screen The Art, Craft, & Business of Screenwriting Khris Baxter This workshop will guide the beginning or intermediate screenwriter through the entire process

Khris Baxter We’ll examine proven methods for adapting the novel, narrative non-fiction, memoir, short story, or stage play to the big screen. This intensive (yet fun) workshop will guide you through the entire process of crafting a professional-grade screenplay adaptation (or TV pilot): idea, story, structure, scenes, and dialogue. As well, we’ll discuss essential strategies for marketing your adapted screenplay, working with producers, social media and networking, and the importance of pitching. All genres are welcome. 1 Saturday Bethesda

6 Saturdays Bethesda

Characters set in motion a series of events and actions that become the engine of a play. In this workshop, participants will look at strategies for exploring and developing characters in the early stages of writing a play and discuss ways to assess the potential of the characters to drive action. In addition, participants will learn to see through the eyes of actors and directors seeking to interpret and portray a character, informing the wirting process.

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

1/23–2/27 $270

Writing for Television Khris Baxter This the golden age of television. The opportunities in writing for TV are better than ever; opportunities that didn’t exist until recently. A rapidly changing landscape where new shows, channels, and inventive ways of storytelling are introduced almost daily. In this workshop, participants will discuss the elements of the one-hour dramatic series and the half-hour comedy. They’ll also discover the fundamentals of screenwriting: story, structure, plot, character, dialogue, and format, with the emphasis on writing for television. 7–9:30 p.m. All Levels

1/26–2/16 $195

John Weiskopf

1/18–2/22 $270

Adapting Your Story for The Big Screen

Great films are born from great scripts. This course is a detailed analysis and study of three Academy Awardwinning screenplays, Thelma and Louise, Ghost, and American Beauty. Using film clips and script scenes from these films, participants will examine essential structural components that make them winners and learn how to become a master storyteller.

Writing Great Screen Dialogue

Songwriting

Have you ever had a tune in your head and wanted to know how to turn it into a song? Perhaps you are an experienced songwriter but want to strengthen your skills. In this workshop, participants will study song structures, melody, harmony, tools for lyric writing, commercial songwriting techniques, and how to find their voice. By participating in an online group of songwriters, participants will have the opportunity to share their work with others, get feedback, and see different ways these tools can be used under the guidance of a working songwriter. 6 Weeks Online

1 Saturday Glen Echo

4 Tuesdays Bethesda

Songwriting  The Art of Mary Alouette

of crafting a professional grade screenplay (or TV pilot): idea, story, structure, scenes, and dialogue. We’ll also discuss strategies for promoting and marketing your screenplay, and advancing your career as a screenwriter (rising above the noise and getting noticed). Other topics, such as finding an agent or manager, working with producers, social media and networking for screenwriters, and the importance of pitching will also be discussed. Open to all levels and genres.

The Writer’s Center

10 a.m.–4 p.m. All Levels

Elements of Playwriting: Character Richard Washer

1 Wednesday Bethesda

7:30–10 p.m. All Levels

Richard Washer In this session we will discuss, explore and attempt to demystify one of the more personal and varied aspects of a creative writer’s craft: process. We will look at some strategies for getting started, exploring a first draft, self-criticism and revision. We will also discuss briefly the 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 Thursday Bethesda

8 Thursdays Bethesda

Practical Dialogue

2/11–3/31 $360

Elements of Playwriting: Exposition

3/23 $50

Elements of Playwriting: Process

Good screenplays have good dialogue. In this course, participants will analyze scenes from some of Hollywood’s best screenwriters,focusing on how dialogue lifts the scene and film to legendary status. Using those dialogue techniques, participants will workshop their own scenes. 7–10 p.m. All Levels

3/5 $80

7:30–10 p.m. All Levels

3/31 $50

Richard Washer

What does your audience need to know and when do they need to know it? There are only a couple of hours (often less) to tell a story onstage, so there isn’t much time for providing back stories. In this workshop, participants will consider various strategies for managing exposition and look at examples within a historical context to better understand how to handle this in their own writing.

This workshop focuses on the use of dialogue in playwriting. Using excerpts from published scripts and material generated through exercises in the workshop, participants will explore and apply some of the many aspects of dialogue to better understand how to use this tool. In addition, writers will look at how actors, directors, and other theatre artists approach dialogue in bringing the play to life. Writers of all genres are welcome.

1 Saturday Bethesda

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

Richard Washer

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Levels

2/27 $50

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7:30–10 p.m. All Levels

4/6–4/27 $195

WORKSHOPS Adults Write for Children

will discuss goals and next steps, including how to query agents.

