“Enclave Reading Series, now in its 12th year, returns to Club Cumming with an absolutely stellar line-up of authors, headlined by the one and only Michael Cunningham, a true master of the craft. Essayist and author Dorri Olds, acclaimed novelist and filmmaker Brian Alessandro, and writer/comedian Eddie Sarfaty will all be taking the Club Cumming stage, comprising one powerhouse program of intellect and wit… As usual the lights will be down low, the drinks will be flowing, and admission is free.” — Jason Napoli Brooks, author (SHELTER), and co-creator, co-curator and emcee for Enclave’s monthly shows.

THANK YOU Honeysuckle Magazine!

It’s a night of wordplay, award-winning authors, treats and fun as the famous Enclave Reading Series rides again at a favorite Manhattan hotspot. On Monday, March 4, 7-9PM, join New York’s literati at Club Cumming (505 East 6th Street, Avenue A), for an evening to remember – with no cover charge. From somebody given to fill The Hours to an expert who knows laughter is the best medicine, a journalist speaking truth to power, and a novelist who can pin down the unmentionable, this is bound to be one for the books.

SEE ALSO: Enclave Reading Series was ‘FRAYED IN NEW YORK’

WHO’S READING? MEET THE AUTHORS:

Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize and PEN Faulkner Award Winner

Michael Cunningham is the author of novels A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours, By Nightfall, and The Snow Queen, and a short story collection, A Wild Swan and Other Tales, all published by Farrar Straus & Giroux. The Hours won a Pulitzer Prize and PEN Faulkner Award and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was also made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore.

Cunningham’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, the Paris Review, and other publications. A recipient of National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim and Whiting Foundation fellowships, he is a Senior Lecturer in English at Yale University.

Eddie Sarfaty (Mental: Funny in the Head)

Eddie Sarfaty, author and comedian, has appeared on The Today Show, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Logo’s Wisecrack, The Joy Behar Show, and is a subject the documentaries, Laughing Matters and Heartfelt. He has been featured at the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, the Toyota Comedy, and the New York Comedy Festival. Sarfaty will be reading from his new novel.

His first book, a collection of hilarious autobiographical essays entitled Mental: Funny in the Head, was the InsightOut Book Club’s selection of the month and his essays have been published in anthologies When I Knew, I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship, andLove, Christopher Street. In addition to offering stand-up comedy workshops at theaters around the country, Sarfaty teaches at NYU and The Theatre Lab in Washington, DC. keeplaughing.com

Dorri Olds, Author, Essayist, Journalist

Dorri Olds is an award-winning writer — and Honeysuckle contributor — whose creative nonfiction has been published in eight book anthologies.

Before the Cosby and Weinstein scandals, and the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Olds’ personal essay in The New York Times, “Defriending My Rapist,” went viral. It became required reading at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and led to frequent speaking engagements. She’s been interviewed by CNN’s Dr. Drew and on CBS, ABC and NY1; podcasts; and radio shows. She is currently working on her first full-length book. DorriOlds.com

Brian Alessandro (The Unmentionable Mann)

Brian Alessandro is the author of the novel The Unmentionable Man (Cairn Press). He wrote and directed the feature film Afghan Hound and co-founded The New Engagement, a literary journal that has published acclaimed authors. His plays were performed by the Neighborhood Playhouse, Love Creek Productions, and Monarch Theater Company. Most recently, Brian completed work on the graphic novel adaption of Edmund White’s 1982-classic A Boy’s Own Story for Top Shelf Productions, which won the National Book Award in 2016 for March.

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Don’t miss out on this night for the ages! Enclave Reading Series will present Monday, March 4th, 7-9PM at Club Cumming (505 East 6th Street, Avenue A).

To learn more about The Enclave Reading Series, visit theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

For more info on events at Club Cumming, visit clubcummingnyc.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post Club Cumming • MARCH 4 • Let Enclave Entertain You • No Cover Charge appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Enclave Reading series on Saturday night was standing room only. Held at Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming in Manhattan’s East Village, the joint was full of hot bodies and talent. As I looked around, it gave me a feeling “down there.” Okay, so I just shamelessly lifted that phrase from Joan Jett, which fits the Enclave’s theme—FRAYED IN NEW YORK—with a focus on the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s a time I remember oh so well.

