FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 @ BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY CENTRAL BRANCH
1-4 pm Registration/Check In
1-1:55 pm
“Writing Our Labor” with Tina Mozelle Braziel
"What do you do?" is question people often ask but we rarely get to the bottom of. In this guided writing prompt, we will explores the depths of our work in either a poem or short non-fiction piece. Taking inspiration from pieces in What Things Cost: an Anthology for the People, we'll seek to make our labor as vivid to readers as if they punched our timecard.
2-2:55 pm
”From Page to Screen: Paths to Take / Choices to Make When Adapting a Work of Fiction to the Big or Small Screen” with Heidi Carroll & Dean Bonner
There are many different choices and decisions that need to be made at the beginning of an adaptation. How faithful will I be to the original manuscript? If I vary from it, why? Should I consider adding other characters or storylines if this will help make the adaptation work better in cinematic terms? How can I be faithful to the tone and spirit of the original, through my choices in pacing, environments, locations? How important IS it to be faithful to the manuscript, anyway, and why? Before you begin working on an adaptation, you need to know the source of your adaptation well, and need to be prepared to justify your answers to the above questions. And after this - the fun begins! We will also discuss how to analyze your piece for major arcs, plot-points, and other signposts you will use as guides when you actually begin to WRITE.
3:00 pm - Bookstore Opens
3-3:55 pm
“The Perks and Pitfalls of Writing Climate Change” with Claire Datnow
Climate fiction is an important and growing branch of literature opening exciting new opportunities for writers. We will explore how to approach the climate emergency with impactful innovative writing, the many different genres and styles to choose from, and how to unlock the stories we need to tell. Cli-fi or environmental writing has never been more relevant. Join writers, novelists, playwrights, and pioneers of emerging forms who are taking up the challenge to inspire and inform readers of all ages without sugar coating the truth. This presentation will be illustrated with real world examples of success and failures.
4-4:55 pm
“The Four Pillars of the Well-Made Television Pilot Proposal, and How to Nail Them” with Heidi Carroll and Dean Bonner
When overcome with an urge only describable as “Hey! I’d like to write a completed Television Pilot Proposal” where does one begin? In fact, there are four main components to completing a pilot proposal: the proposed series’ Show Bible; a fully descriptive Character Breakdown; a summary of all Future Episodes; and - last but not least - the actual FULL SCRIPT OF THE SERIES PILOT EPISODE! You want to fully realize each component. We’ll discuss each of the four in some detail, and how best to make as solid a proposal as possible.
7 pm - Open Mic at Desert Island Supply Co. (5500 1st Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35212)
Every year, “Alabama State Council on the Arts awards multiple fellowships to individuals working in arts education, craft, dance, design, media/photography, music, literature, theatre, and visual arts. These grants recognize artistic excellence as well as professional commitment and maturity, contributing to the further development of the artist.” Congratulations to all the 23 artists, makers, and educators who were each awarded $5,000 this year—and a special congratulations to the literary art recipients: Brooke Champagne (prose), Monique Fields (prose), Kristen Iskandrian (prose), Matthew Layne (poetry), Adam Prince (prose), and Jacqueline Trimble (poetry).
This year’s literary arts recipients will share their work before the open mic begins.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 (VENUE CHANGE @ AVENUE D - 3008 4TH AVE. S. BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233)
7 am - Registration Opens
8-8:55 am
“Nature Speaks” with Tina Mozelle Braziel
At a time when we hold great responsibility for the future of our eco-systems, what is nature telling us? Since communication experts advise us to repeat what we hear others say to us, let’s practice that, imagining what creeks, tadpoles, mockingbirds, lichen and stones are telling us, each other, the world. Nature writer Robin Wall Kimmerer says nature is lonesome for our regard. Let’s give it our best.
9-9:55 am
“The Elements of Prose” with Susan Cushman
How to use the elements of prose to critique your own work and others in a workshop setting. This will include a brief hands-on writing exercise.
10-10:55 am
“Where would Simon be without Garfunkel: Let’s Think Collaboration” with Sue Walker and Saundra Grace
In William Stafford and Marvin Bell’s Segues: A Correspondence in Poetry, Bell mentions the advantages “of addressing someone in particular in one’s writing, the more so, if you and the other are different in the details of your lives but neighborly in the ways of your minds.” The point of collaboration is to give and take from each other, creating things that are fresh and innovative. In this workshop on Collaboration, we will explore the who, what, why, and how of collaborative writing. We will provide informative handouts, a bibliography, examples, and prompts, and we will write together. In view of time constraints, we will extend an invitation to send us your class efforts for comments.
11-11:55 am
“Writing Comes Naturally When We Are Having FUN!” with Heather L. Montgomery
Whether fiction or nonfiction, when writing reaches into the real world, readers can relate. Join author Heather L. Montgomery for this hands-on session using natural artifacts for inspiration. Experience opportunities to stretch your mind, shake up your voice, and deepen your insight into your characters. We will think by analogy, play with language, and stretch our senses. Most importantly, we will PLAY!!!
