Jennica, one of the TT interns and contributor to Panties took a Grotto travel writing seminar and really enjoyed it. Here are two upcoming ones if you can get yourself to the Bay Area.
Grotto Writing Seminars at the Mechanics’ Institute
October 23 and 24, 2004, San Francisco
Join nationally published travelers, top teachers, and Bay Area bon vivants for “The World Is My Oyster: Writing About Adventure, Food, and Travel.” Inspiring authors will talk about their wanderings in foreign lands, domestic kitchens, and the surprising corners of the heart. This intimate writing workshop caters to veteran and aspiring writers who want to deepen their craft and broaden their understanding of the publishing world.
Seminar producers Laura Fraser and Constance Hale are magazine writers, book authors and popular teachers. Fraser writes on food and travel for such
magazines as Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Organic Style; she is the author of An Italian Affair. Hale’s travel essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Miami Herald, and various anthologies; her book Sin and Syntax is a primer on polishing prose.
Details follow or can be found on their website.
Saturday, October 23
10am – 6pm
Morning Panel: Let Me Tell You About My Oyster
Featuring food and travel writers Jeff Greenwald, Christopher Hall,
Lisa Margonelli, Tori Ritchie, and Jason Roberts. Moderated by Constance
Hale; followed by a book signing.
Afternoon Mini-courses (choose one):
The Art of Adventure, with Jeff Greenwald
From Tante Marie to Bon Appetit, with Tori Ritchie
Writing about Place, with Christopher Hall
Reception: Wit, wine, and repartee
Featuring a special performance by Jeff Greenwald
Sunday, October 24
10am – 4pm
Writing Intensive with Laura Fraser and Constance Hale
Morning: Overview of writing about food, place, and personal experience
The nuts-and-bolts on coming up with strong ideas, crafting beautiful
pieces, and placing stories. Oh, and did we forget making a living?
Fraser and Hale will share their secrets and invite your questions.
Afternoon Workshops (choose one):
Secrets of the Senses, with Laura Fraser
What I Sold from my Summer Vacation, with Connie Hale
Travel as Memoir, with Larry Habegger
Registration Details:
Saturday only, October 23 $160, $112 Mechanics’ Institute members
Sunday only, October 24 $160, $112 Mechanics’ Institute members
Both days: $240, $190 Mechanics’ Institute members
NOTE: Lunch is included, and space is limited to 50 people.
Register before October 1 and pay the Mechanics’ Institute rate.
Follow-up “Pitch and Bitch” workshops will be announced.
For information, email seminars@sfgrotto.org or visit their website www.sfgrotto.org/seminar.