4th Annual Writers' Weekend Schedule

Writers’ Weekend Schedule: April 17th - 19^th

^{Begins Tonight!}

Walk-in tickets for any (and every!) session available

Friday, April 17th

Welcome reception: 6:30 pm

Books on the Nightstand Podcast Conversation: 7:30 pm

Michael Kindness and Ann Kingman at Books on the Nightstand strive to bring you great book recommendations, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the world of books, bookstores and publishing. They do this through their weekly podcast and frequent blog posts. These fabulous podcasters recommend books, and chat about other bookish things. The most popular feature with listeners is the last segment, “Two books we can’t wait for you to read.” Tonight we’ll connect readers and writers and see what we all have to say to each other.

Saturday, April 18th

Session 1: 10:00 - 10:55

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction with Susan Campbell

Classroom A

Looking to write your family history? A biography on an obscure Civil War veteran? Want to try your hand at freelance magazine/newspaper pieces? This is your workshop.

Susan Campbell used to write newspaper columns and books. Then she just wrote books. Then she went back to columns and books. She also likes licorice and walks on the beach provided they end at a restaurant.

Speaking to Silences through the Epistolary Poem with Antoinette Brim

3^rd Floor Library

Workshop participants will write a poem that reads as a letter to address an area in which they have been silent or have felt silenced.  Poets of all levels are invited to attend.

Antoinette Brim is the author of two collections of poetry, Icarus in Love and Psalm of the Sunflower.  Brim is a Cave Canem Foundation fellow, a recipient of the Walker Foundation Scholarship to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and a Pushcart Prize nominee.  A sought after speaker, editor, educator and consultant, Brim is an Assistant Professor of English at Capital Community College.

Behind the Scenes at the Publisher: The Editorial Process Demystified with Stacey DeKeyser

Auditorium

You’ve slaved over your book and made it perfect. Do you really need an editor? Whether you self-publish or use a traditional publisher, you do. Find out what to expect your editorial team, from acquisition to proofreading and every step in between, from someone who's been on both sides of the red pencil. You can even test your Word Nerd quotient by taking a copyediting quiz!

Stacy DeKeyser is both an award-winning author of five books for children and a longtime freelance copyeditor for academic, trade, and self-publishers. She lives in Simsbury.

Exploring the Details with Leslie Johnson

Classroom B

Generate material for a new story, or delve more deeply into your work-in-process! Leslie will share exercises designed to spark discovery in writing through detail. This is a participation-based workshop facilitated by an experienced creative writing teacher and author of short stories.

Leslie McGrath is a poet and literary interviewer. She is the author of Opulent Hunger, Opulent Rage (2009), a poetry collection, and two chapbooks, Toward Anguish (2007) and By the Windpipe (2014). McGrath's latest book is a satiric novella in verse, Out From the Pleiades (Jaded Ibis, 2014). She teaches creative writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and is series editor of The Tenth Gate, a poetry imprint of The Word Works press in Washington, DC.

Session 2: 11 - 11:55 AM

The Not So Gentle Art of Murder with David Handler

Classroom A

An Edgar Award-winning master of the whodunit novel shares the secrets of his highly mysterious trade.  Whether your passion is for cozies, the mean streets or white-knuckle thrillers you are sure to come away shaken, if not stirred.

David Handler, the Edgar and American Mystery Award-winning wizard of the witty whodunit, was born and raised in Los Angeles and published two highly acclaimed novels about growing up there, Kiddo and Boss, before resorting to a life of crime fiction. He has written eight novels about the dapper celebrity ghostwriter Stewart Hoag and his faithful, neurotic basset hound, Lulu, as well as ten books in his bestselling series featuring the mismatched crime-fighting duo of pudgy New York film critic Mitch Berger and the lovely Connecticut State Trooper Desiree Mitry. His most recent novel, Phantom Angel, which was published in February by Minotaur, is his second book to feature young Benji Golden, the feisty and street-wise 137-pound New York private detective. Mr. Handler has written extensively for television and films on both coasts and coauthored the international bestselling thriller Gideon under the pseudonym Russell Andrews. He lives in a 200-year-old carriage house in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Social Media in 60 Minutes or Less with Caitlin Thayer

Auditorium

These days, writers need to be using social media to promote themselves and their work. In this workshop we'll talk about how to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to showcase your work, connect with your readers and to sell more books!

