Whether found in print or online, short stories remain a popular way for writers to reach new readers. In fact, some of our most memorable stories were written in the short form. But writing a great one can be tricky. So, given all the markets currently available–many of them paying markets—we’re pleased to welcome multiple award-winning fictionalist Kristin FitzPatrick to LA13. Her debut anthology, My Pulse is an Earthquake, is out September from West Virginia University Press, and was a semi-finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. Kristin will conduct two new workshops, “Making Every Line Count: Dialogue in Short Stories” and “Writing Razor Sharp Description in Short Stories.”
Author Suzanne Redfearn, whose outstanding suburban thriller, Hush Little Baby, came out last year, returns to the SCWC with a needed workshop. Geared specifically to those among us who eschew plotting story in advance of sitting down to write it, through hands-on exercises “Pantsers: Keep the Creative Flowing” will inform how to allow story to develop organically, dictated by its natural flow, creating unexpected surprises and tension. Suzanne’s No Ordinary Life is out February from Grand Central and we’re looking forward to the read.
Of course, many more workshops have been added since last update. You can check them out on our newly expanded Workshops & Events page. The preliminary schedule is now posted. It is the working schedule, and will continue to evolve as we plug in the remaining sessions and adjust time slots.
More Good “Muse”
SCWCers with new books include Charisse Tyson. Born Again in a Biker Bar chronicles her spiritual odyssey from controlling co-dependent with an alcoholic husband to a sound marriage and miraculous salvation … Girlgoyle, by Evan Ramspott (writing as Better Hero Army), is out this month. The first book in his Hollow Mountain Butterfly series, it tells the tale of Tiffany Noboru, who awakens from her death only to discover she’s been drafted into the Gargoyle Ghost Hunter Corps … And come September, Solange Ritchie’s debut thriller, The Burning Man, sets FBI forensic pathologist Catherine (“Cat”) Powers on the hunt for an Orange County serial killer. Best of success to all!
Also, a hearty congratulations to Southern California Independent Booksellers Awards finalists David Putnam (The Replacements) and Don Winslow (The Cartel). Both are up for the T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award, the winner of which will be announced in October.
Still more staff and workshops to announce. Be sure to join our Facebook .COMmunity wall and Twitter feed to keep up on all things SCWC. Now let’s see what author/workshop leader Ara Grigorian has to say…
–Michael Steven Gregory
Executive Director, SCWC
