2011 American Independent Writers Conference

I'll be participating on a panel about historical fiction in the Washington Writer’s Conference, sponsored by the American Independent Writers Aasociation (AIW) and The Writer’s Center, at the Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815
Saturday, June 11, 2011 from 9 a.m. to: 6:30 p.m.

Morning Sessions:

Session I: Literary Agents Roundtable - covering both the nonfiction and fiction market

Session II: Marketing Your Work - How-to lessons from leading publicists

Session III: Mysteries and Thrillers - Writing and publishing tips from published pros

Catered Luncheon with Address by John Ross, Executive Editor of American Heritage Magazine, former senior editor of Smithsonian, and bestselling non-fiction author of War on the Run.


Afternoon Sessions:

Session IV: Writing for Movies and TV – crafting and selling a screenplay

Session V: Connecting with a live audience – be a great live reader of your own work

Session VI: Historical Narrative –seasoned writers show to bring the past alive

Networking wine reception – meet, chat, and drink with other writers

First 50 attendees to register for conference may sign up for a ten-minute meeting with a literary agent.

For more information about pricing and how to register, visit www.amerindywriters.org/ or www.writer.org

More anon.

Guestblogger Kyle Semmel: 5 Quick Links "Out of Denmark"

One of the most vital aspects of Washington DC's literary scene is its international flavor. After all, the city is home to embassies from almost every nation on earth, many multinational agencies, from the IDB to the World Bank, not to mention the many universities with their language and international relations programs and so much more. I write about Mexico and translate Mexican writing, so I've long been a big fan of Washington DC's Mexican Cultural Institute, and I salute the community of Spanish language writers and Spanish translators. But many other embassies offer cultural programs in DC, and many other translators work with untold numbers of languages. That said, it is rare to find an event of such quality as one coming up tomorrow -- Thursday September 23, 2010-- at the nearby Writers Center (just over the border) in Bethesda MD. I asked the organizer, my amigo the writer and literary translator Kyle Semmel, to provide details. Over to you, Kyle!

It’s a good time to be a translator (as I am) of Scandinavian literature. But it’s an even better time to be a reader of Scandinavian fiction.

Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (translated by Reg Keeland) holds the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list, and his two previous novels still place first and second on the NYT's paperback bestsellers list. Larsson and a handful of other Scandinavian crime novelists —- Henning Mankell, Camilla Läckberg, and Karin Fossum, among them -— have won so many fans worldwide that readers might be surprised to learn that the literature of the far North isn't all dark nights and darker passions, serial killers and sinister plot twists.

For several years I've translated a number of Danish authors. And I'm pleased to say that three of Denmark’s leading authors—- Pia Tafdrup (whose travel essays I've translated a few of), Simon Fruelund (whose work I translate regularly), and Naja Marie Aidt—- will appear at The Writer’s Center, where I work as the communications and publications manager and interim director, as part of the 2010 Fall for the Book Festival. The event is made possible by a grant from the Danish Arts Council’s Committee for Literature and support from the Embassy of Denmark.



Come on out to The Writer's Center for this one-of-a-kind event. It's free, and you'll have the opportunity to see some of Denmark's finest authors-- before they're household names here in the States. Here are some quick links:

1. For the event at The Writer's Center
2. For Naja Marie Aidt (with English text)
3. For Pia Tafdrup (with English text)
4. For Simon Fruelund (a short story, my translation) at A River & Sound Review
5. For Danish literature in general: Danish Literary Magazine


-- Kyle Semmel
http://twitter.com/kylesemmel
http://twitter.com/writerscenter

P.S. Check out Kyle Semmel's interviews with Danish writers Naja Marie Aidt and Pia Tafdrup for FIRST PERSON PLURAL.

---> For the archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.

Winter Writing Workshops with C.M. Mayo

an Miguel de Allende (Techniques of Fiction); Bethesda MD (Dialogue Intensive): and Rehoboth Beach (Point of View). Click here for more info.