Caitlin Thayer is the owner of Barefoot Media, a social media consulting company that has been teaching people how to use social media since 2009. Caitlin is an avid reader and is currently working on her first novel.

The Art of the Personal Essay with Christine Palm

Classroom B

To a young writer, the essay is the most dreaded of literary forms. But in this workshop, we'll challenge most of what we learned about this imaginative, persuasive genre. For "essay" is also a verb meaning to try, to endeavor, to venture. With our essays, then, we will essay to move people -- to tears, to laughter, perhaps even to action.

Christine Palm  is a writer of feature articles, essays, poetry and op-ed pieces. She has taught in the creative writing department of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and serves as Communications Director for the Connecticut General Assembly’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the state’s leading force for women’s equality. She has been a reporter for several newspapers, including The Hartford Times and The Hartford Advocate, as well as a columnist for The Hartford Courant. Palm worked with the Arthur Miller Literary and Dramatic Trust, helping to prepare the playwright’s journals for publication, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her essay writing.

Sit, Stay: The Dog as Metaphor in Poetry with Leslie McGrath

3^rd Floor Library

The dog’s role in American life has evolved a great deal over the last fifty years, moving from pet to intimate companion.  Many poets have found rich metaphor in this relationship. We’ll be reading poems by Gerald Stern, Billy Collins, WS Merwin and others, examining how the dog has come to inhabit an important place in our poetry. We’ll also write a poem based on a prompt from Leslie McGrath.

Leslie McGrath is a poet and literary interviewer. She is the author of Opulent Hunger, Opulent Rage (2009), a poetry collection, and two chapbooks, Toward Anguish (2007) and By the Windpipe (2014). McGrath's latest book is a satiric novella in verse, Out From the Pleiades (Jaded Ibis, 2014). She teaches creative writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and is series editor of The Tenth Gate, a poetry imprint of The Word Works press in Washington, DC.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch (provided), Hal Holbrook Hall

Session 3, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Poet as Imposter with Vivian Shipley

Classroom A

Fiction is, well, fiction. Many people assume that poets seek to find truth, personal or universal, in their poetry. But, does poetry need to be literally true? Can and/or should the poet be a good liar? Come and find out whether Vivian Shipley really trekked the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu, hiked up Av. Du-Lachaise to visit Jim Morrison’s grave, was a surfer chick, a dominatrix or hammer thrower.  If she wasn’t, learn how she wrote poems about the subjects for her forthcoming ninth book, The Poet. (Louisiana Literature Press, SLU, 2015)  

Cliché in word, thought, and character with Mark Ferguson

Auditorium

"A cliché is dead matter. It causes gangrene in the prose around it, and sooner or later it eats your brain." - Verlyn Klinkenborg, Several Short Sentences About Writing

Clichéd phrases are easy enough to spot, and with a little self control easy enough to get rid of. But what of cliché in thought, character, or story? What of cliché in phrasing, clichéd ideas? This session will focus on the concept of cliché and why it's so difficult to avoid. The group will discuss strategies for spotting and eliminating cliché in their writing.

Fictional Voices with Mary Sharnick

Classroom B

Voice is what we hear and tone is how we feel.  Workshop participants will bring our protagonists to life through exercises in interior monologue and dialogue with other characters.

Mary Donnarumma Sharnick is the author of Thirst and Plagued, both published by Fireship Press, as well as the forthcoming Orla's Canvas, to be released by Penmore Press this year.

Session 4: 2:05 pm - 3:00 pm

Je Banach in conversation with author and Yale Writers' Conference Director, Terence Hawkins

Auditorium

Je Banach, a returning member of the Yale Writers' Conference faculty and former CT Artist Fellow, speaks with Terence Hawkins--the Founding Director of The Yale Writers' Conference--about his life, his career, and his latest novel, American Neolithic, a Kirkus Best Book of 2014.

Self-Publishing with Patrice Fitzgerald

Classroom A

Tired of waiting to see yourself in print?  Maybe you have a killer novel manuscript tucked into a drawer, wisdom to share with the world in a non-fiction book, or simply a family story you want preserved for the ages… but you haven’t found an agent or a publisher.  Or maybe you don’t want to waste time going through all that, knowing the odds are long.  

Come learn about the realities of becoming an “indie” writer—via ebook or in print—and the specifics of what it takes to get your book out there in a professional way.  Hear about self-publishing from someone who’s been in the trenches.

