Program Highlight:
Bruce Covey
Poet Bruce Covey's most recent volume of poems is Glass Is Really a Liquid. He will do a reading of... Read more
THE Writers Conference @ DBF
Many of the Decatur Book Festival's most faithful fans are not just passionate readers, but ardent writers. The Writers Conference @ DBF, presented by Agnes Scott College, has assembled an exciting assortment of workshops and panel discussions just for you, whether you are novices still finding your way or experienced scribes looking to sharpen your skills.
We'll kick things off Friday with a keynote address by Kaylie Jones, author of five novels (including A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries) and a new memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me. Writing workshops will follow - we have nine to choose from this year - and we'll cap off Friday's events with conversation and cocktails in the courtyard, and then Sir Harold Evans' festival keynote at 8.
On Saturday and Sunday, panel discussions on a range of topics of particular interest to writers will happen throughout the day on festival stages. Check out the Writers Conference Track for details. The Friday Workshops will be at Agnes Scott College - the Maclean Auditorium and Buttrick Hall. Workshops are free, but you must register to reserve a space. To register, send your name and the name of the workshop you would like to attend to workshops@decaturbookfestival.com.
For directions and to download the campus map, click here. Parking is available in the West Parking deck, P2 on the campus map. Cross the street to building #5, Presser Hall. Maclean Auditorium, where the keynote address will be held.
We hope to see you there!
Friday, September 4:
3 p.m.-Welcome and Keynote by Kaylie Jones-- Maclean Auditorium, Presser Hall
4 - 6 p.m. Concurrent Workshops
Structuring the Memoir, Kaylie Jones
Registration Full!
What a memoirist perceives to be an important and interesting experience in his or her life may not seem that way to all readers. Kaylie Jones has written five novels - including A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, based on her experiences growing up as the daughter of celebrated novelist James Jones (From Here To Eternity, The Thin Red Line), which was made into a 1998 Merchant-Ivory film starring Kris Kristofferson, Leelee Sobieski and Barbara Hershey - and the memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me, just published by William Morrow. The trick to writing memoir, Jones says, is figuring out what universal experience lies at the heart of your story. In this seminar, she will discuss how writers can separate out what is of interest to them from what will be of interest to readers, and discover how to tell their story without overburdening the narrative with too much background information.
Putting Flesh on the Bones: How to Write Great Characters, N.M. Kelby
Registration Full!
N.M. Kelby, author of A Tour Guide for Restless Hearts, Whale Season and The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, The Art & The Business of Fiction (Writer's Digest Books) will share practical tips on how to create the memorable characters that editors love and readers can't get enough of.
Sex & Violence: Writing About Them Without Sounding Like a Virgin Pacifist, David Fulmer
Registration Full!
Award-winning novelist and writing teacher David Fulmer gives up the good, bad and ugly when it comes to sex, violence and profanity between the covers. Because Fulmer's a show-don't-tell kind of guy, he'll be joined by Atlanta's finest acting talent to give dramatic and comic readings of the inspiring-and offending-passages. It's an R-rated program, so no one under 18 will be admitted. A fainting couch and earplugs will be provided.
Bounce the Reader into It, Stephen Corey and Mindy Wilson
Registration Full!
Stephen Corey and Mindy Wilson of The Georgia Review will bring sample opening pages from some short stories and essays that have appeared in their award-winning journal, to illustrate effective, potent ways to begin a piece of writing, as well as how not to begin. There will be handout copies of the writing to be discussed, and participants' comments and questions will be welcome throughout the session.
An Introduction to Food Writing, Served in Three Courses, John Kessler
Registration Full!
Award-winning AJC food columnist John Kessler examines three of the most common forms: the restaurant review, the topical food story with recipes, and the personal food essay, each of which exercises a different set of muscles. The restaurant review requires a critical voice, while the topical food story needs equal measures of research and appetite. The personal food essay, which comes from a place of emotional honesty, can be the most challenging and the most rewarding of the three .What specific kind of food writing attracts you? This workshop will include a flash writing exercise.
Full Metal (Screenwriting) Jacket: Bullet-proof Answers to Tough Questions, Philip Nutman
Registration Full!
Atlanta-based novelist and screenwriter Philip Nutman has worked in TV and film for 25 years. In this seminar, he will discuss storytelling: how to go about writing a screenplay and what makes a good screenplay. A Q & A session built around his six principles of successful screenwriting.
Creating the Graphic Novel, Chris Schweizer
Registration Full!
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) instructor and cartoonist Chris Schweizer discusses approaches to creating a graphic novel, from planning to execution, including character design, layout, and storytelling.
Lying Our Way to the Truth: Memory and Invention in Poetry, Chelsea Rathburn and James May
Registration Full!
Chelsea Rathburn, winner of the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award for her collection The Shifting Line, and James May - editor-in-chief of New South - will explore memory and invention in poetry. While memory is a rich source for a poet, it's potentially dangerous. This workshop considers how to navigate past sentimentalization, or rigid adherence to "the way it really happened" in order to get to the poem's larger truth. Participants are encouraged to submit a poem via email prior to the class, for possible critique by the group.
Rewriting Your Life, Robin Hemley
Registration Full!
While wishful thinking should not be the main motivation of a writer's desire to write a memoir, there IS a certain amount of imagination that's involved in any writing project, even with a memoir about a subject you should know intimately: your own life. Memories, of course, are not always reliable, so how do you write a scene with dialogue and sufficient detail of an event that might have taken place 30 years ago? And what if your memory disagrees with the memories of your older brother or younger sister? And how much reinvention is allowable in a book that is supposed to be nonfiction? This workshop will try to tackle these questions and others that make memoir writing one of the most intriguing and problematic forms of writing being practiced today.