3 Most Frequently Asked Questions About the Writing Business

To my (happy) surprise, I am guest-blogging today over at the Writers Center blog, First Person Plural, with a re-posting of my answers to the three most frequently asked questions about the writing business. More anon.

The Writers Center's Kyle Semmel Talks About Blogs

Check out this piece in DC's Examiner.com. More anon.

The Writer’s Center Announces Undiscovered Voices Fellowship

I'll be offering a new workshop at the Writer's Center this September 27th, a one day ony Dialogue Intensive. Meanwhile, here's some great news:

The Writer’s Center Announces Undiscovered Voices Fellowship
New Program Offers Writers Opportunity to Take Workshops for One Year

BETHESDA, MD (July 8, 2009)—The Writer’s Center announces the formation of a new initiative: the Undiscovered Voices Fellowship.

Because The Writer’s Center believes writers of all backgrounds and experiences should have an opportunity to devote time and energy toward the perfection of their craft, we are accepting applications from promising writers earning less than $25,000 annually to apply for our Undiscovered Voices Fellowship. This fellowship program will provide complimentary writing workshops to the selected applicant for a period of one year, but not to exceed 8 workshops in that year. We expect the selected fellow will use the year to make progress toward a completed manuscript of publishable work.

The selected fellow will be able to attend writing workshops offered by The Writer’s Center free of charge. In addition, the fellow will give a reading from his or her work at the close of the fellowship period (June 2010) and will be invited to speak with local high school students on the craft of writing.

To apply, candidates should submit
a) a cover letter signed by the candidate that contains the statement: “I understand and confirm I meet all eligibility requirements of the Undiscovered Voices Fellowship.” The cover letter should include information on the impact this fellowship would have on the candidate.

b) contact information for two references who can speak to the candidate’s creative work and promise

c) a work sample in a single genre:

· 8 pages of poetry, no more than one poem per page

· 10 pages of fiction, double-spaced, no more than 1 work or excerpt

· 10 pages of nonfiction (essay, memoir, etc), double-spaced, no more than 1 work or excerpt

OR

· 15 pages of a script or screenplay

These items should be sent in hard copy to The Writer’s Center, Attn: Undiscovered Voices Fellowship, 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815. The deadline is September 15, 2009.

About The Writer’s Center
The Writer’s Center, a 501(c) 3 established in 1976, is one of the nation’s oldest and largest independent literary centers. We provide over 60 free public events and more than 200 writing workshops each year, sell one of the largest selections of literary magazines in our on-site bookstore, and publish Poet Lore, America’s oldest continually published poetry journal. The Writer's Center is supported in part by The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.

More anon.

American Independent Writers Conference and Techniques of Fiction

This Saturday: The American Independent Writers conference--- editors, agents, writers of all stripes and more--- is all day at George Washington University's Cafritz Conference Center, Washington DC.

This Sunday: Techniques of Fiction, my one day only workshop, 1- 5 pm at the Writers Center, Bethesda MD.

More anon.

The Writers Center: C.M. Mayo, Luis Alberto Ambroggio, Yvette Neisser Moreno & Company--- and Grover Cleveland at the 7-11?

Sunday's reading at the Writers Center in Bethesda MD was such a delight. My dear amiga, historical novelist and fellow Writers Center faculty member, Ann McLaughlin, gave the introduction and read her favorite passage from The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire-- which she knows so well, having critiqued multitudinous drafts! For the record, it was the scene where Maximilian watches the sunset from the roof of Chapultepec Castle, rendered, but of course, in Maximilianesquely labyrinthical syntax (& toss in the Deities of Memphis, swords of light, an eagle skimming the treetops...) Gracias Ann!

Read Art Taylor's full report on the event over at Art & Literature...

And thank you also to everyone at the Writers Center, especially Sunil Freeman and Kyle Semmel (the Writers Center's blogger extraordinaire--- check out First Person Plural)-- and my fellow readers, poet Luis Alberto Ambroggio and his translator, poet Yvette Niesser Moreno (pictured right, photos by Kyle Semmel), who read such superb poems and so beautifully. Their new book, Difficult Beauty, will be available shortly.

