Sacramento Season of Writing: New Fiction workshops

This information has been compiled by Sacramento writer and instructor, Kate Asche. So many writing opportunities in the Sacramento Area. Enjoy:

Learn to write at I Street Press, at Sacramento Public Library!

Sacramento Library is pleased to be taking registrations for all winter 2012 writing classes! At I Street Press, you can write at many different Library locations in classes with the Sacramento area’s best writers and teachers. Teaching artists include Elaine Corn, David Watts Barton, Valerie Fioravanti, Jennifer Basye Sander, Jane Gassner, and many others. Topics include self-publishing, blogging, journalism, creative writing, editing, publishing contract law and more!

And—did you know free scholarships are available?

For full details, visit www.saclibrary.org/istreet and click on “Write.” Register and pay for classes online. Classes start this Tuesday, January 10, 2012!

For more info, check out these media appearances:

Library Director Rivkah Sass and I Street classes coordinator Kate Asche appear on Insight on Capital Public Radio: http://www.capradio.org/168192

Elaine Corn talks about her cookbook writing class: http://blogs.sacbee.com/ticket/archives/2012/01/learn-how-to-wr.html

Here, the Library talks to the Bee about the Espresso Book Machine:http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/21/3992292/sacramento-library-will-unveil.html

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Write with Master Teachers, brought to you by Valerie Fioravanti of Stories on Stage!

Below is information about future workshops, and for full details and information about Valerie’s private workshops and the Stories on Stage fiction series (final Friday of each month at Sacramento Poetry Center), go to http://storiesonstagesacramento.wordpress.com/.

March 10&11, 2012: Peter Orner, author of the story collection Esther Stories and the novels Love and Shame and Love & The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo. Peter taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop last year and teaches in San Francisco State's MFA program. The NY Times compared him to James Salter in their review of his latest work, and said of his first, "Orner doesn't simply bring his characters to life, he gives them souls." The workshop will be capped at 12 students. The cost is $400. To apply for the workshop, use the contact form and include a brief writing sample.

Follow this link for an audio interview with Peter, available as a podcast.

May 12&13, 2012: Peter Ho Davies, author of the story collections Equal Love & The Ugliest House in the World and the historical novel The Welsh Girl. His work has appeared in Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, Paris Review, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. Granta named him a “Best Young British Novelist” in 1993. Peter teaches in the University of Michigan MFA program and has taught at the Bread Loaf and Napa Writers Conferences. The workshop will be capped at 12 students. The cost is $400. There are currently three spaces available in this workshop. To apply for the workshop, use the contact form and include a brief writing sample.

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Looking for a writing group to get you writing more, or writing again? Or writing for the first time? AWA Sacramento has a group for you!

If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) Sacramento, now’s the time! AWA Sacramento is a network of AWA-trained facilitators and others running generative writing workshops that create supportive, authentic and positive environments for writing new work and receiving positive feedback about what is strong, memorable and beautiful in your first-draft writing.

For current and upcoming groups, workshops and programs, visit http://awasacramento.com for complete info—explore “Write with Us” and “Coming Events” tabs, especially.

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Kate Asche offers private writing workshops, winter 2012

How Do I Register? Email me at asche (dot) kate (at) gmail (dot) com. I will send you a brief registration form. To complete registration (and reserve your place), please return your completed registration form to me along with payment. Registrations are accepted in the order received.

The Craft of Shapely Writing (All Genres), Winter 2012

This year, do you want to expand your craft toolbox while generating new work, and also maybe get some gentle critique on pieces you’ve already drafted? Would you like to have time to casually talk with other writers as you become more deeply connected in our local writing community?

Join Kate Asche this winter in an Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) generative writing workshop, with a couple of twists: First, Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern and The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms will be our "textbooks" for this 10-week workshop. Second: You’ll have the option to receive gentle workshop-style critique of a selection of your writing one time throughout this session.

We’ll begin each meeting with time to snack and socialize about what’s going on in our writing and our lives. Then, we’ll enjoy a brief discussion of that week’s reading selection, which we will have read in advance. Next, we'll spend two hours writing and sharing our writing (if we wish), as we respond to a prompt related to that week's discussion topic. Each meeting will close with time spent in supportive critique of a single workshop member’s manuscript (up to 6 pages of prose/3 pages of poetry) or—depending on how many participants choose to submit for critiques—another quick writing prompt. This workshop will be facilitated in the AWA method, in which all shared writing is treated with respect and honor. The focus is on the writing itself, and the writer will learn what is strong, what is memorable, and what people admire in his/her first-draft work.

Class Size is Limited: This private workshop is limited to 15 participants, plus the facilitator.

Time and Location: We will write together at the ThinkHouse Collective (1726 11th Street, Sacramento) on Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:45 p.m. (We may go till 9:00 p.m. if the class fills completely.) If you wish to participate but cannot arrive promptly at 6:00, please let me know. Permission for late arrival may be granted at Instructor’s discretion, but no discount or make-up instruction will be given for time missed.

Dates: Tuesdays, 6:00-8:45 p.m. ~ January 17 - March 27, 2012 (10 meetings / no class February 28)

Workshop Cost and Payment Due Date: Workshop cost: $325 (if postmarked by 1/12/12) or $350 if postmarked 1/13/12 or later. Payment is due at the time of registration. 

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 The Art of Writing: Description and Recklessness (Critique Workshop), Winter 2012

Join Kate Asche this winter in a very intimate Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) writing and critique workshop. Class size is strictly limited to seven writers plus facilitator. Participants may submit up to 15 pages of prose and up to 8 pages of poetry (or some combo of the two, not to exceed 12 pages) per session. Two sessions will be offered, each exploring a different aspect of craft. Sign up for both sessions and receive a discount!

 Every class meeting will begin with time to snack and socialize about what’s going on in our writing and our lives. At our first class meeting for each session, we will do some writing, as well as establish a manuscript workshop schedule and exchange manuscripts (in keeping with AWA philosophy, the facilitator will also participate). In each subsequent meeting, we’ll enjoy a brief discussion of that week’s craft book reading selection, to be read in advance. Next, we’ll write and then respond to each other’s just-written work. We'll then workshop two manuscripts, spending at least 30 minutes on each. This workshop will be facilitated in the AWA method, in which all shared writing is treated with respect and honor. The focus is on the writing itself, and the writer will learn what is strong, what is memorable, and what people admire in his/her first-draft work and manuscript submission, as well as receive supportive feedback and strategies for continued work on the submitted manuscript.

Session I (Text: The Art of Description by Mark Doty)

Fridays, 4:00-6:30 p.m. ~ January 20 – February 17 (5 meetings)

Session II (Text: The Art of Recklessness by Dean Young)

Fridays, 4:00-6:30 p.m. ~ February 24 – March 30 (5 meetings / no class March 2)

Class Size is Limited: Both session of this private workshop are strictly limited to 7 participants, plus the facilitator.

Time and Location: We will write together at the ThinkHouse Collective (1726 11th Street, Sacramento) on Friday afternoons, 4:00-6:30 p.m. If you want to participate but cannot arrive promptly at 4:00, please let me know. Permission for late arrival may be granted at Instructor’s discretion, but no discount or make-up instruction will be given for time missed.

Dates: See above.

Workshop Cost and Payment Due Date: The cost of a single workshop session is $195; sign up for both sessions for a discounted total of $350. Payment is due at the time of registration.