DEADLINE 30 June - Creative Writing Summer Course "Genre and Subversion: fiction, poetry, drama, film, creative non-fiction", 18 - 22 July 2011, Czech Republic

Creative Writing Summer Course
"Genre and Subversion: fiction, poetry, drama, film, creative non-fiction"
18 - 22 July 2011
Czech Republic

Genre and Subversion: fiction, poetry, drama, film, creative non-fiction

What does it mean to read a mystery or watch a western or even write an epic poem? Certainly we can list the attributes of such forms, but we cannot say definitively what constitutes a mystery or western or even an epic, as genre is always evolving; each new text in the genre potentially adds to the list of attributes by which we recognize the form. To write well, we must read and observe what has come before to internalize form, style, and structure. Genre is a set of conventions by which we learn to recognize, categorize, and eventually market the fruits of our own writing. But it is only when we learn to, if ever so slightly, subvert these conventions that we can make an original contribution. How many times have you heard someone criticize a movie or book because it was too much like another film or novel, perhaps even a work by the same author or director? 'His last book wasn't any different than his first book', or 'This movie isn't breaking any new ground. It's the same thing all over again'. The concept of genre is not unlike that of fashion. We must dress our story in the black cloak of a horror movie or the seductive lingerie of romance, but these garments must be made of daring new cuts of cloth.

This class will examine genre conventions in numerous works of literature, film, creative nonfiction, and journalism. We will read from contemporary creative writing textbooks such as Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft by Janet Burroway and The Fiction Writers Workshop by Josip Novakovic as well as examining selections of classic modern literature such as Kafka, Hašek, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Kerouac, to contemporary writers like New Yorker essayist Malcolm Gladwell, novelists J.K. Rowling, and auteur filmmakers like Miloš Forman and Quentin Tarantino. Each member of the class will be encouraged to submit original work to the instructor for a consultation on style and content as well as a discussion on the student's publication goals. Novel chapters, stories, poems, autobiographical essays, creative non-fiction, book reviews, and writing of all genres will be welcome. The class will also be invited to attend the Prague Summer Writers Program reading series which will take place at 7.30 on Tuesday and Thursday.

Brad Vice is the author of the short-story collection The Bear Bryant Funeral Train (River City Publishing 2007). His short fiction has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly and The Southern Review as well as numerous anthologies including New Stories from the South and Best American Voices. His literary non-fiction and book reviews have been featured in numerous editions of The Novel and Short Story Writers' Market, The Guide to Literary Agents, The San Francisco Chronicle, and American Book Review. Work is forthcoming in a new Czech-English anthology soon- to- be published Prchavé Domovy . . ./Fleeting Homes . . ..

Target Group: Literary Academy welcomes applicants from a wide range of educational backgrounds.

Course fee: 3000.-CZK (tuition only)

The booking form should be received no later than 30 June 2011 (although later bookings will be taken if spaces are available).

For further information, visit Summer Course's website here