12-1:00 pm - Lunch on Your Own
1:00-1:55 pm
“Getting Off Subject: Cultivating Surprise in Poetry” with Charlotte Pence
In his essay collection The Triggering Town, Richard Hugo encourages poets to venture forth from the initial subject that sparked a particular poem and follow sound, play, and musicality rather than topic. This technique allows space for a poet’s unique and complex associations with language to propel a poem. In this workshop, participants will discuss poems by Jericho Brown, Eduardo Corral, and Traci Brimhall in terms of how sound and surprising imagery drive the work forward. At the end, writing prompts will inspire poets to play with Hugo’s idea of leaping out from the initial idea.
2:00-2:55 pm
“Plunging the Pen into Horror Fiction” with Lee Rozelle
Want to see inside a horror tale? This talk will dissect one writer's gruesome method for getting a story started, letting characters lead, figuring out the next thing that happens, and gutting the plot. Hear, if you dare, tortuous tales of anthology and small magazine publishing that will leave you in terror.
3-3:55 pm
“Little People, Big Possibilities” with Heather L. Montgomery
Would you like to inspire the next generation? Have you thought about writing for children or young adults? Heather L. Montgomery has published 17 kidlit books, in both the work-for-hire and trade markets. Come discover how to break in and establish your own path in this emotionally rewarding endeavor.
4-4:55 pm
“Write Your Best-Seller Non-fiction Book” with Karim Shamsi-Basha
Non-fiction books and memoirs have been on the rise for a couple of decades, with best sellers from celebrities and well-known writers, as well as first-time authors. What does it take to write a best-selling non-fiction book? In this workshop, Karim Shamsi-Basha talks about his non-fiction journey which includes his book: Marriage Advice from a Divorced Guy! (Amazon). He will also present the three most important things to consider when starting a non-fiction book project.
5-5:55 pm
“Writing about Angels and Mystical Experiences” with Wendy Reed, Jacqueline Trimble, Susan Cushman (moderator)
ALL NIGHT, ALL DAY: LIFE, DEATH, & ANGELS is a mixed-genre collection of essays, poetry, and fiction about angels and the ways the mystical world interacts with us in daily life. Some of the pieces in this collection share the experience of personal loss when a loved one dies. There is something mystical about holding the hand of a person who is "crossing over." It can be heartbreaking, but also very holy and beautiful. Editor Susan Cushman and contributors Wendy Reed (essay) and Jacqueline Trimble (poetry) will share excerpts from the book and discuss its themes.
6-8:00 pm -Wine-down, Dinner, Awards with Jessica Temple, and Keynote with Alabama’s Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones
“'Surely I Can Write Poems:' The Necessity of Truth-Telling, Diversity, and Authenticity in Contemporary Poetry” Keynote with Ashley M. Jones
Lucille Clifton's "surely I can write poems" alerts us to the necessity of seeing what lies beneath what is first seen. In her poem, she says the image of the tree is one that does inspire poetic images, but she can't see that tree through eyes other than her own--those of a Black woman with the ghosts of American lynching always haunting. In my life and work, I have been committed to the beauty and surprise of poetic language, but I don't think that beauty is ever at odds with my own authentic experience as a Black Southern woman who is interested in truth, uncomfortable or not. Our poems can be full of linguistic delight and they can tell the story of this place, an America which we love by holding it accountable and seeing what lies beneath the stars and stripes.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 (VENUE CHANGE @ UAB SPENCER HONORS HOUSE 1190 10TH AVENUE S. BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233)
8-8:55 am
”Fiction Reading” with Lee Rozelle
Exploring principles from Saturday’s workshop, “Plunging the Pen into Horror Fiction” with examples from Rozelle’s works.
9-9:55 am
“Write a Winning Children's Book” with Karim Shamsi-Basha
Ideas for picture books are so prevalent, you wonder what it takes for one rise to the top where agents and editors are fighting over it. Throughout my Cat Man of Aleppo experience and after it won the Caldecott Honor, (I am forever humbled), I learned much about what makes an idea a winner. This workshop will give you seven things to look for when you’re evaluating a picture book concept.
10-10:55 am
“The Acrostic as Memorial” with Ashley M. Jones
The poet Faisal Mohyuddin's poem "The Faces of the Holy" is not only a powerful elegy for a mentor, but it utilizes the acrostic form to imbed the spirit of the late mentor into the very fabric of the poem. With a close study of Mohyuddin's poem and my own acrostic for my late father, attendees will craft their own modern acrostic. This isn't just a form for children--instead, it can be a transformative tool for capturing a lost loved one on the page.
11-11:55 am
AWC Annual Meeting