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Follow your ambition and your heart

Master the craft of writing.

Join the Attic's thriving writing community. Over 400 writers take classes and schedule private meetings every year and come away from the experience both inspired and motivated. 

Come on up!

 

Schedule a private meeting about your writing

Schedule a feedback meeting, an in-depth conference, or an extended consultation. 

"It was wonderful, terrific, hugely helpful, constructive, informative, clear, encouraging and more!" writes a recent participant. 

Learn more

The Attic named Best of Portland

 

"[An] emphasis not only on writing, but creating and building a community with other writers."

-- The Oregonian

 

"The Attic Writers' Workshop is a quiet, literary oasis..."

-- Willamette Week

It's Back to School time!

 
Attic 
A Haven for Writers
PAGE ONE
September 2010

It's Back to School time! 
Now is the time to get back to your writing.
5-week, 6-week, 10-week, and online writing workshops

It's back to school time, and our award-winning instructors are ready to go!

Now is a great time to reinvigorate your own writing by signing up for a writing workshop at the Attic. 

This fall, we have splendid classes in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, memoir, and more. Plus, many of our Attic instructors (and workshop participants as well) will be featured at the upcoming Wordstock festival.

Remember, we intentionally cap most classes at 12 students in order to ensure a more personal and productive workshop experience.

We looking forward to hearing from you.

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Children's Book Writing Workshop: Write that Picturebook! (Wednesdays)
Creative Non-Fiction Workshop A: Writing the Classical Essay (Tuesdays)
Creative Non-Fiction Workshop B: Writing the Classical Essay (Mondays)
Creative Non-Fiction Workshop C: The Art of Telling Stories That Happen To Be True (Wednesdays)
Creative Non-Fiction Workshop D: The Art of Telling Stories That Happen To Be True (Wednesdays)
Erotica Workshop: Erotic, Realistic, or Sizzling (Mondays)
Fiction Workshop: Novel-in-Progress (Tuesdays)
Fiction Workshop: Short Stories (Tuesdays)
Fiction Workshop: The Long Story (Thursdays)
Life Sketches Workshop A: Write. Share. Preserve. For individuals 55-over only (Wednesdays)
Magazine Writing Workshop: Write Those Queries! (Wednesdays)
Memoir Master Class Weekend with Ariel Gore (Fri-Sun)
Memoir Workshop: The Language of Your Life A.M. (Thursdays)
Memoir Workshop: These Are the Good Old Days (Mondays)
Narrative Workshop: Writing the Lives of Girls and Women (Thursdays)
Online Workshop: Adv Story Structure / 10-Week Master Class with Marc Acito
Online Workshop: Story Structure / 10-Week Master Class with Marc Acito
Poetry Workshop: Power & Play of Discovery (Thursdays)
Publishing Workshop: The Art of Submission and Publication (Mondays)
Screenwriting Workshop: Writing for the Screen (Tuesdays)
Time to Write: Direction, Time & Inspiration (Saturdays)
Write Now! Creative Writing Renewal for Teachers (Thursdays)

Life Sketches classes will be added soon!

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Anytime...
Schedule a private meeting about your writing

 

"My book is much stronger...Not only did I get a much clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of my manuscript, but it was a pleasure and very inspirational working with someone who took my writing seriously and took the time to give me practical, useful advice."   
--  Todd Cobb

ONE-ON-ONE AT THE ATTIC 
The difference is your writing.
Learn more

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Good news!
Merridawn Duckler's 
"The Relatives"

Manhattan Shakespeare Project has chosen Merridawn Duckler's play, "The Relatives," for the 2010 Emerging Female Voices Playwrights' Fest, to be produced as a reading for Second Childishness and Mere Oblivion.
November 22, 2010.

 

We're looking for a few good volunteers for Wordstock

 
Attic 
A Haven for Writers

Register 
for a Fall class today

We're looking for a few good volunteers for Wordstock
Want to help us? 
It's October 9 & 10, 2010
 

 

Want to walk right into the big Portland literary party?
Volunteer at the Attic's booth. We're planning our time now. 
Please contact us right away -- we'd love to have your help.

The job? 
Stand at our table, talk to folks that stop by wanting to know about the Attic, and help them learn about the Attic's many literary activities from workshops to one-on-one meetings about their writing to Life Sketches classes for 55-over individuals, and the Attic Atheneum, too.

How many volunteers do you need?
We're in need of a half dozen or more Attic friends. 
Contact us now

Is that all the Attic will be doing at Wordstock?
Hardly! Past and present faculty--as well as current and former students--are lined up to read, moderate panels, & teach. 

So far, we know the following folks are on the Wordstock queue:

Greg Chaimov, David Filer, Martha Gies, Cindy Williams Gutierrez, Dave Jarecki, Karen Karbo, Viva Las Vegas, John Morrison, Paulann Petersen, Scot Siegel, Kim Stafford, Cheryl Strayed, Liz Prato, & Ron Talney, as well as a special Attic faculty reading...and more. 

Please let us know if you're an author at Wordstock!

Plus
Attic director David Biespiel leads two important panel discussions on Sunday:
"The Future of Reading Culture" about the state of literary America and "What Works for Me" about daily writing habits of writers.

Learn more about Wordstock 2010

Take a closer look at Marc Acito's online workshops

 
Attic 
A Haven for Writers

Registration is open.
Sign up today.

Greetings!

Marc AcitoMarc Acito tells you 4 things about his 2 online workshops

1) YOU DON'T MISS A THING: If you miss a session, there's a record of everything that happened.

2) MORE CLASS TIME:  The lectures are on video. Which leaves the whole session to focus exclusively on your magnum-opus-in-progress.

3) YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE HOME: No traffic, no clothes, no problem. 

4) MORE ATTENTION: It's a brand new platform for me, so I'll be more co-dependent than ever. What are ya' waitin' for?

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Join Marc on the World Wide Web!

Sign up now for one of his two workshops:
Story Structure: Write Page Turning Tales
Advanced Story Structure: Finish Your Magnum Opus
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Plus...
Check out the full schedule of 5-week, 6-week, and 10-week workshops designed to get you telling stories and making poems.

And, anytime...
Schedule a one-on-one meeting with us about your writing.

Please note: Martha Gies' two workshops are filled. We are taking registrations for Wait List only. 
Attic workshops can sometimes fill up fast, so it's always best to register early
 

Go to the schedule of classes and sign up now. 

 


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Established in 1999
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"Father Angelo makes me uncomfortable. For starters, he's way too good-looking for a priest, his dark bedroom eyes and athletic build arousing exactly the kind of impure thoughts you're supposed to go to church to get rid of."

~ Marc Acito
____________________

Register for new classes

Schedule a private meeting about your writing

Life Sketches workshops

Meet our faculty & staff

Earn academic credits: 
For educators and teachers

Attic Atheneum

Attic scholarships available

Visit:
Every Writer Has a Thousand Faces


Friend us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Twitter 
Follow us on Twitter.

Attic 1

Countdown to September

 

 

 
Attic 
A Haven for Writers

Registration is open.
Sign up today.

Greetings!

This Fall, 
focus your life 
on your writing 
and your success
5-week, 6-week, 10-week, & online writing workshops
Register now



Easy registration--it's a cinch! 
With our online registration...
You'll find it simple to register quickly--in just a few clicks.

You asked for classes that suit your needs.
And we heard you! 
This fall, take a classic 10-week workshop or an intensive shorter one, too. Plus, work on your newest fiction online.

Learn how to write and publish.
Since 1999, your writing has been our interest...
When Willamette Week says the Attic is "Best in Portland," they mean you.

Are you looking to take your writing to the next level?
Schedule a one-on-one meeting with us about your writing...
"It was wonderful, terrific, hugely helpful, constructive, informative, clear, encouraging and more! This was so much more than I had hoped I would gain from the experience. This is a great service for the Attic to provide!" 
~ Pam Ledbetter

Remember: 
Attic workshops can fill up fast, so it's
 always best to register early
Go to the schedule of classes and sign up now. 

 


____________________
Established in 1999
____________________

"If you know what you are going to write when you're writing a poem, it's going to be average."

~ Derek Walcott
____________________

Register for new classes

Schedule a private meeting about your writing

Life Sketches workshops

Meet our faculty & staff

Earn academic credits: 
For educators and teachers

Attic Atheneum

Attic scholarships available

Visit:
Every Writer Has a Thousand Faces


Friend us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Twitter 
Follow us on Twitter.

Attic 1

Martha Gies to teach two creative non-fiction workshops

Writing the Classical Essay

Learn to write a classical essay using models by Michel de Montaigne, Flannery O'Connor, Katy Butler, Joseph Epstein and Edna O'Brien.

Guided discussions on technique; written exercises; assigned nonfiction for study; informal in-class critique of student work; mutual support and encouragement. Students submit two short works and one revision. Workshop format, limited to 9 students.

Learn more about dates/times 

John Morrison to teach poetry workshop: "Power and Play of Discovery"

If you've never taken a workshop with John Morrison, you've missed out on a generous, supportive, and insightful experience devoted to your writing.

A Refreshing Path for Writing New Poems: What’s more powerful and alluring in a poem than discovery? In this workshop for both novice and experienced writers, we will use our draft poems, models drawn from contemporary poetry, and vibrant exercises to invite fresh “discovery” into our poetry. Toward the end of the session, poets will have an opportunity to offer a “batch” of their poems to the group for comments and insights. This is a workshop for poets who are interested in play and are excited about listening and writing, reading and re-writing in non-judgmental and honest company. Thursdays, 7:30-9:30pm, September 16 - November 18

Karen Karbo teaches memoir this fall: "These Are the Good Old Days"

There’s nothing more fun than writing about ourselves!

Whether you’re finishing a book-length manuscript or beginning a collection of personal essays, this course will help you learn the art of crafting your life stories into compelling narrative. Learn how to successfully incorporate the techniques of fiction, the proper use of “truthiness,” and how to keep the story going when you can’t remember a damn thing. Mondays, 7:30-9:30pm, September 13 - November 29 (skipping 9/20 & 9/27)

Merridawn Duckler to lead "Write Now! Creative Writing Renewal for Teachers"

Teachers! This fall take a writing workshop and receive graduate credit from Western Oregon University.

 

The "Write Now!" workshop for teachers allows you to write freely. Free of consequences. Free of daily concerns except to nurture your creative life. Plus: In partnership with Western Oregon University, teachers who take the "Write Now!" workshop can earn professional development graduate academic credit. The goal of the workshop is both to renew enthusiasm for your own creative writing and to generate original work. We will use writers’ lives to generate new pieces. Thursdays, 5-7pm, September 23 - November 25 

Plus: Check out Merridawn's summer workshop

Attic student James Crews wins Prairie Schooner Book Prize for Poetry

Congratulations to James Crews! 

James' manuscript, The Book of What Stays, will be published in 2011. James has previously published two chapbooks and is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Wisconsin. He currently works as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer.

SRO at the Attic Atheneum Reading + Reception


The Attic Atheneum Reading + Reception
spills over at the Springbox Gallery.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010, the SRO crowd gathers at the Springbox Gallery to hear the Atheneum class of 2011 read along with faculty. 
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