For the Birds is pleased to announce the details of our literary event, “The Written Bird” as part of our Birds of Summer event series! The two-day event will feature workshops and readings by women writers as a means to foster ideas and words, and to have our voices heard in a field that can often seem intimidating. Spread the word!
WORKSHOPS
Saturday, August 27th 2011
1PM – 6 PM
WORD Bookstore
126 Franklin Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
1PM Perfecting Your Pitch
with Sadie Magazine editors Jesse Sposato & Susannah Wexler
Learn how to pitch a good story to Sadie and other magazines! Find out what they look for and things to do/look into before sending a pitch!
2PM The Printed World: Self-publishing, promotion, and the many means in which to get your ideas out with Caroline Paquita of Pegacorn Press
A workshop addressing different methods to create printed works (zines, comics, chapbooks + more) that covers some of the most commonly used printing processes. A brief history of self-publishing will be discussed, as well as topics such as materials, layout, different printing options, binding, and distribution. While there will be a focus on producing works in a more “low-fi,” hands-on fashion that utilizes common or easy to find materials, people familiar with self-publishing may learn of new ways to address common issues that often come up in the production side of printing their own work.
3PM Of Course You Can Write a Damn Novel!” with Ocean Capewell
Have you ever wished you were the kind of person who could write a novel? Guess what, you probably are! In this workshop, we will discuss the barriers–some self-imposed, some not–that women/queer writers can face in undertaking such a task. We will do a few exercises to get motivated. if you have written a novel, you are welcome to come and share strategies that got you through! PLEASE NOTE: this workshop is NOT about how to get a novel published.
5PM Write. Now. Writing even if you think you’re not ready
with Lane Moore, writer for The Onion and Jezebel
Whether you want to write a novel, a book of short stories, songs, or your own comic book, you may think your work isn’t good enough yet. You probably don’t know enough, you have no professional training, maybe your ideas are boring, maybe you’re not as clever as you think you are, etc. There are a thousand reasons not to write and plenty of writers battle with these thoughts on a regular basis, but “I’m not ready” is still a ridiculous excuse. If you want to write it, if you want to see something exist because you don’t see anyone else doing anything like it, you’re ready. I’ll explore various theories as to why there is an abundance of men and a shortage of women in creative fields, ways to go over, under, or through your perceived blocks, and I’ll also talk about my experience with writing what you know.
READING
Sunday, August 28th 2011
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street
NY NY 10002
FEATURING READINGS BY:
STACY PERSHALL
Stacy is a writer and belly dancer in New York City. She is originally from Prairie Grove, AR, and was the first person on either side of her family to ever go to college. After a childhood punctuated by bullying, a 20-year struggle with anorexia and bulimia, and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder that didn’t feel quite right, Stacy was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2005. She recovered through a combination of dialectical behavior therapy, mood-stabilizing medication and tattoos. Her memoir “Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl” was published by W.W. Norton in January 2011 and chosen for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers program. Stacy is passionate about helping bullied kids find their voices and educating clinicians about body modification.
MIRA PTACIN
Mira is a Brooklyn-based creative nonfiction and children’s book author, New York Times bestselling ghostwriter, as well as the founder and executive director of Freerange Nonfiction, a New York City reading series and storytelling collective. This year, she was nominated for the Best American Essays, a Pushcart Prize, and the Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award (results pending). She’s a contributing writer to the forthcoming book, The Moment (2012 Harper Perennial) and her compositions have appeared in numerous print and online publications, such as New York Magazine, The Morning News, Smith Magazine, Anderbo, Cerise Press, LUMINA, Epiphany, Nerve.com, the Citron Review, the Fertile Source, CommonDreams.org, Truthout.org and more. Right now, she’s working on a memoir about the Uterus and the American Dream, as well as a collection of children’s books. Also, she’s a vegetarian. To find out more about her writing, to read excerpts or for press clips, she welcomes you to go to: www.miraptacin.com
OCEAN CAPEWELL
Ocean grew up on Long Island but has lived all over. She studied writing at Nassau BOCES Cultural Arts Centre & SUNY Purchase. She is trying to find a home for her first novel and is starting a second one about lesbian construction-worker romance! She currently lives in Pittsburgh and works at the welfare office.”
AND TEEN CONTRIBUTORS FROM “HEY, SHORTY!”
At every stage of education, sexual harassment is common, and often considered a rite of passage for young people. It’s not unusual for a girl to hear “Hey, Shorty!” on a daily basis, as she walks down the hall or comes into the school yard, followed by a sexual innuendo, insult, come-on, or assault. But when teenagers are asked whether they experience this in their own lives, most of them say it’s not happening.
Girls for Gender Equity, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, has developed a model for teens to teach one another about sexual harassment. How do you define it? How does it affect your self-esteem? What do you do in response? Why is it so normalized in schools, and how can we as a society begin to address these causes? Geared toward students, parents, teachers, policy makers, and activists, this book is an excellent model for building awareness and creating change in any community.
