Calling All Writers: MCC to Host Tri-State Writers' Workshop

Calling all writers and writing wannabes! Middlesex County College is hosting a Tri-State Writers Workshop this Friday that will help you get the skills you need to get paid for what you write. 

The all-day program mixes sessions on writing skills with practical tips on selling with contests, such as the art of the spoken word, in which attendees read their own essays. The winner will receive $100.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to spend the day with published writers and learn their secrets,” said Professor Melissa Edwards, who is coordinating the program. “We’ll have sessions on memoirs, poetry, translation, playwriting, how to teach creative writing, plus discussions on how to sell what you have written."

For foodies, the workshop features a new instructor who will be presenting Writing and Blogging About Food, while another instructor another who will lecture on the Witch in Literature. 

"It promises to be an excellent program, and very valuable for writers and aspiring writers," Edwards said. 

This is the third year Middlesex is hosting the workshop, which runs from 8:30 am to 5 pm. Public school teachers may earn five professional development credits by attending.

Lunch is provided. Participants may select one workshop per session. 

The workshops are:

Session 1

• "Poetry as Op-Ed: Poetry as Political Response," Hank Kalet
• “The Art of Translation,” Santi Buscemi
• "Drafting the Gods: Jungian Archetypes and Myth in the Creative Writing Process,” Mat Spano
• “The Witch in Literature,” Jessica Cortese
• “The Creative Memoir,” Keith Drumbore

Session 2

• “Writing and Blogging About Food,” Warren Bobrow
• “Writing for the Stage and Screen,” Ben Marshall
• "DIY Journalism: A Q&A for the Citizen Journalist," Hank Kalet
• “B.Y.O.W. Bring Your Own Writing,” Steven Barnhart
• “The Research Paper,” Melissa Edwards

Session 3

• “Writing for the Stage and Screen,” Ben Marshall
• “Herbs: Acres of Inspiration – Writing about Plants and Nature,” Gertrude Coleman
• “Poetry Workshop” Emanuel di Pasquale, Hank Kalet and Dan Zimmerman
• “The Witch in Literature,” Jessica Cortese
• “The Creative Memoir,” Keith Drumbore

Session 4

• “Keeping a Nature Journal,” Gertrude Coleman
• “Teaching Creative Writing to Young Students,” Melissa Edwards
• “Writing and Blogging About Food,” Warren Bobrow
• “Painting and Poetry,” Susan Altman and Mat Spano
• “B.Y.O.W. Bring Your Own Writing” Steven Barnhart

The registration fee for the workshop is $75 in advance; same-day registration is $80. To enroll, visit www.middlesexcc.edu/express, e-mail lfriedman@middlesexcc.edu, or call 732-906-4250.