This workshop will help you get serious about your writing life, from figuring out a daily schedule to keeping self sabotage at bay.
Instructor: Lauren Kessler
In this workshop, you'll learn strategies and techniques to turbocharge your sentences so they'll leap off the page.
Instructor: Matt Stewart
Participants will be invited to employ the techniques off the finest fiction -- character, plot, setting, dialogue, suspense -- while adhering to rigorous standards of truth and observation.
Instructor: Jesse Katz
Writing funny doesn't mean sacrificing depth. We'll look at the work of Simon Rich, Ian Frazier, George Saunders, and others to show how you can be funny and break hearts while doing it.
Instructor: Steve Almond
Is reading on the decline? Many think so. Writers, booksellers, librarians and reviewers all have a stake in the evolving culture of reading, however no one has more to gain or lose than readers. A National Book Critics Circle panel. With Matthew Stadler, Michael Schaub, and David Biespiel.
The genre known as "creative nonfiction" is currently defined by its lack of established conventions. While it uses literary elements and embellished style instead of straight reporting of facts, where is the line between fiction and nonfiction?
With Craig Welch, Douglas Perry, and Ander Monson. Moderated by Wayne Garcia.
Writers in the Schools (WITS) is a program of Literary Arts that cultivates young writers and supports Oregon authors through semester-long writing residencies in the Portland public high schools. Introduced by Mary Rechner, WITS program director.
Your kids will love this hands-on workshop on drawing and creating their own comics with the folks from Cosmic Monkey!
It takes more than talent and a great book to gain an audience these days, but what does it take? A writer and publicist discuss the steps, stumbling blocks, downfalls, and successes to making a book a hit.
With Karen Karbo and Kim Dower.
Authors use larger-than-life historical events -- the Donner party, Freud, and a WWII subway explosion -- to weave together fact and fiction to tell an entirely new story.
With Joseph Skibell, Gabrielle Burton, and Jessica Frances Kane. Moderated by Myrlin Hermes.
In celebration of the Doug Fir Fiction Award, Orlo welcomes Jim Lynch (the 2010 judge) and Jon Raymond (the 2009 judge), who will read from current work and discuss "place-based writing."
In this session, we'll discuss the risks and opportunities afforded by the print-on-demand revolution and what it means to build a readership from the bottom up.
Instructor: Steve Almond
We will feed our poetic appetites and awaken our palates on the page. We'll use poems by major contemporary poets to create new poems good enough to eat.
Instructor: Willa Schneberg
A revealing look at the process of writing one's first book, and the decisions three debut writers made in creating the first person narrator they bring their story.
With Wendy Burden, Sarahlee Lawrence, and Gemma Whelan. Moderated by Andrew Proctor.
In long-form narrative journalism, the writer's talent and the reporter's skill combine to create a unique work of narrative art. It's a vibrant part of American journalism, particularly in national magazines. What is it's future?
With Joel Lovell, senior editor at GQ and a professor in the creative nonfiction program at the University of Pittsburgh, and Randy Gragg, editor in chief at Portland Monthly.
Kids young and old will enjoy this how-to, hands-on workshop on bookmaking, presented by Ooligan Press, the student-run publishing house at Portland State University.
Literary artists learn to write compelling and lively grant applications to fund their writing projects. Discover how to research funding, decode application questions, and let the grant-writing process focus on career goals.
Instructor: Gigi Rosenberg
This worksop contains lecture, discussion, examples, and participation in writing -- all focused on technical characteristics of dialogue in order to intensify mood, express emotional connections, and more.
Instructor: Chris Keil
Writing humor takes work. As a writer, humor rests exclusively on the power of your words -- no props, no gags, no nothing. Just words. Three very funny writers discuss the challenges involved with getting that laugh-out-loud moment in print.
With Steve Almond, Jess Walter, and Paul Provenza. Moderated by Courtenay Hameister.
Join us for a visit from the Read to the Dogs program, brought to us by Dove Lewis and the Delta Society!
Writers are famous for their idiosyncrasies. Three authors discuss their daily routines, techniques, and superstitions for getting the words on the page.
With Karen Karbo, Joanna Smith Rakoff, and Heidi Durrow. Moderated by David Biespiel.
Five Keys to Textual Healing: This workshop will cover definition of dramatic action, working in scenes, consistent point of view, starting near the end, and plot vs. narrative.
Instructor: Joseph Skibell
In this workshop, learn how to create a blog that will get ou noticed, secure a literary agent, and chose the book deal that's right for you.
Instructor: Candace Dempsey
Technology is impacting all aspects of publishing -- the way books are published, distributed, sold, and read. An author, a publisher, and an entrepreneur discuss how technology affects publishing and literature.
With Lauren Kessler, Rhonda Hughes, and Kevin Smokler. Moderated by Richard Meeker.
The supernatural is huge these days. Hear three authors talk about why it's so popular right now, and how they make their own supernatural stories so believable.
With Becca Fitzpatrick, Laura Whitcomb, and Joey Comeau. Moderated by Sara Gundell.
What are the advantages and pitfalls when authors use social media to promote their work and themselves? Most no longer wrestle with the question of whether they should use these tools, but which tools are best for them to use.
With Matt Stewart, Kaleb Nation, and Cheryl Strayed. Moderated by Liz Prato.
Knowing Your Characters Inside and Out: We'll look at an approach to character development informed by Method acting, in which the writer strives to get to know her characters as deeply and fully as possible.
Instructor: Joanna Smith Rakoff
Want to present your work during a literary event? Join us to learn how to prepare and practice so that your performance delights every audience!
Instructor: The editors of VoiceCatcher
Time Out! is a fresh entertainment alternative for moms to perform intelligent comedy. Take this opportunity to see some hilarious writing in action -- with real moms!
Burroughs Medalist and Guggenheim Fellow Robert Michael Pyle writes essay, poetry, and fiction along Gray's River, deep in Southwest Washington. His new book is Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year.
