March Announcements
~ From My Writerly World ~
Writing from Memory or Imagination
My 6-week workshop series at The Sitting Room (Feb. 26 – April 1) has filled! Using the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) method, each 2-hour session combines creative prompts with positive group reflection to bolster our writing practice. In the words of one participant:
"The workshop provides a supportive container. It’s an opportunity to honor the gift of words that come. I feel enlivened by the process and possibilities.
To learn more: https://www.nicolerzimmerman.com/workshops/
Publication Success
My personal essay “Late Bloomer” was published this week in the literary journal, Halfway Down the Stairs for their 50th issue. Theme: Milestones.
Here’s a little something to titillate, if you’ll pardon the pun!
Mosquito bites. That’s what my older brother called them, taunting me the day I got my first “training” bra: two flat cotton triangles sewn to a thin strap, which clasped around my torso with a single hook. I wondered about the womanly form my body would blossom into.
I read this piece in October at the Penngrove Reading Series as a featured reader for Litquake, a literary festival from San Francisco.
Penngrove Reading Series
Sunday, March 8 from 8 – 9:30pm
Featured Reader: Kathy Bruin—writer, artist, and the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at SF State. Open mic to follow. Come early to Penngrove Market for drinks and dinner from the wood-fired oven. Stay late for poetry and prose.
Redwood Writers: The Flamingo Hotel
I plan to attend this Writing Character workshop by Constance (Connie) Hale, who offers pointers for observing and capturing human complexity.
Sunday, March 8 from 2 – 4:30pm
2777 4th Street in Santa Rosa
$5 members; $10 non-members (you can join that day!)
I recently rejoined this Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club, which sponsors a wide variety of events and activities throughout the year to accomplish the CWC mission:
“Educating writers of all levels of expertise in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work.”
Redwood Writers 2020 Anthology is on the theme “Sunset, Sunrise”—a collection of fiction or memoir pieces that tell of either an ending or a beginning. Deadline for club members to submit: March 13.
Creative Sonoma: Coffee & Conversation
Barn 5400 (new artisan makerspace)
5400 Old Redwood Hwy in Petaluma
Thursday, March 26 from 12 – 1:30pm
What can Sonoma County's creative communities accomplish together in the next 5 years? Creative Sonoma brings the coffee. You bring ideas for a brown-bag conversation on the arts in your community. Register here.
More dates and locations to be announced by Creative Sonoma soon!
Something to Say: Letterpress Printing
Saturday, April 4 from 11am – 5pm
Macy Chadwick, the founder and director of In Cahoots Residency, teaches this workshop using lead and wood type on the Vandercook letterpress. Join her during an afternoon of typographic play. Hand-set a phrase, a poem, or your own manifesto for your own edition of 10 letterpress prints or cards. Check out their other offerings!
I made the card above during a workshop at North Bay Letterpress Arts, where I received a birthday gift certificate for an In Cahoots workshop. (Text by Ellen Bass, from her poem “For the Lovers.”)
Sonoma County Writers Camp
Ellen Sussman and Elizabeth Stark, both acclaimed authors and writing teachers (and jurors of Creative Sonoma’s 2019 Discovered Awards for Emerging Literary Artists, which I received) are offering several 5-day writers camps at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.
April 29 – May 3, 2020 | Feeding the Muse: How to Nurture Creativity, Spark Inspiration, and Master Productivity
August 5 – 9, 2020 | Talk to Me: Voice and Point of View in Fiction and Memoirs
September 30 – October 4, 2020 | Learning from the Masters: Exploring Craft Through Reading and Writing
Includes lodging, delicious organic vegetarian meals, and all workshops, panels, and readings, with access to the gorgeous surrounds of OAEC including hot tub, sauna, pond and gardens.
More at: https://sonomacountywriterscamp.com/about-the-camp/
Writing for Literary Journals: Demystifying the Publication Process
I’ll be the presenter at Writers Forum on May 21!
6:30 – 8:30pm at Copperfield's Books in Petaluma
Learn how to submit your short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and flash/hybrid texts to journals like Memoir Magazine, Zyzzyva, and The Missouri Review (samples will be available). We’ll cover topics such as: online vs. print publication; calls for submissions and where to find them; writing contests and themed issues; word counts and other guidelines; cover letters, copyright, and contracts; rejections; and tracking tools.
Shut Up & Write!™ Wine Country
Drop in for an hour of writing on Tuesdays at 9:30am at JavAmore Cafe in Penngrove. Instead of just thinking about it, come and get some real writing done! RSVP at Meetup. It’s free! Please arrive 15 minutes early.
