The Real Paris Writing Workshop

Real writing in the real Paris

The (First Annual) Real Paris Summer Workshop for Writers

August 6-10, 2023

Are you a writer who travels apart from the crowds? Come together in Paris this summer with other cultural voyagers, authenticity aficionados and seekers of real-life inspiration. Spend afternoons on literary excursions and writing in cafes, enjoy evenings at spoken word events and in late night craft conversations, and most importantly receive top-notch feedback on your work in progress.

Workshop meets in neighborhoods frequented by artists and writers rather than by tourists
Participants receive close attention to their manuscripts, both in workshop and one-on-one
Registration includes lodging at the Hotel Nouvelle Republique in the Belleville neighborhood, popular with locals and creatives.

Writers submit their work in advance--fiction, nonfiction, autofiction, memoir; maximum 5,000 words--for rigorous group discussion. The workshop is limited to 10 participants.

Registration includes:

Five nights' accommodation at the Hotel Nouvelle Republique

Daily critique workshop with craft discussion

Guest lectures and craft classes

Optional tours and outings

Individual manuscript consultation with Shannon

Welcome and farewell receptions

Your workshop facilitator is Shannon Cain, a writer, editor and teacher living in France since 2014. Shannon taught creative writing for 15 years at a variety of institutions, including to undergraduates the University of Arizona, as a visiting professor at Leipzig University, and as MFA faculty with the Bennington Writing Seminars. Her short stories have been recognized with the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, a fellowship from the U.S, National Endowment for the Arts, the O. Henry Prize, and twice the Pushcart Prize. Books edited by Shannon have won The Next Generation Indie Book Award in Short Fiction, The Iowa Short Fiction Prize, the Elixir Press Fiction Award and a nomination for the Goodreads Choice Award. She is the founder of La Maison Baldwin, a writers' residency in the south of France.

Your retreat host is Rosemarie Reyes, a writer, consultant and stand-up comedian living in Paris since 20xx. Rosemarie was born in New York and has over 30 years experience working in tourism in New York and France. In 2002, she started Roseworks Marketing, a strategic communications and event planning firm specializing in tourism and entertainment. She has performed for audiences ....say something about your comedy because people love that shit

Registration

Early Bird Registration (before April 1): $2,549

Regular Registration: $2,749

Plus-One Registration: Rose, should we do this? Extra guest fee for room? Cost for receptions, tours? How much?

Admission is by application. To apply, send five double-spaced pages of your best prose to shannoninparis@gmail.com. You don't necessarily need to workshop the same material in your application. Admissions are made on a rolling basis, so it's best to apply early.

Daily Schedule

9am to 11:30 am: breakfast and workshop

11:30 to 1:30 pm lunch break

1:30 to 5:30pm, optional offerings

Craft class with guest expat writer
Tour of Paris West Bank literary sites
Café hopping: group writing afternoon
Street art tour of Belleville

8:30 to midnight (selected evenings): Optional after-dinner events

An open mic evening at Paris Lit Up
Anglophone comedy night (?) theater?

Plus-one attendees are welcome to join select afternoon and evening activities.

Scholarship

A full scholarship covering tuition and lodging is available for a writer of color. To apply, send a full chapter, essay or short story (5,000 words max), your bio, and a cover letter no later than May 1st, 2023. Travel costs are not included.

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Real writing in the real Paris