Patrice Fitzgerald is an attorney, author, and publisher.  She’s been self-publishing since Independence Day of 2011, and two of her books have become Kindle best-sellers, including an anthology that reached #6 on all of Amazon (briefly!)  Patrice gives presentations and workshops on Self-Publishing, and serves as a consultant for those who seek guidance along the way.

Memoir Structure and Theme with Judy Mandel

3^rd Floor Library

Find the right structure to transform your life stories into a captivating memoir. Learn how to uncover and develop the theme of your memoir. Jump start your memoir if you haven’t begun, or learn techniques to keep the writing moving.

Judy L. Mandel is the author of the award-winning memoir Replacement Child (Seal Press, 2013). Judy’s essays and articles have appeared in Connecticut LIFE, ASJA Monthly, Complete Wellbeing Magazine, Connecticut Authors and Publishers Newsletter, and The Southampton Review.

Beginnings in Fiction with Dan Pope

Classroom B

This workshop will address techniques about BEGINNINGS in short fiction and novel writing.  First impression are vital, in life and in fiction, and this workshop will show you techniques how to capture the reader's attention right from the first sentence. What to dos, and what not to dos!

Dan Pope is the author of Housebreaking (Simon & Schuster, 2015) and In the Cherry Tree (Picador USA, 2003). His short stories have appeared in many journals, including Crazyhorse, Harvard Review, Iowa Review, McSweeney's (No. 4), Shenandoah, Gettysburg Review, and others. He is a 2002 graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, where he attended on a Truman Capote Fellowship. He is a winner of the Glenn Schaeffer Award from the International Institute of Modern Letters, and grants in fiction from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Free time! Shop in the store, catch the Mark Twain documentary in Hal Holbrook Hall, read or write outside, enjoy our galleries, grab coffee or a snack in the Nook Café (2^nd floor of the Twain House), or take a tour. If you plan to tour the Twain House, make sure to get your tickets early in the day. Weekend tours nearly always sell out.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Playwrights Panel with Neil LaBute, Christopher Shinn, Mark St. Germain, and Frank Rizzo

Auditorium

Our Fourth Annual Playwrights Panel welcomes three of the most acclaimed writers working today!  Neil LaBute is best known for his taut dialogue, confrontational style, and controversial subject matter.  In addition to his screenplays for In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors, LaBute has written the plays Bash: Latter Day Plays, The Shape of Things, Fat Pig, and the Tony-nominated reasons to be pretty.  Wethersfield native Christopher Shinn is best known for dramas that plumb dark, complex emotional terrain.  With premiere productions in London and New York, Shinn’s work has been at Hartford Stage (Dying City and the upcoming An Opening in Time) and TheaterWorks (Four).  Mark St. Germain is one of the busiest playwrights today with works that have been seen across the United States and span a variety of genres.  Local audiences have enjoyed hisFreud’s Last Session, Becoming Dr. Ruth, and Dancing Lessons at TheaterWorks.

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm: Light reception in Hall Holbrook Hall

7:00 pm: Keynote with Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro is the bestselling author of the memoirs Devotion and Slow Motion, and five novels including Black & White and Family History. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Tin House, One Story, Elle, The New York Times Book Review, the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and has been broadcast on “This American Life”.  Dani was recently Oprah Winfrey’s guest on ”Super Soul Sunday,” and was chosen by Arianna Huffington to speak at the New York City “Thrive” conference. She has taught in the writing programs at Columbia, NYU, The New School and Wesleyan University; she is co-founder of the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. A contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveler, Dani lives with her family in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Her latest book is, Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life.

SUNDAY:

Session 5 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Memoir: The Remembered Life with Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

Classroom

Autobiography skirts the surface of a life without allowing the reader access to the messy, conflicted and unapologetically subjective material of a memoir.  Let us come to understand the requirement that the memoirist be willing to expose that subjective mess in order to create an irresistible, compelling and publishable memoir.

Smith has published ten critically acclaimed novels, and her short fiction and essays have appeared in several collections.  Her memoir, GIRLS OF TENDER AGE, has been a favorite of book clubs since it came out in 2006.  A novel, MASTERS OF ILLUSION, centered on the Great Hartford Circus Fire has been optioned for a film by Amazon Studios.  In 2010,  Smith was named the recipient of the Diana Bennett Fiction Writing Fellowship, at the Black Mountain Institute, UNLV, and spent a year writing the first draft of THE HONOURED GUEST when she wasn't being disappeared by David Copperfield at MGM Grand.

