New Section Added for “Literature of Parenthood” online class
Literary Mama’s creative nonfiction editor Susan Ito will be offering a new section in her online writing workshop “The Literature of Parenthood.” It starts next week so if you are interested, act quickly!
Answers to FAQ about this workshop below.
Who is the instructor?
Susan Ito is one of the creative nonfiction editors at Literary Mama. She also writes a column there, called “Life in the Sandwich.” She coedited A Ghost At Heart’s Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption (North Atlantic Books). Her work has appeared in The Essential Hip Mama: Writing from the Cutting Edge of Parenting, Growing Up Asian American, Making More Waves and many other journals and anthologies. She is the mother of two teenaged daughters.
What’s her teaching experience? She has taught writing at several local community colleges, through UC Berkeley Extension and privately – since 1994. She loves teaching writing – seeing new writers emerge into their voices, reading new stories and being newly inspired herself. She began teaching online in 2007 and is happy to say that online classes have the same rich sense of community and camaraderie as “face-to-face” classes.
How does an online class “work?”
The workshop’s home base is a private Yahoo! Group that is open only to the members of our workshop. It utilizes the various features (file folders, message boards, photo albums, calendar) for all the various aspects of the class.
Each week features a different topic. Susan will upload a weekly “lecture,” with links to readings and writing exercises. Workshop members will do the reading and writing assignments, and will discuss them via the message board (which can be accessed either on the website, or via emails). Each student will have two opportunities to present their work for “workshop,” or whole-class discussion. They will upload their work, and receive written feedback from the instructor and other participants. There will also be a message board “discussion” of each workshop piece.
How much does the class cost?
The class fee is $375 for ten weeks. Susan is also offering a “Two Friend” discount – if two friends register together, it is $600 total. There is also a $25-off coupon for Literary Mama readers!
What is the time commitment?
It will be pretty similar to an “in-person” class that meets once a week for about 3 hours. It will involve the reading and writing assignments, which includes short homework writing, and responding to your classmates’ workshop pieces (you do NOT need to respond to their short homework assignments). There is also the time spent working on your own writing, which can vary. Obviously, the more you put in… the more you will feel you are benefiting.
Will we have any “real-time” chat sessions?
It can be very challenging to find a mutual time that works for everyone! So the short answer is no. But Susan will also hold individual “office hours” via iChat, Facebook or Skype for anybody who would like to have a one-on-one real time conversation. (optional)
How do I sign up?
Contact Susan here!