What's New...
Save the date! Saturday, August 7, 2010 -- San Diego, CA
Join Midge at San Diego Writers' Ink Spot for
Getting Into Character, an afternoon workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, characters are what make your stories live and breathe. In this seminar, you’ll learn how best to bring characters to life, whether you’re creating them for a short story or novel, or whether you’re portraying real characters in a memoir. We’ll look at classic and contemporary examples of good characterization and discuss how character relates to other aspects of story, such as dialogue, setting and plot. We’ll spend time on writing exercises designed to flesh out your characters, both on and off the page, so you’ll be fully in character by the seminar’s end. Visit
San Diego Writers for details and to register.
In other news ...
July 15, 2010
Midge's story "Santorini" is reprinted in the literary journal of the
Santa Fe Writers Project.
July 13, 2010
Midge talks about writing, travel, and relationships with
StyleSubstanceSoul.
July 2010
Midge's story "Two Lies and a Truth" is reprinted in the online magazine
Bananafish.
Midge's story "The Color Blue" appears in the 45th Anniversary double issue of
TriQuarterly.
Midge's story "Crossroads" appears in
Freight Stories No. 6.
Freight Stories is "a free, online, fiction-only literary quarterly featuring the best new fiction on the web (or anywhere else, for that matter)." Edited by Andrew Scott and Victoria Barrett.
Midge's story "The Gospel of Thomas" appears in the inaugural issue of Seattle's
The Wanderlust Review, "a place where writers, artists, and thinkers can share their stories with each other and the general public in hopes of satiating their 'impulse toward wandering' – if only for the time being."
Midge is interviewed by
The Short Review...
Midge is one of 16 artists awarded a
2009 Artist Trust Fellowship Award. The award recognizes an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline.
Forgetting English is available on
the Kindle!
Check out
Midge's mini-interview with
Andrew Scott of
ABC.
Check out
an interview with Midge by
Diana Joseph, author of
I'm Sorry You Feel That Way and
Happy or Otherwise.
Past news & events...
Thursday, July 8, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge at Seattle's all-indie
Pilot Books for a free travel-writing workshop and reading. In this hour-long workshop, you’ll learn how to turn your adventures into compelling fictional stories or memoir. Learn how to portray character (even if the character is you), develop a storyline, and make your memories jump off the page through vivid description and detail. The workshop will be followed by a reading from
Forgetting English. The event starts at 7 p.m. and is
free and open to all; for directions and other info,
click here.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 -- Bainbridge Island, WA
Join Midge on Bainbridge Island for the
Field's End Roundtable series. In June, we'll be discussing a topic necessary for all writers:
How to Be Your Own Editor. The program begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the the Bainbridge Public Library Meeting Room. For more info,
contact Field's End.
Saturday, June 5, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Write all day
and support Richard Hugo House at
Write-O-Rama! On Saturday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Midge and other Hugo House instructors will teach more than 30 one-hour workshops. All you need is $50 (but that's only the minimum -- there will be prizes for top fundraisers), and a notebook or laptop. Food and open mics will help combat writers' cramp.
Click here for more info and to register.
Friday - Sunday, May 21-23, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge and dozens of writers at Richard Hugo House's first writing conference,
Finding Your Readers in the 21st Century. The weekend will focus on the changing literary landscape and the options available to writers for getting their work out in the world and into the hands of readers. With sessions on book trailers, e-publishing, marketing and promotion, and networking (virtually and otherwise), writers will learn all aspects of the business of being a writer. For full details, including registration information, visit the
Hugo House web site.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Mark your calendar for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, for
She Said: Women's Lives in Poetry and Prose, co-sponsored by
Richard Hugo House. Seattle writer David Schmader will host an evening featuring local women writers: Elizabeth Austen, Janna Cawrse Esarey, Monica Murphy LeMoine, Corbin Lewars, Midge Raymond, Susan Rich, and Katharine Whitcomb. Cafe Hugo will serve beer, wine, and specialty cocktails, and the event is free and open to all.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 -- 5:30 p.m. Pacific time/8:30 p.m. Eastern
Join Midge for an interview about short stories and
Forgetting English on
Blog Talk Radio during Spring Into Short Stories Month.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 -- San Diego, CA
Join Midge for a writing workshop and
Forgetting English reading at 7 p.m. at La Jolla's beloved Warwick's bookstore. Visit the
Warwick's web site for details.