It was a heartfelt pleasure to see my dear friend travel writer Sara Mansfield Taber, as she was the one who, many years ago, when we were fellows at Bread Loaf, first introduced me to the Writers Center. Other writers in attendance: Dylan Landis, who has a new and much-vaunted book of short stories coming out this fall, and my fellow Unbridled Books novelist, Stephen Evans; John Curry (with whom I'm cooking up a panel for the American Independent Writers Conference this June-- stay tuned; the talented short story writer and novelist Ellen Prentiss Campbell; poet, translator and publisher Robert Giron (who just brought out an amazing anthology, Poetic Voices Without Borders 2); poet and childrens book writer J.D. Smith (whose book on mariachis will be featured on this blog asap); poet and Momotombo editor Francisco Aragon; poet Judy McCombs, book blogger Serena Agusto-Cox (at her blog, Savvy Verse & Wit, check out her report-- and a contest for a free copy of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire) and fiction writer Art Taylor, who reports for Arts & Literature.

And last but certainly not least, medievalist and blogger (Quid Plura?) Jeff Sypeck, who alerted me to a tromp l'oeil of--- surely it is--- President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland, on the side of a 7-11 at the corner of Connecticut and Porter, DC.



What, by Jove, does this have to do with my novel? Well, the prince's mother, nee Alice Green, grew up at Rosedale, then one of the grandest country estates in the District of Columbia. In the late 19th century, a substantial chunk of it was sold to President Grover Cleveland. His country house has since been torn down, but the now very urban neighborhood around old Rosedale is known as Cleveland Park.

Thanks to all my friends, Americans and Mexicans, long-time and new, it was grand to see you!

More anon.

A Delicate Balance: Ellen McLaughlin & Kathleen Chalfant at the Writers Center

Message from both the Writers Center and my amiga novelist Ann McLaughlin, whose daughter is the actress Ellen McLaughlin:

On Monday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 P.M. join us as we host award-winning Broadway performers Ellen McLaughlin & Kathleen Chalfant, actresses in the Arena Stage performance of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance.

General admission is $5, but there is free admission for those who bought discounted Writer's Center tickets to the February 22 production. To register for this event, click here: https://www.writer.org/events/details.asp?id=409

Literary Travel Writing Workshop at the Writers Center with C.M. Mayo April 18th

Some news: I'll be giving a special one day only workshop on Literary Travel Writing at the Bethesda MD Writers Center on Saturday April 18th.

Take your travel writing to another level: the literary, which is to say, giving the reader the novelistic experience of actually traveling there with you. For both beginning and advanced writers, this workshop covers the techniques from fiction and poetry that you can apply to this specialized form of creative nonfiction for deliciously vivid effects. Mayo does not critique manuscripts but rather offers a series of mini-lectures interspersed with exercises, readings, and discussion. The goal is that by the end of the workshop, your writing will be of notably higher quality.

Click here for more information.

On the Writers Center Blog: Agents, Publishers & Book PR

My blog post for the Writers Center is up. Read it here. (The fog of war? How about "the fog of book publishing.") Comments welcome.
More anon.

Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Writing Workshop

Now posted on The Writers Center blog. Click here for more resources for writers. I'll probably be offering a one day writing workshop at the Writers Center (Bethesda MD) next winter or spring. To be notified, join my mailing list. More anon.

2018 UPDATE: An expanded and improved version of this post is available on my website here.

Basil White on the Flash Fiction Workshop

Here's what comedy writer (and, by the way, my fellow Writers Center faculty member) Basil White had to say about my recent "Flash Fiction" workshop." Bless you, Basil.

P.S. Check out his everything-plus-the-kitchen-itself and free on-line resource, "How Comedy Works."

More anon.

