Iowa Summer Writing Festival


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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors Faith Adiele Mary Allen Kate Aspengren Thomas Fox Averill Nancy Barry Timothy Bascom Linda Bendorf Venise Berry Bruce Bond Michael Dennis Browne Susan Taylor Chehak John Dalton Thomas K. Dean Amber Dermont Kelly Dwyer Hope Edelman Josh Emmons Katie Ford Patricia Foster Laura Fraser Cecile Goding Douglas Goetsch Kevin González John Griesemer Sands Hall Christine Hemp Jim Heynen Rick Hillis Charles Holdefer Richard Jackson Cheryl Fusco Johnson Wayne Johnson Bret Anthony Johnston Daniel Khalastchi Zachary Lazar Carolyn Lieberg BK Loren Fritz Mc Donald James McKean Gordon Mennenga Katherine Min Sharelle Byars Moranville Michael Morse Barbara Robinette Moss Marc Nieson Shannon Olson Lon Otto Juliet Patterson Anjali Sachdeva Sarah Saffian Sam Samuels Leslie Schwartz Sandra Scofield Mary Kay Shanley Carol Spindel Karen Subach Mary Vermillion Ashley Warlick Jan Weissmiller Bart Yates	Bart Yates Out Of The Closet And Onto The Page: The Novel Idea Of Three-D Gay And Lesbian Characters One-Week Workshop June 8–13 Patience, Caffeine, And Pigheadedness: What You Need To Write Your First Novel One-Week Workshop July 13–18 Biography Out Of The Closet And Onto The Page: The Novel Idea Of Three-D Gay And Lesbian Characters One-Week Workshop June 8–13 Why do novels featuring gay and lesbian characters seldom make it to the “mainstream” shelves in bookstores? Why are most books by gay and lesbian authors ignored by the general reading public and reviewers? And where are today’s Virginia Woolfs, Thomas Manns, and E.M. Forsters? If you’re interested in creating fascinating, multidimensional, and unique gay and lesbian characters in your fiction, this class is for you. We’ll start by looking at your own work (a few pages or a chapter of a novel, twenty pages maximum), and we’ll talk about ways of tackling gay and lesbian stereotypes. We’ll also take a look at authors who have escaped the confines of the gay bookstore, and discover how they did it. Why do we care about their characters so much? Why does their dialogue feel fresh and real? Whether you’re beginning your novel or revising a finished draft, our goal will be to make your characters come alive on the page—not just as gays and lesbians, but as flesh-and-blood human beings. Human beings with surprising things to say, human beings with stories worth hearing. Patience, Caffeine, And Pigheadedness: What You Need To Write Your First Novel One-Week Workshop July 13–18 Every novelist begins with the same challenge: a blank piece of paper, or an empty computer screen. You may have a great idea for a plot, or a main character you think will be amazing, or a promising setting. But you still have to get that first sentence down, and then the next, and you have to keep on going for several hundred pages. Then there’s layer upon layer of revision to wade through, and endless proofreading, and yet more revision. Is it any wonder most novelists end up looking and behaving a little like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings? In this class, we’ll discuss the painstaking process of crafting a novel. We’ll start by looking at your first chapter (rough drafts are fine, twenty pages maximum), with an eye on plot, characterization, voice, and setting. We’ll talk about establishing an efficient writing routine, and we’ll do in-class exercises designed to help you avoid The Three Most Common Pitfalls For Neurotic Novelists. Our goal for the week will be to provide you with the tools, inspiration and—most of all—the patience you’ll need to complete your first novel. Biography Bart Yates is the author of three novels, Leave Myself Behind, The Brothers Bishop and The Distance Between Us. Leave Myself Behind received a 2004 Alex Award from the American Library Association, and The Brothers Bishop was a main selection of the InsightOut Book Club. The Distance Between Us will be published by Kensington Books in September, 2008. Bart lives in Iowa City and performs in the jazz duo Nica’s Dream.

	Site Map \| Welcome \| Workshops by Session Date \| Workshops by Instructor Workshops by Genre \| Registration & Housing Information \| Registration Form Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Iowa Summer Writing Festival C215 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 Phone 319-335-4160 FAX 319-335-4743 iswfestival@uiowa.edu Last updated on January 10, 2008