THE STUDIO The Studio is a center for writers and readers of English. It is located in Bitan Aharon, just north of Netanya, Israel on the Coastal Road (#2).   Click here for directions. Click here to view pictures from The Studio. For its second season, The Studio is offering Writing Workshops (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Manuscripts, and a series of Short Story master classes) and a Literary Series, all of which will be conducted in English. To register, click here. Literary Series 2009-2010 Monday, December 7 - Eshkol Nevo (novels: Homesick, World Cup Wishes) Sunday, January 3 - David Ehrlich (writer and founder/proprietor of Tmol Shilshom literary café) Tuesday, February 9 - Karen Alkalay-Gut (poet & performance artist) EVENT POSTPONED; NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON - Oded ("Max") Brenner (writer and chocolatier) NEW DATE: Thursday, May 13 - Etgar Keret (books: Missing Kissinger, The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God, Kneller's Happy Campers, The Nimrod Flip-Out; films: Jellyfish, Skin Deep) Tuesday, June 1 - Alon Hilu (novels: Death of a Monk, The House of Dajani) Wednesday, June 23 - Joan Leegant (story collection: An Hour in Paradise, novel: Wherever You Go) All events take place from 8:00pm to 9:30pm and are conducted exclusively in English. Specific information about each event will be sent by email in the month preceding the event. Light refreshments are served at all events; Max Brenner's presentation will be accompanied by chocolate delights. Workshops 2009-2010 The Studio is offering four workshops – Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Manuscripts – and a series of Short Story master classes. 1) Fiction Workshop Instructor: Evan Fallenberg (www.evanfallenberg.com) Meetings: 12 sessions, Sundays, 7:00pm – 9:00pm Dates: 27.12, 10.01, 24.01, 7.02, 21.02, 7.03, 21.03, 11.04, 25.04, 9.05, 23.05, 6.06 Minimum/Maximum number of participants: 8/12 Prerequisites: None Fee: 1200 NIS Description: The Fiction Workshop is the place for exploring, experimenting, and simply daring to write fiction, from flash fiction and short stories to the novella and the novel and everything in between. Participants will be exposed to the basic elements of crafting and will have the opportunity to engage in in-class writing exercises as well writing stories to be discussed in class. 2) Creative Nonfiction - The Art of the Personal Essay Instructor: Sherri Mandell Meetings: 10 sessions, Mondays, 4:15pm – 6:45pm Dates: 11.01, 25.01, 8.02, 22.02, 8.03, 22.03, 12.04, 26.04, 10.05, 24.05 Minimum/Maximum number of participants: 8/12 Prerequisites: None Fee: 1200 NIS Description: Every significant piece of writing is a journey of discovery. Discover the story that you want to tell as well as the structure that best conveys the story's emotional significance. In this workshop, you will learn how to compose moving and engaging essays. We will study narrative structure, the persona of the narrator, the role of reflection, metaphor, and other techniques so that you can enhance the depth and power of your non-fiction writing. Classes will include readings, writing exercises as well as critiques. By the end of the class sessions, you can expect to have at least two essays ready for publication. Sherri Mandell is the author of Writers of the Holocaust (Facts on File, 2000) and has written for numerous magazines and journals, including The Washington Post, Denver Post, The Jerusalem Post, and Hadassah Magazine. She moved to Israel with her family in 1996, and is now director of The Koby Mandell Foundation Women's Healing Retreat for Bereaved Mothers and Widows. Mandell's most recent book, The Blessing of a Broken Heart (Toby Press, 2003), won the 2004 National Jewish Book Award in the Contemporary Jewish Life category. The book has also been adapted into a stage play that premiered at the San Diego Repertory Theater. Sherri was born in New York and graduated with a B.S. from Cornell University and from Colorado State, where she received her M.A. in creative writing. She taught writing at the University of Maryland and at Penn State. She was also honored with a 2002 Woman to Watch Award from Jewish Women International. 3) Children's Literature Instructor: Amanda Cohen Meetings: 12 sessions, Monday evenings, 7:30pm – 9:30pm Dates: 28.12, 11.01, 25.01, 8.02, 22.02, 8.03, 22.03, 12.04, 26.04, 10.05, 24.05, 7.06 Minimum/Maximum number of participants: 8/12 Fee: 1200 NIS Prerequisite: None Description: This workshop is aimed at anyone who wants to write for children – whether you’ve never done it before, have something in the cupboard that you always wanted to take further, or are working on something you feel is just a step away from publication. We will do in-class writing to get the juices flowing and come up with new ideas; look at classics like Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are and see why they are still so popular today, as well as new books in the market. The primary focus is on writing, and part of the workshop will be devoted to one-to-one critiquing sessions; we will also be looking at the process of publishing a children’s book – from final draft to finished product. Amanda Cohen, an author and illustrator, was Senior Picture Book editor at HarperCollins, UK before coming to Israel. She has also written and illustrated a children’s book, Two’s Company, and had several other children’s projects published. Her newest work, That Baby, is scheduled for publication in Spring 2010 with Sifrei Aliyat Hagag/Yediot Ahronot Publishing. She is currently at work on a young adult novel while completing a Masters in Creative Writing at Bar-Ilan University. 