Beginning Fiction Workshop
Instructor: Shawn Wong
 Nearly everyone says or overhears someone say, "I have a great idea for a novel." How do fiction writers get from idea to written pages? How do you give yourself practical writing assignments to meet your goal? What tricks can you play on yourself to move your writing ability from one level to another? How can you be an objective editor of your writing? There is no tried-and-true path to writing fiction, but Shawn Wong's students for the past 26 years at UW have gone on to write and publish short stories and novels and win writing awards. What he tells them will be compressed into four sessions. In other words, let's skip the apprenticeship and get straight to the writing.
Biography: Shawn Wong's second novel, American Knees (1995), was made into a movie titled "Americanese" that will be distributed in theaters by IFC Films in 2010. His first novel, Homebase (1979), won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and Governor's Writers Day Award of Washington. Both novels have been reissued by the University of Washington Press. Shawn Wong is also the co-editor and editor of six Asian American and American multicultural literary anthologies including the pioneering Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers (1974). He is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Washington.
Number of sessions: 4
Dates: Thursday, September 23 and 30, October 7 and 14
Time: 7-9:00 p.m.
Tuition: $160
Location: Library Meeting Room, Bainbridge Public Library, 1270 Madison Avenue, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Registration for Fall Classes will open on August 8th, 2010.
Download a registration form (Word doc.) or register online with PayPal:
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Saying the Unsaid
Instructor: Michael Overa
 It's not always what is said and how it is said in our fiction, but often what isn't said. This class looks at how writers convey information by writing "between the lines." The class will focus on the "subtext" of several stories including work by Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, and Charles Baxter. We'll use exercises to experiment with subtext and explore the advantages and disadvantages of leaving some things unsaid (at least in our fiction).
Biography: Michael Overa was born and raised in Seattle, and has lived in London, Dublin, Sydney, and most recently Roanoke, Virginia. He has an MFA from Hollins University, where he was a teaching fellow. Michael also studied at Tin House, the University of Iowa, and Naropa University. He has worked as a freelance writer and as a writing tutor at several colleges and the University of Washington. His fiction has appeared in The Portland Review, Pindeldyboz.com, and The Denver Syntax, among other places. His short stories have won recognition as contest finalists at Hugo House and in Glimmer Train.
Number of sessions: 3
Dates: Monday, October 18 and 25, November 1
Time: 7-9:00 p.m.
Tuition: $120
Location: Library Meeting Room, Bainbridge Public Library, 1270 Madison Avenue, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Registration for Fall Classes will open on August 8th, 2010.
Download a registration form (Word doc.) or register online with PayPal:
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Reading Like a Writer
Instructor: Julie Larios
 We turn to books for many reasons-for intellectual stimulation, entertainment, solace, the satisfaction of personal curiosity, the mastering of new skills, and the simple camaraderie of fellow readers. Each of these pleasures can be developed and deepened by learning how to read like a writer. Using the book Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose as a guide, we'll look at strategies writers use to pull readers into their stories. We'll focus on devices both large and small (from narrative arcs to the artful sentence) and share careful observations about a handful of wonderful books, including the National Book Award winner Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.
Biography: Seattle poet Julie Larios teaches in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts and has been published widely in reviews and magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Ploughshares, Threepenny Review, and Poetry Northwest. She is the author of four poetry collections for children and has had work included twice in The Best American Poetry series. Recently she was awarded a fellowship by the Washington State Arts Commission/Artist Trust.
Number of sessions: 2
Dates: Sunday, November 7 and November 14
Time: 2-4:00 p.m.
Tuition: $50 per person; $40 per person for groups of 5 registering together. Please note: If you wish to register a group for this class please download a registration form and follow the instructions provided on the form.
Location: Library Meeting Room, Bainbridge Public Library, 1270 Madison Avenue, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Registration for Fall Classes will open on August 8th, 2010.
Download a registration form (Word doc.) or register online with PayPal (below).
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