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• Summer Fun! Write, Read and Respond (Online)

  • Start
    Thursday, June 18, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)
  • End
    Thursday, August 27, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)
  • Schedule
    6 sessions
  • Location
    Zoom Main Room, Class Code: WR061820JG
  • Spaces left
    2

  Registration is closed

  

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  Learn fresh ways to express and hear your writing voice in this workshop series. 

  Past participants have requested an online opportunity during this stay at home period. Whether you've participated before, are generating work for a project or not, or maybe want to write your pandemic memoir, Julie will offer a six week series for the first eight people who sign up.

  A safe environment is created to provide writers of all levels and genres an opportunity to generate new writing.

  Two prompts will be provided with opportunities to read and receive responses to fresh written material.  Responses can only begin with: what is strong, what I like and what stays with me. An additional prompt will be given to participants to write to in between sessions.

  Details

  • This class will be taught via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
    
  • An email will be sent to you 1 day before each session start date with the Zoom video conferencing link to join the class. Please watch for this email.
    
    

  Instructor bio:

  ​Julie Gardner, an Amherst Writers & Artists Affiliate, has led WritersGathering writing groups, workshops and retreats in Seattle for nearly a decade. A safe environment for writers of all levels and all genres is created. Past participants have said they learn more about their strengths, discover new ones, develop their repertoire of craft elements, take risks, generate writing, and have fun learning and generating writing with others.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• BARN Facility Closed Until Phase 3 Has Been Approved

  • Start
    Monday, June 29, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)
  • End
    Monday, August 17, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)

  BARN will remain closed to members and the public until Kitsap County is approved for Phase 3 of the state's Safe Start plan. The calendar will be updated once we can safely reopen.
  

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• Salon with Martha Salinas (Free Online Event)

  • When
    Thursday, August 06, 2020
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers' Zoom Room
  • Spaces left
    84

  Register

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  In the spirit of Gertrude Stein, but minus her Paris apartment and Ernest Hemingway, BARN Writers will be hosting a salon via Zoom for writers of ALL levels of experience to read their work to an APPRECIATIVE audience. (All of this takes place from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a computer with a microphone.)
  
  This is a great opportunity to practice reading for your own book signings and a wonderful chance to reach new readers and meet people who love words as much as you do.
  
  We will have slots for 12 readers to read five-minute selections. Keeping to a prescribed time limit is a skill and a courtesy all writers need to learn. (Of course you don’t have to use the entire five minutes if you have something very short.) Please register for "Reader" soon in order to snag one of these spots. We will also have plenty of room in cyberspace for members of the audience to enjoy some great readings.
  
  Format:
  

  1. Brief introductions. (Say your name, what you write, and give us a wave.)
  2. At this point, everyone except the reader will be muted by the host. The noise from a dozen or more households is very distracting. The first six readers will participate in the order announced.
  3. Five- to ten-minute intermission. Everyone will be unmuted to chat or do whatever needs to be done.
  4. The final six readers will participate in the order announced. Everyone except the reader will be muted.
  5. We’ll unmute everyone, and those who want to hang out can chat for a bit.

  
  Very Important:
  
  Everyone who wants to participate, whether as a reader or an appreciative audience participant, must register for this free event. We need your information in order to send you a Zoom link.
  
  Please don’t be afraid to try this. I had my doubts that it would work until I took part in a Zoom salon with another group. It’s more relaxed than standing at a podium! We had a wonderful time, and it was great to see new faces.
  

  Details:

  • This class will be live streamed via Zoom. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
  • A link will be sent to the email account your registered with. Please watch for this email.

  
  

  Instructor Bio:

  Martha Kay Salinas writes young adult fiction and spends way too much time writing for Facebook instead of working on her blog. In an earlier life she worked as a marriage and family therapist. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing in 2015, and she’s currently writing a young adult novel set in 1968.
  

  
  

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• High Concept Writing: Fresh-Take Stories that Stand Out From the Crowd (Online)

  • When
    Saturday, August 08, 2020
  •  
    9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers' Zoom, Class Code: WR080820LB
  • Spaces left
    12

  Register

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  Editors, agents and producers are clamoring for high concept story ideas. We've all heard the term, but what does it really mean? Can character driven stories be high concept? Can a story be profound and high concept? 
  
  In this 2 hour workshop we'll discuss the elements of a high concept story, learn from examples that have been well received, and spend time brainstorming ways to tweak your story premise to make it  both original and appealing to a large audience, the kind of high concept idea that will catch the eye of an agent, editor or producer.

  Details:

  • This class will be taught via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
  • A link will be sent to join the Zoom online meeting. Please watch for this email.
  • BARN reserves the right to cancel this class in the case of low enrollment and a full refund will be given.
  • Tuition assistance is available. Click here to apply.
    

