1 Session: Monday, October 21
7:30-9:30pm ET
Emma Copley Eisenberg

Emma Copley Eisenberg is the author of the 2024 national bestselling novel Housemates, as well as the nonfiction book The Third Rainbow Girl (Hachette, 2020), which was a New York Times Notable Book and Editor's Choice as well as nominated for a Lambda Award, an Edgar Award, and an Anthony Award. Her third book, Fat Swim, a collection of short stories, will be published in 2026. Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, McSweeney’s, VQR, American Short Fiction, and other publications, and she is the recipient of fellowships, grants and residencies from Yaddo, Bread Loaf, the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Millay Colony, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Elizabeth George Foundation.

Called "one of the truly original voices of American fiction in the later twentieth century" by The New Yorker, Grace Paley (1922-2007) is at once a giant in the literary canon and gigantically forgotten. This may be because she didn't publish novels but instead "only" short stories, essays, and reportage, and "only" three collections. But without Paley there would be no George Saunders and perhaps no Miranda July or ZZ Packer or T Kira Madden; Paley's humor and innovative dialogue and knack for compression rewired American letters. Further, Paley's committed activism against apartheid, Zionism, and fascism make her "a rare example of a writer deeply engaged with the world" (Jewish Women's Archive).

What can we learn from Paley in 2024? How is the craft of dialogue, character, and scene profoundly connected to the work of justice? How can anti-Zionist Jewish writers and all writers of conscience be inspired by her indefatigable energy for writing and for change? In this seminar, we’ll discuss two short stories and one essay by Paley. We’ll examine her craft moves, her inventiveness with language, her use of dialogue and voice, as well as the structure of her polemics to see how Paley's tools might help us identify and expand the possibilities of our own work.

Workshop Highlights:

• A fun and joyful study of the craft hallmarks and artistic vision of Grace Paley

• A deeper understanding of how humor, voice, and justice can enrich our short fiction

• The seminar will also include a Q&A.

1 full and 2 half scholarships available. For information, please contact Kate Mabus, kate@theshipmanagency.com