Week One · June 25–29, 2012
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY: BETWEEN MEMORY AND DESIRE

David Lazar
In this workshop we'll look at different ways to use the autobiographical essay as a tool to explore and interrogate memory. Memory is a notoriously unreliable narrator, and our memories shift, deceive, support, blind, beckon, define, and refine us. Each age, each person, throws up a complicated image repertoire of how to think about memory. We'll talk about essays, and memory, and we'll write self-challenging, exploratory short works. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of an autobiographical essay (no more than 10 double-spaced pages) that speaks to complex or unclear memories to discuss in class as time allows.

David Lazar’s books include The Body of Brooklyn, Truth in Nonfiction, Powder Town, and Michael Powell: Interviews and Conversations with M.F.K. Fisher. Forthcoming is Essaying the Essay from Welcome Table Press. Five of his essays have been chosen “Notable Essays of the Year” by Best American Essays. He created undergraduate and graduate Nonfiction Writing programs at Ohio University, and at Columbia College Chicago, where he currently teaches. He is the founding editor of the literary magazine Hotel Amerika, now in its eleventh year.

Week Two · July 2–6, 2012
Writing Place: How to Use Setting in Personal Essays

Ann Hood
Eudora Welty said, "One place understood helps us understand all other places better." We will use our Chautauqua setting to help us write about other places, both physical and emotional. Each day you will be sent on an adventure to inspire a short personal essay. These essays will be shared and critiqued in class the next day. By week's end, you will have explored Chautauqua as a way to explore your personal landscapes.

Ann Hood is the author most recently of the bestselling novels The Red Thread and The Knitting Circle, and the memoir Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice and named one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2006 by Entertainment Weekly. A frequent contributor to the New York Times and NPR's “The Story” with Dick Gordon, she has won two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Food Writing Award, and a Best American Spiritual Writing Award.

Week Three · July 9–13, 2012
Stop Thinking, Start Writing

Josh Rolnick
Michael Ondaatje began writing The English Patient without “any sure sense of … what’s going to happen.” Many authors start this way – without an outline, pre-determined plot, or even sense of character. Often, the best writing comes from the subconscious mind – what Robert Olen Butler calls “the place where we dream.” In this workshop, through writing exercises and discussion, we’ll learn to tap into the dream space and quiet the inner critic. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of fiction to discuss in class as time allows.

Josh Rolnick’s debut short story collection, Pulp and Paper, won the 2011 John Simmons Short Fiction Award, selected by Yiyun Li. His stories have won the Arts & Letters prize and the Florida Review prize; they have been published in Harvard Review, Western Humanities Review, Bellingham Review, Gulf Coast, and Storyville, and have been nominated for Best New American Voices. He is publisher of Sh’ma, a journal of Jewish ideas, and editor of Unstuck, an independent literary annual.

Week Three · July 11, 2012
MASTER CLASS
BRINGING OUT THE DEAD: THE USES OF HISTORY IN FICTION AND NON-FICTION

Tony Horwitz & Geraldine Brooks

If you are a writer who finds inspiration in the past, how best can you bring it to life? Geraldine Brooks uses the techniques of fiction and imaginative empathy based on deep research. Tony Horwitz hews to the facts while crafting a compelling non-fiction narrative. The authors, both of whom have won the Pulitzer Prize, will offer insights into the techniques they have used -- Brooks to create novels including Caleb's Crossing, Year of Wonders, March and People of the Book; and Horwitz to write non-fiction works such as Midnight Rising, A Voyage Long and Strange, Blue Latitudes, and Confederates in the Attic. The class will include a conversation between the husband-and-wife authors on what they've learned about finding a subject, sustaining a narrative and hunting for sources. This will be followed by discussion and Q & A.

Wednesday, July 11 3-5 p.m.
$50

Week Three · July 9–13, 2012
MASTER CLASS
PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP WITH AWARD-WINNING WRITER KATE FODOR

Kate Fodor

A partnership between the Writers’ Center and the Chautauqua Theater Company brings playwright Kate Fodor ( “100 Saints You Should Know” and “RX”, both performed by the Chautauqua Theater Company) to teach at the Literary Arts Center as part of her summer residency. For serious writers who have considered turning their stories into plays, and for writers who have attempted this medium, this dynamic workshop will focus on specific ideas for completing your current projects and inspiration to continue your efforts. Fodor's new play "Fifty Ways" will be peformed by Chautauqua Theater Company in July.

Maximum enrollment: 10
Minimum age: 18
$125

Week Four · July 16–20, 2012
Memoir Writing for Fun, Profit and Immortality

Joe Kita
If you’ve ever considered writing about your life, here’s your opportunity. You’ll learn the secrets to finding story in your life and telling it well – everything from how to focus and organize a memoir to how to edit yourself and publish. Each day’s class will include a lecture, a writing exercise, and a discussion/critique of student stories. The week will culminate with a dramatic reading of some of the most inspirational and entertaining pieces. Whether you’re looking to leave a legacy for your family, preserve a unique experience, or just explore some complex part of your life, don’t miss this chance to finally “write this stuff down!”

