Spring & Summer 2004 Workshops at Writers & Books

Non-Fiction

Essays to Live By: Reading & Writing Creative Nonfiction

• SA4-N21
• Eight Thursdays, Noon – 2 pm
• July 8 – August 26
• $139 W&B members / $160 general public
• Instructor: Anaïs Salibian [ bio ]

What is creative non-fiction? How can you shape your own writing to create good essays?

This class immerses you in the study of one of today’s most versatile and intriguing genres. Students will first study great examples of essays, and then move into writing exercises designed to help generate original work. In later classes, students will learn about the joy of revision and editing and how to make their prose sing—structure, diction, sound, and much more.

All levels of writing experience welcome.

(Workshop text: Getting the Words Right: How to Rewrite, Edit & Revise, by Theodore A. Rees Cheney)

Maps, Memories, Mementos

• SA4-N28
• Six Wednesdays, 6 – 8:30 pm
• June 9 – July 14
• $149 W&B members / $165 general public
• Instructors: Paula Marchese [ bio ] & John Cieslinski [ bio ]

Have you ever wanted to write down the stories of your great grandparents, grandparents, and parents before any more time passes by?

In this class, the instructors will guide you through exercises to help you bring your memories in to context and focus. Essays, notes, stories, family trees, and snatches of memory will be combined with photos, maps, drawings, and fabric to create a memoir, journal, or book of treasures that will last for generations.

Students will want to bring family stories and mementos that are important to them for this guided, hands-on workshop.

(Essays to Live By also recommended.)

Travel Writing

• SA4-M51
• Six Mondays, 7 – 9 pm
• May 10 – June 21 (No class May 31)
• $108 W&B members / $120 general public
• Instructor: Karen vanMeenen [ bio ]

Are you a traveler? Do you like to document your travels by writing in a journal and/or taking photographs?

Learn how to research, document, and write about these excursions. As examples, we will read excerpts from the works of such masters as William Least Heat Moon and Christopher Hitchens as well as fictionalized works from Tom Bodett, Paul Bowles, Virginia Woolf and Jack Kerouac.

This course is appropriate for any travelers with an interest in writing and the tendency to observe the world around them, whether in Penfield or Peru

Workshop text: The Best American Travel Writing 2003, edited by Ian Frazier.)

Jumping Into Journalism

• SA4-N12
• Eight Tuesdays, 7 – 9 pm
• May 11 – June 29
• $139 W&B members / $160 general public
• Instructor: Camy Sorbello [ bio ]

Do you read magazine or newspaper articles that are boring, poorly written, and just plain bad? Do you think, “Gee, I could do a better job than that?” Now is the time to prove your point.

Learn to write articles that are engaging and informative, target your market, take advantage of your knowledge and expertise, conduct an effective interview, use pithy quotes, craft strong beginnings and endings, create sidebars, and write a successful query letter. Whether you are writing for local publications or newsletters, or proposing articles for national magazines, this workshop is for you.

By the last class, each student will have an article written and ready to go.

(Writing for Trade Magazines also recommended.)

Writing for Trade Magazines

• SA4-B18
• One Saturday, May 22, 10 am – 2 pm
• $36 W&B members / $40 general public
• Instructor: Mary Anne Donovan [ bio ]

Times are tough for freelancers these days, but the trade magazine market can provide interesting opportunities for enthusiastic, motivated, and tenacious writers.

• What opportunities are out there?
• How do you find them?
• How do you break into the market?

The instructor will focus on all of these things in this informational course, as well as writing an irresistible query letter, getting assignments, and developing strong, professional relationships with editors. Plan for a brief lunch break.

(Jumping Into Journalism also recommended.)

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