The Enclave Opener

“I was so fucking depressed last night,” emcee Brooks said, referring to another hell week with the GOP’s spoiled toddler. Not The Orange Swamp Thing, the other entitled white baby in a suit, Brett Kavanaugh, the sobbing, blubbering, self-pitying Supreme Court nominee.

Brooks got huge laughs with a funny bit about the Unabomber, and talked about the night before the Enclave reading.

“Friday night…I decided to drown my tears and indulge myself in a twink…the magic of an iPhone app is this guy shows up, 22, cute as fuck, and, you know, huge. He had a reckless quality which I find attractive in a twink.”

Unfortunately, the young hottie ruined the action in the middle of it by calling out, Daddy!

“Being called Daddy during sex,” said Brooks, “is the gay equivalent of finding a fly in your soup at a fancy restaurant. You go from, this is gonna be good, right? — to what the fuck?”

I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my seltzer.

Frayed in New York

Jeremiah Moss, the man behind the award-winning blog and book, VANISHING NEW YORK read about what’s gone. It was apt for me. As I’d ambled past Tompkins Square Park on the way to the club, the recurring stab of sadness got me in the gut. My native Manhattan looks nothing like it did and often feels like an empty town filled with ghosts

In the 80s, whenever I was hit with an emergency need for drugs at 3am, it was that park that beckoned, luring me toward Alphabet City. It was a suicide mission back then. Being an ex-junkie, though, it’s not surprising that my wasted ideas always made perfect sense. The coils of my head kick off a Pavlov’s dog-inspired rush of endorphins that leaves me drooling at memories from years of debauchery.

Moss at the Mic

Moss at the mic lamented his arrival to what he refers to as the end of New York City: 1993. He was 22 then. Moss read, “I was Harold and New York, my Maude.” He openly admits his bias and lack of objectivity in his signature prose. Self-deprecating words inspired laughs from the audience but the biggest howl came when he quoted reviewers: “The New York Times called me a curmudgeon with a penchant for apocalyptic bombast” and “The Daily News dubbed me a fetishist for filth.”

Lara IS Sharp

DO THE HUSTLE is Lara B. Sharp’s memoir-in progress. It’s about being raised in New York City’s foster care system and her exploits as a crustie and grifter. She chose a chapter that is set in 1984 and appropriately titled Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. “A crustie,” Sharp explained, “is a homeless runaway, living on the streets of downtown Manhattan.”

Sharp as a Whipped Crustie

The author opens by telling the audience a little background info.

“I was 14 years old and I ran away from foster care. I’m just kind of living in Washington Square Park because that was a done thing then…My mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict…but [she was] awesome because she taught me everything I needed to know. She taught me how to lie, cheat, and steal.”

In addition to writing, Sharp has performed in a number of theater productions, including Penny Arcade’s original production of the Sex and Censorship Show, BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! Sharp’s author reading was a performance piece because she’s charismatic and naturally theatrical.

She nailed the accents for the scene’s two characters. One voice is Sharp at age 14. The other is “Gay Cher.” He is her new kinda-sorta mentor who tells the young Sharp that he can easily make her look 18 if she steals beauty products from Duane Reade. The motivation behind wanting to look older, was practical. She wanted to find a job.

Sharp reads in Gay Cher’s midwestern accent: “I’m the most beautiful, half-Mexican faggot boy ever to escape Kansas. I looked like a fat old milk cow, but not no more. And, honey, I can fix you up. I mean, you’re a mess. But, I have talents. No offense but your white eyelashes are disgusting.”

Huge laughs from the crowd.

Then, narrating in her younger self’s voice: “He scratches his left arm making the needle sores bleed. He rubs the blood into his stone wash cut-offs…. He yanks my scrunchie and runs his dirty fingernails through my long blonde hair, pulling at the matted sections.”

I quit drinking, drugging and smoking, but I can’t get enough of Sharp’s writing. Saturday night’s performance proved that I’m addicted to her prose.

Barb Morrison

I chatted with Barb Morrison. Yes, THE Barb Morrison—recording artist, hit songwriter, platinum and gold records producer. Morrison has played with Blondie, The Runaways, Johnny Thunders and plenty more biggies. Morrison’s pronoun is they. They told me they grew up in the East Village and Chelsea after arriving here at 17. They came to the city after a childhood in Albany.

