"Forgetting English transports the reader by closely observing characters' routine gestures and affect ... Parts of these polished stories, if read aloud, would sound like a smart patient describing a dream to a psychoanalyst.”
Save the dates! July 8-15, 2012 -- Port Townsend, WA
Join Midge and many other writers (including Wendy Call, Cheryl Strayed, Sam Ligon, and Susan Landgraf) for the Port Townsend Writers' Conference in July at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington. Now in its 39th year, the conference features morning workshops, afternoon workshops, readings, lectures, and freewrites -- for more information and to register, click here.
January 2012
Midge co-authors the article "40 Prompts to Get You Writing" in the February 2012 issue of The Writer magazine.
November 2011
Midge's story "Fire Season," from the Spring 2011 issue of Bellingham Review, is nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Iowa City, Iowa
Join Midge and Wendy Call at Iowa City's celebrated Prairie Lights bookstore, where Midge and Wendy will read from and discuss their books, in which native landscapes are defended or abandoned, and in which border crossings both literal and figurative change lives. (And if you missed us at Prairie Lights, you can hear a live audio recording here.)
Sunday, October 16, 2011, 4 p.m. -- St. Louis, Missouri
Join Midge and John Yunker for readings from Forgetting English and The Tourist Trail at St. Louis's wonderful independent bookstore Left Bank Books, in the Central West End.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 12:30 p.m. -- Boston, MA
Join Midge and and Wendy Call at Grub Street's headquarters in downtown Boston for a Brown Bag Writing Workshop. Recently profiled in the Boston Globe, this series offers 45 minutes of inspiring writing exercises in the company of fellow writers. The session is free -- just bring your lunch and come on down. More details here.
Friday, September 9, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Woodstock, Vermont
Join Midge for a reading, discussion, and book signing for the new, expanded edition of Forgetting English at Woodstock's fabulous local indie Shiretown Books.
Saturday, September 10, 2011, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. -- White River Junction, VT
Join Midge for Be Your Own Editor, a two-hour workshop at The Writer's Center in White River Junction, Vermont. We'll cover everything from grammar to characterization to dialogue -- and be sure to bring your own work-in-progress for some hands-on editing. Pre-registration is required: Visit The Writer's Center for more information; you can also register here.
Saturday, September 10, 2011, 3-5 p.m. -- Hardwick, Vermont
Join Midge and and Wendy Call for an afternoon of reading and writing about place at the lovely Galaxy Bookshop. Midge and Wendy will read from their books and share tips for writing about place as well as for how to create a global story with a local heart. This event is free and open to all.
Sunday, September 11, 2011, 3-5 p.m. -- Manchester, Vermont
Join Midge and and Wendy Call for an afternoon of reading and writing about place at Northshire Bookstore, Vermont's largest independent bookstore. Midge and Wendy will read from Forgetting English and No Word for Welcome and share tips for writing about place as well as for how to create a global story with a local heart. For readers, writers, and travelers alike, this event is free and and open to all.
Monday, September 12, 2011, 6:30-9:30 p.m. -- Boston, MA
Join Midge and and Wendy Call at Grub Street's headquarters in downtown Boston for a craft seminar, You Are Here: Creating a Sense of Place. This three-hour seminar offers tips for all prose writers in a team-taught class that focuses on place. As authors whose recent books are grounded in foreign settings, Wendy and Midge will offer tips for how to offer a strong sense of place no matter where your scenes unfold, whether it’s a small Mexican village, the lonely islands of the South Pacific, or a character’s own living room. We’ll demonstrate what place can reveal about character and how a single setting can create a more universal picture—all with plenty of writing prompts along the way. For details and registration, click here.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 12 - 2 p.m. -- Boston, MA
Join Midge and and Wendy Call for a workshop on immersion journalism and narrative writing at Boston University's College of Communication. In this two-hour workshop -- a brown-bag event free and open to all -- Midge and Wendy will talk about their experiences as journalists and authors, offering examples, resources, and writing exercises to show how best to get people and places effectively, accurately, and vividly on the page.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 7-9 p.m. -- Portsmouth, NH
Join Midge and and Wendy Call for an evening's journey into reading and writing about place at New Hampshire's fabulous RiverRun Bookstore. Midge and Wendy will read from their books, Forgetting English and No Word for Welcome, and share tips how best to write about place and how to create a global story with a local heart. For readers, writers, and travelers alike, this event is free and and open to all.
