Live - July to Sept

In this craft-focused workshop, children’s author Emily Sun Li (Mr. Chow’s Night Market, Penguin Random House) and author-illustrator Julian Plum (Whose Tree Is This?, Lerner Books) will break down what makes a picture book truly work. Together, we’ll explore the essential elements of a compelling picture book, from shaping a narrative arc in a few hundred words to creating momentum, emotional stakes, and satisfying page turns. Participants will consider what makes a story feel active and engaging, examine techniques that build rhythm and escalation, and explore the balance between concept-driven and narrative-driven books. We’ll also discuss the so-called “rules” of picture book writing (and when breaking them might strengthen a manuscript!). Through close reading and a brief generative exercise, writers will learn how to transform an idea into a story.

REGISTER  for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

with Holly Adams. Writing/revising dialogue can be daunting! How do you stay true to the characters in your head and also make it dynamic, engaging and believable to your listeners or readers? In this workshop, we will do multiple exercises with prompts and a few bare bones “neutral scenes” to explore co-writing* techniques that maximize character voice, as well as experiment with variations on the traditional “workshopping” method for revision.    *co-writing = Writing together or cooperative or collaborative writing. Fun and interactive.

REGISTER  for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

This generative workshop led by nicole v. basta will invite students to engage with other texts as a starting point, a place to echo outward from into their own work. Multi-step prompts and questions derived from the texts will guide us. This class is for any writer, creator, thinker, dreamer, human looking for insight into their creativity that doesn’t come from straightforward thinking. We will read from ancient and modern work, poetry and prose. Participants will be encouraged to keep their pen moving and will be invited into intentional space that allows for creative, generative, radical play on the page in a low stakes, supportive way.

REGISTER for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

Led by David Guaspari. How to write short humor pieces (typically 500-1000 words) like those published in the New Yorker’s “Shouts & Murmurs” column or in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. This is a distinct genre, different from sketch comedy, stand-up, or comic fiction. The usually cited “rules” provide an economical structure for fitting an entertaining whole in a very small space; titles, for example, are an important element and constitute a subgenre of their own. Drawing heavily from Alex Baia’s “Ultimate Guide to Writing a Humor Piece,” the workshop will provide: an account of those rules, with examples; in-class exercises for developing a piece; information on where and how to submit work for publication.

REGISTER for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

For this Poetry “Sewcial” we’ll manifest the sentiment of wearing your heart upon your sleeve in both words and fabric. Participants are invited to sew physical fabric hearts onto a piece of their own clothing, with guidance provided by textile artivist Zoë Van Nostrand  while listening to local poets read aloud their personal & vulnerable works, readings coordinated by poet S. E. Barden. Participants should bring 1-2 clothing items from their own closet; materials and instructions for how to hand-sew a fabric heart will be provided. While the audience engages in this form of physical transformation, we simultaneously create a precious space of active listening for each poet performer. Readings by local writers  will be 5-8 minutes long each. Please plan to stay for the full program and honor the sharing of our hearts.

REGISTER for this free event HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many people to expect. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

Interested in pop-ups? Fans of The Book of Theseus, Griffin & Sabine, and the Ology series have already experienced how pop-ups, inclusions, and interactive elements can add to the experience of reading a book. Want to learn how to build your own? Join Rose ‘Moo’ Howard for a demonstration of several techniques that you can learn to do at home with supplies available at your local craft store.

REGISTER for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many people to set up for. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

with Lisa D’Annolfo. Have you thought about writing a memoir but didn’t know where to begin? Have you wanted to preserve stories of your life for your children and grandchildren but weren’t sure what to write about? Have you struggled to turn your intention into action? `If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Memoir Kickstart is for you.
Memoir Kickstart is a workshop providing a structured approach to writing life stories that feels manageable, not overwhelming. In a supportive small-group setting, you will share your stories and find your authentic voice. No prior writing experience is necessary. All you need is a notebook.

REGISTER for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)

This panel presents four novelists discussing how they have transformed personal experience into art.  Real life relationships, childhood experiences, social and political realities go into the work we create, even when that work does not appear to be memoir or autobiography based. We’ll discuss the pleasure, and the pain, of self-revelation in our work. with Jeanne Mackin, Nancy Holzner, Nancy Ohlin and Hardy Griffin. 

REGISTER for this free workshop HERE. (Thank you! This helps us know how many chairs to set up. We can also contact you if there are any changes to the schedule.)