“Did you runaway?” I asked (spontaneously) because I had. At 15, I moved into the Hotel Earle on Waverly (now, Washington Square Hotel). It was only one block from the park I’d fallen in love with. I found it romantic that Joan Baez sang about Bob Dylan smiling out of the window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square.

“Yeah, I ran away many times,” Morrison said. They laughed. “I disappeared into the city. You’ll hear all about it when I read.”

Reading from a memoir-in-progress, Morrison talked about being a squatter and a musician on her way up and joining a band called The Loveless. “I tried out a few bands but none of them fit the way this gang of misfit rebels fit me…. I wanted to get in bar brawls with my guys and wake up the next morning not knowing which bruise was for what reason.”

The band had their first show at the underground Lismar Lounge. “You had to enter through one of those gates in the sidewalk that went down into a basement. Most of the bands on the Lower East Side couldn’t play worth shit and we actually had some good songs, so we instantly gained a following the night of our first gig. I remember pushing our amps up First Avenue after that show. Someone rode past in a cab and yelled “LUHHHHHVVVV LESSSSSSSSSS!” at us. We were too broke to take a cab but we felt like the most famous rockstars on the planet that night.”

Christopher Stoddard

Author Christopher Stoddard read from his new book (AT NIGHT ONLY). His words were about the universal feeling of yearning for an ex to come back and convincing yourself that just by wanting it, you can make it so. Max, his dog, is also an important character in the chapter.

“I’m wondering what he’s doing right now….He didn’t text from Montreal to let me know he landed safely—like he did when we were still in a relationship.” Then he describes pulling out his iPhone to contact his ex. The foreshadowing makes it clear that is always a bad, bad, bad idea. Stoddard’s voice is easy to listen to and, yes, his was one of the hot bodies I had referred to in my second sentence of this recap.

Pedro J. Rosado, Jr., actor, dancer and stage manager. He stage-managed Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York. He can be seen in Joan Moossy’s MISS MOOSSY’S NEIGHBORHOOD MYSTERIES on YouTube singing “It’s Important to be Friendly.”

Despite a packed room, Alissa Brianna, the solo bartender for the evening, breezed through the night and looked calm and poised amidst the madness. She banged out those drinks—which I was told were fantastique!

Also in Attendance:

Elizabeth Wurtzel, celebrated author of  PROZAC NATION and BITCH: IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT WOMEN
(the lyrics are awesome!)
He may be a middle-aged white heterosexual man/But he’s friendly/He’s not an ageist, sexist, racist, homophobic pig/He’s friendly.
Be like him/ Be friendly.

Lauren Pine, downtown debutante and horse lover, as in horse trainer and horseback rider, not to be confused with old slang for heroin. Glad we cleared that up. Pine, Morrison and Sharp are alumnae of the Don Hill’s Thursday night Squeezebox Parties and have known each other for 30 years.

Melody Jane, danced in Penny Arcade‘s 2018 BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York

Elizabeth Collins, writer and comedian (RAISED BY GAYS AND TURNED OUT OK!)

Clayre Saxon Morrison, British fashion stylist and photographer

Steve Zehentner, stage designer and sound designer who has collaborated with theater artist, writer and performer Penny Arcade for 30 years. One of their collaborations was the Lower East Side Biography Project. If you’ve never experienced it, I recommend clicking on that link.

Gavin Van Vlack, guitar, bass and vocals and member of the bands Canonized and Burn

Liza Béar, artist, photographer, writer, filmmaker

Albie Mitchell, well-known downtown photographer who documented the East Village for over 40 years, and worked for the Village Voice and for the original production of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at PS122 and the Village Gate.

Jenny Gorman, practicing fine art and photography in New York City and the Hamptons for over 25 years.

Cid Scantlebury artist and musician. Cid was an original Bitch from the Don Hill’s ‘ladies metal’ night of that name, a Loser’s Lounge singer, and she sings at F*Bomb NYC shows several times a year.

Sean Harris, artist, whose works in paper collage and mixed media can be viewed on Instagram @seansheengram.