All Together in a Sudden Strangeness:  Breaking Our Writing Patterns with Edwina Trentham

3^rd Floor Library

In “Keeping Quiet,” Pablo Neruda suggests that “we all keep still” and see what will happen when we find ourselves “all / together in a sudden strangeness.” This workshop is not about keeping stil,l but it is about taking chances, about breaking out of our familiar writing patterns. We will both read and write poetry, using writing exercises to nudge ourselves out of our safe path as poets and encourage us to explore new voices.

Edwina Trentham is the Founding Editor of Freshwater.  Her collection of poetry Stumbling into the Light, was published by Antrim House in 2004, and she was a featured reader at the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival in June 2005. She was awarded a 2010 Solo Writer’s Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

Writing a Dramatic Scene with Lucy Ferriss

Auditorium

The scene is at the heart of the story -- at the heart, one might say, of all imaginative writing, be it drama or prose or even poetry. Some stories consist of only one scene, whereas others seem to "layer" their scenes with exposition, description, and dialogue, so that the story moves through time and reaches its climax in a final or penultimate scene rather than in a single line of dialogue or exposition.

Lucy Ferriss’s latest novel is A Sister to Honor (Penguin 2015). Recent work appears in the New York Times, The American Scholar, and Missouri Review, and has received recognition from the NEA, the Mid-List First Series, and the International Society for Narrative. She is Writer-in-Residence at Trinity College and lives in Connecticut and the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Her website is http://lucyferriss.com.

Session 6: 11 am - 12:00 pm

Birth of a Book: From the Author's Mind to the Shelf with Matthew Dicks

Auditorium

This workshop will pull back the curtains on the complex and confusing world of publishing. We will discuss how authors find agents, how books are pitched and sold to publishing houses, how authors earn advances and royalties, how books are sold to foreign markets, and how books are made into films. The oftentimes opaque machinery of the publishing process exposed at last!

Matthew Dicks is the author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo and the upcoming The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, as well as the rock opera The Clowns and the musical Caught in the Middle. When he isn’t writing, he fills his time as an elementary school teacher, a professional storyteller, a wedding DJ, a minister, a blogger, and a life coach. Matthew is a 16-time Moth StorySLAM champion and GrandSLAM champion who has been featured on the Moth Radio Hour and This American Life. He’s the co-founder and producer of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization.

Five Poetry Prompts to Change Your Life with Christine Beck

3^rd Floor Library

If you are stuck in a rut or worse yet, are staring at an empty page, let me show you five poetry prompts that will help you get moving. You can use these prompts both as a teacher and as a writer. They are designed to help edit your poetry to its essential, write with compassion about the "other," explore sonic appeal, use lists in new ways, and mimic lines or forms that will alter your standard syntax.

Christine Beck holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Southern Connecticut State University.  She teaches creative writing both at Southern and at the University of Hartford.  She is also active in The Connecticut Poetry Society and Riverwood Poetry Series. Her book, "Blinding Light," Grayson Books, was released in 2014.

MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS AND AMATEUR SLEUTHS: WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY with Susannah Hardy

Classroom

From Miss Marple to Nancy Drew to Jessica Fletcher to the modern cozy mystery, traditional mysteries never go out of style. This workshop will introduce you to the cozy mystery (you already know what it is--you just may not know what it's called), as well as give you tips and techniques on how to write your own while working within genre expectations. We'll cover setting, characters, and the construction of a twisting, turning plot that will keep readers guessing. A reading list will be provided.

Susannah Hardy thinks she has the best job in the world: writing mystery stories and recipes to go along with them. Her first novel, Feta Attraction, was published by Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin Random House) and is available now from all major retailers, to be followed by book 2 in the series, Olive and Let Die, on November 3. Writing as Sadie Hartwell, she will release Yarned and Dangerous, the first book in a new mystery series, on November 23 from Kensington Publishing. A graduate of St. Lawrence University, she lives in Connecticut.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch break

You’re on your own today! Bring your own, grab a salad or sandwich from our Nook Café, or head out to one of the many nearby restaurants (ask Julia or our front desk for recommendations).