Guest-Blogger Deborah Ager: 5 Fantastic Freebies for Writers

Apropos of the financial melt-down upon us, writers, do not despair! Not only is inspiration free as the air, but today poet Deborah Ager offers links to five fantastic freebies. I first met Deborah Ager a few years ago at that blessed oasis of poetry (among other arts), the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Since then, we've crossed paths everywhere from the Writers Center to the Washington Independent Writers (now American Independent Writers) blogging for writers panel to, well, all over cyberspace. Not only is Deborah a truly gifted poet, and poetry editor (founder of the journal 32 Poems) but she's a web 2.0 diva--- by which I mean, blogging, twittering (is that the right verb?), and facebooking (um, is that a verb also?) with both grace and goodwill (speaking of which, check out her Nine Effective (and Possibly Hip) Ways to Use Facebook.) Official bio: Deborah Ager's first book, Midnight Voices, will be published in March 2009 by WordTech. She has published in Best New Poets 2006, Best of the Tigertail Anthologies, The Bloomsbury Review, The Georgia Review, New Letters, and Quarterly West. She has edited 32 Poems Magazine since 2003. Keep up with her at the 32 Poems blog. Over to you, Deborah!

5 Fantastic Freebies for Writers

Not all writers can be James Merrill and spend two-and-a-half years traveling across Europe -- sigh! -- with no worries about money. I can't guarantee you'll save enough money from my tips to travel Europe, but you might have enough to take time from work to visit an artist's colony.

Here's to stretching your dollar and having a good time in the process.

1. Free Movies and TV Shows
Watch "Saturday Night Live", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Office" or other shows at Hulu.com -- or catch more than 100 movies. I credit Kiplinger's for this idea.

2. Free Furniture, Books, etc.
Freecycle is the king of free. Do you want toys for your kids, books, or a new modernist chair? Look no further. Take some items off your neighbor's hands. When your house gets too full, put your items on the list for others to take.

3. Free Software
With Open Office create poems and write prose without having to shell out for software. My book publisher -- Cherry Grove Collections -- uses Open Office to lay out books. I downloaded the software and fell in love. It's much like MS Word, except you don't have to pay!

4. Free Web Browser
Many of us still use IE. Try out Flock and see what you've been missing. You can see Facebook updates from your friends in a split screen and keep track of incoming emails about local readings.

5. Free Books
Bored on a vacation or taking a break at work? Open up an oldie but a goodie at Project Gutenberg. Whether you want to read Austen, Kant, or Keats, Project Gutenberg offers hundreds of books that are in the public domain.


--- Deborah Ager

--->For the archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.

Open House at Writers Center, and Flash Fiction

Open house this Saturday September 6th at the Writers Center just outside Washington DC in Bethesda MD. I'll be giving the one-day "Flash Fiction" workshop on Sunday October 5th. Key links:
--->The Writers Center.
--->C.M. Mayo's Flash Fiction Workshop
--->"Giant Golden Buddha & 364 More 5 Minute Writing Exercises"
More anon.


P.S. On another, but related subject, today is the last day to register for the Writers Telesummit, the virtual writer conference. (I'll be giving the talk and Q & A on travel writing). Click on the Writers Telesummit icon over on the sidebar for more information and to register.

Guest-blogger Lindsay Reed Maines on Top 5 Literary Agent Blogs

I met journalist Lindsay Reed Maines when I took her pretzelly-fun one day workshop at the Writers Center in Bethesda MD on Yoga and Writing, which I warmly recommend to anyone interested in improving their writing. In addition to teaching yoga, she maintains the Rock and Roll Mamma blog, where you can read more about her endeavors, which include two books in progress, a novel and nonfiction book about the ways moms maintain their musical identities after having children, and the role music plays in parenting. Over to you, Lindsay!

Like all writers, I've spent time deeply immersed in the voodoo art of finding a literary agent. While conventional wisdom always dictates researching them as carefully as possible, how exactly does one go about doing that? I mean, sure, you can look up their most recent sales on Publishers Marketplace, but what does that REALLY tell you about them?

Oh, it's useful for specific, factual information, (yawn) but does it tell you who eats popcorn while reading submissions? Who hates being addressed as Ms.? Or any of the countless other proclivities one glimpses only through a window into another's mind? No. I think not.