  Lynn Brunelle is a four-time Emmy Award-winning writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy with over 25 years’ experience writing for people of all ages, across all manner of media. Previously a classroom science, English, and art teacher for kids K-12, an editor, illustrator, and award-winning author of over 45 titles, Lynn has created, developed, and written projects for Chronicle, Workman, National Geographic, Scholastic, Random House, Penguin, A&E, Discovery Channel, Disney, ABC TV, NBC, NPR, the Annenburg Foundation, World Almanac, Cranium, and PBS.

  A regular contributor to NBC’s New Day Northwest as a family science guru, Martha Stewart Radio as a family activity consultant, and a contributor to NPR’s Science Friday, she is the creator of the Mama Gone Geek blog and Tabletop Science (videos that make science fun and accessible). Lynn won five Telly Awards and two CINE awards for her music videos, which range in topics from bullying prevention, child protection, and the adolescent brain for international curriculums through Committee for Children, to independent projects encouraging science literacy and STEAM.

  Her latest book for adults, a memoir called Mama Gone Geek, was released in 2014 and won the Independent Publishing Award Gold Medal.  Her newest book, Turn This Book into a Beehive was released in 2018.

  Maureen McQuerry is an award winning poet, novelist and teacher. Her YA novel, The Peculiars is an ALA Best Book for Young Adult Readers 2013 and winner of the Westchester Award. Her other novels include the Celtic Mythology duo Beyond the Door and The Telling Stone, and most recently Between Before and After, one of Barnes and Nobles most anticipated historical fictions for 2019. Big Ideas for Little Philosophers, a 4 book series featuring Socrates, Descartes, Aristotle and DeBeauvior, for preschoolers, releases in July 2020 to be followed by Big Ideas for Little Environmentalists.

  Maureen taught middle school through college for almost twenty years in the Tri-Cities and was the McAuliffe Fellow for WA State in 2000. She currently lives on Bainbridge Island with  her husband, 4 chickens and a hive full of bees.

  
  

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• For Instructors: Getting Started with Online Classes

  • When
    Tuesday, August 18, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Zoom Room 1
  • Spaces left
    8

  Register

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  In this relaxed 90-minute Zoom class we will look at how teaching a craft topic can be designed for the online learning experience. With the help of curated video, guided discussions, checklists, worksheets, and demos, each participant will learn to take their own topic and develop it into a single class (for future expansion into a complete course of study) that will be applicable to the needs of the online learning environment.

  
  

  Details:

  • An email will be sent to the email you used to register for the class that will contain the Zoom video conferencing link to join. You will receive a registration confirmation email and emails 5 days and 1 day prior to class start date. Please watch for these emails. 
  • For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
    
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  Instructor: Nanz Aalund’s wide ranging career as a jewelry designer, goldsmith, and educator, began with high school shop classes. After serving as a fine jewelry designer and marketing consultant for Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., Aalund taught jewelry and metals classes at the University of Washington and at the Art Institute in Seattle. Earning a Masters of Fine Art (MFA/Metals) and a Masters of Education/College and Technical Teaching Curriculum (CTTC). Her work has been exhibited both national and international since the 1980s. She authored the book, "Masters Gold,” published by Lark Books in 2009 and her most recent publication, “A Jeweler’s Guide to Apprenticeship” published in 2017 for MJSA, received a Silver Medal in the national AM&P Excel Awards, in 2018
  

  
  

  
  

  Image from Pexels.com
  

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• From Writer to Author: Jen Pitts Scheiderman’s Writing Journey at BARN (Free Online Event)

  • When
    Thursday, August 20, 2020
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers Zoom Room, Class Code WR082020JP
  • Spaces left
    78

  Register

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  Jen came to BARN with the beginnings of her first novel and now has a published book and audiobook. The classes and community at BARN enabled her to finish, edit, and self-publish her first mystery book, The Key to Murder. Join us as we talk with Jen about her process from the beginning to the end of writing and self-publishing her book as well as how classes, her critique group, and the BARN community were an essential part of her success.

  Details

  • This is a free event, but please register so that you will receive the Zoom link to join this event.
    
  • This event will be presented via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.

  Instructor Bio:

  Jen Pitts is a lifelong mystery reader who turned her obsession into writing cozy mysteries of her own. When she isn’t plotting fictional murder and mayhem, she’s chugging coffee, traveling, reading, and enjoying life with her children and husband in the Pacific Northwest.

  
  
  

  
  

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• Ars Poetica (Free Online Event)

  • When
    Friday, August 21, 2020
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers Zoom Room, Class Code WR082120

  Register

  We are celebrating National Poetry Month in August! Join us for the online opening of the Ars Poetica show at BARN. It's exciting to finally be able to bring this beautiful collaboration  between fiber artists and poets to you. Without dressing up or getting in traffic, you can grab your favorite beverage and enjoy this opening show in the comfort of your home. 