Younger Writers

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

8 Fridays Bethesda

Performance Poetry for Teens

Peter Mandel

Mix It Up: Writing + Art

Having a children’s book published in today’s tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge on just the right advice and a timely critique from a pro. Do you need an agent? Should you connect with an artist? What about self-publishing? In a DC-area exclusive one-session workshop, a nationally-known author will pass on the insiders’ tips. Learn to create a marketable first book and get it into the hands of exactly the right gatekeepers in the publishing world. During class, participants will come up with a working title for their book, focus in on a target audience and learn how to make professional-quality manuscript submissions.

2 Thursdays Bethesda

1 Monday Bethesda

Writing Picture Books

7–9:30 p.m. All Levels

1/25 $50

Mary Quattlebaum and Joan Waites Have you ever wanted to create art along with your writing--but felt you lacked skills or direction? Participants will begin each session with a personal-writing prompt, which will become the basis for a mixedmedia art piece. The co-leaders are an author and an artist who love the process of creative discovery and, through specific strategies, can help participants explore and shape their material. The work created may become part of an ongoing unique memoir or artistic journal or several individual pieces. Please bring scissors and $5 for art supplies. 7–9:30 p.m. All Levels

3/3–3/10 $100

Eva Langston Through discussion, writing exercises, and peer feedback, participants will revise and revitalize a first draft, or push through a novel that has stalled halfway through. Each week, the workshop will focus on a different element of craft, including plot, character, point-of-view, dialogue, and summary versus scene, with a special emphasis on YA and MG literature. Writers will work on a current manuscript, as well as create new material, which will be workshopped, to receive feedback and formal critiques from classmates and the instructor. By the last class, participants

Poetry fuels self-discovery. This workshop is perfect for any creative teen desiring to develop and enhance self-expression through performance art. Participants will cultivate original performance poems as they learn of various writing styles including haiku, free verse, and narrative poetry. Writers will also practice editing techniques built for the stage. By the end of the workshop, participants will know how to pour their individuality into an artistic genre that is both therapeutic and appealing to an entertainment-driven generation. Please bring a journal or notebook to all workshop sessions. 6 Saturdays Bethesda

1–3 p.m. 2/20–3/26 Beginner/Intermediate $215

Teen Poetry Workshop Lucinda Marshall

Mary Quattlebaum

YA & Middle School Novel

Canden Webb

Each session will begin with a short discussion of some aspect of writing for children, including story openings and arcs, characterization, plot/pacing, rhythm/sound, and marketing. The workshop will focus largely on picture books, but may touch on early readers and poetry as well. Suggested readings, prompts, and feedback will be provided. By the end of the workshop, participants will have written and/or revised part or all of a picture book and have a better sense of how to create one in the future. Feel free to bring work to the first class (typed and doublespaced and with enough copies for all participants). 3 Thursdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

Young authors (ages 12-16) will learn to use workshopping techniques to fine tune, revise, edit, and present poetry. Participants will have a chance to share their work, respond to writing prompts, get feedback, and learn about publishing options. In the last session we will hold a poetry reading to share work with family and friends. Please bring a laptop, tablet, or paper notebook. If you are already writing poetry, please bring something you’ve written to the first session. 4 Saturdays Bethesda

2–4 p.m. 4/9–4/30 Beginner/Intermediate $135

4/14–4/28 $135

A Lesson from Aloes By Athol Fugar Directed by Laura Giannarelli

April 29 to May 29, 2016 For more information visit www.QuotidanTheatre.org

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

workshops

1–3:30 p.m. 2/5–3/25 Beginner/Intermediate $360

A Year-Long Celebration of The Writer’s Center By Vanessa Mallory Kotz

n addition to the exciting programs this season (see page 14 for details), we have several stimulating events confirmed for later in the year, with many more on the way.

“The Center’s 40th anniversary enables us to showcase the impressive variety of programming we provide, which will include readings and talks by talented poets, novelists, and nonfiction writers,” said Board of Directors Vice Chair Mier Wolf.

READINGS Chris Matthews May 5, 2016 8 p.m. Best known for his nightly talk show on MSNBC, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” the journalist is also the author of six best-selling books: Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked (2013), Jack Photo from MSNBC Kennedy: Elusive Hero (2011), Life’s a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success (2007), American: Beyond our Grandest Notions (2002), Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think (2001), Hardball: How Politics is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game (1999), Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America (1996). He will talk about his writing and his journalistic career during an evening program and reception. Martin Moran May 19, 2016 7:30 p.m. Martin Moran is an American actor and writer who wrote and starred in his autobiographical solo show about his own childhood molestation,

“The Tricky Part,” for which he won an Obie Award and received two Drama Desk Award nominations. In 1999, he performed on Broadway as radio man Harold Bride in Titanic. In 2006, Moran adapted The Tricky Part into a memoir, published by Anchor Press. In 2013, Moran debuted a second solo show, All the Rage, in New York. Alice McDermott June 6, 2016 7:30 p.m. Alice McDermott’s first novel was A Bigamist’s Daughter (1982), followed by That Night (1987), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She then published At Weddings and Wakes (1992) and her Photo by Will Kirk fourth novel, Charming Billy (1998), won the National Book Award. Child of My Heart (2002) and After This (2006) followed. Her most recent novel, Someone (2013) received five awards, including honors from Publisher’s Weekly and The New York Times. She has published articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post. McDermott has taught at The Writer’s Center and serves on the Honorary Board.

