A Presentation
In a competitive environment—where placing short stories in literary magazines is challenging, where finding a literary agent willing to represent a writer with a story collection but no novel is very difficult—how can you make your short story collection cohere and stand out?
In this talk, we will begin with an interactive discussion meant to identify and generate personal goals of the participants, followed by a presentation analyzing how recently-published, highly successful story collections made their mark. We will examine brief excerpts of stories, Publishers Marketplace descriptions, interviews, and reviews, to understand the qualities that make a story collection sought after on its own, independently of whether the writer ever completes a novel.
In tandem with the group, you will then create a rough thematic and descriptive outline of your dream story collection—regardless of whether you’ve written one sentence or every story in the collection. A bibliography and DIY exercises for follow up on your own will also be provided.
+ PLEASE NOTE This talk will occur online via Zoom. Attendees do not need to create an account to participate, but should test out Zoom before the presentation if they are first-time users. The presenter and MWPA staff will not have the capacity to help attendees with tech issues during the talk.
+ REQUIRED EQUIPMENT A reliable, fast internet connection (broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE), speakers & a microphone (built-in or USB plug-in), and a webcam (built-in or USB plug-in).
If you would like to quickly and easily test your internet connection and your computer’s compatibility with Zoom, click HERE. Full details on supported Operating Systems, internet browsers, and more can be found HERE. To download and familiarize yourself with Zoom, click HERE.
Chaya Bhuvaneswar is a practicing physician, writer and PEN American Literary award finalist for 2019, for her debut story collection WHITE DANCING ELEPHANTS: STORIES. Her work has appeared in Narrative Magazine, Tin House, Electric Literature, The Millions, Joyland, Large Hearted Boy, Chattahoochee Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Awl, jellyfish review, aaduna and elsewhere, with poetry in Cutthroat, sidereal, Natural Bridge, apt magazine, Hobart, Ithaca Lit, Quiddity and elsewhere. Her work was recently selected for inclusion in Best Small Fictions. She has been widely anthologized including in podcasts and selected for women's book clubs (The Wing, Rebel Women's Lit). Her poetry and prose juxtapose Hindu epics, other myths and histories, and the survival of sexual harassment and racialized sexual violence by diverse women of color.
REGISTRATION
This talk is free for MWPA members and $5 for nonmembers. When you register below, you will receive an automatic email confirming your registration immediately, as well as an email with the link to join the talk on Thursday, October 21.
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