I’m thrilled to announce that I will be a prose writer-in-residence this summer at the Chautauqua Writers’ Center in New York State from Aug. 6-13. My part includes giving a short reading on Sunday, Aug. 7, and a 30-minute lecture on Friday, Aug. 12. During the week, I will teach a daily workshop, Writing Provocative Stories About Religion. Students will analyze essays, op-eds, and other pieces with religion at the focus and try their hand at a story of their own.
My lecture will focus on the literary life and my own circuitous journey to publication. Here’s the description: Finding Your Book or How Your Book Might Find You
Friday 12:15 p.m. Aug 12
If asked, “How did you come up with your book idea?” few authors have an easy answer. In this talk, Linda K. Wertheimer recounts her literary journey, one that began by writing a memoir about loss and faith and ended with the publication of a different book that included a sliver of the memoir. All along, it was the author’s curiosity about an event in childhood that led to the published book and research around the nation.
Pass along the word to those who might be interested, and if you’re in the area, come on by.
In other news, I continue to track happenings on religion and public schools and could not help weighing in on a Rochester, NY public school’s participation in World Hijab Day. You can read my musings in a Religion News Service commentary on the school’s hijab activity.
Meanwhile, religion scholar David Brockman, who has scrutinized textbooks in Texas to see if there is bias for or against Christianity and Islam, has written an op-ed for The Tennessean about the ongoing dispute there over how to handle religion in the curriculum. You can read Dr. Brockman’s thoughtful piece here.
Upcoming Events:
Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m.: Talk for Temple Emanuel Sisterhood, 385 Ward Street, Newton Center, MA. RSVP to Judy Bolton-Fasman at jbolfas@comcast.net.
Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.: Talk at Temple Shir Tikvah’s Shabbat service. Temple Shir Tikvah, 34 Vine St., Winchester.
Thanks, as always, for reading. I may have mentioned this previously, but Faith Ed. is due to come out in paperback in late summer 2016. Stay tuned for more news.
Linda
