Winter 2012 Classes

Description:
Your memoir is a story from your life, not the story of your life. Understanding your theme helps keep you focused as well as provides guidance to what you should include in your memoir. Through lecture, discussions, and readings we will explore the importance of theme, the art of using judgment, forms of memoir, how to weave musings along with plot to keep the story going, and that sticky thing called truth. The instructor will give home writing assignments and provide oral feedback during class. Students who have a draft of their memoir will be able to utilize what they have already written. Students will have the opportunity to workshop scenes in small groups, and will leave the class with a compelling opening scene and a scene that blends musing and judgment. This class is for anyone writing a memoir, whether you are in the brainstorming stage, working on a revision, or somewhere in between.

Maximum class size: 15

Number of sessions: 3

Dates: Thursday, March 15, 22, and 29

Time: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Tuition: $120

Location:
Library Meeting Room
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Avenue N.
Bainbridge Island, WA  98110

Bio:
Corbin Lewars is the author of Creating a Life: The Memoir of a Writer and Mom in the Making (2010), which was nominated for the 2011 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Washington State Book Awards. Her novel Swings is out for submission and she is currently working on her second memoir. Her essays have been featured in over 25 publications as well as several anthologies. Lewars blogs for the Seattle PI and Ballard News Tribune. She has been coaching writers for 10 years, was editor of the women's publication, Verve, and has been a writing instructor for 15 years, currently through Richard Hugo House in Seattle. www.corbinlewars.com

Description:
Learn how to put files, stacks, and bytes to work for your writing. Whether it’s a new online database, 50-year-old book, 300-year-old manuscript, or 500-year-old map that you need, this workshop will help you find the resources that best inform your writing. It might be an essay, novel, play, or poem you’re creating, but at some point you’ll need to do some old-fashioned research—using newfangled tools. Bring your research questions and your laptop (optional); we'll dig up the answers. A reference librarian will join us for part of the day as we navigate information superhighways and carriage roads.

Maximum class size: 20 

Number of sessions: 1

Dates: Sunday, January 22

Time: 10 am – 4 pm (with 1-hour lunch break)

Tuition: $100

Location:
Library Meeting Room
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Avenue N.
Bainbridge Island, WA  98110

Bio:
Wendy Call is the 2011 Distinguished Visiting Writer at Cornell College of Iowa. She has been Writer in Residence at more than a dozen institutions, including universities, arts schools, a national park, and a public hospital. Call is the author of No Word for Welcome (2011), co-editor of Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide (2007), and translator of Mexican poetry and short fiction. She has completed research for her writing in a hospital emergency room, in forests and rural villages, and in historical archives on three continents—but her most relied-upon source is her local, public library. www.wendycall.com

Photo credit: Rosanne Olson

Description:
You've written your book or have a partial manuscript. Now you must write the query letter and synopsis. Where to begin? Reference books seem to have conflicting methods. Is there "one way" to do it? Which details must be included? Which statements should be avoided? Alice Acheson shares what works, what doesn't—and why. While much of this class will focus on fiction, the process can benefit nonfiction writers working on memoirs, biographies, or other creative nonfiction. Saturday will focus on the query letter. It may not be "perfect" when you leave the class, but you'll have a clear idea how to complete the final polish.  Sunday will focus on putting the "sell" into the synopsis, using and amplifying what has been learned. For individualized attention, the class is limited to 10 students.

After registering, students will receive, via email, guidelines for writing a one-page query and a synopsis, plus an example of a query that succeeded. Before February 3, students should email directly to the instructor their query letter and synopsis and bring to class 12 copies of each. Between the Saturday and Sunday classes, students will be asked to read all synopses and be ready to comment.

Maximum class size: 10 

Number of sessions: 2

Dates: Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12

Time: Sat. 1:30-5:30 pm and Sun. 1-5 pm

Tuition: $160

Location:
Library Meeting Room
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Avenue N.
Bainbridge Island, WA  98110

Bio:
Alice B. Acheson is a Marketing Specialist and Publishing Consultant with decades of experience. She has negotiated book contracts, sold subsidiary rights, and edited and publicized books. She is the recipient of the Literary Market Place Outside Services Award for Advertising, Promotion, and Publicity. As an editor at a major New York City publisher, she read the "slush" pile and spotted the "go/no-go" elements of a project. As a publicist, she has handled many titles that have appeared on The New York Times bestseller list. Nationally, she has taught workshops on marketing tools, pitching manuscripts, and publishing choices. She lives in Friday Harbor.