The Writers' Academy At The Kravis Center Announces Courses

Calling all aspiring novelists! The Writers' Academy at The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has six courses available for writers of all experience levels and genres to hone their skills. Kicking off on January 3, 2023, the Academy will once again be conducted by Pulitzer Prize-nominated biographer, novelist, playwright and teacher, Julie Gilbert.

"The Writers' Academy encourages, nurtures and develops creative writing skills in most genres of expression," said Gilbert, "and the writers I work with at the Kravis Center are a funny, wise, intelligent and sophisticated bunch. What has separated them from the myriad of writers I have worked with is that they are daring. After a while, trusting that a solid amount of technique and the discipline of writing steadily would be their safety net, they have ventured up on the high wire."

Students who have participated in The Writers' Academy classes have found their own literary acclaim as a result of Gilbert's teachings. Local author Mary Simses went on to write the novel The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Café, published by Little, Brown and Company and most recently, Susan Goldfein published her third book, Laughing My Way Through the Third Stage. The Kravis Center Press has also published two books written by Writers' Academy members: Driving Woodie: Tales From the Home Front During World War II by Martha McMullen and Verbal Snacks by Nancy Sims.

"I went from novice to published author thanks to Julie Gilbert and her wonderful writing class at the Kravis Center," said Rosemary Gensler, former Writers' Academy student. "Julie has been teaching my class (as well as others) for 16 years, and I have been with her the whole way. To see the progress that we have all made is amazing; there are many published authors as a result of studying with Julie. I can tell you Julie has been more than just a teacher as she is a mentor to us all, guiding us all in the right direction."

Gilbert was nominated for a National Book Critic's Circle Award for Ferber: A Biography of Edna Ferber and Her Circle and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Opposite Attraction: The Lives of Erich Maria Remarque and Paulette Goddard. She has taught fiction writing and playwriting at New York University and Florida Atlantic University as well as running The Writers' Academy at the Kravis Center.

Classes with Gilbert are offered at the Kravis Center's Eunice and Julian Cohen Pavilion. The classes range from "Kickstart Your Writing Ability" to "Advanced Technique," with the opportunity for selected writers to showcase and present their writing in March 2023.

• Bloomsy: A Literary Café at the Kravis - Jan 9, Feb 6, March 6, April 3, 2023 at 2:30pm - tickets $125
  • Each monthly session will have a topic, which will be dispensed in advance to participants. Julie Gilbert will host, along with an occasional guest host.

• Advanced Technique - Jan 3, Jan 17, Jan 31, Feb 14, Feb 28, March 14, 2023 at 1:30pm - registration $525 by invitation
  • Each monthly session will have a topic, which will be dispensed in advance to participants. Julie Gilbert will host, along with an occasional guest host. This course of six sessions of two hours each is by invitation only. It is for dedicated writers who have worked with Gilbert in establishing voice, technique, style, work habits, projects and durability. According to Gilbert, this course is for the writer who has decided upon the "writing life."

• Virtual Advanced Technique - Jan 10, Jan 24, Feb 7, Feb 21, March 7, March 21, 2023 at 1:30pm - registration $525 by invitation
  • This course of six sessions of two hours each is by invitation only and is virtual via the Zoom Platform. It is for dedicated writers who have worked with Gilbert in establishing voice, technique, style, work habits, projects and durability. According to Gilbert, this is for the writer who has decided upon the "writing life."
• Kickstart Your Writing Ability - January 18 or March 15, 2023 at 1:30pm - tickets $30 per date
  • An experience for the curious and adventurous, Kickstart is for those about to take the exciting leap into writing. Learn how to release the writer within and how to unlock your very own muse with Julie Gilbert.

• Two Biographers Tell Almost All - February 1 and February 8, 2023 at 1:30pm - tickets $200 total
  • Julie Gilbert and Scott Eyman are professional biographers and between them, they have written 16 biographies, with Eyman in the lead. Eyman's latest book, Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise, has been widely acclaimed. Perhaps Gilbert's best known, and most enduring biography was one on her great aunt, the novelist and playwright Edna Ferber. Gilbert's latest book, a personal memoir/biography of GIANT, the novel and movie, is slated for a 2023 publication. Each session will run 90 minutes, followed by questions from the participants.

• Showcase the Writing - March 31, 2023 at 7pm - tickets $10
  • Showcase the Writing is open to the public and will showcase talented new writers. Selected members of The Writers' Academy will present all genres of work.

"We are grateful to have been awarded a very generous grant from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation for the Kravis Center's arts education program and to its Writers' Academy, which helps the Center provide these programs to the community," said Diane Bergner, Senior Director of Development at the Kravis Center.

The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. The Center's mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and International Artists and companies of the highest quality, by offering comprehensive arts education programs - serving nearly 3 million students since its inception; by providing a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations to showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.

For more information about The Writers' Academy and to register for the different courses, please visit www.kravis.org/performance-calendar/writersacademy.

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