Photo from the Beacon Broadside

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FILM & POETRY Freak the Language Film Screening and Discussion December 1, 2016 7:30 p.m. This 30-minute documentary by Lee Quinby and Sam Hampton features New York City poet David Mills. The film’s title is drawn from a phrase Mills used in an interview to describe his desire to surprise and sometimes jolt expectations through poetry. His poems illuminate how Black lives Film still from Freak the Language, matter, and his bold encounters with the history of slavery and its conLucky Find Productions tinuing legacies of inequality and prejudice are gripping as he challenges dominant ways of seeing the world. After the screening, Hampton and Mills will discuss Mills’s poetry, as well as his affinity for Langston Hughes, whose Harlem home he lived in for three years.

ART EXHIBITIONS Ekphrasis: Reading & Reception February 18, 2016 - 6:30 p.m. In collaboration with 18 advanced painters from GW’s Corcoran School of Art, and led by art instructor Mira Hecht, The Writer’s Center presents an exhibition of new paintings and poetry. Generated through the process of ekphrasis, a poem inspired by a work of art (or vice versa), poets from the Center paired up with Corcoran painters in fall of 2015. The resulting paintings and poems will be on view January 25-April 30, 2016. Lois Kampinsky with her work, photo by Vanessa Mallory Kotz

Book Covers Opens May 9, 2016

During the past 40 years, workshop participants, instructors, and leaders of the Center have published hundreds of books. Starting in May and rotating throughout the rest of 2016, the walls of the Jane Fox Reading Room will be covered with beautifully designed posters featuring some of these books’ covers. Board Member Joram Piatigorsky is looking forward to the year ahead: “The fusion of art and writing in the upcoming Ekphrasis show and the display of artistic covers of the impressive numbers of published books by the associates and members of The Writer’s Center are exciting developments recognizing the importance and reciprocal relationship of art and literature.” Piatigorsky, along with his wife, Lona, founded the art program in 2012, and generously support all aspects of these exhibitions. Join Today & Get Discounts! Become a member and get $5 off of all 40th Anniversary event tickets. Members also receive discounts on workshop registration, studio space, room rentals, items in our book gallery, and at our partner businesses and bookstores. www.writer.org/get-involved/become-a-member

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

WORKSHOP LEADERS James Alexander has worked more than 30 years in communications, first in the newspaper industry as a bylined reporter and more recently in public relations/public affairs for both the private sector and government as a speechwriter and as a media specialist. Alexander, currently employed in the federal sector, majored in Journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has frequently been asked to give talks and appear on panels to discuss social media in government communications and reaching multicultural audiences. Mary Alouette won Washington Area Music Association’s (WAMA) 2013 PASS songwriting competition and was a finalist in the Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Competition. In 2012, she won WAMA’s New Artist of the Year and Best Debut Album. She is a former Artist in Residence at Strathmore. More about her at: www.maryalouette.com.

LEADERS

Khris Baxter is a screenwriter, producer, and co-founder of Boundary Stone Films, which produces and finances a wide range of projects for film, TV, and new media. Baxter has been a screenwriter for more than two decades and has taught screenwriting since 2004, most recently at The M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Queens University, American University, and Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop at Hollins University. Jim Beane is a short story writer and novelist. His stories have appeared in literary journals, magazines, and the anthology DC Noir. He is a Pushcart Prize nominee, a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a founding member of a writer’s collaborative established in the mid-nineties formed from members of a short story workshop at The Writer’s Center. Sandra Beasley is the author of Count the Waves; I Was the Jukebox, winner of the Barnard Women Poets Prize; Theories of Falling, winner of the New Issues Poetry Prize; and Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, a memoir. She teaches with the University of Tampa’s low-residency M.F.A. program. Anne Becker, author of The Transmutation Notebooks: Poems in the Voices of Charles and Emma Darwin, and The Good Body (chapbook), has presented programs at Johns Hopkins, University of Connecticut, Folger Library, Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. Poet Laureate Emerita of Takoma Park, she is now poet-in-residence at Pyramid Atlantic.

