The Southampton Writer's Conference Gears Up for a High-Profile Summer
The acclaimed Southampton Writers Conference, sponsored by Stony Brook Southampton's MFA in Writing and Literature Program, will take place this summer from July 8 – August 2. Now in its third decade, the Conference is well-known for providing a forum for authors of all genres to study and discuss the craft of writing under the guidance of some of the most respected members of the industry – and this year's line-up of esteemed faculty members and guest participants is no exception.
 From left to right: Frank McCourt, Billy Collins, Robert Reeves, and Roger Rosenblatt. |
Last summer, the Writers Conference expanded to include two new Conferences in Children's Literature and Screenwriting, and this year a fourth Conference will be added to the mix - Playwriting, scheduled to run concurrently with the other three.
“When Stony Brook acquired the Southampton campus, we promised to build real strength in the arts,” says Robert Reeves, director of the MFA in Writing and Literature program. “We are proud to be able to carry out that mandate by broadening and strengthening our programs. This promises to be an extraordinary summer, rich with creative opportunities for all who participate.”
Playwriting Conference
The new Playwriting Conference runs in three sessions, concurrently with the Children's Literature, Southampton Writers, and Screenwriting Conferences, from July 8th- August 2nd. It provides established and emerging playwrights the opportunity to develop work in an intensive, collaborative laboratory setting in partnership with professional actors and directors. In addition to the morning labs, conference participants will attend play readings, panel discussions, workshops, seminars and other special events led by noted playwrights, directors, and producers.
The lab leaders for the three sessions, respectively, will be: Craig Lucas, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright of Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless and The Light in the Piazza; Emily Mann, the Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre and author of Execution of Justice (Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle nominations) and Having Our Say (Tony & Drama Desk nominations); Marsha Norman, the Tony Award winning librettist for The Secret Garden, The Red Shoes and The Color Purple, and author of ‘night, Mother (Pulitzer Prize winner) who will lead a section on “Musical Book”; and Laura Maria Censabella, Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre's Playwrights Unit, author of Abandoned in Queens, and Three Italian Women, and an Emmy Award-winning writer for As The World Turns and faculty member at The New School for Drama and Columbia University School of the Arts.
Among the other workshop leaders, guest speakers and panelists currently scheduled to participate are Edward Albee, Leslie Ayvazian, Robert Brustein, Mike Daisey, Geoffrey Gordon, Tim McDonald, Jacquelyn Reingold, Richard Vetere and Lanford Wilson. Featured topics include Collaboration in the Theater, Creating and Performing the One-Person Show, The One-Act Play, Libretto/Musical Book, Adaptations, TV Writing and Finding One's Voice. New plays written by Robert Brustein and Emily Mann will be read, among other special theater events in the evenings.
The Playwriting Conference also offers participants the unique opportunity to collaborate with members of Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), an award-winning theater based in New York City with over thirty years experience in the development of new plays. EST's members include the industry's most esteemed actors, playwrights, directors and designers, many of whom will be in residence throughout the three sessions as resources for playwrights, performing works in progress and providing feedback.
The Playwriting Conference is directed by Stephen Hamilton and Emma Walton Hamilton, long-time theater professionals and co-founders of Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theatre.
Children's Literature Conference
The Southampton Children's Literature Conference features workshops for writers, illustrators, and lovers of children's literature, July 8th through the 11th.
Among the participating workshop leaders are: Tor Seidler, award-winning author of Wainscott Weasel, who will teach a chapter books workshop; Margaret McMullan, an author of young adult novels, who will lead workshops in the genre; Cindy Kane, a book editor and author, who will lead “Jump Start Your Story”; and bestselling author Emma Walton Hamilton, who will lead a workshop on writing picture books. She'll also be giving a section on secrets of marketing children's books, open to workshop participants only. Mitchell Kriegman, creator of Bear in the Big Blue House, will teach “Secrets of Writing for Children's Television,” and New Yorker cartoonist Gahan Wilson will lead a hands-on illustrators workshop. The Children's Literature Conference will also host additional surprise guest speakers, panel discussions and special theater events, including a musical evening for family audiences.
The Children's Literature Conference is helmed by MFA Faculty member LouAnn Walker, the award winning author of A Loss for Words and editor of The Southampton Review.
Southampton Writers Conference
The Southampton Writers Conference focuses on the novel, short story, poetry, literary essay, memoir, and creative nonfiction, and runs from July 15 – 26. This year's workshop faculty includes authors of the first rank who are also experienced, accessible teachers, including Frank McCourt, Billy Collins, Ursula Hegi, Roger Rosenblatt, Meg Wolitzer, Melissa Bank, Matthew Klam and Thomas Lux.
Workshop sessions meet for three hours on alternate mornings throughout the conference. Remaining mornings are devoted to craft lectures featuring faculty members and leading authors. In the afternoons, participants may choose from a wide range of elective sessions that include presentations by distinguished editors, publishers, and agents as well as workshops on special topics in writing. Among the writers and poets currently scheduled to participate in these elective events are poets Marie Ponsot, Mark Doty, and Grace Schulman; novelists Richard Ford and Frederic Tuten; and editors Jill Bialosky and Daniel Menaker.
Participants also enjoy a rich schedule of formal and informal social gatherings— author receptions, a softball game, an open-mic night, and other activities. Special events include celebratory readings featuring conference authors and evenings of theater.
Screenwriting Conference
After a successful launch last summer, the Southampton Screenwriting Conference returns with five full days of writing for film. The esteemed faculty includes screenwriters Malia Scotch Marmo (Hook, Madeline,); Andrew Bienen (Boys Don't Cry); Peter Riegert (Actor, Writer/Director), Christina Lazaridi, (One Day Crossing) and Frank Pugliese (Aven'U Boy). Morning Workshops include Finding Your Story, How to Write Better Scenes, Understanding Film Structure, Developing Story through Character and The Art of Adaptation, among others. Each afternoon, there are a number of electives to choose from, including: Writing the Documentary, Creating Complex Characters and How to Approach Black Comedy. Evening programs include special guests, master classes and panels on the art of the screenplay.
The Screenwriting Conference is directed by Annette Handley Chandler, who has produced films for Paramount, Disney and CBS (including the Emmy Award winning documentary Ansel Adams, directed by Ric Burns), and has been a programming executive at ABC, a writer's agent and teacher of screenwriting at UCLA and Pepperdine.
All four Conferences offer inspiration and guidance to new writers, established writers, teachers of writing, editors, and those who wish to audit the conference. Workshops are also being offered in creative writing and playwriting for middle and high school workshops through the MFA program's new Young American Writers Project. Located in a resort area of natural beauty, the Southampton Writers Conferences offer instruction that is friendly, rigorous, professionally useful, and intellectually challenging. Three graduate credits are available to eligible students in each conference.
For more information, please visit http://www.stonybrook.edu/writers, or contact Darren Johnson, 631-632-5088, darren.johnson@stonybrook.edu.