Enter: The Agent Blog. It's so refreshing to meet the humans behind the letters, and to see the passion that goes into the books they sell. Here's my 5 faves, but there's many more. Enjoy, and happy querying!

Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency
Self-described "nice Mid-Westerner", Kristin Wheels and deals from Denver. From her track record, she dispels the myth that you've gotta be in New York to be a player.

Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary
Janet Reid has a lovely no-nonsense way about her, and a wicked sense of humor.

Jennifer Jackson, The Donald Maass Agency
Ms. Jackson has a wealth of greatly detailed information that's sure to strengthen your query.

Nathan Bransford, Curtis Brown Ltd.
Mr. Bransford's in San Francisco. As well as providing information about the particulars of querying and the issues they involve, he often offers an interesting view on the world of publishing at large.

Miss Snark
Anonymous and defunct, but oh so well loved. Spend some time in her archives, you'll not be disappointed.

Add them to your readers, my friends, and look at the numbers of the queries they're wading through as you wait the torturous 2-6 weeks. It makes the waiting go faster. All the best! You can do it! xoxo,

--- Lindsay Reed Maines

--->For the archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.

P.S. Madam Mayo's answer to the "Do I need an agent" question is here.

One Day Writing Workshops

I love the one day writing workshop format. I've been giving these ("Break the Block"; Literary Travel Writing", "Flash Fiction" "Techniques of Fiction" & etc) for some years now at the Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and also, lately, via Dancing Chiva in Mexico City. Why do I love it? Unlike an on-going workshop, a one day is much easier for me to fit into my travel-cluttered schedule, and I not only get more students, I get a more varied group. I've had many beginners, but also magazine editors, accomplished journalists, and many who've published books. So it keeps me sharp. And I love taking one day workshops myself--- it's a way to freshen up, get jolt of inspiration. At the Writers Center, I've taken, and warmly recommend, Khris Baxter's one day short screenplay writing workshop, Lindsay Reed Maines's yoga and writing one day workshop. And, though not a writing workshop, as I did find it extraordnarily helpful for my novel, I recommend Edward Tufte's splendid and entertaining one day course, Presenting Data and Information.

And two more recommendations: this fall, my amiga award-winning novelist, short story writer and essayist Leslie Pietrzyk will be offering two all-new one day workshops at the Writers Center, "Set Your Prose Free Through Collage" and "Flex Your Creative Muscles." Over at her blog, Work-in-Progress, she provides a full description of both.

More anon.

For $2, "Pug Discovers Crop Circle in Carpet"

I'm feeling especially limber today because I just took the Writers Center's "Yoga & Writing Workshop" with "Rock and Roll Mama" Lindsay Reed Maines. So what to do with all the pretzel energy? (And still procrastinate about just about everything?) I channeled a $2 dose of it (via PayPal) to on-line artist Yirmumah who claims he will draw anything (not you-know-what-rated, however) for $2. Among his on-line $2 works:
--->Godzilla on a Segway and
--->50 Foot Tiki vs City of the Undead.
My request? "Pug Discovers Crop Circle in Carpet." Come on, it was only $2.
More anon.

Fall Fiction Workshops near Washington DC & Mexico City

Flash Fiction: October 5th at the Writers Center, Bethesda MD.
Techniques of Fiction: October 18th via Dancing Chiva, Mexico City.
--->Read more here.

Lit-bloggers, Update Your Links Pages: The Writers Center Has a Blog

The Bethesda MD Writers Center, a nonprofit founded in 1976, and one of the premier independent literary centers in the country, has just launched a blog. Check it out at thewriterscenter.blogspot.com and read the Writers Center's communications and publications director, Kyle Semmel's welcome here.

Apropos of the July 26th one day "Flash Fiction" workshop I'll be leading at the Writers Center, Kyle has posted my bit on "Giant Golden Buddha" and 364 More Five Minute Writing Exercises. Said archive includes writing exercises contributed by several fellow Writers Center members, friends, and instructors, among them, Leslie Pietrzyk, Lisa Couturier, Basil White, Kim Roberts, Deborah Ager, Mary Quattlebaum, and Robert Giron. More anon.