Cherished writers, First, the elephant in the room: elections are stressful! If you're looking for some reflection time, or a quick break from thinking about politics, check out this week's free virtual programs — details below. In other news, last weekend's Novels in Progress event was spectacular! We heard from Maya Afilalo and Chandler Myer and had a good dialogue about staying motivated. I hope you'll join us for the next one on December 7th, which features local talents Nikki Volpicelli and Lauren Holguin. Big shout out to Molly's Books & Records and our fearless volunteer team for bringing this event series to life! |
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- Wednesday, 11/6, 3:30-5:30pm: Creative Coworking, on Zoom. Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life. This is a virtual and free event, donations welcome.
- Thursday, 11/7, 4:00-5:00pm: "What's Next?" with Penguin Random House. This is the first installment of a 3-part series on navigating publication. Free and virtual, these panel discussions will take place on 11/7, 11/14, and 11/21 in lieu of our typical Thursdays on the Stoop sessions throughout November. You'll get the chance to hear from professional publicists, agents, and editors, live on Zoom. See you there!
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Saturday, 11/9, 1:00–4:00 pm ET | Single session | In-Person Have you ever read about a place you've never been, but whose sights, smells, and textures have stayed with you well after you finished reading the book? By crafting scenes that envelop the senses, writers can transport the reader to places they've never visited, worlds they yearn to explore, and settings that feel lush and layered. In this 3-hour class, students will dive into work by authors who create vivid settings, then channel all of their senses into writing vivid backdrops and worlds of their own. At the end of the session, participants will walk away with freshly drafted work and the prompts and guidance needed to generate more layered, compelling settings in the future. Instructor: Nicole Young is a writer and artist whose non-fiction work has been featured in Elle, YES!, Vox, Scalawag, and Bitch magazines. She’s a part of the editorial team of Jacaranda Books, working to bring a non-fiction book series on Black American culture to life. She attended the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop and was selected as an Aspen Summer Words Emerging Writers Fellow in 2023. Nicole previously served as a writer at The African American Policy Forum, co-host of the Kidlit These Days and Worth Noting podcasts, and contributing editor for Book Riot Media. In addition to her freelance writing, Nicole is dreaming up fantastical worlds for middle grade and young adult readers in her fiction novels and short stories. Saturday, 11/16, 1:00–4:00 pm ET | Single session | Zoom This 3-hour session will introduce writers to the world of e-poetry through the fundamentals of programming. Students will learn about the work of artists and writers, includingc Nick Montfort, Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Porpentine Charity Heartscape, and John Cayley, who have all used programming to create new and exciting textual works easily adapted to websites, gallery installations, or live performance. This class is suitable for those with little to no programming experience; no special software is required. Instructor: Warren C. Longmire is a writer, software developer and educator from the bad part of North Philadelphia. He is the host of House Poet: A Spoken Word Dance Party and founder of _mixlit productions. He was featured in the Best American Poetry 2021, edited by Tracey K. Smith and will be featured in the anthology A Black Philadelphia Reader: African American Writings About the City of Brotherly Love (Pennsylvania State University Press) in June 2024. As a developer, he has worked at companies including Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Vanguard Animation Studios and has worked in computer science education for four years. His latest book, Bird/Diz [an erased history of bebop] (BUNNY Presse) was released in Nov. 2022. Warren will be attending the Iowa Writer's Workshop in the Fall of 2024. |
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Wednesday, 11/20, 6:00–9:00 pm ET | Single session | Zoom Writing the work is one thing, but talking about it is another. This 3-hour class is designed to take the panic out of the pitch and help writers find joy and confidence in talking up their work. Using interview clips and podcasts, students will dissect what makes someone a successful ambassador of their work, and explore which key phrases can make readers’ (and agents’) ears perk up. There will also be an opportunity for students to get feedback on their pitches. Designed for writers of any genre, this class is perfect for those who are ready to start sharing their work with the world. Instructor: Elizabeth Gassman is a freelance editor, writer, and teacher based in Brooklyn, NY. Before starting her freelance career, Elizabeth was an assistant editor at Little, Brown, where she published "Set the Night on Fire" by Robby Krieger of The Doors. Other notable books she has edited include "Blood Farm" by Cara McGoogan (shortlisted for the Lukas Prize), "The Double Life of Bob Dylan" by Clinton Heylin, "A Measure of Intelligence" by Pepper Stetler, and "The Impostor Heiress" by Annie Reed. Elizabeth has also contributed to the editorial teams at independent publishers such as Diversion Books, Other Press, W.W. Norton, Grove Atlantic, and Soho Press. Early in her NYC career, she worked as a part-time bookseller at Book Culture on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Elizabeth is a dedicated book professional, passionate about both the business and craft of writing. Monday, 11/25, 7:30–9:00 pm ET | Single session | Zoom This 90-minute session will pair the poem “Children Walk on Chairs to Cross a Flooded Schoolyard” by Patrick Rosal with a guided group discussion and a generative writing prompt. Suitable for writers of all experience levels, Poem Plus Prompt will help writers unpack and learn from the key craft elements in Rosal's work. Instructor: Dilruba Ahmed is the author of Bring Now the Angels (Pitt Poetry), with poems featured in New York Times Magazine, The Slowdown, and Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama. Her debut book of poetry, Dhaka Dust (Graywolf Press), won the Bakeless Prize. Her poems have appeared in Kenyon Review, New England Review, Ploughshares, and Virginia Quarterly Review. Her poems have also been anthologized in The Best American Poetry 2019 (Scribner), Halal If You Hear Me (Haymarket Books), Literature: The Human Experience (Bedford/St. Martin’s) and elsewhere. Ahmed is the recipient of The Florida Review’s Editors’ Award, a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Prize, and the Katharine Bakeless Nason Fellowship in Poetry awarded by the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. She holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers. Ahmed has taught with Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers, Chatham University’s MFA Program, Bryn Mawr College, Hugo House, and elsewhere. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Swarthmore College. |