Session 7: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Finding an Agent with Susan Schoenberger

3^rd Floor Library

What does it take to find an agent in this uber-competitive marketplace? Do you even need an agent with all of the non-traditional publishing options available? We'll talk about how to research agents, how to query them, why you might or might not need one, and what they actually do for writers. Bring your questions!

Susan Schoenberger worked for news organizations as a reporter, copy editor and editor for three decades before becoming the Director of Communications at Hartford Seminary. She is the author of two novels, A Watershed Year, which won the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, and The Virtues of Oxygen, released in 2014. She also teaches fiction at the Mark Twain House and Museum.

Taking the Oral History of a Family Member with Hunter Liguore

Classroom B

Are you an amateur historian? Have you always wanted to preserve your family history? Have a story of your own that you need to write? Here is your chance. Through oral history, we preserve not only the past, but the voices of those we care about. In this workshop, we’ll learn the logistics of conducting an oral history. We’ll create a list of interview questions, and complete sample exercises to get you started. Participants have opportunity to be included in One Bookshelf oral history project through American Athenaeum literary journal.

Hunter Liguore is an American writer, with degrees in history and writing. Her published work has appeared internationally; most recently, "Design of One’s Day," is a 2015 finalist in the Austin Chronicle short story contest. She is the editor-in-chief of the journal, American Athenaeum, considered to be a “museum of words.” Her novel, Next Breath, is represented by Regal Literary. She teaches undergraduate and graduate writing in New England. HunterLiguore.com

Writing and Promoting Your Content with Wayne English

Classroom A

Writing for the web and social media is a necessity for every writer and author. Today we discuss

writing headlines, media releases, your blog, InfoGraphics, white papers, and e-books. And, if we

have time, how to use tools like HootSuite and Klout to promote all that hard work.

Wayne English is president and founder of Web Content Rx, LLC. A Web content and social networking professional, author, writer, and consultant. An accomplished speaker, Wayne presents seminars, speaks on panel discussions, and business groups on writing for the Web and social networking. His first book, Web Content Rx, A Quick and Handy guide for Writes, Webmasters, eBayers, and Business People was a Top 5 Business Title in Leadership Books at The Washington Post. See WebContentRx.biz, read his blog at blog.WebContentRx.biz, and follow him on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Publishing Panel

Auditorium

Researching and choosing the best publishing method for one’s book is a huge decision made complicated by the ever-changing landscape of traditional publishing and self-publishing.  Vanity presses, independent publishing and now partnership publishing all offer methods for getting an author’s work out there, but is the purpose or end result always the production of a quality product?  The goal of this panel is to clarify the options and provide resources for those writers and authors interested in exploring their publishing alternatives.

Panelists:

Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS)

SheWrites Press (SWP)

Brian Jud, President; Premium Book Company & Executive Director of APSS

Gina Panettieri, President; Talcott Notch Literary Services

Cindy Eastman, Author; SheWrites Press

Cynde Acanto, Bookstore Owner; Book Club

Moderator: Donald Allen, Media Relations, Simon/Zef Publishing

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Open Mic with Syllable Series!

Auditorium

We close out our weekend of inspiration and information with an open mic to read your work. Curated by Syllable, the Reading Series, this is a chance to show off your best work or put new work in front of friendly listeners for the first time.

The 3rd Annual Writers’ Weekend: Official Schedule

 Questions? Email Director of Writing Programs Julia Pistell at Julia.pistell@marktwainhouse.org.

This schedule is subject to change. The best way to make sure you see everything is to register for the whole weekend!

Tickets for the whole weekend ($160, including two lunches and all programs): http://bit.ly/1ilVdm8

Tickets for Friday night only: http://bit.ly/1ilVdm8

Tickets for Saturday only (includes daytime workshops, Critics, Playwrights & Literary Death Match): http://bit.ly/1ilVdm8

Tickets for Sunday only: http://bit.ly/1ilVdm8

Tickets for the Critics' Panel: http://bit.ly/1ilVp50

Tickets for the Playwrights' Panel: http://bit.ly/1ilVp50

Tickets for Literary Death Match: http://bit.ly/1ilVp50

Friday, April 25^th 

6:00 pm: Welcome Reception

7:00 pm: Keynote Conversation with  Meg Wolitzer

Meg Wolitzer's novels include The Interestings; The Uncoupling; The Ten-Year Nap; The Position; and The Wife. She is also the author of a novel for young readers, The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman. Wolitzer's short fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories and has won a Pushcart Prize. Woltizer has been reviewed with raves in the The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Atlantic, People, and many more prestigious publications. She is a New York Times bestselling author. She will speak on the subject of her writing life and her works.

