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Writing What You Know - CLASS FILLED
Wednesday, 9/15/2010 - 11/3/2010, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Members: $353 | Non-Members: $415
Instructor: Marion Roach Smith

Flannery O'Connor said that anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. She's right, of course. But writing about yourself and your crazy (or not-so-crazy) family can be the big vein, if you're ready, or the brick wall, if you're not. This course will help you dig among your stuff and get it down on paper in some interesting, funny, enlightening, compelling, readable and possibly saleable way. Let's go! It's there for the mining.


The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories
Tuesday, 9/28/2010, 5:45 - 8:45 P.M. (1 class)
Members: $41 | Non-Members: $45
Instructor: Donna Miller

A shoe is the protective armor of the foot, providing stability, status, and warmth. Since the creation of one of the first shoes, leather sandals crafted by the Egyptians about 3500 B.C., shoe designs have reflected the cultural choices of the designer, maker, and wearer. This fall, The Arts Center is collaborating with the Albany Institute of History and Art for a Shoe-Slam, a one-night event where shoe-wearers of all ages can approach the mic and tell the memoir of their mary-janes, mules or moccasins. In this workshop, writers will work with Donna Miller as she leads them through the process of brainstorming, drafting and presenting this “mini-memoir.” The Shoe Slam will be presented with the exhibition, The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories, on view at The Albany Institute between October 16, 2010 - January 2, 2011.


Master Class: Memoir with Marion Roach Smith
First Friday of Every Month, Fridays, 10/1/2010 - 6/3/2011, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Members: $640 | Non-Members: $720
Instructor: Marion Roach Smith

Book in a drawer?  Book in your head?  If you are ready to work hard, this one-a-month, three-hour master class will get that book finished by Summer 2011.  Limited to 12 students, a one paragraph pitch on what the book is about, accompanied by a three-page (double-spaced) writing sample must be submitted to The Arts Center for review.  The deadline to submit is September 15th.  Please send to Marion Roach Smith Master Class, c/o The Arts Center, 265 River Street, Troy, NY 12180.


Master Class: Collections
Second Friday of Every Month, 10/8/2010 - 6/10/2011, 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Members: $640 | Non-Members: $720
Instructor: Marion Roach Smith

So, you’ve taken the Writing What You Know. Maybe you’ve taken it more than once. Or twice. Or, well, a lot. So, what are you going to do with all those essays? Let’s collect them. Maybe they are a book. Maybe they are meant to be parsed out as pieces on a website dedicated to your family’s struggle with an illness, or how to get happy, or any of the many topics in between. Let’s look at them, get them into shape, and get them out there for the world to read. Students must have taken another course with Marion. Limited to 12 students, a one paragraph pitch on what the book is about, accompanied by a three-page (double-spaced) writing sample must be submitted to The Arts Center for review.  The deadline to submit is September 15th.  Please send to Marion Roach Smith Master Class, c/o The Arts Center, 265 River Street, Troy, NY 12180.


Shaping the Short Story
Every other Saturday, 1:30 - 4:30 P.M., 10/9/2010 - 11/6/2010 (3 classes)
Members: $108 | Non-Members: $120
Instructor: Lucia Nevai

Is it a tale, a flash fiction or a classic short story?  Find out!  Drawing on your own experience, develop techniques for crafting characters and events into a compelling and imaginative piece of short fiction.  Lucia Nevai is the author of two critically-acclaimed short story collections, Star Game, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, and Normal, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.  Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, and Iowa Review among others.


Memoir or Memories?
Tuesdays, 10/19/2010 - 12/7/2010, 5:45 - 8:45 P.M. (8 classes)
Members: $216 | Non-Members: $240
Instructor: Donna Miller

Memoir is a popular and prolific form of literature. As many writers are setting their memoir to language; others want to discover and reexamine life’s memories that have defined their development as adults, parents, professionals in short - the crazy and fascinating people we have become. What could be more fun than beginning our own magical mystery tour of words and images to reawaken and discover where we have been and who we have become? This class looks at traditional memoir and provides a guided journey to assist students in organizing the past. Learn to host your own memories for yourself, your children, or as a first step in getting to that memoir you always knew you could write.


Memoirama! With Marion Roach Smith and Sandi Gelles Cole
Saturday, 11/13/10, 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. (1 class)
(Lecture and Discussion only, 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.) Members: $120 | $135
(With P.M. Lunch and Book Pitch) Members: $210 | Non-Members: $225

Everything you need to know, publish, and sell a memoir of any length. From blogs, personal essays, to book-length memoir, learn how to tell--and sell--your tale.
10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Learn the skill, the trade and business.
1:00 - 2:30 P.M. Lunch to be provided. Memoir booksellers trade show.
3:00 – 5:30 P.M. Pitch me! Pitch your ideas to Marion Roach Smith and Sandi Gelles Cole, and learn how to turn your story into a successful published piece.

Memoir Poetry
Thursdays, 10/7/10 - 11/4/10, 5:30 – 8:30 P.M. (5 classes)
Members: $149 | Non-Members: $165
Instructor: Julie Gutmann

Why write memoir in poetry? Poetry inserts itself in the synapses between events where language becomes musical notation and every syllable participates in expressing what would otherwise remain unsaid.  This workshop introduces ways of writing Memoir Poetry, where instead of retelling events, the writer uses techniques of voice, diction, imagery and sensory language to evoke the textures of memory and experience.   Special focus: free verse, organic form and imagism.

Preparing the Poetry Manuscript
Saturday, 11/6/10, 12:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Members: $41 | Non-Members: $45
Instructor: Julie Gutmann

How do I develop my collection of poems into a poetry collection? Learn how to entice the reader into your manuscript by creating a strong title and a compelling series of connected works. Bring ten poems and/or short prose pieces to work with, and discover the themes and sequences within your own work. Convert a random collection into a dynamic reader’s journey.