Splendid thunderstorm…

Splendid thunderstorm this morning -- brief, but exciting. I have hopes for more.

In the meantime, been working on Kriti and my students, alternately. Need to go back to the students now, but in the meantime, if you could look over this and suggest additional program topics, that'd be great:


KRITI PANEL TOPICS

    WRITING CRAFT/BUSINESS:

  • How Do I Become a Writer?
    Panelists offer their own experiences and discuss the path they took to calling themselves writers.

  • Writing and Language
    What languages do you choose to write in? Do you consider diction, dialect, formality? Do you worry about what your audience will be able to understand? (cross-list as Poetry)

  • The Business of Writing: Children's Literature
    Writers and editors review the paths to writing children's lit., suggesting markets and ways to improve your writing. (cross-list as Kids' Lit.)

  • The Business of Writing: Short Stories
    Writers and editors review the paths to writing short fiction, suggesting markets and ways to improve your writing.

  • The Business of Writing: Novels
    Writers, editors and agents review the paths to writing novels, discussing the process of writing your novel, the process of finding an agent and submitting your novel, and what happens after.

  • Who Are You Writing For?
    "South Asians aren't your target audience." If nine out of ten people reading your novel will be white, do you care? Editors and agents review marketing and demographic concerns when publishing South Asian and diaspora literature.

    CHILDREN'S LIT:

  • Writing Culturally-Specific Stories
    When you write about a culture, do you feel a responsibility to accurately represent the community? What are your concerns? What do you do to help you in that process?

  • Recommended Children's Literature
    Writers and editors discuss what writers they love to read, and what makes a story stand out as exceptional children's literature.

  • Picture Books
    What are the specific challenges to writing a picture book? How do you effectively convey a story in thirty sentences or less?

  • Writing Children's Lit.
    Why do you choose to write children's literature? What was your path towards writing in this field? Do you feel that you're marginalized as a writer as a result, that your work is seen as less serious, less important?

  • The Business of Writing: Children's Literature
    Writers and editors review the paths to writing children's lit., suggesting markets and ways to improve your writing. (cross-list as Craft/Business)

    GENERAL LITERARY:

  • Writing and The Family
    Panelists discuss the reactions of their families to their writing. Writing as a career choice. Writing controversial material. Writing about one's family. The South Asian family.

  • Who Is Your Community?
    What voice are you trying to portray? Who is your desired audience? Who do you feel your community of writers is, if you have one? Do you worry about questions of identity and authenticity? Do you write about white people? Do you write about black people? What generation are you writing for?

  • Gender and South Asian Writing
    Why aren't there more men writing fiction? Are men's concerns different from women's? Do South Asian men write about different sorts of topics (large-scale political and historical stories) than South Asian women (arranged marriage, family and individual duty, personal freedom, cooking?) Do men and women write differently? Do you prefer to read fiction by men or women, and if so, why?

  • Contemporary Diaspora Literature
    Discussion of the state of the field, current themes, exciting new voices, established old ones.

  • Beyond the Arranged Marriage Novel
    Can we move beyond these [tired?] themes? Should we? Where would we go?

    LITERATURE, POLITICS and HISTORY:

  • Writing Historical Fiction
    What are the pitfalls of writing historical fiction? What happens when a writer gets it wrong? What responsibilities does a writer have or not have, when they fictionalize historical events?

  • Politics and Fiction
    Writers discuss their goals in writing political fiction. [Is any fiction not political?] Are they attempting to create change in the world? What changes would they like to see? What have been the visible effects of their work, if any? Should writers be political on a large-scale? What are the inherent dangers of that work?

  • Politics and Writing: A Discussion
    A facilitated discussion of the ways in which writers can engage political issues in their work, and the ways in which readers can respond to those issues.

    POETRY:

  • Is Poetry Accessible Today?
    Poets discuss the different modes of poetry, and their audiences. Spoken word vs. poetry on the page -- is the former less academic, less intellectual? More exciting because of the performative aspect? Is it all the same? Why do we turn to poetry?

  • Poetry and Women
    Why are so many S. Asian women performance poets? Is there a reason they turn to that format? Why aren't men working within it as well?

  • Writing and Language
    What languages do you choose to write in? Do you consider diction, dialect, formality? Do you worry about what your audience will be able to understand? (cross-list as Craft/Business)

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