The Writer’s Center

Mary Carpenter writes a health column for the website mylittlebird.com, and leads writing workshops in the D.C. area. She reported on medicine for TIME and elsewhere, has written young adult books about Temple Grandin and dolphins lost in Hurricane Katrina, and published essays in The Washington Post and literary journals.

the Eric Hoffer Prize for Memoir and a Finalist for the Sarton Award for Memoir. More about her at: www.janicegary.com.

Maxine Clair is author of Coping With Gravity (poems), Rattlebone (short fiction), and the novel October Suite. Her latest book, Imagine This, is autobiographical (Agate, November 2014).

Bernadette Geyer is a freelance writer, editor, translator, and social media consultant. She has helped independent publishers and small businesses increase their outreach using social media. Geyer’s poetry and nonfiction have appeared in 2015 Poet’s Market, AFAR Magazine, Oxford American, Poet Lore, and Verse Daily.

Carolyn Clark, born in Ithaca, NY, she earned a B.A. in classical civilization from Cornell. Years after publishing scholarly articles, book reviews, and dissertation at Johns Hopkins, her first poetry chapbook was published, Mnemosyne: the Long Traverse (Finishing Line Press, 2013). More poems are in a forthcoming women’s anthology (Golden Hills Press, 2016). Brenda Clough is a novelist, short story, and nonfiction writer. Her recent e-books include Speak to Our Desires. Her novels include How Like a God, The Doors of Death and Life and Revise the World. She has been a finalist for both Hugo and Nebula awards. She has been teaching science fiction and fantasy workshops at The Writer’s Center for more than 10 years. Mark Cugini earned an M.F.A. from American University. He is the author of I’m Just Happy To Be Here (Ink Press, 2014). His work has appeared in The Lifted Brow, Sink Review, Barrelhouse, NOÖ, Hyperallergic, and Hobart In 2011, he received a Scholarship Grant to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a founding editor of Big Lucks, and a strategist for the lit blog Real Pants.

A recent graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Rose Gebken writes both poetry and fiction. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she resides in Potomac, Maryland.

Patricia Gray, author of Rupture, formerly headed the Library of Congress’s Poetry and Literature Center. An award-winning poet, Gray received the Academy of American Poets Prize and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Virginia. She also published short stories and most recently, two articles on Splendid Wake-up Blog. T. Greenwood is the author of 10 novels. She has received numerous grants and awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship. Her 2013 novel, Bodies of Water, was a finalist for Lambda Award. She teaches creative writing for San Diego Writer’s Ink, Grossmont College, and online for The Writer’s Center. Gina Hagler is an award-winning nonfiction writer. Her book about fluid dynamics was published by Springer Verlag. Her next book is about bridge engineering. She has written about science and technology for children and young adults for Odyssey and Rosen.

Nan Fry is the author of two books of poetry, Relearning the Dark and Say What I Am Called. Her work has appeared in numerous textbooks, anthologies, and journals, most recently Hanging Loose. She received an Edpress Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism and taught at the Corcoran College of Art + Design for more than 20 years.

Aaron Hamburger won the Rome Prize for his short story collection The View From Stalin’s Head (Random House). His next book, a novel titled Faith For Beginners (Random House), was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, and Tin House. He has also taught writing at Columbia University, NYU, the Stonecoast M.F.A. Program, and the George Washington University.

Janice Gary is an award-winning author and creative nonfiction writing teacher. She specializes in helping writers sort through the vast material of life experience to find the heart of their story. She is the author of Short Leash: a Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance, winner of two Nautilus Book Awards,

Virginia Hartman has been writing and teaching fiction writing for more than 15 years in this area, with work appearing in The Hudson Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and Potomac Review, as well as Gravity Dancers, an anthology from Paycock Press. She edited, with Barbara Esstman, a book

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WORKSHOP LEADERS

Zahara Heckscher, M.A., is the coauthor of the book How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas. She has also written numerous articles that have appeared in books and the online travel magazine www. TransitionsAbroad.com, where she serves as contributing editor. Heckscher teaches professional writing at University of Maryland at College Park. She is a breast cancer survivor who prefers to be known as a “cancer thriver.” More about her at: www.cancerthriver. blogspot.com. 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 a PEN Fiction and a Virginia Fiction Fellowship. She won the Flint Hills Review Creative Nonfiction Prize. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, First for Women, and literary magazines. Sinta Jimenez is a writer, fine artist and fashion journalist. Her short stories, paintings and poetry have been published in literary magazines including Underground Voices, Otis Nebula, and The Sheepshead Review. She is an editor for Meets Obsession magazine. In 2000, she was a recipient of a National Association for the Advancement of the Arts Award in Short Story. Born in Manila, raised in Washington D.C., she received her M.F.A. from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California. Kathryn Johnson’s 40 plus popular novels (nominated for the Agatha Award, winner of the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller’s Best Awards), include Victorian thrillers (writing as Mary Hart Perry) and a new suspense series, “Affairs of State.” Her most recent book—The Extreme Novelist—is based on her popular course at The Writer’s Center. Eva Langston received an M.F.A. from the University of New Orleans. Her fiction has been published widely and nominated for the Pushcart prize. She teaches at conferences and residences, most recently a fiction workshop in Mexico. She is the Features Editor for Compose Journal and writes novels for young people and adults.