Mondays, March 22 - May 24, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge at Richard Hugo House for a
10-week Master Class in Prose. In this class, writers will complete or fully revise at least one short story or essay. With an emphasis on the short form, we’ll look at the elements of good narrative -- including character, story, dialogue, setting, and voice -- through examples and discussion but primarily in the context of student work. Each writer will have the opportunity to workshop a story or essay twice during the duration of the class, and we’ll discuss revision methods as well as how to gain insight into one’s own work through reading and responding to the work of others. Visit the
Hugo House web site for details and to register.
Saturday, March 6, 2010 -- Tacoma, WA
Join Midge at
King's Books in Tacoma for
Meet the Artist, a component of the annual Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award. From 2-4 p.m., Midge will present a free workshop, Writing About Place, followed by a Q&A and a reading from
Forgetting English. "Meet the Artist events bridge our artistic community with the diverse communities in Washington State, increasing awareness about the vital roles art and artists play in our culture. Find out more at
Artist Trust."
Thursday, February 25, 2010 -- Des Moines, WA
Midge will be reading and signing books as part of the “Highline Listens: Writers Read Their Work" series, beginning at noon in the Student Union at
Highline Community College.
Sunday, February 14, 2010 -- San Diego, CA
Join Midge at San Diego Writers' Ink Spot for "Setting the Scene," a workshop designed to help you get a sense of the
where in your writing. First we’ll take a close look at how established memoir and fiction writers incorporate setting into their work, studying the details and descriptions that make places and settings come alive for readers. Then you’ll get to work on writing exercises that will teach you invaluable tips for setting your own vivid, unforgettable scenes. Visit
San Diego Writers for details and to register.
Saturday, February 13, 2010 -- San Diego, CA
Join Midge and other authors, editors, and agents at the 24th annual Southern California Writers' Conference in San Diego. Visit the
SCWC web site to register and for more details.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge, Matthew Simmons, Maria Semple, and Rory Douglas for Cheap Beer and Prose, a spinoff of
Cheap Wine and Poetry, "Seattle’s biggest, coolest, hippest reading series" at
Richard Hugo House. Admission's free; cheap beer's $1; starts at 7 p.m.
January 8, 2010
An excerpt from Midge's story "The Ecstatic Cry," which is included in
Forgetting English, appears on
Writers Out Loud: Literature for the Ear.
December 2009
Forgetting English is #2 on the list of Seattle Books Examiner's
Best Books of 2009!
Saturday, December 5, 2009 -- Seattle, WA
For $45 (or more!) in pledges, you can join Midge and other creative writing instructors for
Write-O-Rama, a full day of writing (not to mention food, open mics, prizes, and a wrap party) to benefit
Richard Hugo House. Start gathering pledges, then show up and choose from more than 40 one-hour workshops across all genres. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., and the writing begins at 10.
Click here for a pledge card and complete details.
Thursday, October 22, 2009, 7 p.m. -- Bellingham, WA
Join Midge for a
Forgetting English reading and discussion at Bellingham's
Village Books in the historic Fairhaven neighborhood.
Sunday, October 25, 2009, 3 p.m. -- Seattle Bookfest, Columbia City
Don't miss the 2009
Seattle Bookfest! Midge will be reading on Sunday at 3 p.m., Stage 3, as part of an entire weekend of local authors, bookstores, publishers, and more. Get all the details
here.
Tuesdays, October 6 - November 10, 2009 -- Seattle, WA
Fall is the perfect time to get back into writing with "Telling Your Story" at Seattle's
Richard Hugo House. In this memoir-writing class, you’ll learn how to apply the narrative techniques of fiction to memoir and personal essays. From mining for material to recreating scenes from memory, this class will help you shape your stories into compelling narrative. Through readings and discussions, you’ll discover the essentials of good narrative writing and develop a daily writing routine that will help you meet your goals. Weekly writing exercises will help you complete and/or revise a personal essay or a memoir chapter by the end of the six-week class.
UPDATE: This class is now full, but please feel free to contact the Hugo House Registrar at 206-322-7030 to be placed on a waiting list.
What writers say about Midge's teaching...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 7 p.m. -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge for a reading and travel-writing workshop at
Wide World Books & Maps. In this hour-long workshop, you’ll learn how to turn your adventures into compelling fictional stories or memoir. Learn how to portray character (even if the character is yourself), develop a storyline, and make your memories jump off the page through vivid description and detail. The workshop will be followed by a reading from
Forgetting English.
