Tuesday, April 28, 8pm EST, with Audrey Olivero, and Jennifer Rosner (The Yellow Bird Sings), followed by a discussion led by our host, Brian Gresko. Join us on Zoom by clicking here, or watch on YouTube. You must register in advance for the Zoom
Applications due on January 10th. More information here.
You’ve written complete stories, had them workshopped, and even made big plans for taking your stories into their next incarnation. But now you feel overwhelmed by the revision process: How do you sift through mountains of feedback and put that feedback to work to improve the story? How do you become a strong editor for your own work? How do you do all this without questioning yourself every step of the way? Where the hell do you even begin?
Through careful and rigorous self-assessment and planning, we will work on these questions together so that you can develop the necessary practice in revision that will take you to the next level as a writer. While this course focuses primarily on the practical work of revising a short story—the distinction between editing and revising, strategies for what to salvage and what to toss—we will also discuss how you know when a story is “done,” the difficulty and reward of developing your instincts, and how to articulate the thematic arcs of your work.
Though you will be working with other students and the instructor for accountability and guidance, this is not a workshop but an active craft class focused on seeing a single story through a revision. Most of our work will be developing an individualized revision plan and then putting that plan into action, as well as learning tools and tactics that can be applied toward future work.
Stephanie Jimenez will read from her debut novel, THEY COULD HAVE NAMED HER ANYTHING, followed by a conversation with Danielle Lazarin.
Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria
2113 Amsterdam Avenue (at 165th St.)
New York NY 10032
Thursday, September 12th
6:30 PM
Every morning, seventeen-year-old Maria Anís Rosario takes the subway an hour from her boisterous and close-knit family in Queens to her private high school on the Upper East Side, where she struggles to fit in as one of the only Latina students—until Rocky welcomes her into this new life. White, rebellious, and ignored by her wealthy parents, Rocky uses her money toward one goal: to get away with anything. . . . A character in its own right, Jimenez’s New York City is full of contradictions, particularly its racial and economic segregation, the stark contrast of its struggling denizens and those extremely wealthy. Her renderings of these characters tell a larger story about the effects of gentrification and are, as Danielle Lazarin (author of Back Talk: Stories) writes of the novel, “a powerful reminder that moving between worlds is rarely free, and that the most valuable educations take place outside the classroom.”
Whether you are a mother, hope to become one, are unsure, or have chosen not to partake, we all have opinions on motherhood. Join award-winning authors Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere) and Mary Karr (The Liars’ Club) for an evening of fiction celebrating and exploring one of our most complex relationships. With stories by Danielle Lazarin (Back Talk), Tillie Olsen (Tell Me a Riddle), Nafissa Thompson-Spires (Heads of the Colored People), and more!
Selected Shorts is produced by Symphony Space and broadcast on more than 150 stations around the country. The Selected Shorts podcast consistently ranks as one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes. The series began in 1985 and enjoys sold-out performances to this day. Selected Shorts was conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them performed by terrific actors of stage and screen. Featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique night of literature in performance.
Actors subject to change. There will be no book signing.
NOTE: This is a ticketed event.
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott's acclaimed classic, Little Women, featuring a panel discussion with Danielle Lazarin and Idra Novey, moderated by Maris Kreizman.
The beautiful new edition of Alcott's beloved novel features a foreword by National Book Award-winning author and musician Patti Smith.
A raffle will benefit Girls Write Now; a quiz will help attendees decide whether they’re a Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy; and wine will be provided by Winc.
At Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY
7:30-8:30 PM
SPRING MEANS beautiful and compelling books in full bloom! At the May 20th Sunday Salon, three incredibly talented NYC-based writers and one award-winning author from Georgia share their latest work at the mic. And more: DJ Doublesix returns to spin his magic. You won’t want to miss this final spring event! At Von Bar, 3 Bleecker St. 7pm. RSVP here.
Von Bar
3 Bleeker St
NY, NY 10012
7 PM
Elsa Bar
136 ATLANTIC AVE. BROOKLYN NY 11201
7 PM
Fundraiser in support of Nile Sisters Development Initiative
Tickets available for purchase here
Bonus: Readers' book recs for young women over at Literary Hub
KGB Bar w/Xhenet Aliu
Sunday Night Fiction Series with Xhenet Aliu, author of BRASS
KGB Bar
85 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
How to Build a Short Story
Do you often think you have great ideas for a short story but aren’t sure how to get those ideas from your head to the page? This 8-week session will consist of reading and discussing short stories, completing writing exercises both in and out of the classroom, and receiving thoughtful, constructive feedback from your instructor and peers. Through the careful exploration of the elements of fiction (characterization, world-building, backstory, structure, and so on), participants will learn what makes a good story idea and how to develop that idea into a full story. At the end of the session, students will have the tools to draft an entire short story, as well as multiple story starts to follow up on. This class is suitable for all levels of writers, from the beginning writer to the more experienced writer who wants fresh ideas for works in progress or to generate new work.
Reading & Conversation with Jessie Chaffee
Reading and discussion with Jessie Chaffee, author of Florence in Ecstasy
Word Up Community Bookshop
2113 Amsterdam Avenue (at 165th St.)
New York NY 10032
3PM
with Rachel Lyon & Mira T. Lee
Pete's Candy Store
709 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
A reading of recent work from current and former Washington Heights residents and writers Danielle Lazarin and Phillip Lopate.
DANIELLE LAZARIN'S debut short story collection, BACK TALK, is forthcoming from Penguin Books in 2018. Her fiction has appeared in Colorado Review, Indiana Review, Glimmer Train, Boston Review, and elsewhere. She's a 2015 NYFA fellow in fiction and the recipient of multiple individual artists grants from NoMAA. She lives in her native New York, where she is at work on a novel.
PHILLIP LOPATE has written three personal essay collections; two novels, three poetry collections; and more works of criticism. Recent publications include Portrait Inside My Head (personal essays), To Show and to Tell: the Craft of Literary Nonfiction, and A Mother’s Tale (2017). He has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a NYPL Center for Scholars and Writers Fellowship, two NEA grants, and two NYFA grants. After working with children for twelve years as a writer in schools, he taught creative writing and literature at Fordham, Cooper Union, University of Houston, Hofstra University, New York University and Bennington College. He is the director of the nonfiction graduate program at Columbia University, where he also teaches writing.
RSVP here.
I'll be participating in the Met's Career Lab for teens, where I'll be talking about creating characters. Free to teens 15-18.