8:00 pm: Book Signing with Meg Woltizer

Saturday, April 26^th

ALL DAY: Buy the books of your favorite authors and get them signed after each session

10:00 am: Workshops

Tim Parrish: In Tension: Conflict in Fiction and Memoir

Conflict/tension/friction--whatever you want to call it--is the engine of good, dramatic, imaginative writing. Conflict can be writ large or writ small in a single word. We'll talk about the nature and role of conflict, complication, and resolution by first looking at examples of conflict at the start of some published memoirs, novels, and short stories. Then we'll identify and discuss what the conflicts are and how they're created through event, prose style, and characterization. Don't expect much lecturing. We'll be talking.

Susan Campbell: Ferreting Out the Facts

Non-fiction writing doesn't have to be boring. In fact, it shouldn't be, so long as you subscribe to the notion that truth is stranger (and richer) than fiction. In this workshop we’ll discuss how to research and present reality.

Susan Schoenberger: Finding an Agent

What does an agent do for you? Do you even want one in today's ever-changing publishing world? If you decide that you do, how do you go about finding one? We'll explore these issues and leave plenty of time for individual questions about the often mysterious and reliably complicated process of finding an agent. 

11:00 am: Workshops

Bessy Reyna: Poetry as Memoir

According to poet Mark Doty, "The great power of Poetry is the preservative. The ability to take a moment in time and attempt to hold it."  In this workshop divided into 3 short segments, we will examine poems from Richard Blanco, Marilyn Nelson and others, which illustrate how poetry can provide the perfect gateway to our memories to transform them into beautifully constructed short and intense narratives.

Mary Sharnick: Making A Scene: Jump Start Your Novel

Novels are written one scene at a time, each scene linking to the next and echoing the former.  In this hands-on class, participants will draft one scene, conflating a particular context, a specific protagonist, and a singular action.  Doing so will both advance plot and develop character. Materials will be provided by the instructor. 

Wayne English: Writing for the Web

Writing for the web is not like writing for print. On the web brevity is paramount. Here you will learn how to write clearly and succinctly. From the gritty to the sublime, this program ranges from  sentence and paragraph length to the nuances of effective communication. The immense power of the published written word is in your hands. Here you learn how to wield it.

Patrice Fitzgerald: Self-Publishing: The Reality of Doing It Yourself

Join us for a workshop on self-publishing.  We will explore the indie musts:  a good book, an appealing cover, whistle-clean editing, and professional-level formatting.  We will also talk about up-front costs, marketing, and the pros and cons of traditional versus independent publishing.  "Hybrid" and assisted self-publishing will also be discussed.  You'll come away from this session with a clear-eyed view of the possibilities for going it on your own rather than waiting… and waiting... for the perfect query letter to appeal to just the right agent.

12:00 pm:  Critics’ Panel

Three world-class literary and cultural critics will discuss their work as critics, the importance of literary critics today, and our current literary landscape. With John Freeman (former editor of Granta), Carole Goldberg (former Books Editor of the Hartford Courant), and David Bromwich (a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences).

1:00 pm: Lunch break!

Lunch will be provided.

2:00 pm:  Workshops

TJ Jarrett: Poetry

What are the six characteristics of great poems? This workshop addresses the methodologies employed by great poets and the personal desire to enjoy a poem instead of reading every one like an English major. We will compare and contrast methods employed by poets (Eavan Boland, Martha Collins, Ellen Bryant Voigt,and Natasha Trethewey)  who are harnessing experience to achieve truth in creative work.

John Casey: What’s Funny

Since we'll be a the Mark Twain House, I think a session on what's funny. One of the essays in my new book is called What's Funny. There's a lot more to be said, and I hope that the participants will add some humor of their own and/or reflections on how and why some things are funny. This wouldn't be primarily a how-to workshop but an exploration, with some concentration on written humor--how the requirements are different from those of spoken or acted-out humor. I'll forward the essay to you, the one that could be the jumping-off point for discussion.

