In this seminar, we will look at exemplary short topical personal essays and commentaries, of the kind found in mainstream media and publications—WBUR / NPR, Boston Globe, The Guardian, Washington Post—and analyze their form and what makes them timely, topical, and of interest to editors. We will also discuss how to submit them for publication.

Instructor bio:

Ethan Gilsdorf is a writer, teacher, performer, and the author of the memoir Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Esquire, Wired, Salon, O the Oprah Magazine, Brevity, Electric Literature, Poetry, and The Southern Review, among other publications, and named "Notable" by The Best American Essays. He teaches workshops in essay, creative nonfiction and memoir at GrubStreet in Boston, where he leads the Essay Incubator program, and at LitArts RI. He is also on the faculty of the Solstice MFA Program at Lasell University. At Hampshire College, he studied filmmaking and creative writing, and received an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Louisiana State University. He presented the TEDx talk "Why Dungeons & Dragons is Good for You (In Real Life),” and offers workshops teaching adults and children how to play D&D.

---

Limited to 15 participants

Non-fiction

Tuition: $85. Sign-up deadline: March 16