Free and open to all! Click here for store info.
August 5, 2009
Hear an excerpt from "First Sunday" on
Lively Words.
Thursday, July 23, 2009, 7-10 p.m. -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge and Seattle author
Janna Cawrse Esarey for
Love and Exile: True and Fictional Journeys from Local Writers. Co-sponsored by
Richard Hugo House, the evening will feature readings from
Forgetting English and Janna's book
The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers and a Woman's Search for the Meaning of Wife, as well as Janna's slides, some Q&A, and Cafe Hugo (translation: beer, wine, cocktails, and snacks). The evening will be emceed by former Hugo House Writer-in-Residence
Wendy Call, with a Q&A led by local doctor-writer
Audrey Young. Most of all, it's a party -- and it's free and open to all.
Click here for directions to Hugo House, on Capitol Hill.
Tuesdays, July 7-28, 2009, 7-9 p.m., Richard Hugo House -- Seattle, WA
Midge will be teaching a 4-week summer session at Seattle's
Richard Hugo House.
The Art & Craft of the Short Story will take a look at short story classics as well as give writers a running start toward crafting stories of their own. Check the
Hugo House summer catalog for more details and registration information.
UPDATE: This class is now full, but please feel free to contact the Hugo House Registrar at 206-322-7030 to be placed on a wait list.
What writers say about Midge's teaching...
June 11, 2009
Forgetting English is one of
Seattle Books Examiner's Best Beach Reads for Summer!
June 10, 2009
Forgetting English has been chosen as a June
Book Club selection by
ForeWord Magazine -- with a free download of the story "The Ecstatic Cry" available from June 10-17, 2009.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009, University Book Store -- Seattle, WA
Midge will be reading from
Forgetting English at the University of Washington's
University Book Store at 7 p.m.
Click here for details and directions.
May 31, 2009
Forgetting English is a June selection of
Andrew's Book Club!
April 16-19, 2009 -- Get Lit! Festival in Spokane, WA
Midge will be participating in several events at
Get Lit!, the Northwest's best festival for readers and writers. Midge's events include a
panel discussion with authors Jane Smiley, Kathryn Trueblood, and Laurie Notaro; a
festival reading with Brenda Miller; and a
workshop on rewriting with Pamela Holway, Glenda Burgess, Kathy Fagan, and Ken Letko.
Saturday, April 11, 2009 -- "Getting Into Character" in Seattle, WA
Midge is teaching a Saturday afternoon workshop on character at Seattle's
Richard Hugo House. Visit the
Hugo House Spring Course Catalog online for details and to register.
Friday, April 10, 2009, Elliott Bay Book Company -- Seattle, WA
Join Midge for a
Forgetting English reading and book signing at Seattle's
Elliott Bay Book Company on Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 -- Richard Hugo House, Seattle, WA
Join Midge and other Hugo House instructors for a reading on Tuesday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Seattle's
Richard Hugo House. In addition to the readings, you'll get to hear a preview of Hugo's spring classes.
February 13-15, 2009 -- San Diego
Midge will be leading workshops at the
Southern California Writers' Conference in San Diego over President's Day weekend, February 13-15, 2009. Sessions include
Publishing Short Fiction and
Revision: From Structure and Theme to Dialogue and Detail.
February 16, 2009 -- San Diego
Midge will be at San Diego Writers for a
Forgetting English event at the Ink Spot ... stay tuned and/or visit
San Diego Writers for details.
January 2009
American Literary Review's Fall 2008 issue features Midge's story "Twin Falls," which also appears in
Forgetting English.
And stay tuned for new work forthcoming in
TriQuarterly.
September 27, 2008
Midge is leading a fiction workshop in collaboration with Warwick's and San Diego Writers, Ink. The workshop, supported by
Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, will be held at the La Jolla Public Library and will be followed by readings from
A Year in Ink. Visit
Warwick's or
San Diego Writers for more information and to register.
July 1, 2008
The Spring/Summer issue of
Roanoke Review is hot off the presses, featuring "Never Turn Your Back on the Ocean," which is also included in
Forgetting English.
June 2008
Forgetting English is available for pre-order from
Amazon.
May 2008
Bayou magazine has just arrived, featuring Midge's story "Santorini."
