Instructor: Alexandra Butler
Dates: begins July 14 | Mon 7-9pm
Location: Park Slope
Fee: $650 | $625 for returning writers
A private conference with the instructor is included.
A writing sample is recommended for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a 3-5 page sample.
Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction. In-class writing prompts will be used to inspire and motivate students to produce new work.
This workshop is open to writers working on memoir and personal essays, and writers should have both writing and workshopping experience.
Alexandra Butler is the author of Walking the Night Road, a memoir published by Columbia University Press, and a book of poems, Circling the Same, published by Moran Moran. She has written for the New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement. Alex co-wrote two short films, Ivy Holland, produced by Tribeca Films, and The Song is You, featured in The New Yorker magazine’s Screening Room Series. She works as a script consultant in both film and the art world. She is currently at work on a novel titled Bone Break Marble and a collection of short stories. You can read more about her in The New York Times: Introducing a Poet Who Works in 3-D. Alex holds a Master of Social Work from Columbia University and is a therapist in a bilingual group practice in her hometown of New York City.