Publishing Intensive I

All levels. This daylong intensive seminar will provide a comprehensive overview of the publishing business and opportunities for writers of memoir, adult fiction, and young adult.

In addition to hearing from the three instructors about their experiences finding literary agents and publishing with large and small presses, the class will feature four guests:

• Adriann Ranta, a major literary agent at Foundary Literary + Media in New York City will skype into the class for an hour to describe what she looks for in manuscripts.

• Michelle Triant, senior publicist from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, will come to the class and discuss steps authors should take, even while writing, to prepare for the book’s viability as a commercial object produced by for-profit company. She will bring samples of effective marketing materials from literary novels and works of memoir.

• Author Donna Miscolta, who will talk about her writing life and specifically the challenges of maintaining a robust literary career while working a full-time job.

• Young-Adult literary agent Clelia Gore will also visit the class to lead a break-out group of YA writers to describe the unique parameters of their business, which operates differently from adult literature.

The instructors will also provide resources on grants, fellowships, and residencies (a list of dozens of each). There will also be information on submitting to magazines, building a platform, and more.

Hugo House will provide free pizza to students during a one-hour lunch break.

This course takes place at Seattle University, Pigott 103.

Note: Publishing Intensive II will take place in May 2017 and will be directed at writers who are nearly finished with a manuscript and are focused on immediate next steps. Publishing Intensive I and II can be taken on their own or paired.

If you are registered for a Yearlong in Prose, Memoir, or Young Adult Fiction this class is included, and you do not need to register.