Lovers of the short form take note! As a proud sponsor of the Salem Literary Festival, Quick Fiction is hosting a series of events called The Flash Track, including writing workshops, a killer reading, and even monologue performances! Visit salemlitfest.com to learn more about all of the programming and register for these and other great events.
Saturday, September 18
9:30 – 11:30 am
Ghost Stories: Conjuring Phantom Narrative in Short-Short Fiction
Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970
Instructor: Kenneth Calhoun
$25
It’s more than a vignette, less than a tale. It has all the anatomical parts of a full story, but hardly any of it in writing. Rather, the short-short story has phantom elements that haunt the page, then the reader, extending the world of the story beyond the actual text in every direction. If properly drawn into being, each story is alive with ghosts. This workshop will explore the phantom narrative aspect of micro-fiction, as well as strategies to author its presence without putting it on the page. Fee includes a copy of Quick Fiction.
12:00 – 2:00 pm
The Prose Poem: An Introduction
Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970
Instructor: Jefferson Navicky
$25
The prose poem is capable of incredible poetic feats, able to make leaps of logic in ways few forms can, and yet it is grounded in the world of syntax and the methodical art of crafting sentences. This combination makes the prose poem a slippery form. The workshop will not attempt to grasp its slippery soul, nor attempt to make it any less slippery; instead we will embrace its grease and attempt to use it to our advantage. We will read a variety of prose poems while dedicating the majority of the class to the process of generating new work through a series of varied writing prompts. Fee includes a copy of Quick Fiction.
3:00 – 4:00 pm
Salem Theatre Company Presents Quick Fiction
Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA
Tickets: $10
Salem Theatre Company will be performing the stories of magazine Quick Fiction as dramatic monologues! No pre-registration required; tickets will also be available at the door. Ticket price includes a copy of the magazine.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Quick Fiction’s Utter Amazement
Gulu-Gulu Cafe, 247 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970
FREE
Meet us at Gulu Gulu for a phenomenal line-up of readers whose work has appeared in the literary journal Quick Fiction, including Steve Almond, Brian Evenson, Kim Chinquee, Myfanwy Collins, Michael Thurston, and William Walsh. We don’t even know what to expect, other than a whole lot of utter amazement.
Sunday, September 19
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Flash Fiction Crank
Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970
Instructor: Chip Cheek
$25
Throw off the shackles of habit and explore new terrain without committing to a full-length story or novel. In this three-hour seminar, we’ll crank out as many new stories as we can, using writing prompts designed to unleash your imaginative brilliance. At the end of the class, you’ll walk away with an assortment of diamonds in the rough. We’ll also discuss a handful of published stories and places where you can submit your work. Be ready to write until it hurts! Fee includes a copy of Quick Fiction.
3:00 – 4:00 pm
Salem Theatre Company Presents Quick Fiction
Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA
Tickets: $10
Salem Theatre Company will be performing the stories of magazine Quick Fiction as dramatic monologues! No pre-registration required; tickets will also be available at the door. Ticket price includes a copy of the magazine.
