san Miguel writing seminars
June 14 - 20, 2020
Join us for Prose, Poetry, & Passion: Intensive Writing Seminars in San Miguel de Allende
Hosted by
CASA DE LA NOCHE & BORDELLO GALERIA
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Take your writing to the next level! Don't miss this unique opportunity to study with accomplished writers/teachers/editors in Literary Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry. Our seminar begins with a meet & greet margarita party and then a week of small-group writing workshops, a panel on editing and publishing, a student reading in the Bordello Galeria, and a special farewell party. You'll also have plenty of free time for writing and exploring. Each day starts with a home-cooked, healthy start Mexican breakfast.
Optional excursions include a walking tour of the historic, cultural, and architectural aspects of beautiful San Miguel de Allende; a visit to the World Heritage Site of The Sanctuary of Atotonilco ; and a relaxing afternoon at the nearby La Gruta Hot Springs On-site massage at the B&B is available by appointment.
Workshops are open to writers of all levels. Bring pen and paper or laptop. Enrollment in each workshop is limited to eight participants. A waiting list is available.
Tuition per person is $1550 USD, or $1250 USD for hotel guests and San Miguel residents. Tuition deposit (1/2 of tuition) is due no later than February 15th. Final payment is due no later than March 15th. Lodging rates vary depending on the room you choose (see below). Rooms may be shared at no additional cost.
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Workshop Authors & Descriptions:
Chris Fink Kristen Iversen David Lazar Sandra Meek
Making a Scene, Making a Story with Chris Fink
Scene is the heart of both fiction and creative nonfiction. A richly developed scene may contain all the elements of story. In this fiction workshop, we’ll utilize scenic writing to generate a complete short story or novel chapter. A scene involves at least one character interacting with a significant setting. Many famous stories, in fact, are written in a single scene. (We’ll read a few together). By learning to simplify chronology and to focus on dynamic characters as well as sensuous imagery—writing through the body—writers in this workshop will write, workshop and revise a rich and satisfying—and complete—short story or novel chapter in a single week.
Writing Your Story: From Memory to Page with Kristen Iversen
How do we transform our meaningful memories and experiences into compelling writing on the page? My motto is “Think like a poet, write like a novelist, and tell the truth.” In this workshop we’ll talk about structure, style, narrative arc, and how to write a true personal story your reader won’t be able to put down. The class will be a balance of discussing creative work by participants and doing in-class exercises to generate new ideas. We will also discuss revision, editing, proofreading, book proposals, and how to send your work out to agents and editors. Each student will submit ten pages of work as well as generate new material in class.
Essaying Essays with David Lazar
In this workshop, we'll explore the essence of nonfiction's most vibrant and elastic form. The essay has been at the heart of nonfiction writing since Montaigne first published his in the sixteenth century, and is having what some call a "golden age" in the United States now, a swell of interest that goes beyond what we've seen before and is creating new forms of the essay, what some call lyrical, graphic essays, epistolary, short forms, long forms, fractured forms . . . all of them though somehow tied to the thrilling desire at the heart of the essay: to speak intimately, to ask difficult questions, to stumble upon coincidences and the fortuities of language that take us places we had no idea we'd end up when we sat down urgently needing to write something in prose.
Dwelling in Possibility: The Power of Poetry with Sandra Meek
In this workshop, in addition to discussing participants’ work, we’ll talk about the powers of poetic possibility—compression, image, sound, juxtaposition, and especially the technique unique to poetry, the line break, how the counterpoint of line and sentence can create an embodied “felt understanding” available to no other genre. As we’ll focus on process as well as product, discussing and practicing ways to generate new work and to revise, participants will end the week with new poem drafts and submission-ready work, as well as a deeper understanding and greater confidence going forward as working poets.
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Daily Schedule:
Saturday 6/13 Arrival Day
Sunday 6/14 11 AM: Optional walking tour of San Miguel
3 PM: Margarita Welcome Party
Monday 6/15 9:30 - 12:30: Workshops
Afternoon: Individual Consultations with Faculty
Tuesday 6/16 Writing Day: Individual Consultations with Faculty
2 PM: Optional trip to Atotonilco
Wednesday 6/17 9:30 - 12:30: Workshop
2 PM: Faculty Reading and Booksigning
Afternoon: Individual Consultations with Faculty
Thursday 6/18 Writing Day: Individual Consultations with Faculty
2 PM: Optional trip to La Gruta Hot Springs
Friday 6/19 9:30 - 12:30: Workshops
2 PM: Faculty Panel on Editing and Publishing. Open to all students.
5 PM: Student Reading in the Bordello Galeria
Saturday 6/20 5:30 PM: Margaritas and Farewell Party
Sunday 6/21 Travel day
6 PM DAILY : Enjoy a no-host bar and videos on writers’ topics selected for hotel guests.
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Your San Miguel Workshops begins with your stay at Casa de la Noche, a boutique bed & breakfast, where we offer fourteen individually decorated rooms with private baths, some with kitchenettes, and all with access to light cooking facilities and common living areas. We also offer nearby housing for an additional 14 to 20 individuals. A special projects room is right on site.
Casa de la Noche is in a great location, with an easy walk to Main Plaza, the Jardin. There is water purification throughout the bed & breakfast, wireless Internet & cable TV, air conditioning in suites and common rooms, and in-floor heating in common rooms as well. There is a phone available for calls throughout Mexico, USA, and Canada. Each morning a full home cooked, healthy start breakfast is served. A self-serve bar and 24-hour concierge service is at your disposal.
EARLY BIRD RESERVATION BONUS: Register for your room before December 15, 2019 and receive a FREE roundtrip airport shuttle to the hotel!
You can view your room choices, make your selection, and pay your tuition directly from this invitation link: https://www.casadelanoche.com/prose-poetry-passion