Joe Kita has authored six books, launched magazines in Korea and Kazakhstan, and appeared on Oprah and other programs. He specializes in writing about health and wellness, plus confronting life’s challenges head-on. A sampling of things he did for his books include: trying out for his high-school basketball team (at age 40), tracking down his college crush (with his wife’s blessing), challenging 85-year-old Jack LaLanne to a $10,000 fitness showdown (and getting beat), and facing his 12 biggest fears in one year. He divides his time between his Pennsylvania home and teaching memoir writing and yoga on cruise ships.

Week Five · July 23–27, 2012
The Perpetual Immigrant: How to Weave Life Changes Into our Stories

Kashmira Sheth
Whether it is the thrill of discovering a new place or the melancholy and heartbreak of leaving a familiar one, our experiences are deeply rooted in the changes that occur throughout our lives. In this workshop we will examine some published works that explore themes of change and identity. The participants will also work on exercises to explore these crucial moments of change and to learn how to use them as a germ for their fiction. We will discuss the new pieces created in the class or brought from home (15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages) by participants.

Kashmira Sheth writes children’s literature from picture books to young adult fiction. Her latest novel, Boys Without Names, was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Her novels have received many awards, including the International Reading Association’s Notable Book for a Global Society and the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults. All six of her books have been selected for Choices, Cooperative Children’s Book Center's annual best-of-the-year list. She teaches at the Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College.

Week Six · July 30–Aug. 3, 2012
Bringing Characters to life

Jonathan Eig
Whether you're writing fiction or non-fiction, a book or an essay, a biography or a memoir, character counts. Character drives plot. Character engages the reader. But if your character feels phony or fuzzy, your plot will founder and your readers will abandon ship. Through writing exercises, supplementary readings, and discussions, we'll work on making characters complex, vivid, and genuine. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of your work to discuss in class as time allows. No experience necessary.

Jonathan Eig is a former writer for the Wall Street Journal and the best-selling author of three non-fiction books: Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig; Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season; and Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, and the Washington Post. He's been a guest on NPR's “Fresh Air” and “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. He recently completed his first novel and has begun work on another book of historical non-fiction. He lives in Chicago.

Week Seven · Aug. 6–10, 2012
The Writer's Toolbox: Developing the Craft of Creative Non-fiction

Matthew Goodman
Creative non-fiction comes in lots of forms – memoir, personal essay, literary journalism, narrative history – but all share certain techniques that, when used well, help to make the writing come alive on the page. In this workshop we'll take a look at some of the most important tools – including narrative voice, sensory detail, setting, characterization, close reading, and punctuation – to figure out what they are, how great writers have used them, and how to apply them to our own work. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of your own creative non-fiction to discuss in class as time allows.

Matthew Goodman is the author of three books of non-fiction: the narrative history The Sun and the Moon, the cookbook Jewish Food: The World at Table, and the forthcoming narrative history Ahead of Time: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race around the World. His writing has appeared widely and has been cited for Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize and Best American anthologies. He has been a commentator for public radio and has taught writing and literature at numerous universities and writing conferences.

Week Eight · Aug. 13–16, 2012
Writing on the Edge: Radical Fictions

J. David Stevens
From its earliest appearances, fiction has been viewed as a radical act, crossing boundaries and transgressing in ways that other writing cannot. But what makes a novel or short-story such an edgy proposition? In keeping with this week’s theme of “radicalism,” we’ll talk about contemporary writers who have been called revolutionary, and we’ll undertake exercises to break boundaries in our own fiction. We’ll also talk about how any narrative can defy borders, thus becoming a radical act. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of your work to discuss in class as time allows.

J. David Stevens is the author of the collection Mexico is Missing and Other Stories. His fiction has appeared in dozens of national magazines, including Harper’s, The Paris Review, The Southern Review, Tin House, The Iowa Review, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. Also a non-fiction writer, he has published a book-length study of American frontier literature – The Word Rides Again – and essays in magazines including The Gettysburg Review, Oxford American, and Creative Nonfiction. He teaches at the University of Richmond.

Week Nine · Aug. 20–24, 2012
Imitation and Invention: the Twin Pillars of Fiction

Susan Choi
To paraphrase Edmund White, imitation and invention are fiction’s two greatest pleasures. What can be better than creating a character based closely on a person we’ve known – and then having that character do wild, unexpected things? Yet imitation and invention are also fiction’s two key ingredients. While our ability to invent testifies to fiction as a great creative act, our ability to imitate testifies to fiction as the mirror of life, an act of representation through which we better recognize ourselves. In this class we’ll hone these essential skills, asking ourselves when, in the course of writing, we’re better off shamelessly stealing from life – and when we’re better off diverging from real life and making it up. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of your work to discuss in class as time allows.

Susan Choi is the author of three novels: The Foreign Student, which won the Asian-American Literary Award for fiction; American Woman, a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize; and A Person of Interest, a finalist for the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award. In 2010 she was named the inaugural recipient of the PEN/W.G. Sebald Award. A recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.