WEALTH OF IDEAS

Saturday, April 28, 2012 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Cosumnes River College 8401 Center Parkway, Sacramento, CA Conference Fee - $35.00 (Includes lunch, workshops, and materials) Registration Deadline: April 22, 2012. Space is limited. W o r k s h o p D e s c r i p t i o n s Painting with Words: Creating  atmosphere in settings Kerstin Feindart “The pictorial and the verbal are similar in that they both take place in two dimensions on paper or canvas,” states author John Updike. To draw readers in and to let them feel what we felt, we can paint with words. This workshop focuses on hands-on exercises that highlight techniques to create atmosphere. In addition, discussions of short sample pieces and exercises completed in the workshop will help writers create the mood of a place and time and bring the past to life... The unfolding moment: on writing scene Valerie Fioravanti Writing in scene gives fiction and memoir its visceral power, that sense that the reader ...

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 ...

Stories on Stage , which operates from mid-town Sacramento, continues to grow. Running every last Friday of the month, the series has featured writers from across the US and is preparing to feature African writers in June. The idea is brilliant: the stories are read by professional actors, and the events are well-attended. On Friday, May 27th, Stories on Stage will present an evening of (very) short fiction, featuring the winners of Sacramento News & Review’s 2010 Flash Fiction Contest (these writers had a stingy 150 words to work with). Kent Gray will read Paul Mann’s"79 Miles," Cynthia Mitchell Speakman will read Peg Alford Pursell’s "Guardian," Ashley Lucas will read Jenni Wiltz’ “Letters,” Bonnie Antonini will read Peg Alford Pursell’s “This Guy,” and Pam Metzger will read William Doonan’s “Lady Anaconda.” Sacramento Poetry Center 1719 25th Street (Between Q & R) Donation: $5 Performance begins at 7:30PM. Doors open at 7PM Peg Alford Pursell's f...

Our feature today is a reader, writer, instructor, and coach based in Sacramento, California. Valerie Fioravanti , born and raised in New York City, received a BA in Liberal Arts from the New School. She received her MFA in Fiction from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where she worked with writers like Kevin McIlvoy, Robert Boswell, Toni Nelson, and Connie Voisine. Her linked story collection, Garbage Night at the Opera , contains stories that have received four Pushcart prize nominations and Special Mention in Pushcart Prize XXVIII. She is currently working on two novels, one of which is a Fulbright Fellowship project for a work set in Italy. Valerie runs the Stories on Stage reading series, which recently won a 2010 Best of Sacramento Award from Sacramento Magazine . This is a deserved award: not only is Valerie a reader (and writer), but she also brings reading to a stage which normally functions as a poetry venue, and as she says in the interview, the series is a great s...

Sacramento-based Stories on Stage will feature stories by African writers on June 24, 2011 at the Sacramento Poetry Center. Valerie Fioravanti, founder and coordinator of the reading series, has asked me to recommend African writers who are interested in submitting their stories for this special feature. I think it is a great opportunity to create more awareness of African fiction and for Northern California readers to discover the diversity of African writing. The stories are read or performed by professional actors. Here is what Valerie is looking for: "Two stories will be featured at each event, one from a writer with a short story collection or equivalent publication history, and one from an emerging writer. An emerging writer need not have previous publications in order to be selected. To submit a story for possible inclusion in the series, email your story as an attachment (.doc or .rtf only), and include a brief bio and publication history, if applicable. Please submit only...