Mike Morin: Pitching for Publicity

You've written the next Fifty Shades of Grey. Now what? Nobody knows who you are and your publisher is counting on you to create some buzz. As a radio host for over four decades, Mike shares what to say and to whom to get that much-coveted free interview time that will get the public excited about your book. He's also an author, so he knows how to work both sides of this process. He'll show you how to reach tens of thousands of listeners in three hours with radio tours. Buzz words to get a host or producer interested in you as a guest. You'll learn to be an engaging guest. Those who are game can try these ideas out in short mock interviews. He'll cover public speaking and even tell you about celebrities who were trainwreck interviews. Writing the book was easy. Getting publicity is the real work! Even if you don't have a book, you're probably an expert in something as a writer and the better you are at telling the world, the larger audience you'll have.

3:00 pm: Workshops

Vivian Shipley: Revising for Publication

If you have submitted your work for publication and it has been rejected a couple of times, that may be an indication that it is not quite ready for publication. Based on my experience as Editor of Connecticut Review, I’ll give suggestions about what you might do in terms of revision to improve your chances of having your work published. The advice I give will be applicable to any genre of writing. 

Patricia Chaffee: Freelancing for Local Markets

Designed with the emerging writer in mind, (and those seasoned folks who need a jump start) this one- hour workshop will give writers the know-how to get that coveted first byline and those much needed published clips. Learn about generating compelling story ideas, approaching editors, finding your niche market, and more. 

Susan Schoenberger: The Fiction Writer’s Mindset

How does a fiction writer look at the world, and how does that differ from a nonwriter or a nonfiction writer? We'll talk about using your unique set of experiences and your personality to bring your characters to life, to convey your insights about the human experience, and to leave your readers nodding and saying, "Yes, that's exactly how it feels."

Mary-Ann Tirone Smith: The Art of the Memoir:  The Remembered Life

Autobiography skirts the surface of a life without allowing the reader access to the messy, conflicted and unapologetically subjective material of a memoir. Let us speak of that subjective mess and learn how to embellish everything but the truth through the creation of an irresistible and compelling narrative voice.

4:00 pm: Playwriting Panel

For the third year in a row, be dazzled by incredible playwrights in conversation with one another. This year, we welcome Edwin Sánchez (Barefoot Boy With Shoes On), Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor), and Douglas Carter Beane (Lysistrata Jones; The Little Dog Laughed), in conversation with the Hartford Courant’s Frank Rizzo.

5:30 pm: Dinner break!

Find a great meal out on the town in Hartford.

6:30 pm:  Literary Death Match

Literary Death Match, co-created by Adrian Todd Zuniga, marries the literary and performative aspects of Def Poetry Jam, rapier-witted quips of American Idol’s judging (without any meanness), and the ridiculousness and hilarity of Double Dare.

Each episode of this competitive, humor-centric reading series features a thrilling mix of four famous and emerging authors (all representing a literary publication, press or concern — online, in print or live) who perform their most electric writing in seven minutes or less before a lively audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After each pair of readings, the judges — focused on literary merit, performance and intangibles — take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary about each story, then select their favorite to advance to the finals.

The two finalists then compete in the Literary Death Match finale, which trades in the show’s literary sensibility for an absurd and comical climax to determine who takes home the Literary Death Match crown.

Sunday, April 27^th

ALL DAY: Connecticut Authors and Publishers Book Fair & Signing

10:00 am:  Workshops

Steve Courtney: Telling Someone Else’s Story

When your interest in another person -- whether historical or contemporary -- goes over the line into the pursuit of writing biography, a sort of alchemy takes place. Unusual things happen, and you tread unexpected paths. It's the art of developing a friendship of sorts with your subject -- but then again, not quite a friendship, because strict honesty is an important part of the task. Great biographies -- such as the late Justin Kaplan's Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain -- set aside comprehensiveness and extraneous detail in the interest of presenting a rounded portrait of a human being that continues to resonate. We will hear from participants about their own biographical projects if they have them; study New York Times obituaries, which are usually gemlike examples of the biography form; and do a quick written exercise or two in personal portraiture.  

Ravi Shankar: Collaborate to Recreate; or How to use your Friends to Make Yourself a Better Writer

We will trace the history of collaborative writing from the ancient Japanese art of the renga to the Surrealists writing exquisite corpses, from the practice of the Beats like Ginsberg and Kerouac to generating modern day collaborations with computer programs, and we will look at the art of editing and revision as an extension of collaborative thought. Finally we will put the ideas we discuss into practice by generating a collaborative poem together, playing off one another to write something that will both simultaneously surprise us and that we still have some ownership over. If as Marcel Duchamp said, "all art is a game played between people of different periods," then we will have fun with in rewriting the rules of our own writing practice.

