News & Events

UNC Asheville's Great Smokies Writing Program Announces Spring Workshops

December 6, 2011

Some of the area’s best authors and instructors are featured in the new spring lineup of workshops from UNC Asheville's Great Smokies Writing Program (GSWP), which includes courses located in Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain and Burnsville.

Courses will help hone the skills of writers of poetry and prose, including memoir, novels, and creative nonfiction. Some classes are open to interested writers of all levels; some are restricted to more advanced writers. In all cases, class size is limited and early registration is suggested.

For writers of all levels:

Maryedith Burrell, who has written scripts for a wide variety of network TV shows as well as some films, and acted in shows like “Seinfeld” and “Parenthood,” leads the screenplay workshop, “From Sophocles to ‘Social Network.’” The course will explore elements of visual storytelling and ways to bring characters to life. This 10-week class meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., Asheville.

“Exploring Poetry’s Voices of Love” is a workshop with poet Jeff Davis which will span from Sappho, through Shakespeare and Donne, and on to modern writers. Through work in various forms, participants in this workshop will learn to give voice to the deep feelings that have inspired great poetry since ancient times. Davis is the author of the books, "Transits of Venus," and "Natures: Selected Poems, 1972-2005," and he hosts the radio program Wordplay on AshevilleFM. This 10-week workshop meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Monford Books & More, 31 Montford Ave., Asheville.

Novelist Marjorie Klein, will lead a fiction workshop, “Who Knows Where or When?” to help writers create characters in settings that not only create a sense of place, but imbue both characters and plots with a depth and understanding. Author of the novel,“Test Pattern,” a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers selection, and the recently completed “Shifting Gears,” Klein was also contributor over two decades to Tropic, the Miami Herald’s Sunday magazine. This 10-week class meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., Asheville.

Brian Lee Knopp, author of the memoir “Mayhem in Mayberry: Misadventures of a P.I. in Southern Appalachia” (2010 Malaprop’s bestseller), teaches “The Devil You Know: The Art, Skill and Thrill of Writing Your Memoir.” The course involves in-class “lifestorming” sessions and writing, at-home writing and reading assignments, and a chance for “a daring rescue of the truth trapped inside your life’s labyrinth.” This 10-week class meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., Asheville.

“Come to Your Senses: A Memoir Writing Workshop” will be led by Jennifer McGaha, a writer with deep Appalachian roots whose work has appeared in more than 20 magazines and literary journals. McGaha, who teaches part-time at Brevard College and is nonfiction editor for the Pisgah Review, will use a series of exercises designed to trigger memories and increase the writer’s awareness of sensory details. This 10-week course meets 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15, at The Kellogg Center, 11 Broyles Road, Hendersonville.

Poet Pat Riviere-Seel teaches “Risky Business: A Poetry Workshop,” which will push participants out of their comfort zones and explore terrain that challenges participants’ imagination, language, beliefs, to spark new poems. Riviere-Seel is the author of two poetry collections: “The Serial Killer’s Daughter” (2009), winner of the N.C. Literary and Historical Society’s Roanoke Chowan Award for Poetry, and “No Turning Back Now” (2004) which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This 10-week course meets 4-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15, at Mountain Heritage Center, 113 Green Mountain Drive, Burnsville.

Sebastian Matthews will lead a creative nonfiction workshop, “True Stories,” which will include work in a variety of nonfiction forms including essay and memoir. Participants will read published works, workshop each other’s writing, and explore revision strategies. Matthews is author of the memoir “In My Father’s Footsteps” (Norton, 2004), and the poetry collection, “We Generous” (Red Hen Press, 2007). He teaches in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Queens University, and part-time at Warren Wilson College. This 10-week course meets 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15, at Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W. State Street, Black Mountain.

Editor and publisher Joy Neaves will teach "Heart of the Story: Writing for Young Readers," for serious writers working on picture books, poetry, or longer works of fiction intended for children and young adults. Students will explore writing exercises related to various aspects of craft, read and critique each other's work, and discuss how to break into publishing, how to think like an editor, and how to market published work. Neaves was senior editor at Front Street for a decade and is now freelance editor at namelos.com, and assistant director of the University Writing Center at UNC Asheville. This 10-week class meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., Asheville.

Laura Hope-Gill, the first poet laureate of the Blue Ridge Parkway and director of Asheville WordFest, will teach “Up our Game: The Wild and Technical Aspects of Making Poems,” for beginning and advanced poets. Each class will look at a different technical aspect of poetry and explore how the technique supports the poet’s engagement with imagination and expression. This 10-week class meets from 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 14, at Grateful Steps, 159. S. Lexington Ave., Asheville.

For intermediate and advanced writers only:

Vicki Lane, author of the 2010 novel, “The Day of Small Things,” and the Elizabeth Goodweather mystery series (Bantam Dell), will lead “The First Forty: A Fiction Workshop for Intermediate or Advanced Writers.” This course is for writers with a novel in progress or in need of final polishing who want their first 40 pages to catch the attention of agents, editors and publishers. This 10-week class meets 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15, at Monford Books & More, 31 Montford Ave., Asheville.

15-week courses for advanced, experienced writers only:

Novelist Tommy Hays, executive director of the GSWP and lecturer in the Master of Liberal Arts Program at UNC Asheville, will lead “Keeping Ourselves Company: An Advanced Creative Prose Workshop.” This course, with an emphasis on reading and critiquing each other’s work, is for advanced prose writers embarking on new works or with projects in progress. Hays, the author of “The Pleasure Was Mine,” “Sam’s Crossing,” and “In the Family Way,” will respond at length to participants’ submissions. This course meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Jan. 26, at Asheville School, 360 Asheville School Road, Asheville.

The “Prose Master Class,” taught by Elizabeth Lutyens, is a next step for experienced writers with an ongoing project – essays, stories, a novel or memoir – looking for an intensive writing and critiquing experience. This workshop is for those who are committed to writing well and writing a lot, who are ready to commit to giving the best possible attention to others’ works. Lutyens is editor of “The Great Smokies Review,” a graduate of the MFA in Writing Program at Warren Wilson College, and is completing a novel set in the 1860s. The “Prose Master Class” will be limited to eight participants; admission is by invitation from Tommy Hays. This course meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 24, at Asheville School, 360 Asheville School Road, Asheville.

The 10-week courses qualify for two UNC Asheville credit hours in Literature and Language. Tuition and fees for in-state residents is $235.84; the cost for out-of-state residents is $1156.92. Successful completion of the 15-week courses earns three credit hours; in-state cost is $353.76 and out-of-state cost is $1735.38. A $20 non-refundable application fee for new students will also be charged.

For more information or to register, visit unca.edu/gswp or call 828.251.6099.