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 last year. He has published fiction and nonfiction in dozens of literary magazines, including Gargoyle, Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, Notre Dame Review, and Denver Quarterly. Peter Lovenheim is an author and journalist whose articles have appeared in The New York Times and New York magazine. His books include In the Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time (Penguin Books), and Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf (Random House), a first-hand attempt to understand the food chain. He holds degrees in both journalism and law. More about him at: peterlovenheim.com. Peter Mandel is a travel journalist for The Washington Post and Boston Globe, and the author of 11 books for children. His recent titles include Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan), Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster), Zoo Ah-Choooo (Holiday House), and Planes at the Airport (Scholastic). He’s written essays and op-eds for Reader’s Digest, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and The Toronto Star. More about him at: www.petermandel.net. Lucinda Marshall is an award-winning artist, journalist, and poet. Her poetry has been published in Sediments, River Poets Journal, Stepping Stones Magazine, Poetica Magazine and ISLE. She co-facilitates the Gaithersburg Teen Writing Club, and is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association, and Women, Action, and the Media. Charlotte Matthews is the author of the collections Still Enough to Be Dreaming, Green Stars, and the forthcoming Whistle What Can’t Be Said. Honors for her work include fellowships from The Chatauqua Institute, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and VCCA. She teaches at the University of Virginia. Lucian Mattison’s book, Peregrine Nation, won the 2014 Dogfish Head Poetry Prize from The Broadkill River Press. His poetry and fiction appears in Hobart, The Valparaiso Poetry Review, and elsewhere online and in print. He is an associate editor for Big Lucks. More about him at: www.lucianmattison.com C.M. Mayo is an award-winning literary journalist and novelist. Her books include

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, a novel named a Library Journal Best Book of 2009, and Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico. More about her at: www.cmmayo.com. Bestselling author Mary McCarthy is Senior Editor at Splice Today. Her 20-year writing career includes Salon, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, magazine editorial positions and newspaper humor columns. Her first novel, The Scarlet Letter Society, reached #4 on the Amazon bestseller list. Her second novel, The Scarlet Letter Scandal was released in November and her third novel The Scarlet Letter Storm, comes out in May 2016. More about her at: marytmccarthy.com. Ann McLaughlin, grew up in Cambridge, Mass. and graduated from Radcliffe College in 1952. She earned a Ph.D. in literature and philosophy from American University in 1978. She has taught for 25 years at The Writer’s Center, where she is on the board. Ann has published eight novels with John Daniel & Co. and is working on number nine. Nicole Miller’s fiction has appeared twice in The May Anthology of Short Stories, edited by Jill Paton Walsh and Sebastian Faulks. She received an M.Phil in Victorian literature at Lincoln College, a Ph.D. in English at University College, and an M.F.A. at Emerson College. At The Oxford English Dictionary, she has served as a scholarly reader for British Dialects since 2002. She edits faculty manuscripts in Harvard’s English Department and teaches the 19th and 20th-century British novel at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C. She also leads fiction workshops at Grub Street in Boston. More about her at: www.inthesmallhours. com. John Morris has published fiction and poetry in more than 80 literary magazines in the U.S. and Great Britain. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and reprinted in “Twentieth Century Literary Criticism” and “Anatomy of a Short Story” (Continuum Press). His chapbook, The Musician, Approaching Sleep, appeared in 2006. A story collection is forthcoming from No Record Press in 2016. William O’Sullivan is an essayist and editor who has published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, and North American Review. He has received fellowships from the D.C. Commission on

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called A More Perfect Union: Stories and Poems About the Modern Wedding (St. Martin’s Press). She has had fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Sewanee Writer’s Conference, and has taught writing at George Washington University, American University, and the Smithsonian.

WORKSHOP LEADERS the Arts and Humanities and has been listed three times among the notable essays in The Best American Essays. Nneka M. Okona is a former journalist and current essayist who encourages fellow writers to derive inspiration and creativity in everyday life and use it to create. Alan Orloff’s first novel, Diamonds For the Dead, was an Agatha Award Finalist. He also wrote Killer Routine and Deadly Campaign for Midnight Ink. Writing as Zak Allen, he has published The Taste, First Time Killer, and Ride-Along. His latest is Running From The Past from Kindle Press. More about him at: www.alanorloff.com.

