FLOATING ISLAND WRITERS’ WORKSHOP: WRITE YOUR LIFE

Everyone has a story to tell and this May, bestselling author Kim Sunée helps writers craft their own in a series of writing workshops from Florida to New York. The first of these 5-day non-fiction focused Floating Island workshops will be held in picturesque Seaside, Fla., beginning May 30 and June 6, 2010.

Seaside, Florida

These seminars are structured for both students who have already started writing about their personal experiences as well as those who are ready to write a memoir but need help finding the heart of their story. Daily topics include using nuances of plot, character development, setting, theme, and dialogue.

“Writing is a very solitary undertaking, but these workshops help students step outside of themselves and receive constructive feedback from other writers. The workshops also create a sense of community and rewards the solitary work with the conviviality of a good meal shared at the end of the day,” says Kim Sunée, workshop founder and author of the bestselling memoir Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home (Grand Central). Trail of Crumbs was a BARNES AND NOBLE Discover pick and a Booksense Pick and has been translated into Korean, Chinese, and Hebrew. She has been featured in the New York Times, Ladies’ Homes Journal, People, ELLE, and Glamour. I have read and LOVED Trail of Crumbs - it is an extraordinary memoir.

She ate and lived in Europe for ten years and loves everything from tacos and fried chicken to a perfect terrine of foie gras. Sunée worked as a food editor at Southern Living and then worked as the founding food editor of Cottage Living magazine. Her work has appeared in ENTREE, The Oxford American, and Asian American Poetry and Writing. She returns to her hometown of New Orleans as often as possible for po-boys, jambalaya, and a deep, dark-roux gumbo. Sunée has appeared several times as a guest judge on the Food Network’s IRON CHEF AMERICA.

Classes meet each morning for a session focused on craft, then again in the afternoon for a workshop session. Each afternoon and evening, free time is set aside for writing, cooking with guest chefs, and seaside activities. Chef Suvir Saran, of New York City’s award-winning Indian restaurants Devi and American Masala, will join students for a demo and book signing during the May 30 session, and Birmingham’s James Lewis will treat students to a pizza- and pasta-making demonstration during the June 6 session.

chef Suvir Saran

“Participating in Kim’s 2009 writing workshop at Seaside changed not only my writing but my life as well. The ocean breeze, nourishing food, and supportive company helped me to write about my memories, giving me strength to embrace my future,” says workshop participant, Yon Richner of San Francisco.

“Kim’s memoir-writing course is fantastic. Her eyeopening assignments, lectures, and comments helped me get back on track. After the course I signed up for a month of private coaching with Kim. She read my chapters in depth and offered perfect advice and encouragement,” says Jann Huizenga of Sicily.

By the end of each session, writers will have at least one manuscript workshopped with other writers and one individual session with Kim. The sessions conclude with information on how to find an agent, sell a
book proposal, and the art of marketing and promotion.

Seaside, Florida

The Floating Island Writers’ Workshop with Kim Sunée is a traveling series of small-group workshops beginning in May 2010 in Seaside. Future locations will include the author's hometown of New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco, and Chapel Hill. Many sessions will include appearances by guest chefs,  visiting writers, and other media personalities.

For more information about the Floating Island Writers’ Workshops, please visit www.floatingislandwritersworkshop.com

All information and photos contained herein provided by the Floating Islands Writers' Workshop.