Something for Everyone: Charlotte Lit’s 2018-19 Class Catalog

You can’t please everyone…or can you?

Charlotte Lit’s 2018-19 Class Catalog has arrived, and we think it has something for everyone. More than 50 classes covering different genres, formats, lengths, teachers, and topics…it’s a cornucopia. Here’s a quick guide to navigating your choices.

Craft Classes focus on writing skills.

Are you writing? Chances are good we have something for you. On the calendar: poetry, fiction (short story, flash, novel, mysteries, and romance), nonfiction (personal essay, memoir, travel writing), playwriting, and more.

Have favorite teachers—or want to find some new favorites? We have 40 of them! We bet you’ll know some of these names: In poetry, we have Abbott, Creech, Funderburk, Honeycutt, and Pinckney. In memoir and other nonfiction: Curtis, Goldman, Gopo, Griffin,  Helmer, Rogers, and Syverson.

In fiction, how about Chancellor, Martinac, (another) Creech, and Radavich? In genre fiction classes, Peterson (romance) and Pickens (mysteries). And finally, many of us write in more than one genre, so we have classes that span them, with Schwille, Sherman, West and Pollard-Smith, and more.

Workshopping sessions use MFA-style feedback to help you improve your work.

Tony Abbott returns with his hybrid class—this year, on Mary Oliver!—teaching her work and workshopping yours. Dannye Romine Powell also returns, to lead a dedicated poetry workshopping group. And, fiction writers get both lessons and high-level feedback in Paula Martinac’s Short Story 101.

Business of Writing classes are about the work of being a writer.

Here we run the gamut from the tools you write with (Scrivener, blogging platforms, and more) and who you write for (ghostwriting and freelancing) to how it gets published and sold (self-publishing, marketing, and finding an agent).

Explorations in Creativity and Culture are experiences with the world of words.

We did say “something for everyone,” so you don’t have to be a writer to enjoy our many lit-based explorations.

Just some of the many options: Kathie Collins’ Art & Archetype series (four parts, à la carte); Sam Shapiro on film and David Poston on Frankenstein; Cathy Hasty on wellness, and Brenda Sorkin and Kathryn Schwille on movement; Catherine Anderson and Karon Luddy each offering their own perspective on journaling; and mythologist Dennis Patrick Slattery—in Charlotte Lit’s first two-day retreat—on reconnecting with our creative selves. Also in this category: free events, including a Creativity Salon with Kim Wright, and Creating a Better Year (kicking off 2019) with Cathy Pickens.

We know you’ll find something—and maybe many things—to enjoy at Charlotte Lit this year. Drop by our home page to get started…and tell your friends! We need you to help “spread the words.”