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Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli is a poet, painter, and printmaker. Her poems have appeared in Ekphrasis, Prime Number, Border Crossing, Raleigh Review, Poet Lore, Watershed Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, and various journals and anthologies. She has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (painting) and Ragdale (poetry), and received an Individual Artist Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing/poetry from Warren Wilson College and an undergraduate degree in studio arts from Seton Hill University. More about her at: www.mariepavlicek. com. Alexis Pope is the author of Soft Threat, as well as the chapbooks Bone Matter, girl erases girl, and No Good. Pope received an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College, and her work has appeared in Bat City Review, Denver Quarterly, Guernica, Octopus, Poor Claudia, Powderkeg, Verse Daily, and The Volta. A member of the Belladonna* Collaborative, Pope has taught courses at Brooklyn College and worked as editor for numerous online and print publications. Mary Quattlebaum is the author of 23 award-winning children’s books (Pirate vs. Pirate, Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond, Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns) and a popular presenter at schools and conferences. She also writes nonfiction for children and adults and teaches in Vermont College’s M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Elizabeth Rees is the author of Every Root a Branch (2014), and four award-winning chapbooks, most recently, Tilting Gravity (2009 ). Her poems have appeared in Partisan Review, Kenyon Review, AGNI, MidAmerican Review, and New England Review.

She has taught at Harvard University, Boston College, the U.S. Naval Academy, Howard University, and in Johns Hopkins University’s graduate program. She has taught at The Writer’s Center since 1989. Additionally, she works as a “poet-in-the-schools” for the Maryland State Arts Council. Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers is the author of Chord Box (University of Arkansas Press, 2013), which was the finalist for the Miller Williams Prize and the 2014 Lambda Literary Award. Her poems appear in The Missouri Review, Boston Review, and Washington Square. She was selected as the 20122014 Fellow at The Kenyon Review, where she remains a contributing editor. She has taught creative writing at Cornell University, Kenyon College, Tulane University, and the Bard Early College New Orleans. She currently teaches at George Mason University. Lynn Schwartz is a story development editor and ghostwriter. Her plays have been performed in NYC, including Lincoln Center. She founded the Temple Bar Literary Reading Series in NYC, has received two Individual Artist Awards in Fiction from the Maryland State Arts Council, and teaches fiction at St. John’s College. Dave Singleton is the author of two nonfiction books The Mandates and Behind Every Great Woman, and the Harper Collins memoir anthology CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. His honors include the Media Industry Award for Outstanding Exclusive Coverage, GLAAD Award for Outstanding Multimedia Journalism, and a NLGJA Excellence in Online Journalism. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Harper’s Bazaar. He holds degrees from the University of Virginia and New York University. More about him at: www. davesingleton.com. Marilyn W. Smith has a Ph.D. in education policy/higher education and an M.A. in reading education. She has taken numerous writing classes from The Writer’s Center and has taught a wide variety of courses/workshops/seminars since 1969. Marilyn retired a few years ago and has recently published two books—her memoir and an anthology of medical memoirs. Bianca Stone is a poet and visual artist. She is the author of the poetry collection Someone Else’s Wedding Vows, and contributing artist/collaborator on a special illus-

The Writer’s Center trated edition of Anne Carson’s Antigonick from New Directions. She co-founded and edits Monk Books, and chairs The Ruth Stone Foundation, an organization based in Vermont and Brooklyn, NY, and her full-length collection of poetry comics Poetry Comics From the Book of Hours is forthcoming in 2016 from Pleiades Press. A recent Guggenheim recipient, Terese Svoboda’s most recent book of poems is When The Next Big War Blows Down The Valley: Selected and New Poems (Anhinga 2015). She is the author of 16 books of prose, poetry, memoir, translation and biography. Her book Anything That Burns You: A Portrait of Lola Ridge, Radical Poet will appear in January 2016. 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, newspapers, including The Washington Post, and have been produced for public radio. Holder of a doctorate in human development from Harvard, she is a past William Sloane Fellow in Nonfiction for the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference. She has taught at Johns Hopkins University and Vermont College of Fine Arts and works as an editor and writing coach. Sue Ellen Thompson’s fifth book of poems, They, was published in 2014. An instructor at The Writer’s Center since 2007, she previously taught at Middlebury College, Binghamton University, the University of Delaware, and Central CT State University. She received the 2010 Maryland Author Award from the Maryland Library Association. Susan Tiberghien has published three memoirs, the acclaimed One Year to a Writing Life, and most recently Side by Side, Writing Your Love Story and Footsteps, In Love with a Frenchman. She teaches and lectures both in the U.S. and Europe, where she directs the Geneva Writers’ Group and Conferences. More about her at: www.susantiberghien.com. 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 wrote the FCC’s plain-language

