As
some of you know, The Frau co-founded the Zurich Writers Workshop in 2010, back
when she longed for an English-language writing community in Zurich.
Founding
the workshop taught her that sometimes as a foreigner, if there’s not something
you want in your country of residence, you have to create it yourself. Then you
don’t feel so foreign.
In
any case, since the founding of the Zurich Writers Workshop, many other
English-language writing opportunities have emerged in Zurich thanks to groups
like The Woolf and Writers on Board. In fact, there are more options for
English-language writers in Zurich than ever before.
Which brings us to the
sixth annual Zurich Writers Workshop, which will take place October 23-25, 2015. The
Frau has the honor of teaching one of the courses and she would love to see you there.
In addition to two intensive
workshops, the weekend also includes a Sunday afternoon author reading and
panel discussion, which is open to the public (although prior registration is
necessary).
Here are five reasons you should
attend, brought to you by the very biased opinion of The Frau:
1. You’ll
learn how to improve your fiction writing. Emylia Hall is ZWW’s fiction author in residence this year. The
author of three novels, including one set in Lausanne, she'll be teaching a
workshop on the craft of fiction with a
focus on sense of place. Students will also have the opportunity to have their
worked critiqued.
2. You’ll
learn that it only takes 800 words to launch a writing career. The Frau is teaching a workshop called Miniature Memoir: Writing and
Publishing Personal Essays. Writing a
personal essay is one of the best ways to break into freelancing. During The
Frau’s workshop, she will take you from essay idea to international writing
career, one miniature memoir at a time.
3. You’ll be
able to ask questions. The author
reading and Q&A session on Sunday afternoon, October 25, is open to the
public for a fee (with prior registration). The Frau will be reading from her book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I
Wish I’d Known as well as from her work-in-progress:
American Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known
and Emylia Hall will be reading from her new novel, The
Sea Between Us. And then you’ll have the
opportunity to ask everything you’ve ever wanted to know about writing, not
writing, life in Switzerland, and life after Switzerland.
4. You’ll meet
other writers. Form critique groups, find a
friend, or just get inspired. The workshop welcomes 30 writers from Switzerland
and abroad who are as passionate about writing.
5. You’ll love
October in Zurich. October is
a stunning time to visit Zurich—if you’re not already there, that is. The
leaves peak about the week of the workshop and there are no tourists but still
plenty of sunshine.
