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Saturday, June 24, 11am ­ 6pm

Fiction/Nonfiction: A Group Workshop for Prose Writers with Alexander Chee

An intensive day long workshop devoted to refining your work-in-progress. Discussions will focus on redrafting, jump-starting and troubleshooting, discussion about elements of prose, group critiques and personal advice from instructor. An engaging, supportive environment for serious published or unpublished writers who want critical feedback and suggestions on their fiction.

Participants must submit over email up to 20 pages of chapters/short stories/prose excerpts by Friday June 2nd. The instructor and fellow participants will receive copies of your work in advance for thoughtful criticism. Your email submission will be acknowledged. Class filled on rolling basis.

$125 general, $100 members. Please call 212.494.0061 to register. Limited to 12 students.

@ the Workshop
16 West 32nd, 10th Floor
New York City

Alexander Chee’s first novel, Edinburgh (Picador), won the Asian American Literary Award, the Michener and the Lambda. He is a recent the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award and a fellowship from the NEA in fiction. His essays and stories are anthologized in The M Word, TakeOut, Loss Within Loss, and Boys Like Us, among others, and he has taught writing at Wesleyan University, the New School and Goddard College. He begins as Amherst College’s Visiting Writer in the fall of this year. His new novel, The Queen of the Night, is forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin in 2007.

The Million Dollar Book Contract: How to Get (the BEST) Agent

On April 25, 2006, The Asian American Writers’ Workshop presented a panel discussion featuring four top literary agents sharing their expertise on how to land a book contract.

Panelists:

Sloan Harris has worked in the book department of International Creative Management for 16 years, specializing in narrative nonfiction and literary fiction. Clients include Jeffrey Goldberg, Hampton Sides, Doug Stanton, Susan Casey, George Pelecanos, James McManus, Anthony Lane, and Anthony Swofford, among others.

Dorian Karchmar is a literary agent at the William Morris Agency where she specializes in literary fiction and creative nonfiction. Clients include Jennifer Haigh, Eric Puchner, Dr. Sharon Moalem and Scott Heim.

Ayesha Pande launched Lyons & Pande International last fall with her partner Jennifer Lyons, and was previously an editor at Crown Publishers, HarperResource and Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Clients include Malaysian writer Preeta Samarasan as well Pakistani American writer Sheba Karim.

Ira Silverberg is a literary agent at Donadio & Olson. Prior to that, he worked in publishing in various capacities at Grove Weidenfeld, High Risk Books/Serpent’s Tail and Grove Press. Clients include Christopher Sorrentino, Rene Steinke, Kate Spade, Lawrence Chua, R. Zamora Linmark.

Quang Bao, Moderator, is the Executive Director of The Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

Click here to read the transcript of the panel

Summer 2006
Where I’m Calling From: A Youth Writing and Performance Project

The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is offering a new writing project for youth that focuses on capturing personal experiences in the form of creative non-fiction, stories based on real life, essays and journals. We will write of our own personal histories and stories as well as our thoughts on the world as it is. We want to hear what you struggle with, what you have accomplished, and what you deal with as youth. “Where I’m Calling From” is a way for you to pinpoint your location in life and the geography of your situation.

We will meet for ten classes in late June and early July. We will create and discuss our writing and explore different forms and elements of creative non-fiction. A closing event will feature live readings and performances, which will be recorded and broadcast through the Workshop’s website.

WICF is open to youth, grades 9 ­ 12, from all racial backgrounds in New York City and surrounding areas. All youth who participate in WICF will receive an artist stipend of $200, based on commitment, attendance and participation.

WICF takes place at The Asian American Writers’ Workshop on West 32nd Street in Manhattan, between 5th Avenue and Broadway, one block from the Empire State Building. Founded in 1991, The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is the country’s largest literary arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation, development, publication and dissemination of Asian American literature.

The sessions will take place on:

Monday – Friday, June 26 – 30, 1 pm – 5 pm each day Wednesday – Friday, July 5 – 7, 1 pm – 5 pm each day Monday – Tuesday, July 10 – 11, 1 pm – 5 pm each day Closing Event, Wednesday, July 12 at 7 pm

The project is co-directed by Edward Garcia and Bushra Rehman.

Project Co-director, Edward Garcia is a Latino spoken word poet and performer from New York City, who has taught nationally for many different organizations.

Project Co-director, Bushra Rehman is a poet, performer and writer of creative non-fiction. She is co-editor of Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism. She performs and teaches nationally.

To apply, please mail, fax or e-mail application no later than Monday June 5, 2006. All applications must be received by this date. Applications accepted and admitted on a rolling basis. We will notify all applicants by mid-June.

Download the WICF application (2 pages, MS Word format.)

Please note the Playwriting Workshop with David Henry Hwang is postponed until further notice.