Muse & the Marketplace

GrubStreet invites you to Muse & the Marketplace, their three-day literary conference gives aspiring writers a better understanding of the craft of fiction and nonfiction, prepares them for the ever-changing world of publishing and promotion, and creates opportunities for meaningful networking. Established and emerging authors lead 130+ interactive sessions on the craft of writing – the “muse” side of things – while editors, literary agents and other industry professionals tackle the business side – the “marketplace.” Though 800+ presenters, participants, volunteers, and special guests will attend, GrubStreet creates a wonderfully intimate atmosphere designed to give everyone access to the wealth of talent on both sides of the classroom.

But wait, there’s more: the Muse also features many special events, which have included keynote addresses, evening receptions, full breakfast, Open Mics, Literary Idol, a competition for self-published authors, and many other surprises.

The Muse and the Marketplace is one of the few conferences that offers a practical, concrete and candid assessment of your fiction and/or non-fiction manuscript. Many conferences offer pitch sessions and social media how-to’s, but, for an additional fee, attendees can meet one-on-one in our Manuscript Mart with an established literary agent, an acquiring editor at a publishing house, and/or a literary journal editor. These consultants will evaluate twenty pages of your manuscript in advance of the conference and provide in-person direct feedback.

Attendees can also attend the Shop Talk Happy Hour to network and/or socialize with invited agents, editors, authors and/or other presenters. Shop Talk tables, which require an additional fee, are reserved in advance so you’ll know exactly which publishing professionals you’ll be sitting with.

For More Information

For additional assistance or information, please email Hanna Katz at hanna@grubstreet.org.

STEVE ALMOND on “Bad Stories” at Porter Square Books

Join STEVE ALMOND and musician ALISTAIR MOOCK for an evening of reading, agitation, and protest music.

Like a lot of Americans, STEVE ALMOND spent the weeks after the 2016 election lying awake, in a state of dread and bewilderment. The problem wasn’t just the election, but the fact that nobody could explain, in any sort of coherent way, why America had elected a cruel, corrupt, and incompetent man to the Presidency. Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country is Almond’s effort to make sense of our historical moment, to connect certain dots that go unconnected amid the deluge of hot takes and think pieces. Almond looks to literary voices–from Melville to Orwell, from Bradbury to Baldwin–to help explain the roots of our moral erosion as a people.

The book argues that Trumpism is a bad outcome arising directly from the bad stories we tell ourselves. To understand how we got here, we have to confront our cultural delusions: our obsession with entertainment, sports, and political parody, the degeneration of our free press into a for-profit industry, our enduring pathologies of race, class, immigration, and tribalism. Bad Stories is a lamentation aimed at providing clarity. It’s the book you can pass along to an anguished fellow traveler with the promise, This will help you understand what the hell happened to our country.

STEVE ALMOND is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His short stories have been anthologized widely, in the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Erotica, and Best American Mysteries series. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. He teaches at the Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard, and hosts the New York Times podcast “Dear Sugars” with fellow writer Cheryl Strayed.

Spotlight: Race and Power in Boston

The Boston Literary District and GrubStreet are pleased to present “Spotlight: Race and Power in Boston.”

In a highly publicized seven-part series published in late 2017, the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team dug into one of the city’s most pervasive and troubling issues: the marginalization of the black community. The series exposed the insidious impact of racism on all levels of city life from housing to healthcare to education. In “Spotlight: Race and Power in Boston” the Boston Literary District and GrubStreet invite the story’s writers, ADRIAN WALKER, PATRICIA WEN, and ANDREW RYAN, to the stage where they will share their reporting, what didn’t make it into print, and engage with the audience on these pressing issues that strike at the core of the city’s identity. This talk will be moderated by LATOYIA EDWARDS, Emmy-award winning morning anchor and host of THIS IS NEW ENGLAND, NBC10 Boston.

“Spotlight: Race and Power in Boston” takes place at the Boston Park Plaza in the Arlington Room (Mezzanine Level) and is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is necessary, though seating is limited so plan to arrive early.

AMINATTA FORNA in conversation with CLAIRE MESSUD at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome award-winning author AMINATTA FORNA (pictured) for a discussion of her latest novel, Happiness. She will be joined in conversation by local bestselling novelist CLAIRE MESSUD, author of The Woman Upstairs.

This event is free and open to the public.

Boston Writers of Color: Submit-a-Thon!

Back by popular demand! The Submit-a-Thon is about making the daunting process of sending out your work a little more fun. Use this time to write cover letters, statements, format manuscripts, share tips & tricks, and manage your submissions. Bring a work that’s ready for the world and get ready to submit!

Writing About Family: a free creative writing workshop

“I’ve been wanting to write about the women in my family for some time, but haven’t known where to start,” says the narrator of a short story by Argentinian writer Pola Oloixarac. Can you relate? Whether you want to write fiction or nonfiction, writing about family can be complicated. How do you shape your story? How can you make complex relationships make sense on the page and write without nostalgia or sentimentality? In this short workshop, you will look at examples from both fiction and memoir, write new material, and have the opportunity to discuss your work.

Coffee and snacks provided. Families are welcome. The workshop is geared towards adults, but teens are welcome to participate with a parent or older relative. Simple activities will be provided to keep children busy.

About the Instructor

Denise Delgado is a writer, artist, educator and consultant. Her fiction and critical work have appeared in Inch, Hinchas de Poesía, Jai-Alai Magazine, and Fiction Writers Review, among others. Delgado received an MA in Media Studies from The New School and an MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College. She is currently at work on a linked collection of short stories set in Miami.

Memoir Incubator Open House & Info Session

Interested in taking your memoir to the next level? Join GrubStreet Thursday, February 8th for an informal Q&A session on our Memoir Incubator program. Alumni of the program and instructor ALYSIA ABBOTT will be there to answer any questions you have about the Memoir Incubator program. We’ll give you all the information you need to know about the application process, what the program entails, the schedule, the philosophy behind our approach, and anything else on your mind.

GrubStreet Novel Incubator Open House and Info Session

Interested in taking your novel to the next level? Join GrubStreet for an informal Q&A session on their Novel Incubator program. Alumni of the program and instructor MICHELLE HOOVER will be there to answer any questions you have about the Novel Incubator program. They’ll give you all the information you need to know about the application process, what the program entails, the schedule, the philosophy behind our approach, and anything else on your mind.

GrubStreet Spring 2018 Open House and Showcase

Love to write but don’t have anywhere to get feedback on your work? Want to meet fellow writers and work under the guidance of published authors? GrubStreet is here to help!

Drop by our Open House on Wednesday, November 29th for drinks, snacks, and the answers to your questions about all things GrubStreet. New or future grubbies can get to know Grub HQ, hear about upcoming Spring classes, and mingle with fellow students and writers. Grub staff members will be on hand to discuss your writing goals and recommend classes that are right for you, plus we have special class discounts for all attendees.

Not only that, but current Grubbies will read from their work in our Student Showcase! Come with any questions between 5:30 and 6:55pm. Reading starts at 7:00pm.