4) Manuscript Workshop Instructor: Evan Fallenberg (www.evanfallenberg.com) Meetings: 10 sessions, Friday mornings, 9:30am – 11:30am Dates: 25.12, 8.01, 22.01, 5.02, 19.02, 5.03, 19.03, 9.04, 23.04, 7.05 Minimum/Maximum number of participants: 4/6 Fee: 1800 NIS Prerequisite: Applicants for this workshop must submit 20 pages and a synopsis of the entire work for consideration. In addition, all participants must commit to reading the manuscripts of the other group members in their entirety, for the purpose of offering salient, relevant feedback. Description: This unique workshop is designed for people who have already written a full-length manuscript (fiction or creative nonfiction) and are looking to receive professional advice on how to revise and finalize before potential publication. Each work will be critiqued in its entirety by the instructor and the other participants. Due to the amount of material to be covered and the scope of the critique, the number of participants admitted to this workshop is severely limited. 5) Reading Like A Writer: A course in writing craft for prose writers and readers Instructor: Joan Leegant (http://www.joanleegant.com/) Meetings: 4 sessions, Wednesday evenings, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Dates: Feb 10, 17, 24, March 3 Minimum: 8 participants This course is for writers who want to develop their craft and for serious readers interested in deepening their appreciation of what makes good writing good.* Fee: 480 shekels Description: Before the advent of the writing workshop, writers learned their craft by closely reading the work of those who had mastered the form. That is what we will do in this course. Word selection, phrasing, narration, dialogue, character, point of view, gesture: writers continually make choices as they construct their work. How do good writers make us care about their characters and their fates? What do they do so their narratives transport us and provide pleasure? With a nod toward Francine Prose’s Reading Like A Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, we will take apart a range of published works – fiction and memoir – and look at everything from the skeleton of their structures to the skin of their sentences. Material will be assigned each week for close reading, and exercises will be provided to participants interested in writing at home. While this course is an excellent complement to a writing workshop, there will be no critiquing of participants’ work; rather, the learning will come from discussions of the published work and what it can teach us about good writing. Joan Leegant is author of the forthcoming novel Wherever You Go, to be published by W.W. Norton in July 2010, and An Hour in Paradise: Stories (W.W. Norton), which won the PEN New England Book Award and the Wallant Award for Jewish Fiction, and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a selection for the Barnes & Noble ‘Discover Great New Writers’ Series. Joan's stories have appeared in several anthologies and been featured on National Public Radio, and she is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships. This spring Joan will be the visiting writer at the Bar Ilan master’s program in creative writing for the third time, teaching the fiction workshop. Formerly a practicing attorney, she taught fiction writing for eight years at Harvard University, where she was cited for excellence in teaching. She is delighted to exchange the snow of Boston for the sun and sand of Tel Aviv. *Former students of Joan’s at Bar Ilan University are invited to join the course; the approach and the materials used will be new. The 2008-2009 Literary series featured • Matt Beynon Rees (the Omar Yussef Palestinian mystery series) • Joan Leegant (An Hour in Paradise) • Reva Mann (The Rabbi's Daughter) • Dorit Rabinyan (The Persian Bride, Strand of a Thousand Pearls/Our Weddings) •  Haim Watzman (Company C: An American's Life as a Citizen-Soldier in Israel, A Crack in the Earth: A Journey Up Israel's Rift Valley). •  Ron Leshem (Beaufort) • Meir Shalev (A Pigeon and a Boy, The Blue Mountain, Esau, In the Beginning…) •  Tina Davis (book design; art books; children's books)   To register for the 2009-2010 season at The Studio, click here.