Prose Workshops
 | Ann Hood - Week 1 | June 23-27 Do you have a novel you have been dying to finish? A short story that you want to get just right? In this workshop, we will examine the elements of fiction writing – character, setting, plot, and form – and discuss how to use them in the stories you want to write. We will read and write some flash fiction, stories under 500 words, and then move on to longer pieces. We will also discuss and critique each other’s work. No advance submissions. Ann Hood is the author of 7 novels, including The Knitting Circle and Somewhere Off The Coast Of Maine; a collection of short stories, An Ornithologist’s Guide To Life; and a new memoir, Comfort: My Journey Through Grief. She has won two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, and The Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction. |
 | Liz Rosenberg - Week 2 | June 30 - July 4 Short does not necessarily mean slight. Micro non-fiction is simply short creative non-fiction, and together we'll be exploring many different possibilities in this genre: Memoir, nature writing, science, opinion, even history. Beginners are welcome, as are advanced and publisher writers – when it comes to the blank page, we are all beginners. There will be hand-outs each day of great micro-works, and in-class writing exercises. No advance submissions, but you are welcome to bring in brief non-fiction pieces from home. Liz Rosenberg’s most recent book is Demon Love from Mammoth Press. Her fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Her life and work were the subject of a documentary from First Light Productions. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the State University of NY at Binghamton, where she received a Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. |
 | Diana Hume George - Week 3 | July 7-11 Does your family sustain a story about itself, about its beliefs or values or character, that you'd like to honor – or challenge? This workshop is for those who want to write about family with love, compassion, concern, or just plain curiosity – and not just the facts, ma’am. Write about your parents or kids, your grandparents or grandchildren, that favorite aunt or uncle, your own childhood memories, the stories you've heard told around kitchen tables, the family secrets (should you tell them?), the dubious tales, the verified facts, and all that you can never verify. Build on your current memoirs, projects such as StoryCorps, your own interest in your roots and legacy, and interviews with your elders (or perhaps your kids' interviews with you). No advance submissions. Diana Hume George is the author or editor of 10 books of poetry, essays, and literary criticism. Founding director of the creative writing program at Penn State/Behrend College, she is now a core faculty member at Goucher College's MFA Program in Nonfiction. She's been a visiting writer at institutions including Trinity College and Antioch/Los Angeles, as well as McGee Professor of Writing at Davidson College. George co-directs the Chautauqua Writers' Festival and serves as a contributing editor of the Chautauqua Literary Journal. Her recent work appears in Creative Nonfiction and River Teeth. |
 | Emily Barton - Week 4 | July 14-18 Though many of us have received the advice to “write what you know,” sometimes writing exclusively about our own experiences can feel limiting. Researching topics of interest, however, and imagining the lives of people different from ourselves can free us to explore new territory. This workshop will focus on using research (creatively defined) to broaden the horizons of our writing. Through in-class and take-home exercises, we’ll expand our knowledge of the greater world, and we will read and discuss published authors who can guide and cheer us on in this endeavor. No advance submissions. Emily Barton is the author of the novels The Testament of Yves Gundron and Brookland, a 2007 selection of the Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle. In 2006 she received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a Literature Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. She currently serves as Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bard College. |
 | Jane Ciabattari - Week 5 | July 21-25 First inklings of new work may come through meditation, in dreams, while walking through a mall or park, during a time of emotional crisis – or while sitting in a crowded coffee shop, where an overheard line sparks the potential for fiction. We will look at the opening lines of short stories and do in-class exercises that start the creative process flowing, all in an exploration of the beginnings of fiction. No advance submissions. Jane Ciabattari is an award-winning fiction writer and author of Stealing the Fire (Canio’s Editions). Her stories have appeared in KBG Bar Lit, VerbSap, Literarymama, Denver Quarterly, Hampton Shorts, The North American Review, Ms., Redbook, and The Best Underground Fiction (Stolen Time Press, 2006). She is vice president of membership of the National Book Critics Circle and blogs on the NBCC board blog, Critical Mass. |
 | David Lazar - Week 6 | July 28-August 1 The subject of truth in nonfiction writing never seems to go away. We’ll read and write essays, prose poems, and aphorisms, plus talk about the thorny issue of getting as close as we can to the desire that drives us to write personal prose. Can we fully explore what we need to explore without betrayal or indiscretion? You need not come with essays, as we’ll be writing during the week, but you are welcome to bring in work from home. David Lazar is a professor and Director of Nonfiction Program at Columbia College Chicago. Previously, he created the undergraduate and Ph.D programs in nonfiction at Ohio University. His books include The Body of Brooklyn (Iowa), Powder Town (Pecan Grove), Truth in Nonfiction: Essays (ed, Iowa), Conversations with M.F.K. Fisher and Michael Powell: Interviews (ed, Mississippi). He is the founding editor of the magazine Hotel Amerika. Best American Essays has selected his work as “Notable Essays of the Year” four times. |
 | Ron MacLean - Week 7 | August 4-8 Many critics claim the world contains only seven (or nine, or thirty) essential plots, and that any story is a variation on one of those “master narratives.” We’ll both work and play with that assumption, learning to recognize – and use – elements of timeless plots (the quest, the fish story, etc.) for our own contemporary stories by modeling them, adapting them, or turning them on their heads. No advance submissions. Ron MacLean’s fiction has appeared in GQ, Greensboro Review, Prism International, Night Train and other quarterlies. He is a recipient of the Frederick Exley Award for Short Fiction and a Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of the novel Blue Winnetka Skies. Why the Long Face, a collection of stories, will be published in fall 2008. |
 | Michael Ruhlman - Week 8 | August 11-15 Cooking it, sharing it, eating it – everything about food is charged with metaphors for how we ought to live and what being alive means. The only thing that comes close to food in the order of importance, insofar as remaining alive, is story. This is partly why the world is hungry for food stories. This workshop will explore why food writing is more important (and popular) than ever, and how we can use our food experiences - cooking in our kitchens, memories of cooking with our family, eating with our friends, or gathering food by ourselves, to help us to understand our lives better. Readings from John McPhee, M.F.K. Fisher, Laurie Colwin, and Jeffrey Steingarten, plus in-class exercises, will help us find the essential stories to tell. No advance submissions. Michael Ruhlman is the author of twelve non-fiction books, including three on the life and work of the professional chef, and four cookbooks written with some of the country's best chefs. He also writes occasional stories for The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, Food Arts and other publications. His most recent book is The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen (Scribner), a culinary reference on fundamental cooking terms and ideas. |
 | David Valdes Greenwood - Week 9 | August 18-22 Memoirs, columns, personal essays – first-person writing is more popular than ever. But how do you make your voice stand out and feel fresh? What makes a personal story worth telling? In this class, you’ll explore multiple approaches to first-person writing, seeking just the right structure, format, and voice to make your experiences come alive for readers. No advance submissions. David Valdes Greenwood is the author of the books Homo Domesticus: Notes from a Same-Sex Marriage and A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays. A former Boston Globe Magazine columnist, he is the author of a dozen plays performed throughout the US and UK. He teaches writing at Tufts University. |