AUTHOR BIOS

JEREMIAH MOSS, creator of the award-winning blog Vanishing New York, is the pen name of Griffin Hansbury. His writing on the city has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and online for The New Yorker and The Paris Review. As Hansbury, he is the author of THE NOSTALGIST a novel, and works as a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City

LARA B. SHARP‘s writing has appeared in various print and online publications, including Longreads and Teen Vogue. A native New Yorker, she has also written for and performed in a number of national and international theatre productions and live storytelling events in New York City, London, and Philadelphia. She was an original member of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! in the early 90s and toured with Penny Arcade. Sharp earned her BA from Smith College, where she was an Ada Comstock fellow, and is working on a memoir about her childhood in the New York foster care system.

BARB MORRISON is a musician and producer who uses music as a platform of advocacy for the transgender community. A regular performer at The Ritz and CBGB’s, they were the saxophonist, guitarist and singer for the bands Gutterboy and Itchy Trigger Finger, which were signed to Mecury Records and toured with Lollapalooza in 1999. Barb has co-written and produced songs for artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, LP, and Franz Ferdinand. They also wrote the scores for films, including The Safety of Objects (2000), which starred Glenn Close. Their writing has appeared in various publications, such as the New York Times and The Good Men Project. Currently, they are at work on their memoir.

CHRISTOPHER STODDARD’s new novel At Night Only from Itna Press released this June, which has been praised by The Paris Review, Kirkus, Slate, Lambda Literary, and authors Edmund White and Gary Indiana. Featured in OUT Magazine’s “Tastemakers” issue in 2015 for his contributions to literature and publishing, he’s written two other novels: Limiters (Itna Press, 2014), and White, Christian (Spuyten Duyvil, 2010). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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To learn more about The Enclave Reading Series, visit theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

For more info on events at Club Cumming, visit clubcummingnyc.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

—

Dorri Olds is an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in book anthologies, and publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Woman’s Day, Time Out New York, The Fix, The Forward, Yahoo, and Tablet. Visit her YouTube channel and see other works she’s done for Honeysuckle here.

The post Enclave Reading Series ‘FRAYED IN NEW YORK’ at Actor Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Written for Honeysuckle Magazine

The global human rights organization Breakthrough works to “change the attitudes and assumptions around gender that lead to violence and discrimination.” This year is their 4th annual Dudes Against Violence Against Women Because DUH. Featuring comedians from beloved shows including 30 Rock and The Daily Show, the evening of laughs was initially spearheaded by SiriusXM’s Dean Obeidallah (read below for more on the history of his involvement), and will be a night to remember. All tickets sold will benefit Breakthrough’s efforts to shift cultural norms to end gender-based violence. Lynn Harris, author and former VP of Breakthrough, came up with the brilliant title.

The show happens Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at the Gotham Comedy Club at 7:30 PM; doors open at 6:30.

THE DUDES

Judah Friedlander (30 Rock)

Roy Wood, Jr. (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening)

Dean Obeidallah** (Host of SiriusXM radio’s The Dean Obeidallah Show)

Josh Gondelman (writer, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver)

Jordan Carlos (The Colbert Report, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore)

Rob Paravonian (Comedy Central, Dr. Demento, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn)

Eddie Sarfaty (Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Logo’s Wisecrack)

with special guest and emcee

Negin Farsad (NPR, HBO, Fake the Nation)

More About Breakthrough

Manager of Business and Development Operations at Breakthrough, Jason Fluegge, told Honeysucklethat this is not just any human rights organization. Fluegge said, “In the U.S., there’s this idea that human rights are about oppression in faraway lands. But we’ve got ’em right here, too.”

Breakthrough uses pop culture to make human rights real, relevant, urgent, and actionable.

“We believe,” said Fluegge, “that we can change our culture.” The emphasis, he underscores, is on promoting human rights values—dignity, equality, and respect—you know, how we all should treat each other. “We’ve made online games about immigration and racial justice, and videos about gender norms with puppeteers from Avenue Q, so it makes total sense that we’d do comedy intended to challenge gender-based violence.”

It was Dean Obeidallah who approached Breakthrough several years ago and came up with the idea of doing a comedy show to support the organization’s work. Fluegge recalled, “We decided on a comedy fundraiser that made a statement. It wasn’t only about making money; it was about taking a stand. Of course violence against women has long been an issue, but the show feels particularly relevant and urgent this year. Wow, do we need a laugh.”

