For Writers 2006 - 2007 For Writers 2006 - 2007
For Writers 2006 - 2007 is our second series of writing workshops that provides an opportunity for everyone to explore the rewarding craft of writing. The New Canaan Library is pleased to offer half-day classes on creative writing, documentary films, writing children's books and the personal essay, taught by instructors from the Gotham Writers' Workshop in New York City. No previous writing experience is necessary to enroll in these workshops and interested participants may attend any or all of them. Class size is limited to 20. Please call the Library's Information Desk at 594.5003 to reserve a place in the workshop of your choice.
Documentary Films
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. with lunch
Documentary films are more popular and prevalent than ever, appearing in theaters, on DVD, and across the spectrum of TV channels. In this course, you will learn how to conceive ideas, structure stories, conduct research and interviews, write narration, and adapt your plans to film footage.
Instructor, David Seigerman , teaches at Gotham Writers’ Workshop and has served as managing editor of College Sports Television. He also has served as a field producer at CNN-Sports Illustrated, senior writer at College Sports magazine, and sports reporter/columnist at Newsday and the Jackson Sun . His freelance work has appeared on ESPN and in many newspapers and magazines. He co-produced and co-wrote the documentary film, The Warrior Ethos: The Experience and Tradition of Boxing at West Point.
Writing Children's Books
Thursday, March 29, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. with lunch
Balancing lecture, writing exercises and feedback, this workshop gives participants a firm grounding in all the basics of writing books for children. Topics to be covered include: an overview of the children's books field, which addresses the age range of readers and book genres; creating strong characters and writing dialogue; plot woes; setting and description; and publishing Q's and A's.
Instructor, Carolyn MacCullough, is the author of the young adult novels, Falling Through Darkness, Stealing Henry, and the forthcoming Drawing the Ocean. She teaches both at the New School in New York and at the Gotham Writers' Workshop. She has a BA from Grinnell College and an MFA in Creative Writing from the New School.
Personal Essay Writing
Thursday, May 17, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. with lunch
In personal essays, writers bring their own life experiences to bear on the larger – but not necessarily weighty – issues of the day. In this workshop, thru lectures, writing exercises and discussion, students will learn how to take the impulse to share their experiences and, using voice, scene and dialogue, craft stories with meaning beyond their own lives. They will also learn the differences between personal essay and memoir, as well as how and where to market their work.
Instructor, Kelly Caldwell, has written for numerous magazines and newspapers including New York Newsday,Time Out New York, House Beautiful, and Men's Health. One of her articles was named a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2001 and selected for the anthology If These Walls Could Talk: Thoughts of Home. She has worked with student writers at the Extension School of Harvard University. Kelly holds a B.J. from the University of Missouri and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University.
