The Book of Gretel by Zara Raab

Dear friends,

I thought you might enjoy my chapbook, The Book of Gretel, coming out this spring from Finishing Line Press. In this linked set of poems, I tell the story of the lost Gretel, evoking the sensations, perceptions and imagery of a child homeless and at home in nature. If you go to the Finishing Line website www.FinishingLinePress.com, and click on “New Releases,” you’ll see the chapbook there.

“These beautiful and unsettling poems proceed with dreamlike assurance through a landscape fully imagined and brilliantly described. In Raab’s transformative retelling of the folk tale, the northern forest itself joins Gretel as a central character: it is dripping, fog-bound wilderness, a place where “the promises of rain are kept” and homelessness becomes a metaphor for our abiding state of being.”

—Jean Nordhaus, Poet and author of The

Porcelain Apes of Moses Mendelssohn and

Innocence.

Finishing Line Press

Post Office Box 1626

Georgetown, KY 40324

Order your copy today by sending $14.00 (check or money order made out to “Finishing Line Press”) to the above address. Shipping is only $1 per copy.

Alternatively, order online at http://www.finishinglinepress.com. Click on “New Releases.”

Booksellers: email Finishing Line Press for information at finishingbooks@aol.com.

Pre-order purchase ships March 26, 2010.

Best wishes,

Zara Raab

www.zararaab.com

Article on Ransom Stephens in the San Francisco Chronicle

Ransom Stephens at the Redwood Writers 2009 Editing Workshops

Read the wonderful, in-depth book review and author profile about Ransom Stephens and his novel, God Patent, in the San Francisco Chronicle!

Ransom will be one of our presenters next Saturday at the second "Craft of Writing" workshop in the series.

Saturday, January 30, 2010 Create Tension
10:00-10:50 Overview: Examples of tension. Why is it important? How can we achieve tension?
Presenter: Ransom Stephens
11:10-12:30 Create tension workshop Brief review of tension and how to create.
Workshop/exercises on creating tension.
Presenter: Stefanie Freele

And Ransom will also be a presenter at the San Francisco Writers Conference in February.

Congratulations to an up and coming writer in our midst!

Kate Farrell

The Craft of Writing: A Series of Revision Workshops

The Craft of Writing:

A Series of Revision Workshops

Presented by the Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club

All workshops held at the Petaluma Senior Center, 211 Novak Drive, Petaluma 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.

Pre-registration is recommended.



January 23, 2010 - Write Tight(ly)
What is tight writing? Why is it important?
How can we achieve this? Examples.

Presenter: Jeanne Miller

Write Tight(ly) workshop
Brief review of tight writing and how to achieve it

Presenter: Jean Hegland

January 30, 2010 -Create Tension

Overview: Examples of tension. Why is it important?
How can we achieve tension?

Presenter: Ransom Stephens

Create Tension workshop
Brief review of tension and how to create it.
Workshop/exercises on creating tension.

Presenter:Stefanie Freele

Saturday, February 6, 2010 - End It Right
What is the right place to end? Not too soon or too late.
Why is this important? Examples of endings.

Presenter: Ana Manwaring

End It Right Workshop
Brief review of right places/ways to end a story.
Workshop/exercises on ending a story.

Presenter: Becca Lawton

You can register online via Paypal or you can print out a PDF form and mail it with a check.

The first 40 people to sign up for the complete series will also receive a copy of Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld

Thank you to many of our local donors for their support of Sonoma County’s literary arts.

Redwood Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Donations for our workshop series are gratefully accepted at www.redwoodwriters.org - just scroll down and click on the ‘Donate’ button.

"writers helping writers"

Winter Women's Writing Workshop in Marin County

This announcement comes from Redwood Writers member Tomoko Harada Ferguson:



My Winter Women's Writing Workshop will run from January 11 - February 22. Six sessions: Monday evenings, 7 - 9:15 pm. No class, February 15. Location: Revolution 9 in downtown Fairfax (14 Bolinas Rd.) http://r9fairfax-com.doodlekit.com/home

Class will be limited to ten students.

Writing can be empowering, healing, reflective, fun. I believe writing shared in the Fall Writing Workshop was all of these things. So please join me again! Invite friends, too.

Let your writing blossom... In a supportive, nurturing environment you’ll be creative, discover your unique voice, and surprise yourself with your strong writing. Build a community of writers. Experience is not necessary. All levels welcome. Details at: http://writersblossom.wordpress.com/

Fee: $150 for 6 sessions. For new people who would like to try my class, pay $25 for the first night; no further obligations. To enroll, please e-mail or call me ASAP.

Thank you and I hope to see you soon!

Warm Regards,

Tomoko Ferguson

tomokoferguson at mac dot com
http://writersblossom.wordpress.com/

Special $10 Reservation Price for Redwood Writers

Pamela Gray’s Screenwriting Secrets

Saturday, 7:30 PM JANUARY 9^TH

Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 6780 Depot St. (1 block N. of Hwy 12)

Local screenwriter Pamela Gray was chosen by Variety magazine as "one of ten screenwriters to watch." Now you can not only watch her, but learn how the celebrated screenwriter takes the time she needs to find her story, nurture it along, coax her characters into life, and find the deep truths that won’t emerge using a formulaic, Hollywood approach.

Pamela will illustrate her presentation with clips from her films:

“A Walk On the Moon,” (with Viggo Mortensen and Diane Lane)

“Music of the Heart,”(with an Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep)

“Betty Ann Waters” (with Hilary Swank)

Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movies

"Calm at Sunset," and "Love Letter,"

And even the episode she and Jeri Taylor penned for "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Film Columnist and Redwood Writers President Emeritus, Gil Mansergh will host Pamela on Saturday, and he has made special arrangements with the Sebastopol Center for the Arts so Redwood Writers (and their guests) can get a special $10 advance reservation price by phoning (707) 829-4797.

Pamela Gray on KRCB-FM 7:00 PM January 6^th

Tune in to KRCB 91.1 FM (or streaming online at krcb.org) at 7:00 PM, Wednesday January 6^th for “Word By Word: Conversations With Writers” when Gil Mansergh talks with Pamela Gray about her screenwriting projects and Arlene Mandell provides information about the “Why I Love the Library Essay and Art Contest.”