Fluegge credited the #MeToo movement for shining a light on what women have endured—and are no longer willing to endure. “There is a need for men to act, not just by questioning their own past actions but to stand up with women and fix this problem in our institutions and our culture.”  

In March of 2013, with the launch of Breakthrough’s Ring the Bell: One Million Men, One Million Promises campaign, Breakthrough asked men worldwide to step up and make violence against women their issue. Dean Obeidallah did just that, pledging to devote his skills—comedy and advocacy—toward helping launch the first Dudes Against Violence Against Women in 2014.

Today Breakthrough is asking you to step up and let the world know that gender-based violence isn’t just a women’s issue, but that it is everyone’s issue. Even if you can’t attend the show (though we hope you do!), you can still take part in #Dudes18. Sign up below and for more information on how you can get involved. The time to act is now.

DUDES AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BECAUSE DUH

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18TH, 2018 AT 7:30 PM

Gotham Comedy Club
280 West 23rd Street
(7th & 8th Aves)
New York City

Watch comedian Rob Paravonian explain why this show matters:

For more information on Breakthrough and #Dudes18, visit us.breakthrough.tv or follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@BreakthroughUS) or Instagram (@breakthroughtv).

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Love to write? Do you dream of leaving your office job for a full-time freelance writing career? Being a writer makes use of your creative side while keeping your mind sharp with challenges. There’s pride in making use of your problem-solving skills. Working for yourself can be the answer to hating a job riddled with office politics, gossip and cloying managers and there’s nothing worse than a helicopter boss hovering by your desk and just making you want to scream.

Don’t believe people who say it’s impossible to make a living as a freelance writer. Find freelance writers who support themselves. If they make enough money to pay their bills and add to their savings account, then why can’t you? The answer is you can.

A writer with a few steady “anchor clients,” can stop sweating over finances and get back to the enjoyment of writing.

As with any career, the joy can fizzle but that is always a choice left up to your expectations and attitude. Celebrity sports players can grow tired of the game. The passion they had at the beginning can be lost over time. That’s when they may feel trapped and resent their careers. We have all seen many stars who had it all but their lives spiral into depression anyway. Sports players, actors, musicians and yes, writers, can prevent burnout from happening by structuring their lives to say no to any gigs that are a bad fit for them.

Types of Writing Careers

Writing is a huge field with a wide variety of options. Sticking with the sports analogy, don’t choose baseball if you want to play tennis. According to Vin D’Eletto Jr. from his WordAgents Reviews, “the two most common types of writer that you might think of could be a novelist and a journalist.” But there is a variety of other job choices for writers that include ghostwriters, speech writers, scriptwriters, technical writers, freelance agency writers, and copywriters.”

The skills that you need for these jobs can vary wildly from sales and marketing experience to legal expertise to comedic talent. It is rare for one person to be skilled enough or capable of freelancing in all of these diverse areas of writing.

Freelance vs. Employed

Every working writer is faced with the choice of becoming freelance or employed. As an employee, you have the comfort and safety of a steady paycheck, employee benefits, and consistent work but you’re also limited by company guidelines and the preferences of an editor.

As a Freelancer You Can…

• Enjoy more freedom
• Pick and choose the work you want
• Take time off when you need a break.

But you don’t want to be forced to ‘kill what you eat,’ meaning work harder or starve.

How to Make a Freelance Writing Career Worthwhile

Despite the rewards, many people leave the writing industry. Why?

Here are the most common reasons:

• They chose roles that didn’t match their, skills, goals and personality
• They never learned how to write a strong pitch
• They did not meet deadlines
• They had not taken even one course to hone their writing skills.
• They were difficult to work with—argumentative, defensive, unprofessional
• They handed in work that was filled with spelling and grammatical errors
• They had no understanding of SEO and did not make use of keywords
• They didn’t follow instructions

Daydreaming about life as a freelance novelist is not the same as the realities you will face as a freelancer. Writing from your experiences and crafting a book that will inspire emotions in your readers is a worthy goal but a tough road. To make enough money to live on—and especially if you wish to start a family, settle down, and have leisure time. For a secure income, working as an employee is a much better bet than sitting at home writing a novel that may never sell.