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Financial aid: If you're based in the greater Philadelphia area and low-income, you could pay less than half of the listed tuition prices. Applying for aid is quick and easy, with instant results. It's also first-come, first-serve, so don't procrastinate! Don't qualify for aid? Here's a 10% off code: FALL24 Need more time to pay for your class? Reach out to info@bluestoop.org to request a payment plan. |
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In solidarity, Julian Shendelman
Co-Director P.S. Looking for more local literary connections? Check out our community calendar and resource pages. |
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Got an event, organization, business, or book to promote? |
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BEYOND THE STOOP Here's a quick excerpt from our community calendar. Adding an event is quick, easy, and free! |
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~~~~~~~~~ Event title Temple University Poets & Writers Series: Dinaw Mengestu, Visiting Fiction Writer Start time 11/7/2024 12:00pm Location Mazur Hall Room 821, 1114 W. Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122 (closest intersection is 11th and Berks). Description Free reading with visiting fiction writer Dinaw Mengestu on Temple University's campus. Books will be available for purchase. Link Contact info tara.lemma.diffley@temple.edu Cost Free ~~~~~~~~~ Event title Don Mee Choi: A Reading and Conversation Start time 11/7/2024 6:00pm Location Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Description Born in Seoul, South Korea, Don Mee Choi is the author of the KOR-US trilogy: Mirror Nation (Wave Books, 2024), the National Book Award winning collection DMZ Colony (Wave Books, 2020), and Hardly War (Wave Books, 2016). She is a recipient of fellowships from the MacArthur, Guggenheim, Lannan, and Whiting Foundations, as well as the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Her translation of Kim Hyesoon’s poetry collection, Autobiography of Death (New Directions, 2018), received the 2019 International Griffin Poetry Prize. Link Contact info wh@writing.upenn.edu Cost Free ~~~~~~~~~ Event title H&H Books - Riverwards Chapbook Series Release Party Start time 11/8/2024 7:00pm Location american grammar, 2046 North Front Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 Description On November 8, 2024 from 7 to 9 PM, The Head & The Hand (H&H Books) will be hosting a release party at american grammar for the publication of three chapbooks as the finale to its 2023-2024 Riverwards Arts & Letters Series. These chapbooks are visual-literary collaborations between artist Manuela GuillĂ©n and poet Pthalo, artist Nora E Luks and poet Mary Zhou, and artist Rushawn Stanley, or “Scum Lizard,” and poet Gabriel Ramirez. H&H will be celebrating the chapbook release on November 8th at american grammar, 2046 N. Front St., with readings, artist talks, refreshments, live music by Universal Rhythm, books and prints for sale, and MORE! Link Contact info info@theheadandthehand.com Cost Free ~~~~~~~~~ Event title PHILLY ZINE FEST 2024 Start time 11/9/2024 10:00am Location Mitten Hall at Temple University (1913 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia PA) Description Link Contact info info@phillysoapbox.org Cost Free ~~~~~~~~~ Event title Meet the Author: Bessie Flores ZaldĂvar Start time 11/9/2024 3:00pm Location Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 N 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133 Description Julia de Burgos Bookstore welcomes author Bessie Flores ZaldĂvar to discuss their debut YA novel, Libertad. Born in 1997 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Bessie Flores ZaldĂvar is a writer and professor of fiction. They’re currently based in the New Haven area. Their debut novel, Libertad, is a breathtakingly written queer coming-of-age story set in Honduras during the 2017 presidential election about a young poet grappling with identity, family dynamics, politics, and hopes for the future. It explores the question: “What does it mean to love a country that doesn’t love you back?” Light refreshments will be provided and the Q&A will be followed by a book signing. Link Contact info shop@tallerpr.org Cost Free ~~~~~~~~~ Event title Vibrant Love Start time 11/9/2024 3:00pm Location A Novel Idea Description A photography exhibit celebrating the beauty and diversity of polyamory, Vibrant Love is the culmination of a year's worth of work. The exhibit kick off at A Novel Idea will feature short remarks by me and five poets who are either polyamorous or nonmonogmous with experience dating polyamorous people reading poetry on the topic of polyamory. Link Contact info JBShifman@gmail.com, @SouthPhillyJays on Instagram Cost Free but space is limited so show up early! ~~~~~~~~~ Event title Ghost Harmonics Start time 11/9/2024 7:00pm Location The Perch, 2321 Emerald St, Philadelphia, PA 19125 Description Ghost Harmonics is a reading series featuring poetry, fiction, music and other arts in Philadelphia with a theme of bringing artists from further afield together with the vibrant Philadelphia community. Hosted by Mike Bagwell. The kickoff event features readings by Sadie Dupuis, Chris Campanioni, olga mikolaivna, and John Pinto, with music and performances by Ollie Becker, Edward Longo, Orah Ruth and William Hazard. Link Contact info ghostharmonicsreading@gmail.com Cost Suggested $5-10 ~~~~~~~~~ |
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1315 Walnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States |
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