Syllable will be the Final Event at the 3rd Annual Writers’ Weekend at the Twain House!

Holy cow! The 3rd Annual Writers’ Weekend at the Twain House has chosen Syllable Series as its closing event for their weekend of awesomeness. On Sunday, April 27th, come by the Twain House at 2:00 pm and read your work!

All the conference details are below!

3^rd Annual Writers’ Weekend at the Mark Twain House: Reserve a spot for the whole weekend, one day, or simply your favorite sessions

 

Fiction! Memoir! Poetry! Playwrighting! Criticism! Publishing and publicity guidance! This annual event has something for writers of every level.

 

Peruse the schedule and reserve your spots now—registration is limited.

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 25^TH, 6:00 PM: MEG WOLITZER & OPENING RECEPTION

Come see our keynote speaker Meg Wolitzer, bestselling author of “The Interestings,” &  get your book signed— for only $25. Register here.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26^TH, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM: ALL-SATURDAY PASS

Includes lunch, all workshops and lectures, book signings, and admission to our three big events this day: the Critics’ Panel, the Playwrighting Panel, and Literary Death Match.

Sessions on Saturday range from “Conflict in Fiction and Memoir” to “Pitching for Publicity” to “What’s Funny,” a session led by National Book Award Winner John Casey, plus sessions on Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and publishing. $75. Register here.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26^TH, 12:00 PM: CRITICS’ PANEL

See three of America’s best working literary critics—John Freeman, David Bromwich, and Carole Goldberg—in conversation with Je Banach of the Yale Writers’ Conference. They’ll discuss the history of criticism, critics they love, what makes a fair review, and much more. $25. Register here.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26^TH, 4:00 PM: PLAYWRIGHTS’ PANEL

A stunning lineup of playwrights in conversation with Frank Rizzo of the Hartford Courant. This year we bring you Douglas Carter Beane (“The Little Dog Lauged”), Edwin Sanchez (“Unmerciful Good Fortune”), and Matthew Lopez (Hartford Stage’s current production, “Somewhere”). $25. Register here.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26^TH: 6:30 PM: LITERARY DEATH MATCH

Watch famous writers get judged by other famous writers in a contest of literary skill, wit, and nerd-ery! Contestant read their most exciting work before moving on to a final round of something vaguely literary (past events include “Pin the Moustache on Hemingway”). $25. Register here.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27^TH: 10 AM – 3 PM:  ALL-SUNDAY PASS

A book fair of local authors, here to meet & greet you and tell you their publishing secrets; small sessions on social media for writers, writing biography, collaborative writing, mystery writing, what authors need to know about the law, poetry, memoir, and more! The day ends with an open reading opportunity for all workshop participants through “Syllable Series.” $75. Register here.

SINGLE WORKSHOP SESSIONS

Stop by any single session for just $15. These tickets are only available if our all-weekend and all-day passes aren’t sold out, so just walk up to the Twain ticket desk on those days and purchase at the door! For the full schedule, check here.

ALL-WEEKEND PASS: Doesn’t it all sound great? Attend every single session of the writers weekend, plus the opening reception and two lunches, for only $160. Register here.

 

For any and all questions, email Director of Writing Julia Pistell or call (860) 280-3130 (tickets can also be purchased over the phone).

Advertisement

February Syllable Series: HIDDEN (in a hidden location!)

Hidden: secrets, fears, history. Or, this reading series, hidden in the back of Hartford’s favorite letterpress shop, Hartford Prints! We’ll be in the back room– did you even know there was one?

Writers: we need your pieces inspired by the word “hidden,” whatever that means to you. Go bananas. Poetry, prose, sketches, skits, short plays, songs– every genre is fair game as long as you do your literary best.

Submissions are due on Wednesday, February 19. Get writing!

Listeners: just come, listen, laugh at the funny parts.

Syllable takes literary submissions of all kinds. No reading will last longer than 10 minutes (about 4 prose pages), so your submission must stand alone in that time frame. Shorter submissions are very welcome. Submission guidelines: https://syllableseries.wordpress.com/submit/.

Songs, diaries, plays, and creative interpretations of literature are welcome!

This event is BYOB and has a suggested donation of $5.

The mission of Syllable: A Reading Series is to provide a space for Connecticut writers of all levels to showcase their work, and to expose the public to a variety of writing styles. Syllable aims to be another brick in the strong arts community in the Greater Hartford area. This event is possible in part by a grant from the City of Hartford.

We’re Back and We’re Banned!

We’re back JUST in time for Banned Book Week– come and join us September 25th, 2013, at 7 pm at the Mark Twain House. Have you ever been banned? Has anything been banned from you? This Banned Books Week, join CT Center for the Book, Syllable, The Reading Series, and the Mark Twain House & Museum as we dive deeper into the meaning of the word “Banned.” This is an evening of writers reading original pieces. Writers: We need your pieces about BANNED, embrace and interpret the theme in any way you imagine it… Listeners: Just come, listen, laugh at the funny parts. Accepting literary submissions of all kinds. No reading will last longer than 10 minutes (about 4 pages of prose). Songs, diaries, plays and creative interpretations of literature are welcome. A sprinkling of banned books will be read aloud as well. Submissions due to Julia Pistell syllableseries@gmail.com by Monday, September 23rd. Get writing!

Change!

Change: our most open-ended theme ever. Have you changed your life? Changed a diaper? Scrounged for loose change? We want to hear it all

Writers: we need your pieces about CHANGE, whatever that means to you. Go bananas. Poetry, prose, sketches, skits, short plays, songs– every genre is fair game as long as you do your literary best.