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WORKSHOP LEADERS

Joan Waites is the award-winning illustrator of more than 45 books for children and a mixed-media artist featured in national magazines. She has taught at the Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design and now teaches a variety of arts classes at her studio. More about her at: www.joanwaites.com Richard Washer is a founding member of Charter Theater and currently works with First Draft as a playwright and director. His plays have been produced in the D.C. area and elsewhere. He holds a B.A. (University of Virginia) and a M.F.A. (American University). Canden Webb has performed all over the U.S. with poetry organizations such as P4CM and True Voices, a young-adult poetry organization headquartered in NYC; she is presently director of the D.C. Chapter. Her poetry chapbook, Inside God’s Chrysalis, was published in 2008 and continues to inspire self-discovery through creative writing. She is a two-time third-place winner of Busboys

Celebrating

and Poets 11th Hour Slam and a graduate of Howard University where she served on the College Unions Slam Team. She resides in Virginia. John Weiskopf teaches screenwriting at American University in the upper division and M.F.A. graduate programs. He earned an M.F.A. in film production and screenwriting from UCLA. He has written 11 screenplays, of which 3 were optioned in Hollywood. The U.S. Embassy sent him to South America to teach an international screenwriting workshop. He appeared on Oprah Winfrey for a documentary that he executive produced, directed and filmed. Basil White is a speechwriter, a published joke writer (Judy Brown’s Squeaky Clean Comedy: 1,512 Dirt-Free Jokes from the Best Comedians, Comedy Thesaurus, and Larry Getlen’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes), public speaker, and business humor consultant. He helps people add humor to presentations, advertising, movie scripts, and user manuals. He also writes articles and online courses on creative technology writing, usability, and

information design. More about him at: www.basilwhite.com. Nancy L. Wolf is a semi-retired D.C. communications lawyer who has made writing her second stage career. Her weekly blog www.wittyworriedandwolf.wordpress has more than1500 followers. Several of her blog posts gathered more than 300,000 worldwide views. Nancy also writes essays, articles, and stories for The Washington Post, Midlife Boulevard, Kveller, The Huffington Post and Delaware Beach Life. Morowa Yejidé’s novel Time of the Locust was a 2012 finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize, longlisted for the 2015 PEN/ Bingham award, and a 2015 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work. Her short stories appeared in the Adirondack Review, and the Istanbul Review. Her short story “Tokyo Chocolate” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, anthologized by Britain’s best of the Willesden Herald, and praised by the Japan Times. She is currently a PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools author. More aboput her at: www.morowayejide.com.

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America’s original poetry journal, discovering new writers since 1889. poetlore.com Published by TheWriter’s Center, writer.org

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newsletter and newswriting tips for the Radio Television Digital News Association. More about him at: www.wsln.com.

JOhns hOpkins Master OF arts in Writing Congratulations to the Writer’s Center for 40 great years. Create a world with words. Join our community of accomplished authors, both in fiction and nonfiction, who began their story with a degree from the John’s Hopkins University’s Master of Arts in Writing. Take the challenge: > Learn to write fiction or nonfiction in part-time, evening classes, in DC or Baltimore. > Craft essays, stories, novels, narrative books. > Earn a degree from world-renowned Johns Hopkins University.

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Pulling Off a Trick: First Novel Prize Winner Bret Anthony Johnston By Claire Handscombe

t is something of a truism by now that 10,000 hours of the right kind of practice can make almost anyone an expert at almost anything. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers taught us this in 2008, but this year’s winner of the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize, Bret Anthony Johnston, probably knew that in his bones many years before, as a result of his two decades of avid skateboarding. “The biggest link between skateboarding and writing,” Johnston said in an interview with Joe Rice for McSweeney’s, “is the discipline.” Pointing to a young skater within view, he added, “This kid is trying the trick and he hasn’t made it and he’s going to keep trying. It’s like when you go to work on a sentence. You have to log the hours, take the hits, suffer the pain and discouragement, then come back to it.” The kid, though, knows when he has made the trick. Remember Me Like This was a New York Times Notable Book in 2014, an international bestseller, and praised by such eminent writers as John Irving and Amy Hempel. To many, Johnston might look like an overnight success, but writers know better. Skaters do, too. It’s

the endless repetition, the dogged commitment, that produces a novel of the caliber of Remember Me Like This. Linda Stearns, one of the final judges for the First Novel Prize, said, “I have to be able to trust the voice immediately, feel like I’m living through the story, not just watching it, and I like a fresh theme. Remember Me Like This definitely scored high in all categories.” Johnston’s ability to leave the reader guessing also impressed her, “It was a surprise to be left with unanswered questions at the end, just like the characters, and yet, that’s what made the work so authentic, which made it so memorable. This work is definitely worthy of a firstplace award.” Remember Me Like This starts where many other novels might end: a kidnapped boy is returned to his family. Justin Campbell was 11 when he was abducted while out skating, and his parents and younger brother, Griff, have been both haunted and defined by his disappearance. But then, a miracle: four years later, just a few