July 15, 2011, 6 p.m. -- Orca Books, Olympia, Washington
Join Midge and author, teacher, and translator Wendy Call for a joint event at Orca Books, an evening that will take you from the villages of Mexico to the islands of the South Pacific. Midge and Wendy will read from and discuss their books, in which native landscapes are defended or abandoned, and in which border crossings both literal and figurative change lives. Visit Wendy's web site for more about Wendy and to learn about her book, No Word for Welcome.
July 17-24, 2011 -- Port Townsend, Washington
Join Midge and many other writers (including Pam Houston, Sam Ligon, Susan Rich, Elizabeth Austen, Wendy Call, Sheila Bender, Kelli Russell Agodon, and Anne Germanacos) for the Port Townsend Writers' Conference in July at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington. Now in its 38th year, the conference features morning workshops, afternoon workshops, readings, lectures, and freewrites -- for more information and to register, click here.
Monday, July 11, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Ashland, Oregon
Join Midge and John Yunker, co-founders of Ashland Creek Press, at the Ashland Public Library for a discussion on using fictional stories to address such issues as the environment, globalization, and the threats to endangered species. This workshop for readers and writers is free and open to all.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 6:30 p.m. -- Bend, Oregon
Join Midge for an evening of travel reading and writing at the Bend Public Library. In this workshop, we'll take a journey into reading and writing about place. We’ll hear excerpts from Midge’s collection, Forgetting English, and you’ll learn essential tips for how to turn your own adventures into compelling stories. For readers, writers, and travelers alike, this workshop is free and open to all.
May 12, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Bloomsbury Books, Ashland, Oregon
Join Midge for an evening of travel reading and writing at Bloomsbury Books. In this workshop, we'll take a journey into reading and writing about place. We’ll hear excerpts from Midge’s collection, Forgetting English, and you’ll learn essential tips for how to turn your own adventures into compelling stories. For readers, writers, and travelers alike, this workshop is free and open to all.
April 18, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Ashland Public Library, Ashland, Oregon
From Ernest Hemingway in Spain to Paul Theroux in China, great writers excel at painting vivid portraits of the places they take us. Join Midge for a journey into reading and writing about place. In addition to a reading from Forgetting English, we'll explore other travel works, from fiction to memoir to narrative journalism. We'll also talk about how to turn your own adventures into compelling stories. We'll meet in the Gresham Room of the Ashland Public Library at 7 p.m. Don’t forget to bring a pen and paper to do your own writing!
March 2011
Midge's story "Translation Memory," which first appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, is now available on the Kindle.
March 2011
Midge's story "Never Turn Your Back on the Ocean," which first appeared in Roanoke Review, is now available on the Kindle.
Midge's story "The Ecstatic Cry," which first appeared in Ontario Review, is now available on the Kindle.
December 1, 2010
Midge's story "Two Lies and a Truth" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Crab Creek Review!
December 2010
Check out Love in the Time of Amazon.com -- an award-winning book trailer (of sorts) about love, obsession...and sales rankings.
November 2010
Midge's story "Two Lies and a Truth" is reprinted in the Fall 2010 issue of Crab Creek Review.
September 15, 2010
Midge's story "Anodyne" is reprinted in the Fall 2010 issue of The Summerset Review.
September 2010
Midge and other local writers talk about writing groups in the article "Finding Your Writing Community" in the September 2010 issue of Seattle Woman magazine.
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.
August 2010
Midge's story "Accidents" appears in the (slightly belated) Spring 2010 issue of cream city review.
Midge talks about writing, travel, and relationships with StyleSubstanceSoul.
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.
July 2010
Midge's story "Two Lies and a Truth" is reprinted in the online magazine Bananafish.
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.
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."
March 2010
Midge's story "The Color Blue" appears in the 45th Anniversary double issue of TriQuarterly.
March 2010
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.
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.
February 2010
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."
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.
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.
October 15, 2009
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.
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...
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.
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
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."
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