Submissions are due on MONDAY, APRIL 15TH. Get writing!
Listeners: just come, listen, laugh at the funny parts.

Syllable takes literary submissions of all kinds. No reading will last longer than 10 minutes (about 4 prose pages), so your submission must stand alone in that time frame. Shorter submissions are very welcome. Submission guidelines: www.syllableseries.com.

Songs, diaries, plays, and creative interpretations of literature are welcome!

The mission of Syllable: A Reading Series is to provide a space for Connecticut writers of all levels to showcase their work, and to expose the public to a variety of writing styles. Syllable aims to be another brick in the strong arts community in the Greater Hartford area. This event is possible in part by a grant from the City of Hartford.

Books for Children on Bookish Children

Lately I’ve been obsessive over the clothes from Out of Print. I want every single t-shirt they have.

But today I stumbled into the kids’ section and realized they have even cooler t-shirts for the little ones in our lives! Go check it out for sure.

And get us your submissions for next Wednesday’s reading– theme is Children (either yours, or the one you used to be!).

See you next Wednesday,

Syllable

Children, Change, Crime, Cool and the Center for the Book

Hello everyone!

Here are our next few themes:

 

3/27: Children

4/17: Change

BONUS!  4/23: The Book that Changed You (with the Center for the Book)

5/22: Crime

6/?: Cool

 

As always, mark your calendars and start writing! Submissions are always due on the Saturday before the series.

 

Now, what is this Center for the Book, you ask? It’s a wonderful organization that every state has, and until very recently was owned by the (fabulous) Hartford Public Library. Recently it came into the capable hands of the Connecticut Humanities Council, and they’ve asked us to co-sponsor World Book Night. Here’s what they have to say about it:

World Book Night, an international program reaching out to light or non-readers, will take place on April 23, 2013. Members of the public apply to personally hand out 20 copies of a book, chosen from a list of 30 titles pre-selected by a national panel of librarians and booksellers.  We’re joining up with other book lovers to hand out books in Hartford that night.

Join us afterwards for a party to celebrate World Book Night and hear participants share excerpts from their book or a story about their experience handing out books. You don’t have to be a World Book Night giver to attend. You just have to LOVE books! 

The after party is co-sponsored by Syllable: A Reading Series, a Hartford-based organization that provides a space for Connecticut writers of all levels to showcase their work, and to expose the public to a variety of writing styles.

Now, here’s something fun– we’ll be taking special submissions in conjunction with change. I want to hear about the book that changed you. The Humanities Council and Syllable will select a few readings for you to present at the party. So get writing those, too!

Any questions, just email us at syllableseries@gmail.com or comment here.

Thanks! Now get back to your book!

— Syllable

Wed. Feb 20th: Love!

Let’s do it… let’s fall in love (or lust!).

An evening of writers reading original pieces– one of Hartford’s best little secrets.

Next up: Love on Wednesday, Feb 20th. 7 pm La Paloma Sabanera, $5 suggested donation.

A reprise of our most popular topic ever, we need your pieces about LOVE– romantic, familial, friendship, whatever. Stray as far from the subject as you see fit. Last year we had someone read her old diaries, and another person read a tremendous essay about her love for the nurse who brought her through cancer.

Writers: we need your pieces about love, whatever that means to you. Go bananas. Poetry, prose, sketches, skits, songs– every genre is fair game as long as you do your literary best.

Listeners: just come, listen, laugh at the funny parts.

Syllable takes literary submissions of all kinds. No reading will last longer than 10 minutes (about 4 prose pages), so your submission must stand alone in that time frame. Shorter submissions are very welcome. Submission guidelines:www.syllableseries.com.

Songs, diaries, plays, and creative interpretations of literature are welcome!

The mission of Syllable: A Reading Series is to provide a space for Connecticut writers of all levels to showcase their work, and to expose the public to a variety of writing styles. Syllable aims to be another brick in the strong arts community in the Greater Hartford area. This event is possible in part by a grant from the City of Hartford.

Beasts Redux: Wednesday, January 30th

We had to cancel our last “Beasts” reading in the throes of holiday madness, but we’ve happily rescheduled that reading to Wednesday, January 30th.

Syllable Series

presents

BEASTS!

Lions, tigers, and bears– oh my! Creatures great, small, imaginary, and symbolic are all fair game at this week’s Syllable Series. Our theme is Beasts: write about your quirky goldfish, the beast within you when you don’t get enough coffee, or man’s animal nature. Every genre, style, and subject is fair game.

We are still in need of more submissions, so don’t be shy: send them to syllableseries@gmail.com and we’ll put you in the lineup.

Want to just listen? That’s great, too. Come by to Syllable Series at La Paloma Sabanera (405 Capital Avenue in Hartford, CT), at 7 pm.  $5 suggested donation.

See you Wednesday, January 30th!

Get Writing for “Beasts”

Our next installment of Syllable is just a week away– are you writing about your cats big and small for our “Beasts” night? Or perhaps your favorite X-Men character?

 

Be sure to get your submissions in by Saturday, December 15th so that we can put together the best possible night for you. Submit directly to syllableseries@gmail.com.

See you Wednesday the 19th!

What’s your favorite beast?

Whenever I think of the word “Beast,” the image of the Harpy from “The Last Unicorn” pops into my head.

Probably because it’s the scariest creature I saw on film when I was a child (well, her and the two rats from “Lady and the Tramp.”)

 

How about you? What pops to mind when you hear “beast”? And is that what you’re writing about for our reading  series on Wednesday, December 19th at La Paloma Sabanera?

Or, are you just coming to listen, and add all sorts of creatures to your list for dreams, nightmares, and inspirations?

 

— Syllable