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016

miles from his home, a sighting is reported. Justin is found. Life returns to normal. Except, there is no normal for this family. There never can be again. Johnston is interested in aftermath since it is more complicated than tragedy. Aftermath “also refers to the new growth that comes after a crop has been cut. The deeper I wrote into the book, the more I saw the complexity of the concept emerging.” Complexity is a large part of what makes Remember Me like This such a powerful book. “I spent a lot of time thinking about the book before I started writing, so when it came time to write, I realized that I knew a lot about what had happened to Justin before he was found and almost nothing about what happened after he was found. I wrote in the direction of what I didn’t know— the direction most likely to surContinued on page 41

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or six years to write the book, as he worked through multiple reviprise me.” Johnston’s novel, and sions to go deeper into the conhis writing philosophy, embody sciousness of each character— Robert Frost’s famous quote: “No something he has achieved with surprise in the writer, no surprise remarkable insight. The author in the reader.” That Johnston explored what it would be like for allowed himself to be surprised the parents of a kidnapped boy allows us to be surprised and to serve him his first meal at the drawn in, too, the way we might dinner table, watching him to find watch a skater try dangerous out if he still cuts his food with tricks and hold our breath, hophis fork rather than his knife. He ing he won’t fall. explained that these specific, conJohnston embraces that ethic crete details are vital, not only to in his teaching. “What I bringing the characters to enjoy most is watching It’s like knocking on a wall when you’re life on the page but also to writers take risks with his getting to know them. trying to find a stud, listening for that their work. I try to create “As a writer, reader, and sudden solidness, the unmistakable workshop communities teacher, I’m suspicious of sound and feel of something that will where the writers feel abstractions and ambigubear weight. both challenged ity. My instinct is always to and comforted, safe to come to know my characfollow their work into ters through the concrete, their The precise details of what unchartered actions and surroundings, and I happened to Justin are never territory.” He sees teaching as love it when two characters perexplicitly reported to us, though part of his life and identity, just as ceive the same thing differently, hints are offered throughout. We much as writing is, and finds his a sure-fire way to see who they experience Justin’s return as his students engergize him. “I leave are.” family did—hungrily gathering class feeling exhausted, but also In addition to Remember Me up crumbs of knowledge, at once inspired and eager to read and, of Like This, Bret Anthony Johnston curious and ashamed of our curicourse, write.” is the author of the multi-awardosity. Our emotions are conflicted, Asked whether there is a mowinning Corpus Christi: Stories. just as Justin’s brother Griff’s are. ment when he knows a sentence He is the editor of Naming Although his parents have asked is “done,” he compared it to the World and Other Exercises him to listen for clues on any “knocking on a wall when you’re for the Creative Writer, and his details of Justin’s time away from trying to find a stud, listening work appears in The Atlantic, Esthe family, Griff hates himself a for that sudden solidness, the quire, Virginia Quarterly Review, little for sharing what he learns. unmistakable sound and feel of The New York Times Magazine, something that will bear weight. and Best American Short Stories. There are so many difficult and That said,” he added, “I still Among his many honors are an conflicted emotions in this novel, revise sentences and such after NEA Fellowship and a 5 Under and that is part of its accomplishI’ve deemed them ‘done.’ When 35 award from the National Book ment, its resonance. It has the I’m reading from the novel at an Foundation. Currently, he is the ring of truth, the shades of grey event, I tend to revise as I’m readDirector of Creative Writing at of reality as opposed to the black ing, tightening or sharpening the Harvard University. Keep an and white of simplistic fiction. language. So, it’s the old notion eye on The Writer’s Center calThis, too, was hard won. Johnston that the writing’s never finished, endar, as Johnston will read from told NPR’s All Things Considered just abandoned.” He went on to Remember Me like This next fall. in June 2014 that it took him five Johnston . . . continued from p. 39

advise: “It’s far easier to discern when a sentence is publishable rather than when it’s done. The two are not synonymous.” Feedback is useful for him, too. “I’m lucky to have a number of generous, intelligent, and vaguely sadistic readers who help me at different stages of the drafting process. A couple of them were my classmates at Iowa. An honest, critical and supportive reader is invaluable.”

Workshop & Event Guide Winter/Spring 2016