Marblehead Arts Festival To Host Writing Workshops

MARBLEHEAD, MA – MarbleheadFestival of Arts Writer’s World celebrates the magic of words – words in poetry, prose and non-fiction with presentations and workshops at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 28 Mugford St., July 1 -3.

As Hogworts Professor Albus Dumbledore so aptly put it, "Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic."

To start, Marblehead’s own David Roper will be the Writer’s World Keynote speaker, with "Following the Headlights: The Long and Winding Personal Journey of Writing a Novel." Dave has sailed (and motored) in the Bermuda Triangle, the Caribbean, the Mississippi River and many other places, but mostly in New England.

Besides boating, Roper's next favorite thing is writing. He has had works published in eighteen languages. Recent novels are Rounding the Bend: The Life and Times of Big Red and Watching for Mermaids, which made the Boston Globe’s Bestseller List. He’s also a frequent contributor to Points East and other magazines. At the same time, Dave runs a business in Marblehead, A- Script, a career advisory and resume writing firm. His presentation, which all writers and wannabe writers will relate to, will be on Saturday, July 1, starting at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary.

(Two of Writers World presentations will be in the Sanctuary, while the rest will be in the adjoining Parish Hall.)

Wendy Snow-Lang will host a Workshop on Graphic Novels. Wendy is a local artist and author who will talk about transforming stories into panels and pages, pacing action and reaction to keep the reader engaged. Her workshop is geared to both teens and adults and will be in the Nichols Room Saturday, July 1, at 2 p.m.

By popular demand Marblehead’s Phyllis Karas will be back this year. Her most recent work is The Women of Southie. With her will be three of the six women she wrote about, Anna Weeks, Karen Rakes, and Nancy Young. The Women of Southie will be released in October, coinciding with National Abuse Month. The book endeavors to tell not only of the struggles of these women, but also of their successes in life. Karas, with Kevin Weeks, also wrote The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger’s Irish Mob, a New York Times best seller. This presentation focuses on Memoir Writing and will be in the Sanctuary on Sunday, July 2, starting at 2 p.m.

Laurie Stolarz will host a YA (Young Adult) Workshop, designed for writers who have an idea or a partially written story, but may be unsure how to continue. Laurie’s novels have been published by Disney/Hyperion and Flux Publications. Translated into twenty languages, they have also sold over a million copies. Many of her titles will be familiar to YA readers, like Blue is for Nightmares and the two series Touch and Dark House. This very hands-on workshop will focus on plot, character and narrative voice, particularly for the popular YA genre. Her workshop will be Monday, July 3, at 10 a.m. in the Nichols Room.

Writer’s World will also offer two Free Writing Workshops, geared to anyone wanting to kick- start his/her creativity. Jean Callahan will run the Saturday, July 1, workshop from noon to 1 p.m. Sandra Winter will run the Monday, July 3, workshop also from noon to 1 p.m. Both will be in the Nichols Room. Jean and Sandra are long-time members of The Marblehead Writers Group and both have received awards for their work from Writer’s World in past years.

"Fun with Forms" is the title of Claire Keyes Poetry Workshop. Keyes will introduce three poetic forms or sub-genres: terza rima, pantoum, and sonenezio as methods for both generating work and revision. "Structures contain possibilities," is the idea behind Keye's workshop.

Marblehead’s Claire Keyes is professor emerita of Salem State University and the founder of Abbot Public Library’s Poetry Salon, as well as the author of several chapbooks and dozens of poems in respected journals. The poetry workshop will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 3, in the Nichols Room. This workshop will close Writer’s World.

Images via Marblehead Festival of the Arts