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Fall | Introduction to Flash Nonfiction w Brian Benson | Sep 20 – Oct 18 | Online

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Flash nonfiction, simply put, is true-to-life writing defined by extreme compression: it's saying what you've got to say using as few words, and as much beauty, as possible. An endlessly accessible, playful, potent form, flash nonfiction is evermore popular; from Brevity to 100 Word Story, The Forge to The Sun, legions of journals are eager to publish great flash. In this prompt-driven workshop, we'll read short nonfiction by masters of the form; we'll talk about what stories are suited for flash, how to tell them well, and where to publish them; and most of all, we'll write and write and write, via in-class exercises and take-home prompts. Students will leave the class with reams of new writing and ideas for where to publish. Maximum | 16 students. Zoom link provided prior to start of workshop. Teacher: Brian BensonWorkshop Day: TuesdayTime: Tuesdays,…

Continue readingFall | Introduction to Flash Nonfiction w Brian Benson | Sep 20 – Oct 18 | Online
$219 – $248

Refuse the Given World: Breaking Blocks Through Play

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

“When I sit down and start writing, I feel the given world recede, and I can just play.” —Sam Lipsyte Remember when you were a little kid, playing on the floor for hours and hours? Our best writing days are often imbued with that same sense of timelessness, freedom, wonder, and escape—in other words, our work often works best when it feels like play. In this generative writing course, we will tap into a playful mindset—by using silly rules, obstructions, oblique strategies, games, dreams, ephemera, constraints, and more—to unlock problematic works and/or generate new material. You will leave this class with more than a dozen techniques for starting a new project, breaking a block, or working through something sticky in a piece of writing. This…

Continue readingRefuse the Given World: Breaking Blocks Through Play
$285

Nate Schweber, This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

In late 1940s America, few writers commanded attention like Bernard DeVoto. Alongside his brilliant wife and editor, Avis, DeVoto was a firebrand of American liberty, free speech, and perhaps our greatest national treasure: public lands. In This America of Ours, award-winning journalist Nate Schweber uncovers the forgotten story of a progressive alliance that altered the course of twentieth-century history and saved American wilderness—and our country’s most fundamental ideals—from ruin. Caroline Fraser, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, has this to say about the book: "Charming and absorbing, This America of Ours is the biography of a marriage between two lavishly talented characters, the witty and profane Avis DeVoto, who would become Julia Child's best friend and editor, and western…

Continue readingNate Schweber, This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild
Free

Submission Deadline: Pile Press 2022 Fall Submissions

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Submissions for our Fall Issue close on the first official day of Fall. Have you submitted yet? Pile Press accepts poetry, short fiction, CNF, art, photography, comics, and more. Pile Press is an alternative publishing collective for women, non-binary, and gender fluid creatives. You can find more information on their website here. Submission guidelines can be found here.

Free

Open Submissions: Old Pal – Issue 6

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

📣 We're open to submissions for Old Pal Issue 6! Visit the link below for more details, and feel free to send any questions our way. We can't wait to see your work! Happy equinox! 🍂🖤 https://www.oldpalmag.com/submissions Old Pal is open for submissions until November 15th, 2022! Read the guidelines below, then send your submission to submissions@oldpalmag.com. Please use a .docx file type for writing, and high resolution images if you're submitting visual art. We publish poetry, fiction, critical non-fiction, excerpts, audio, mixed-media, and various mediums of art. We encourage artists from all experience levels and communities to submit. Contributors are compensated $50 upon publication. We ask that submissions are limited to 15 pages of written work or 6 pieces of other media. Simultaneous submissions…

Continue readingOpen Submissions: Old Pal – Issue 6
Free

Memoir: The Process — with Kimberly Dark — begins September, 22nd

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

STARTS: September 22nd, 2022 WHERE: Zoom WHEN: Four weekly 2-hour sessions over Zoom on Thursdays from 5-7PM PST (9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/13) TEACHER: Kimberly Dark COST: $350 (Payment plans always available—please contact Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com) SCHOLARSHIPS: Yes, scholarships are available. Please follow this link to apply. Memoir: The Process Memories aren’t enough. We have to connect them to culture, to history, to zeitgeist—and then be as clear and specific about our unique perspectives as possible. In this generative workshop, we’ll open a number of creative doorways (and windows and portholes and tunnels) into meaning and we’ll discuss how and why they work. We’re going to work on releasing the story without it getting caught in the mind first. We’ll work together in four, two-hour, face-to-face…

Continue readingMemoir: The Process — with Kimberly Dark — begins September, 22nd
$350

APPS DUE: SEP 12: Creative Nonfiction (CNF) Studio | Sep 22 – Dec 15,

Attic Institute 4232 SE Hawthorne, Portland, OR, United States

Write what you know you want to know The Creative Nonfiction (CNF) Studio is based on the idea that inspiration, accountability, and community are essential to every writer’s growth. The CNF Studio meets weekly for multi-month sessions, and its curriculum is designed to help you deepen your writing through a keener understanding of both literary craft and your own voice. The CNF Studio is open to applications from all writers, and members often return for multiple sessions. This creates the Studio’s special experience: a consistent, deep, and supportive study of your writing in the company of other writers. Each weekly session includes a close-reading and discussion of a selected work of creative nonfiction, a roundtable reading of take-home prompts, and in-depth critique of several works-in-progress. Over…

Continue readingAPPS DUE: SEP 12: Creative Nonfiction (CNF) Studio | Sep 22 – Dec 15,
$548 – $583

A Conversation with Kate Birdsall

Ledding Library of Milwaukie 10660 SE 21st Avenue, Milwaukie, OR, United States

A conversation with Kate Birdsall live at the library. Seating limited to 50. Kate is the author of the memoir In Between and stars in the 2022 film Strictly for the Birds. The film is based on Kate’s memoir about her claiming her identity, finding love, and transitioning at age 65. Room Location: Community Room

Free

Submission Deadline: HOCUS: October 21st Reading with Theme: “Spirits”

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

The HOCUS submission period for an October 21st reading at Rose City Book Pub, with a central theme of "Spirits," is coming to a close. HOCUS is looking for prose and poems of up to 2,000 words related to hauntings, liquor, or states of mind! Submissions must be received by the end of today.

Free

Write Around Portland: Bi-Monthly BIPOC Online Writing Workshop

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

I love being witnessed, and I absolutely love witnessing the words of everyone else in the group. It’s our own kind of magic.” —BIPOC Online Workshop Participant For people who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC). 2nd & 4th Friday of every month from 4 to 5:30 pm (Pacific Time), Free. Workshops are held via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. Registration opens the 1st of the month every month and closes when filled or at 12noon the day before the workshop. Pre-register for our 2nd Friday workshop here. Pre-register for our 4th Friday workshop here.  Click here for more workshop details. 

Free
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