December Events

A Capella Books. http://www.acappellabooks.com  208 Haralason Ave. NE, Atlanta 30307. 404-681-5128.

December 3rd, 7 p.m.–Workshop with Award-Winning Atlanta Memoirist and Writing Instructor Jessica Handler.

Everyone experiences personal difficulty at some point in their lives. We may find that we want to write about loss, grief, or trauma with the notion that getting it down on paper will be cathartic. In this workshop we’ll explore strategies for strong literary writing, discuss cross-disciplinary research in creating trauma narratives, and start some writing exercises of our own. Open to writers of all levels.

Jessica Handler is the author of Invisible Sisters: A Memoir which was named one of the “Twenty Five Books All Georgians Should Read” andAtlanta magazine’s “Best Memoir of 2009.” Her latest book is Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief.  Her writing  has appeared in Tin House, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and More Magazine. She conducts writing workshops across the country.

Space for this workshop is very limited. The cost per person is $30, which includes tax and a copy of Braving the Fire, or $20 without the book. We are taking reservations at the store, by phone (404) 681-5128, and online.

Athens Writers Workshop http://www.meetup.com/The-Athens-Area-Writers-Group/events/97071332/

Bi-monthly critiques, meetings. Must be  a member.

Atlanta Fulton County Public Library, http://www.afpls.org/events/events-calendar

Atlanta Press Club, 200 Peachtree St., Atlanta 30303, 404-577-7377, http://atlantapressclub.org/programs-events/

Atlanta Writers Club  http://www.atlantawritersclub.org/ , Georgia Perimeter College, Bldg. NC, Room 1100 Auditorium

Critique groups, seminars and lectures, networking, conferences.

December 8th, 7-9 p.m.–AWC member, Nicki Salcedo, author of All Beautiful Things, announces a holiday event: “Chapter One: A Creative Writing Workshop with Nicki Salcedo.” $10 at the door. Register today: http://withloveandlight.com/event/chapter-one-creative-writing-with-nicki-salcedo-10/

December 20th–Monthly meeting

Member Minute–George Weinstein: How to set up and conduct book talks and signings, and how to attract and address book clubs

Main Speaker–Kimberly Brock: Spinning Gold: Southern Fiction and the Modern Myth

Holiday Gathering: In lieu of a second speaker for our December 20th meeting, and in honor of the season, we’ll hold our second annual holiday gathering in the cafeteria across the hall from the GPC auditorium immediately following Kimberly Brock’s presentation. If you are so moved, please bring a dozen or so of your favorite holiday treats to share with the group. The club will provide the coffee and a few assorted goodies, so if you aren’t inspired to bake something, you are still welcome to attend! We are also going to be collecting new and used books again this year, to donate to Books for Heroes, a non-profit organization that sends books to soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else freedom is being defended. They are currently in need of mysteries, thrillers, and military fiction.

January 7th–David Fulmer’s Fiction Shop will return for 2015 beginning on January 7th. The class will meet in the Reading Room at Eagle Eye Book Shop on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30 for eight weeks, with the final class on February 28th. Designed for fiction and non-fiction writers at any skill level, Fiction Shop addresses the essential components of the craft: setting, dialogue, characters, plotting, and the other critical narrative skills. Class exercises and short betweenclass assignments augment the learning curve and discussions of the writing discipline and pitch strategies for agents are also included. Remaining slots are available to AWC members at a cost of $225, discounted from the $250 regular fee.  Details, FAQs, and registration information at: www.davidfulmer.com/ShopPage2.html.
The author of seven novels, Fulmer recently sold the rights to his first four to Amazon Studios.

And that’s just the A’s. For the complete list, click on the red title, upper right…

(Steinbeck poster, credit: klerosier.files.com)