Gaithersburg Book Festival to Present Free Workshops on Creative Writing in Spanish, Writing Techniques and Getting Published

May 18 Workshops Open to Participants 16 and Older

Gaithersburg, Md. – April 5, 2019 – Interested in honing your creative writing skills in Spanish? Struggling to get into a writing routine?  Want to learn more about ekphrastic writing or writing poetry for electronic media? Or maybe you’re looking for advice on how to write love stories, build suspense, develop scenes or submit your works for publication?

Free writing workshops covering these topics will be offered by area professionals at the 10th annual Gaithersburg Book Festival. The 55-minute sessions take place in the Festival’s Adult/Teen (ages 16+) Workshop Tent on Saturday, May 18, 2019, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Festival is held on the grounds of City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

Attendees are invited to participate in any or all of these workshops:

Create a Writing Routine that Works – Melanie Figg
10 a.m.
Struggling to reach a writing goal, or want to add more writing time into your life? In this interactive workshop, participants learn how to create a regular writing routine. Join 2019 NEA Fellow Melanie Figg for a practical guide to begin building a sustainable writing practice. She will discuss obstacles to success, bust some myths that hold some writers back, and note some common pitfalls. Leave with a renewed commitment to your work and a strong plan to put in place.

Tiny Love Stories – Caroline Bock
11 a.m.
The New York Times describes its Sunday Style entry, “Tiny Love Stories,” as “modern love in miniature.” Can you write an entire story in 100 words? We will focus on modern love in this workshop, and via exercises and prompts, workshop participants will draft several (yes, more than one!) works of flash fiction.

Let’s Get Ekphrastic! Writing Inspired by Art – Tara Campbell
Noon
Reinvigorate your writing using art as your muse. Participants engage in visual analysis of Edward Hopper’s “Cape Cod Evening,” uncovering personal connections to the piece and responding in poetry or prose. Through prompts and free writing, participants flesh out character, setting and conflict to create a vibrant new story or poem of their own.

How to Build Suspense – Ginger Brookover
1 p.m.
A review of writing techniques employed by renowned authors – including Ernest Hemingway, Sue Grafton, John Grisham, Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Anne Rice, Stephen King and more – is the foundation for workshop exercises designed to teach the process of writing suspenseful stories. Participants actively engage in writing techniques that produce intense curiosity of readers.

Mini Bootcamp: Scenes – Mathina Calliope
2 p.m.
Stories are everything. We not only love stories, we learn best when we receive information in the form of stories. It doesn’t matter if you are writing novels, narrative non-fiction or advertising copy; stories say it best. At the heart of stories are scenes — what we see on the screen of our mind when we read. Learn how to translate your information—whatever it is—into scenes so your writing will tell a story.

Creative Writing in Spanish/ Escritura Creativa en Español – Ofelia Montelongo
3 p.m.
Please note: This workshop will be conducted in Spanish and is designed for writers who are fluent/native speakers.
In the United States, 38 million people speak Spanish and one in five speak a foreign language at home. But still, it’s mainly English books that fill our bookshelves. This workshop, which includes focused exercises for brainstorming story ideas and settings, will help Hispanic writers find their voice and begin writing their stories in Spanish.

Este taller será impartido en español y está destinado a hablantes nativos o con un nivel equivalente de español.
En Estados Unidos, 38 millones de personas hablan español y uno de cada cinco habla un idioma extranjero en el hogar. Pero aún así, los libros en inglés son principalmente los que llenan nuestras estanterías. Este taller ayudará a los escritores hispanos a encontrar su voz y comenzar a escribir sus historias en español. El taller incluirá ejercicios enfocados para hacer una lluvia de ideas y trabajar en las partes de la narrativa.

Writing Poetry for Electronic Media – Henry Crawford
4 p.m.
This workshop focuses on the special considerations of poets publishing work on the Internet. The growing number of purely online websites will be examined. Key differences between text layout and HTML will be discussed, with emphasis on how they apply to line breaks and the overall visual shape of a poem that may be viewed on digital devices. Finally, new areas of expression available to poets using electronic media will be explored, including hypertext linking and interactive text.

How to Submit Your Writing for Publication – Arthur Klepchukov
5 p.m.
How do you know when your writing is ready for publication or where to submit it? Perhaps you’ve written a few stories, poems or essays and want to know where to send them. How do you choose among the deluge of submission opportunities? How do you make sense of submission guidelines? Learn what tools and resources exist to help you on your journey to publication in this informative workshop for writers who want to begin their paths to publication.

For the workshop schedule and more information about instructors, visit the Adult & Teen Workshops page of the Festival website. There also will be Children’s Workshops, geared to young writers, ages elementary school through high school.

About the Gaithersburg Book Festival

The Gaithersburg Book Festival is an annual all-day celebration of books, writers and literary excellence. One of the premier literary events in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the 2019 Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, on the grounds of Gaithersburg City Hall, in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, Md. Activities include author appearances, discussions and book signings; writing workshops; a Children’s Village; onsite sales of new and used books; literary exhibitors and food, drink, ice cream and more. FREE admission and accessible shuttle will be available from Shady Grove Metro and Lakeforest Mall. The Gaithersburg Book Festival also hosts author events in Montgomery County throughout the year as a way to encourage continued appreciation for all things literary. For more information please visit www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org or follow on Twitter @GburgBookFest.

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