To make a career in writing worthwhile, you must find a better way than just kicking a can down the road, while you imagine a romanticized version of a writer’s life. To grab the reigns and succeed with a money-making freelance career, you need to think critically about what you want and what your skills are. Then you can make an educated choice on the type of writing role that’s right for you. Google the types of freelance writing that provide ongoing gigs. Maybe you’ll choose to pursue content marketing, ghost writing, editing, ghost editing, journalism for industries that have an ongoing need for writers. Think: science, finance, health, parenting, tech, or any topic that interests you. The list is almost endless.

That is the how for finding the path to steady work that is fulfilling and helps you go about the business of finding joy in your life.

The post How to Quit Your Job and Write for a Living appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Learn to Earn at the ASJA Conference • May 18–19, 2018
Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in New York City

This Year’s Conference Hashtag • #ASJANY18

Sessions for my “Captivate” track at the NY Writers Conference include:

FRIDAY • MAY 18 • MEMBERS-ONLY DAY

Polish Your Brand Workshop
I will kick off my first track by discussing your blog, social media, or website during this fun, interactive session. Plan to leave with the tools you need to boost your brand’s impact. (7:30–8 am)

The Big Book Project
ASJA President Sherry Paprocki, with authors Janine Latus, Milt Toby and Pat Ryan will talk about transitioning from journalism to writing books, including how to write proposals. (8–9 am)

Keynote Speaker Aimee Ross
This nationally celebrated educator and author (PERMANENT MARKER: A MEMOIR) is set to offer inspiration and lessons from her own successful career and writing journey (9–9:45 am)

Making Money in Your Sleep Passive Income for Writers
Damon Brown, Jeanette Hurt and Andrea King Collier will discuss the myriad ways to reharvest articles or adapt your skillset to make a better living off of work already completed. (10–11 am)

Editors Who Want Your Pitches
Wayne Hoffman, Tablet Magazine; Peter Catapano, The New York Times; Carolyn Malcoun, Senior Food Editor, EatingWell; and Lina Zeldovich, JSTOR Daily will discuss pitch Dos and Don’ts. Every editor has their pet peeves and preferences. The moderator (me!) will ask them to describe what they love and don’t love about pitches. This is a high-energy session (11:15 am–12:15 pm).

Beyond the Wall: Making the Leap
From Journalism to Content Marketing
Whether it’s called brand journalism or content marketing, companies need writers for blog posts, case studies, articles, video scripts. Agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and others seek writers with skills you’ve already honed as a journalist. Veteran journalists Christine Parizo and Court Stroud are ready to share the nuts-and-bolts moves that led to their success. Learn how to make it work for you. (2:15–3:30 pm)

Social Media: What’s Working and What Isn’t
Don’t miss Sree Sreenivasan, the most popular repeat speaker in ASJA conference history. This is an entertaining and interactive session to improve self-promotion, expand your audience and reach more career goals. Sree provides an astounding amount of cutting edge information and lets you know exactly where to go online to find what you need in the fastest way possible. (3:45–5:15 pm)

 Stay tuned for more…

#ASJANY2018  May Writers Conference • Saturday, May 19 • OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The post May Writers Conference in NY: Navigate, Motivate, Captivate appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Register Now to Save!

To learn more about the Conference and How to Join click here

This year’s New York City conference will be held at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel
811 7th Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York City.
Friday, May 18 is Members-Only Day.
Saturday, May 19 is open to anyone who would like to attend.

I owe so much of my full-time freelance writing career to ASJA!

CONFERENCE TRACK CHAIRS

• Carolyn Crist
Beginning Track Manager and Detailed Overseer @CarolynCrist

• Nancy Dunham
Mid-Career Track Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. @NancyDunham

• Dorri Olds
Advanced Track Chair and Social Media Maven @DorriOlds

The conference theme is based on the three tracks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Aimee Ross
Aimee Ross is the author of Permanent Marker: A Memoir (KiCam Projects, March 2018). She worked as a Regional Educator in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for ten years. In addition, she is a nationally award-winning educator who has been a high school English teacher for the past twenty-five years. @AimeeRoss
• Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times since its inception in 2004. His books include “Love Illuminated,” two essay anthologies—“Modern Love” and “The Bastard on the Couch”—and the novel “After Lucy,” which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Jones appears weekly on the Modern Love Podcast, which had 20 million downloads in its first year. Jones has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News, CNN and NPR. His writing can also be found in The Times, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and elsewhere. @DanielJones
• Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning independent journalist, author and speaker. Her book, The Good News About Bad Behavior (PublicAffairs, April 2018), grew out of her school discipline story for Mother Jones that became the magazine’s most-read piece. Katherine contributes to The Atlantic, Fortune, Washington Post and more.
Stay tuned for more info about #ASJA2018! Hope to see you there!

