Writing Workshops

Crossing the Lines: Mixed Genre Workshop with Dawn Raffel (Sold Out)

$395

6 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Wednesdays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT April 21 to May 26, 2021

Online via Zoom

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This workshop has reached its capacity. To join the waitlist, please email Thierry Kehou at thierry@centerforfiction.org.

This workshop is for anyone writing literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, or hybrid work, and for those who genre-hop. We’ll explore writing strategies that apply across the board, from tapping into the roots of creativity, to sentence-making and structure, to sustainable writing practices. We’ll also explore the way genres intersect, inform, and energize one another. The workshop will include interactive exercises and a group critique of one manuscript of up to 4000 words from each participant, along with written commentary from the instructor. Nontraditional narratives welcome!

Levels: Introductory, Intermediate
Capacity: 12

This workshop will take place online via Zoom. Participants will receive instructions for access prior to the first session.

Led by

Dawn Raffel

Dawn Raffel

Dawn Raffel is the author of five books, most recently The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies. Previous books include a novel, a memoir, and two critically acclaimed short story collections. Her work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, BOMB, NOON, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other publications, and has been widely anthologized. A longtime magazine editor, she helped launch O, The Oprah Magazine, where she served as executive articles editor. She has taught creative writing in the MFA program at Columbia University; Summer Literary Seminars in Russia, Canada, Lithuania, and Georgia (the country); and at The Center for Fiction. She has also served repeatedly as an emerging writer mentor at The Center for Fiction and at AWP, and works as an independent book editor. She brings a holistic approach to her teaching, drawing on her experiences both as a writer and editor across genres.

By Dawn Raffel

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The Strange Case of Dr. Couney

By Dawn Raffel

Published by Blue Rider Press

PURCHASE

What kind of doctor puts his patients on display? This is the spellbinding tale of a mysterious Coney Island doctor who revolutionized neonatal care more than one hundred years ago and saved some seven thousand babies. Dr. Martin Couney’s story is a kaleidoscopic ride through the intersection of ebullient entrepreneurship, enlightened pediatric care, and the wild culture of world’s fairs at the beginning of the American Century.

As Dawn Raffel recounts, Dr. Couney used incubators and careful nursing to keep previously doomed infants alive, while displaying these babies alongside sword swallowers, bearded ladies, and burlesque shows at Coney Island, Atlantic City, and venues across the nation. How this turn-of-the-twentieth-century émigré became the savior to families with premature infants—known then as “weaklings”—as he ignored the scorn of the medical establishment and fought the rising popularity of eugenics is one of the most astounding stories of modern medicine. Dr. Couney, for all his entrepreneurial gusto, is a surprisingly appealing character, someone who genuinely cared for the well-being of his tiny patients. But he had something to hide . . .

Drawing on historical documents, original reportage, and interviews with surviving patients, Dawn Raffel tells the marvelously eccentric story of Couney’s mysterious carnival career, his larger-than-life personality, and his unprecedented success as the savior of the fragile wonders that are tiny, tiny babies.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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