Jackson Heights Life

Heightening Stories is a series of community-based creative writing workshops, focusing on social issues as well as craft, right here in Jackson Heights. Blended fiction and nonfiction classes are taught by acclaimed author and award-winning writing instructor Nancy Agabian.

Two workshops are being offered in 2016: The Diversity Writing Project, and Personal Prose, details below and here: http://nancyagabian.com/teaching/current-workshops/

To register or for more info, email nancyagabian@yahoo.com.


The Diversity Writing Project
7 Saturday mornings
in Jackson Heights, Queens
10:30 am – 1 pm
Session 1: January 30 — March 19, 2016 (with a break on February 13)
Session 2: April 2 — May 21, 2016 (with a break on May 7)
A public reading of students’ new work will take place the week of May 22–26, TBD
Limited to 8 members

This workshop provides a forum to develop and polish work specifically about issues of identity relating to race, culture, and ethnicity using the framework of literary journal and magazine submissions as a timeline. Each week will be dedicated to a step towards publishing your work: setting goals, researching venues, reading in depth, refining your pitch/submission list, and crafting pitches & cover letters. Also, we’ll read and discuss a recent excerpt from a journal or magazine that connects to content issues we are exploring, such as immigration, assimilation, repatriation, internalized oppression & privilege, historical legacies and losses, language & translation, mixed-race & cross-cultural identities, intersections with class & gender, etc.; writing prompts based on a related craft issue will help to develop new work. This will also be a critique workshop, with members bringing in the pieces they want to publish and receiving facilitated feedback from the group along with suggestions on where to publish. The final week will be a submission session party, when members will bring in their laptops and submit their work to their chosen publications online. For new, intermediate and advanced writers of fiction and nonfiction, the workshop will be a space to share resources and to support each other to develop and prepare work for publication. Whether you want to find community with people who write about issues related to racial, ethnic and cultural identity, prepare this work and get it published, and/or simply learn the steps for publication for the future, this workshop is for you.

To apply, please send an email to nancyagabian@yahoo.com that details 1) how your work or writing interests relate to issues of race, ethnicity or cultural identity, 2) why you want to take the workshop, including your goals and your experiences working with others in community. Attach a double-spaced 5 – 10 page sample of writing. The application process is intended to 1) ensure that the members have a range of diverse experiences to help each other and 2) help each member to focus on their goals, assets and interests as they enter the workshop. Application deadline: January 23

Note: This workshop is open to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity or national origin. Structured around an anti-racist framework, the workshop will collectively support more writing by people of color to be published. Those of all racial backgrounds, who write about race, ethnicity, or cultural identity, will be supported in writing and publishing work that contributes to undoing racism against people of color.

Tuition:
Session 1:
Register by January 23: $300
Register after January 23: $325
Session 2:
Register by March 26: $300
Register after March 26: $325
Package: Session 1 and 2:
Register by January 23: $575
Register after January 23: $625
(Sliding scale, work trades, and payment plans available: please inquire by email before applying to nancyagabian@yahoo.com.)

Personal Prose
(formerly titled “Creative Nonfiction/Autobiographical Fiction”)
8 Wednesday nights, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
in Jackson Heights, Queens
Limited to 8 members
Session 1: January 27 — March 16, 2016.
A public reading of students’ new work will take place on March 23.
Session 2: April 6 — May 25, 2016.

Geared for intermediate to advanced writers working on individual short stories and essays or fiction/nonfiction book-length projects, this ongoing community-oriented group encourages members to write in a way that is both bravely personal and socially conscious. Held in a supportive environment in the instructor’s home, the weekly sessions include discussions of exemplary contemporary fiction and nonfiction, craft exercises to help you develop material and learn writing techniques, and constructive group feedback sessions. Content and craft are fused in an innovative set of lessons that are adjusted to the interests and needs of the group; content topics have included writing on race, class, gender, sexuality and their intersections; cross cultural & queer experiences; the immigrant experience; war and occupation; food writing; and health, wellness and the body. Readings may include stories, chapter excerpts or full books, as well as attendance to one or two public readings relating to the topics we will be exploring. We will also be reading our work to the public on March 23 as an exercise in editing and performing. By the end of the session, you will have completed or revised up to twenty pages of writing (one long piece or a few short essays, stories or chapters) that will be ready to publish.

To apply: Please email nancyagabian@yahoo.com two paragraphs that 1) explain your experience in contributing positively to a community or group (writing or otherwise) and what you could offer to be a successful member of this workshop and 2) describe your writing goals, the writing you would like to do with this group and how you think this particular writing workshop could help you. Attach a double-spaced 5 – 10 page sample of writing.  Application deadline: January 20.

Tuition:
Session 1:
Register by January 20: $375
Register after January 20: $400
Session 2:
Register by March 23: $375
Register after March 23: $400
Package: Session 1 and 2:
Register by January 20: $725
Register after January 20: $775
(Sliding scale, work trades, and payment plans available; please inquire by email before applying at nancyagabian@yahoo.com.)