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• Carolyn Crist
Beginning Track Manager, and Detailed Overseer

• Nancy Dunham
Mid-Career Track Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. She’s also ASJA’s new volunteer coordinator.

• Dorri Olds
Advanced Career Manager and nicknamed the “Social Media Guru” for the entire event.

SAVE THE DATE! May 18–19, 2018
ASJA’s 47th Annual Writers Conference

Note: The 2018 conference will be held at a new venue this year: Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, 811 7th Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York City. The conference Members Day is May 18 and the Open Day is May 19.
I am excited to be taking this work on! My dad always said, “If you want something done, give it to the busiest person and they’ll get it done.” ASJA is filled with hard-working freelance writers who are accustomed to nutty deadlines and being adept at multi-tasking. I’m honored to be part of this amazing team led by ASJA president Sherry Beck Paprocki.
I am thrilled — absolutely gleeful — that my proposal for the conference theme has been chosen! It is based on the three tracks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
The 2018 theme is:

Navigate, Motivate, Captivate

I will be serving as the Advanced Track chair. It is an honor to have been chosen. ASJA has helped me find success as a full-time freelance writer. I work in my home office with my beloved dog Buddy James at my feet. Thank you, ASJA! 

We Are Seeking Conference Panel Proposals • Deadline is Nov 10th

The NYC Conference’s theme for 2018 is Navigate, Motivate, Captivate. This year, we’re featuring three tracks for beginners, mid-career writers and advanced storytelling techniques.
We are currently soliciting proposals for panels and workshops that will inspire, motivate and empower journalists, nonfiction and literary nonfiction writers at all stages of their careers. Emphasis will be put on professional development as it relates to these three tracks of freelance writing, such as workshops on pitching, making new career moves, finding increased income, querying book agents, and publishing in all aspects such as books and magazines.
What We Are Looking For In a Session Proposal
We prefer workshops that focus on craft and those with a “how-to” aspect. We want single session leaders who are experts in their field and savvy in social media. We’re seeking panels that offer real service to our attendees. In particular, we’re looking for diversity in panelists — racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, marital and parental status.
If you’re interested in speaking, please complete this form.
Please note that we are unable to offer monetary compensation for travel or presenting. All participants must be available during the entire two days of the conference, May 18 and May 19, as scheduling will be at the discretion of the conference committee.
Deadline: November 10, 5:00 pm ET
 

Writers: If you are interested in joining ASJA…

Visit the Society’s website:
• About ASJA
• Who is Eligible to Join
• Member Benefits
And, if you do decide to join, please mention that you heard about ASJA from me! I’ll be much obliged.

Track Chair Bios

Carolyn Crist, a freelance journalist with stories that have appeared in AARP, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Magazine, Anesthesiology News,  Reuters, Tales of the Cocktail, U.S. News & World Report and WIRED. She is also an adjunct journalism professor (of convergence journalism, photojournalism and travel writing) at the University of Georgia and co-owner of Pixel & Ink Studio in Athens, Georgia.
Nancy Dunham is a freelance writer whose clients include People magazine, AARP, Automotive News, USA Today, MoneyTalksNews/MSN, Woman’s World, A&E Real Crime blog and other national publications. Dunham was a newspaper reporter, magazine editor and publisher. She is also a founding board member of the Association of Healthcare Journalists and lives in Alexandria, Va.
Dorri Olds is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in book anthologies, newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Woman’s Day and The Forward. Her social media following includes over a million views on YouTube. As a full-time freelancer she divides her time between writing personal essays, pop culture articles, service pieces, movie reviews and interviewing A-List celebrities. She is currently working on a book about misogyny and rape culture.
“ASJA is so fortunate to have these prolific writers agree to work together to make this upcoming conference one of the most relevant conferences available to freelance writers and authors in the industry,” says ASJA President Sherry Beck Paprocki. “As ASJA moves to a new conference venue next spring, the tri-chairs promise to deliver important content for all writers—whether they are just starting out in the profession or they have long-time writing experience. We are looking forward to the months of planning that will create a must-attend conference next spring.”
 