Leslie Johnson: Fiction

Do you want inspiration for new story ideas?  Do you need momentum to move forward with ideas you already have brewing?  This interactive writing workshop will supply strategies for both.  Leslie Johnson, short story writer, will share exercises using fictional voice and point of view to help you “find the way in” to your story idea and get it moving on the page.  Participants will actively discuss, write, share, and leave with some specific tips and techniques for energizing the process of writing short fiction.

11:00 am: Workshops

Aisha Sabatini Sloan: The Architecture of the Essay

When drafting an essay, do you know the ending before you’ve begun? Or are you watching it unfold like a film? Following the life story of an ancient poet or charting the migration of a bird? Are you solving an epistemological mystery? The techniques used in film, photography, architecture, and other artistic traditions can help illuminate unforseen pathways for the essay to follow. During this workshop, we will explore some of the ways that an idea can be expanded in the drafting process— using maps, blueprints, collage, museum curation and other structural models—in order to facilitate the most elegant (and hopefully, surprising) final draft. 

David Handler: Mystery

How does an author of whodunits actually figure out whodunit? Find out this and many other secrets of the trade from one of Connecticut's deftest practitioners of the gentle art of murder. We’ll discuss crafting a mystery and answer all of your most pressing detective fiction questions.

Christine Beck: What Writers Need to Know about the Law

The workshop will give an overview of three legal topics that affect writers:

1. Protecting your work against unauthorized use or theft.
2. Avoiding claims of defamation by people you have written about either by name or in a way that makes them recognizable.
3. Avoiding claims that you have used a trade name or product name without permission.

Vladimir Alexandrov: Researching and Writing a Forgotten Black American's Amazing Life

The Black Russian is Alexandrov’s recent biography of Frederick Bruce Thomas (1872-1928), the remarkable son of Mississippi slaves who became a millionaire entrepreneur in tsarist Moscow and the "Sultan of Jazz" in Constantinople. Alexandrov will use the example of my book to discuss how to do biographical research on people in the U. S., and on Americans who went abroad, by using domestic and foreign archives, as well as libraries, online data sources, and site visits.  He’ll also describe the kinds of surprise twists, turns, and discoveries that often accompany research of this kind and that can make it into a highly enjoyable detective-like quest.  Other topics will include dealing with holes in your subject's life and how to write and structure a biography for a trade press.

12:00 pm: Lunch break

A light lunch will be provided.

1:00 pm:  Workshops

Matthew Dicks: A Sneak Peak Into the Publishing Industry

The publishing industry is oftentimes a mysterious and impenetrable realm. The road that a book follows from the writer's mind to the shelves of a bookstore can be confusing, nebulous and uncertain. In this workshop, author Matthew Dicks will discuss the path that a book travels from the first words written on the page to its first appearance in a bookshop. Including in the workshop will be the sale of the book, the author-editor relationship, the complexities of publicity and marketing, the finances of publishing and much more.  

John Stanizzi: Synesthetic Poetry

A poetry writing workshop that attempts to abandon sense and theme and fact, and instead engages the imagination and intuition and association.  No stress, and surprisingly fun!

Qais Akbar Omar: Case Study of a Memoir

The acclaimed author of “A Fort of Nine Towers” will tell the story of fleeing warfare in Afghanistan, and then discuss the writing of his memoir. Learn how one story became a publishing phenomenon and how the act of writing transformed a horrifying experience into a work of art.

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Closing program: Syllable Series!

The acclaimed Hartford reading series, Syllable, brings the opportunity for workshop registrants to read 5 minutes of their work at a time to close out the program. Submit up to 2 pages of work by lunchtime on this day and close out the program with presenting your latest (or most polished) work to a crowd of peers. Readings will be curated by Julia Pistell, Director of Writing at the Mark Twain House, in order to showcase as wide a variety of writers as possible.

The mission of Syllable: A Reading Series is to provide a space for Connecticut writers of all levels to showcase their work, and to expose the public to a variety of writing styles. Syllable aims to be another brick in the strong arts community in the Greater Hartford area.