The Living Story
We’ll be working together to wake up our stories and infuse them with vitality. We will discuss published fiction, do tutorials on such topics as vivid characterization, evocative setting and engaging plot, write exercises in and out of class and critique each other’s work in a candid and supportive environment. Each student has an opportunity to have an 8-15 page story (submitted before the conference) critiqued by the group. On the last day, we’ll each share a micro-fiction we’ve written during the week, review craft issues, and discuss resources to provide momentum for our future stories. The workshop is organized, but flexible, and always open to surprise.
Valerie Miner is the award-winning author of fifteen books of fiction and nonfiction, including the story collection Bread and Salt and her latest novel Traveling with Spirits. Miner’s work has appeared in such prestigious publications as The Georgia Review, Triquarterly, Salmagundi, New Letters, Ploughshares, The Village Voice, Prairie Schooner, The Gettysburg Review, The T.L.S., The Women’s Review of Books, The Nation and has been included in more than sixty anthologies. A number of her pieces have been dramatized on BBC Radio 4. Her work has been translated into eight languages including Turkish, German, and Dutch. She has received numerous awards including fellowships from The Rockefeller Foundation, Fondazione Bogliasco, Fundación Valparaiso, The McKnight Foundation, The NEA, The Jerome Foundation, The Heinz Foundation, The Australia Council Literary Arts Board as well as has received Fulbright Fellowships to Tunisia, India and Indonesia. Winner of a Distinguished Teaching Award, Miner has been on the faculties several universities including Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, University of Minnesota, and Arizona State University. She also travels internationally giving readings, lectures, and workshops.
