Calendar

Ages: 12-18
Writers will be divided into two sections:  middle and high school.

What do pterodactyls, jerky, stars (and other things like table tennis, pickles, and argyle socks) have in common? Someone somewhere out there loves them. What do you love? It's often easier to describe what we love than what love actually is. This monthly workshop and critique circle will explore the way we celebrate the things we love through metaphor, lyrical essays, and literary and artistic expressions of our emblems of love.  And, we'll develop ways to describe other slippery, seemingly indescribable things.

Lead By:

Natalie Champ has always been a fan of mistaken identities, nefarious deeds and petticoats, so it should come as no surprise that she got her Master's Degree studying Victorian Literature or that she wrote a torrid (and rather horrid) romance novel during her final semester of college.  Firmly of the belief that the best writers are readers first, Natalie can usually be found on weekends reading in a cafe, drinking green tea and people watching -- for research's sake, naturally.  To Natalie, love resembles the soaring feeling she gets during Pearl Jam concerts when all 20,000 people in the crowd sing with a single voice.  That, and chocolate.

Do you believe in the secret lives of toys?  Do you ever wonder what they are up to when you are off at school?  So do we!  In this workshop students will bring 2 or 3 of the most important toys in their lives to  826 Seattle and use them as inspiration for stories in which toys come to lifeas the main characters.  Over the two sessions, students will write stories and then photograph their toys in ways that illustrate their own personal toy stories.

Led By: 

Kathleen Goldfarb is a Seattle Public Schools middle school writing teacher, a mother to four nearly grown children and a former 826 Seattle staff member.  She spent a lot of her childhood making up stories about her toys with her sister Margaret.

Session Dates:

Session 1: March 3 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 
Session 2: March 10 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 3: March 17 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Do you believe in the secret lives of toys?  Do you ever wonder what they are up to when you are off at school?  So do we!  In this workshop students will bring 2 or 3 of the most important toys in their lives to  826 Seattle and use them as inspiration for stories in which toys come to lifeas the main characters.  Over the two sessions, students will write stories and then photograph their toys in ways that illustrate their own personal toy stories.

Led By: 

Kathleen Goldfarb is a Seattle Public Schools middle school writing teacher, a mother to four nearly grown children and a former 826 Seattle staff member.  She spent a lot of her childhood making up stories about her toys with her sister Margaret.

Session Dates:

Session 1: March 3 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 
Session 2: March 10 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 3: March 17 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Ever wanted to travel into space but you were unsure if your spaceship was up to the task?  Well, we're here to help you make sure your interplanetary vehicle is fit for the trip.  In this workshop, each participant will bring a picture of something from home.  It can be anything from the family dog to a pile of dirty laundry.  Then, together, we will figure out how to transform that everyday object into a spaceship, complete with all the necessary trappings.  Finally, we'll write a space faring story in which the new spacecraft makes an interstellar trip.

Led By: 

JP Kemmick has been volunteering at 826 Seattle for nearly three years.  In his spare time, he writes, bikes, gardens, eats ice cream and transforms the bushes outside his window into a diabolical force out to take over the world.

Khristina Kravas is a recent transplant from Los Angeles where she worked in film development and production.  Rain is not her favorite flavor, but thanks to water resistant boots and the friendly faces at 826 Seattle, she seems to be getting the hang of Seattle anyway.  In her free time, Khristina is learning to speak Greek (very slowly), and often enjoys running around Green Lake (also, as it happens, very slowly).

Session Dates: 

Session 1: March 17 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Session 2: March 24 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Do you believe in the secret lives of toys?  Do you ever wonder what they are up to when you are off at school?  So do we!  In this workshop students will bring 2 or 3 of the most important toys in their lives to  826 Seattle and use them as inspiration for stories in which toys come to lifeas the main characters.  Over the two sessions, students will write stories and then photograph their toys in ways that illustrate their own personal toy stories.

Led By: 

Kathleen Goldfarb is a Seattle Public Schools middle school writing teacher, a mother to four nearly grown children and a former 826 Seattle staff member.  She spent a lot of her childhood making up stories about her toys with her sister Margaret.

Session Dates:

Session 1: March 3 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 
Session 2: March 10 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 3: March 17 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Ever wanted to travel into space but you were unsure if your spaceship was up to the task?  Well, we're here to help you make sure your interplanetary vehicle is fit for the trip.  In this workshop, each participant will bring a picture of something from home.  It can be anything from the family dog to a pile of dirty laundry.  Then, together, we will figure out how to transform that everyday object into a spaceship, complete with all the necessary trappings.  Finally, we'll write a space faring story in which the new spacecraft makes an interstellar trip.

Led By: 

JP Kemmick has been volunteering at 826 Seattle for nearly three years.  In his spare time, he writes, bikes, gardens, eats ice cream and transforms the bushes outside his window into a diabolical force out to take over the world.

Khristina Kravas is a recent transplant from Los Angeles where she worked in film development and production.  Rain is not her favorite flavor, but thanks to water resistant boots and the friendly faces at 826 Seattle, she seems to be getting the hang of Seattle anyway.  In her free time, Khristina is learning to speak Greek (very slowly), and often enjoys running around Green Lake (also, as it happens, very slowly).

Session Dates: 

Session 1: March 17 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Session 2: March 24 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Do you know how others think?  Can you influence them to see your point-of-view? This 3-part workshop takes on the challenges of effective persuasion. Hone your essay-writing skills for college by taking on issues that affect your own life and community.  One part opinion + one part anticipation + two parts collaboration = you becoming a master of persuasion.

Led By: 

Julie Mumford is a writing coach who helps teams lawyers tell the most effective story at trial.  She has a Master’s degree from Harvard where she studied Mind, Brain, and Education.  She believes everyone should believe in something.  

Alex Bleecker is a Programming Coordinator for 826 Seattle and former New York City public school teacher.  He's constantly making his mind up - then changing it - with or without help from others.

Session Dates: 

Session 1: March 24 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 2: March 31 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 3: April 7 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

On this travel adventure, you, the intrepid writer, will choose your destination, research the particulars, and then endeavor to create a travelogue that, through its utter brilliance and beauty, convey to the reader all the clues required to guess just exactly where it is you have traveled to (in your own mind, of course). All without mentioning the name of said location! During this two day workshop (on consecutive Saturdays) we will supply travel photographs, maps, and information, and you will create the journey, ending up with a creative montage of writing, artwork, and supreme cleverness.

Led By: 

Jennie Shortridge is a long-time 826 Seattle volunteer and workshop teacher, as well as a bestselling author and founder of the writers community Seattle7Writers.org. She loves writing with other writers of all ages.

Session Dates: 

Session 1: March 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Session 2: April 7 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Do you know how others think?  Can you influence them to see your point-of-view? This 3-part workshop takes on the challenges of effective persuasion. Hone your essay-writing skills for college by taking on issues that affect your own life and community.  One part opinion + one part anticipation + two parts collaboration = you becoming a master of persuasion.

Led By: 

Julie Mumford is a writing coach who helps teams lawyers tell the most effective story at trial.  She has a Master’s degree from Harvard where she studied Mind, Brain, and Education.  She believes everyone should believe in something.  

Alex Bleecker is a Programming Coordinator for 826 Seattle and former New York City public school teacher.  He's constantly making his mind up - then changing it - with or without help from others.

Session Dates: 

Session 1: March 24 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 2: March 31 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Session 3: April 7 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.