Here is one of my personal ASJA Success Stories:
ASJA is so worth the cost of membership. Every year that I attend the annual conference in New York City, I make back much more money than I spent. Last year, during speed pitches, I met the lovely Woman’s Day editor, Maria Carter. We hit it off immediately. She has published three of my personal essays and is a dream to work with. Thank you, ASJA!

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Saturday, May 6 • Day 2

I will be on two panels this year at the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) annual writers conference. The first is on Friday, May 5 at 2:45. Its topic is “Using Smartphones To Tell Stories.” My second panel will be on Saturday, May 6. It’s titled “Tackling Tough Topics.”

ALSO SEE MY FRIDAY, MAY 5 PANEL: “USING SMART PHONES TO TELL STORIES”

In this workshop, moderated by ASJA member Candy Arrington with panelists Dorri Olds, Rudri Patel and Sharon Van Epps, writers will learn methods to craft tough topics through the power of story. We will be providing practical suggestions for coping and moving forward, and writing with a level of transparency that touches hearts and inspires hope.

Though many writers feel compelled to write about a difficult life circumstance, loss, or grief, it’s important to know how to structure content, what to include and what to omit. In writing tough topics, you have the opportunity to reach those who are hurting, feel alienated and alone, and are searching for ways to heal their pain. No matter what the situation, there are common threads that reach across gender, cultural, and ethical barriers to foster hope and healing.

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“Using Smartphones To Tell Stories”

• Editing
• Uploading to outlets from the field
• What gear to get
• Best editing apps
• Voice over narrations
• Downloading the video to your desktop

ALSO SEE MY SATURDAY, MAY 6 PANEL: “TACKLING TOUGH TOPICS”

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Sat., May 21, 2016 • 2–3:30pm • Writers Panel • New York City
American Society of Journalists & Authors  (ASJA)
45 East 45th Street at Madison Avenue

Transit: 7, F or M7 bus 

The Latest Social Media Tricks: What Works, What’s a Turnoff

Our panel of editors and social media experts will teach you what works and what doesn’t. There’s never enough time in a writer’s life. It can be overwhelming without tips and tricks for efficiency. Don’t waste valuable hours. We’ll cover ways to maximize your efforts with titles, tags, topics, keywords, SEO, naming images and how Google rankings work. Editors will tell you how and what to pitch.
HERE’S HOW TO REGISTER FOR #ASJA2016
Speakers
Sacha Scoblic Zimmerman, senior editor at The Atlantic and author of the memoir UNWASTED: MY LUSH SOBRIETY. Her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Fix, The Guardian, Reader’s Digest, and The New York Times, where she penned essays for the Times blog “PROOF: Alcohol and American Life.”
Marcelle Soviero, editor-in-chief for the award-winning Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers which publishes 20-plus essays per month at competitive rates. She’s the author of AN IRIDESCENT LIFE. She has published essays in The New York Times, Salon and more. Soviero is also a writing coach who teaches how to get published.

Estelle Sobel Erasmus, an award-winning journalist, author, editing/writing coach, and former magazine editor-in-chief of five publications. She’s worked as top editor at American Woman and beauty editor at Woman’s World magazine. Her work appears in Salon, Newsweek, Redbook, Washington Post and Marie Claire and she’s a 3-time BlogHer Voice of the Year.

Russell D. Bernstein is an author who expertly utilizes social media to expand his fan base and maintain a successful website at www.bullytalks.com. His mastery of social media has increased his sales tremendously and rocketed his books to bestseller status. His social media tips will include the powers of multi-tasking and pursuing your dreams.

And me: Dorri Olds, a freelance writer, webmaster, and social media expert, who has been published in The New York Times, The Fix, The Forward, Book Anthologies and more. Check out my social media stats!
• YouTube 736K views
• Twitter 35K
• Facebook 5K
… and interviewed on Dr. Drew, NY1, and 7 On Your Side

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