You Ask, You Receive: How to Write Like I Do.

There are a few things we hear over and over here at 826michigan. “Where’s the bathroom?”, “Do you guys really fix robots?”, “Can I have a cookie?”, and “When’s the next workshop schedule coming out?” are just a few. (Answers: In the back; Not exactly; Currently, yes, as I have no fewer than fifteen on my desk this very moment, and Tuesday, June 22 at 7pm.)

One of the questions we hear MOST, though, is: Do you have writing workshops for adults? Generally this is answered with a semi-defeated: “Not right now.” But TODAY, friends, it is answered with a resounding YES! We have a whole SERIES of workshops for adults this summer! We are pleased to present: How to Write Like I Do, a summer series of workshop for adults.

Are you ready? Here we go!

Saturday, July 11, 1-4pm
Steve Amick presents: Connecting with a Character, Connecting with your Readers

Using empathy in your writing to develop deep characters that resonate and are remembered.

Steve Amick’s new novel, Nothing But a Smile, was called “pitch perfect” by the Associated Press and his first, The Lake, the River & the Other Lake, was a Washington Post Book of the Year. His short stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, Playboy, The Southern Review, The New England Review, Story, in anthologies and on National Public Radio. In support of 826michigan, he contributed to Unsquared and the monster protest song CD. The New York Times said, “Amick’s greatest strength is his generosity toward his characters.” Born in Ann Arbor in 1964, he received a BA from St. Lawrence University and an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University.

Thursday, July 23, 6-9pm
Susan Hutton presents: Make Your Poem Pop!

Examine the way poets use literary devices to make a poem work, and learn to use them in your own work.

Susan Hutton’s first book of poems On the Vanishing of Large Creatures was published in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon University Press, and won Ploughshares‘ Zacharis Award for best debut book.

Thursday, July 30, 6-9pm
Jacqui Robbins presents: Writing and Publishing Your Children’s Picture Book

Bring that picture book you’ve always wanted to write out of your head and onto the bookstore shelf.

Jacqui Robbins graduated from Yale University with a degree in Theater and Anthropology, and from Erikson Institute with a Master’s in Child Development. She has taught writing to students ages six to sixty-five. Jacqui is the author of the picture books The New Girl…And Me (Simon & Schuster, 2006), which won a Parents Choice Silver Honor Award, and the forthcoming Two of a Kind (Simon & Schuster, 2009).

Thursday, August 13, 6-9pm
Julia Smilie and Jennifer Traig present: Write Yourself Into Existence: A Memoir Bootcamp

Find the part of your life that makes the most compelling story, and then get started toward your first draft.

Julia Smillie is a national award-winning freelance writer and editor. Her work has appeared in publications nationwide, including Kiki Magazine, Self, St. Louis Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Commonspace, Lifestyles, The Knot, 52nd City, and others. Her essay “Mother Anger” is anthologized in Spike Gillespie’s book, Pissed Off: On Women & Anger.

Jennifer Traig, a longtime 826 tutor and workshop teacher, is the author of two memoirs—Well Enough Alone and Devil in the Details. She holds a Ph.D. in literature, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, JANE, The Observer, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Thursday, August 20, 6-9pm
Jeff Meyers and Corey Hall Present: Critiquing Contemporary Cinema

Learn first hand from the MetroTimes’ critics the elements of a great review.

Jeff Meyers is the managing editor of Concentrate Media and Metromode Media. In addition, he is a film critic for Detroit’s MetroTimes. Jeff was the Creative Director for StageDirect (an Internet start-up in Portland, OR), a freelance writer, an adjunct instructor at Clark College and a theatrical director. Before that he spent eleven years working as a microbiologist. Jeff has written screenplays, stage plays, and in 2000 was a finalist for the Oregon Book Awards for his collection of poetry Hereafter. In 2009, he received a Detroit Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Media Award for his film reviews in the MetroTimes.

Corey Hall is also a film critic for Detroit’s MetroTimes, as well as a stand up comedian.

Each workshop is $60 per person per session, which includes coffee and Zingerman’s treats. If you register for at least two sessions, the fee is $50 per session. Do all proceeds benefit the free student programming at 826michigan? Why yes, yes they do. So, essentially, what we’re saying is that by improving YOUR craft, you’re also helping to improve the craft of hundreds of local students, which is, we think, pretty cool.

To register, please visit our Store page. Email rsvp@826michigan.org with any questions. Reserve your spot before there are no spots left!