  Details:

  • This event will be held via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
  • This event is free, but please register to receive the Zoom link. A link will be sent to join the Zoom online event in your registration confirmation. Please watch for this email.

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• Labor Day Holiday

  • When
    Monday, September 07, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)

  
  

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• Demystifying Plot: Raising the Stakes and Getting Unstuck (Online)

  • Start
    Saturday, September 19, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)
  • End
    Saturday, September 26, 2020
  •  
    (PDT)
  • Schedule
    2 sessions
  • Location
    BARN Writers' Studio, Class Code: WR091920MB
  • Spaces left
    14

  Register

  

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  So you want to write a novel? Or you’ve written 40,000 words of a novel, and suddenly find yourself stuck. Or your stories are interesting but lack a real plot.

  Michele Bacon is here to help. Over the course of two Saturdays, she’ll put you to work on developing a compelling protagonist, raising the stakes, and plotting your manuscript. Come with a full story idea or with only a desire to write a novel. You’ll leave with clear direction and a plot waiting to become a manuscript.
  

  The two sessions will include brief lectures, hands-on workshops, one-on-one discussion with Michele, and some partner work with other students.
  

  Details:

  • This class will be taught via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
  • A link will be sent to join the Zoom online meeting. Please watch for this email.
  • BARN reserves the right to cancel this class in the case of low enrollment and a full refund will be given.
  • Tuition assistance is available. Click here to apply. 

  Instructor
  

  Michele Bacon is the author of contemporary young adult novels Antipodes and Life Before.  Her work focuses on families, friends, and the complicated relationships therein. When she’s not writing, Michele loves skiing, playing tabletop games, traveling, and dreaming of travel. She’s visited all 50 states and dozens of countries, always eager to hear people’s stories and immerse herself in other cultures. Wherever she goes, Michele enjoys helping writers find their voices and tell their stories. And she loves coming home to Seattle, where she lives with her partner and three young children.

  
  

  
  

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• Pitch Your Book So That Publishers Pay Attention: Mastering the Synopsis, the Hook, and the Verbal Pitch (Online)

  • When
    Saturday, October 10, 2020
  •  
    1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers Zoom Room, Class Code: WR101020BJ
  • Spaces left
    12

  Register

  **This workshop will be live streamed via Zoom.** 

  Agents report that they’re flooded with more queries and proposals than ever before, even as publishers cut back the number of books they produce each year. How can you break through the noise and get your project noticed? This workshop will help you step back and see your fiction or nonfiction work through fresh eyes and a business-based perspective. We’ll identify the things that make your work unique, marketable, and irresistible to publishing gatekeepers, and then with lots of examples and time for practice and personal feedback, we’ll work on verbal “elevator pitches,” one-paragraph hooks (great for query letters), and the dreaded synopsis. (This is also a valuable class for self-publishing writers who want to pitch their books so that readers pay attention.)

   Attendees will…

  1. Be challenged to consider their work from a fresh, detached, commercial perspective.
  2. Learn how to condense full-length fiction and nonfiction projects into industry-appropriate 1-2 page synopses, and how to identify the compelling “hooks” that make great verbal pitches and query letter descriptions.
  3. Gain a realistic understanding of what publishers and agents are looking for in new authors, including author platform, compelling concept, and connection to existing popular trends.

  Details:

  • This class will be taught via the Zoom video conferencing program. For a great video on how to use Zoom, watch this tutorial.
  • A Zoom link will be sent to the email you used to register. Please watch for this email.
  • There will be a short break during the class.
  • Tuition assistance is available. Click here to apply.

  Instructor Bio:
  
  

  Beth Jusino is a publishing consultant for both traditional and self-publishing authors, with almost 20 years of experience helping writers navigate the complicated space between manuscript and final book. A former literary agent and marketing director, she’s the author of the award-winning The Author’s Guide to Marketing and has ghostwritten or collaborated on half a dozen additional titles. Beth is a member of the Northwest Independent Editors Guild, a regular speaker for Seattle Public Library’s #SeattleWrites workshops, and has taught at writers’ conferences across the country. Visit her online at www.bethjusino.com or on Twitter @bethjusino.

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• Beginning, Middle, End: Structuring Your Novel

  • When
    Saturday, October 17, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    BARN Writers' Studio, Class Code: WR101720SW

  Register

  Join Susan for a hands-on class that will work for emerging, intermediate, and experienced writers. Bring your ideas or your work-in-progress to explore the basics of novel structure, and leave with a work plan to move ahead with your story. Recommended reading prior to class: The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler, The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber.

  Instructor Bio:
  

  Susan Wiggs’s life is all about family, friends…and fiction. 

  Susan has been featured in the national media, including NPR and USA Today, has given programs for the US Embassies in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and is a popular speaker locally, nationally, internationally, and on the high seas.

  From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people. Her books celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the fascinating nuances of human nature. Today, she is an international best-selling, award-winning author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries and languages. 

  Her novels have appeared in the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, and have captured readers’ hearts around the globe. Her newest novel, The Lost and Found Bookshop will be released in 2020.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

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• Truth Matters: Finding the Courage to Write Your Story

  • Start
    Saturday, November 07, 2020
  •  
    (PST)
  • End
    Saturday, November 28, 2020
  •  
    (PST)
  • Schedule
    4 sessions
  • Location
    BARN Writers' Studio, Class Code WR110720LF+
  • Spaces left
    10

  Register

  

  In these troubled times, the news reminds us daily that the difficult history we share is with us still and we all suffer as a result. The often unexamined legacies of the attempted genocide of indigenous people and the enslavement of Africans, in particular, continue to haunt our land. Through writing fiction, poetry or memoir, we can chart a path to help us move forward together.

  This class invites writers from all cultural lineages to bring their stories to the table. Lessons and assignments are designed to fit each individual’s skill level and project—beginner, intermediate, or advanced; fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction. Each session focuses on a different aspect of story craft—narrative arc, sensory detail, dialogue, mature narrator. Participants also learn to critique in ways that are supportive, honest and helpful by practicing deep listening.

  Writing can be a spiritual practice that teaches us to be fully present and alive to ourselves and the world.  Take a journey inward, tap into your imagination, and find the deep truths and visions.  In witnessing one another’s stories, let’s combine our energies to form a creative community of inspiration and compassion.

  
  

  Instructor Bios:

  Laura Bowers Foreman and Ann Holmes Redding met 14 years ago and have been partners in teaching writing for nearly a decade. Their friendship began with sharing their personal stories and discovering common commitments both to writing and healing from ancestral and national historical harms. Together, Laura and Ann embody African, European, and indigenous heritages. Over the years they have jointly participated in a number of circles dedicated to healing and restorative justice.

  Dubbed “the story doulas” by one student, Ann and Laura consciously support and coach each writer on the journey from inception to delivery of their work. They are experienced fellow travelers, helping students negotiate the sometimes unsettling information and emotions that may surface en route. They also confer with their students as they discern what vehicle—fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or some combination—best suits the task at hand.

  Laura Bowers Foreman offers her students all that she has gleaned from her twenty-five years as a writer. Her writing is informed by a passion for both the environment and social justice at every level, from the personal to the global. Her work has appeared in such publications as The Whitefish Review, About Place Journal, Nature in Legend and Story, Wildlife Conservation Magazine, and The Christian Science Monitor. She also has contributed to the anthologies Memoirs in the Light of Day and The Sweet Breathing of Plants (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), among others.

  Ann Holmes Redding brings 40+-years of teaching experience, wisdom, and compassion to her students. Creative expression as a medium for transformation stands at the center of her life work as a spiritual guide, speaker, and instructor.  Her essays and articles have been published in the Fairacres Chronicle and The Living Pulpit, as well as in scholarly works. She is co-author Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Qur’an with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources.

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• BARN CLOSED @ 7:00 pm - Preparations for Bazaar - No Member/Public Entry

  • When
    Friday, November 20, 2020
  •  
    7:00 PM - 11:30 PM (PST)
  • Location
    BARN Wide Event

  BARN will be closed and the front and back doors locked down to both Members and Non-Members beginning at 7:00 PM on Friday night as we begin preparations for the Bazaar at BARN.

  Doors will reopen to all on Saturday, at 8:00 AM.

  If you have questions, please contact Carla our Membership Coordinator at Membership@bainbridgebarn.org.

  
  

  
  

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• 2020 BARN Bazaar

  • When
    Saturday, November 21, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 3:00 PM (PST)
  • Location
    BARN wide event- No classes scheduled

  The BARN Bazaar is a new Bainbridge Island holiday tradition featuring a wide variety of art, crafts, and artisan foods, all made by hand. Buy direct from the maker at this annual celebration of the creativity that happens all year round at BARN. From jewelry to wood arts, basketry to weaving, you’ll find an unmatched selection of original handmade items.
  
  Kick off the holidays in homegrown style. Join us for a day of shopping, food, and community!
  

  BARN members wishing to participate in this event must be a member for a minimum of 3 months (must join by August 31st) to participate. You can contact Carla Mackey at membership@bainbridgebarn.org for an application which will be available TBD.

  

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