Please note new date and time! 

Bring your laptop! Blogger extraordinaire Sophie Epstein, from the young adult book blog MrsMagooReads.com, teams up with her mother Liz Epstein (Jane Austen Literary Salon) as they present their ever-popular blogging workshop—now with a twist! Beginning bloggers of all ages are invited to learn how to start a blog, how to attract readers, how to position your blog, and much more. New to this workshop, using Blogger.com as a platform, you will receive hands-on help to create your own blog before you leave class!

Everyone has a unique life story, so whether you’re writing for publication or to give the gift of family history to your children and grandchildren, you’re never too young or too old to write your memoirs. In this half-day course, Mary will show you how to find your personal voice, help you decide what to put in and what to leave out, and teach you techniques to make your memoir vivid and compelling. Mary Mackey is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 novels. Her latest novel is The Widow’s War.

This session will be taught in French. 

Spending the night in Paris? The precious hours can slip away faster than a good bottle of Bordeaux. Nicolas Wolff provides an overview of everything a night in Paris has to offer: museums, walks, underground movie theaters, jazz clubs and, of course, food and wine. Bring questions about your upcoming trip and get expert, tailored advice.

“Even though I know Paris fairly well he provided me with many new places of interest to check out on my trip there this Fall. His handouts are super detailed and will be very useful too” one student reported. 

Nicolas Wolff grew up in Paris and teaches French. 

Four Wednesdays: June 6 - 27

Have you always wanted to write but weren’t sure where to begin? Do you think you don’t have the time or the discipline? Leslie Keenan has 28 years’ experience in helping people uncover and release their ideas. She has worked on over 80 published books. She knows what it takes to get a book from the first glimmer of an idea into its published form. A student wrote, “Leslie is inspiring, compassionate and has a natural gift for creating a safe place for a writer. She’s like a living life preserver.”

"If it weren't for Leslie Keenan's courses at Book Passage, I would never have written a word of fiction, and I would never have been published. To this day, I still use the tools she gave me for understanding my process, finding my voice, and fighting my fears."
-Tammy Kaehler, author of Dead Man's Switch, Poisoned Pen Press

People aren’t simply vehicles for stories, they are the stories—that’s true of novels, memoirs, screenplays, or even nonfiction. Through discussion & writing exercises, Martha Engber shows what makes a character irresistible and unbelievable. Engber is an editor, and author of the novel Wind Thief and Growing Great Characters from the Ground Up.

Discover how writing scenes for the stage is different from writing scenes for the page. This workshop will introduce you to the 3 Ds: Discovery, Decision, Doing that form the basis for powerful stage scenes. In addition, we will explore the concept of character masks: What face(s) do characters present to the world? What is the back story behind them? How do these masks crumble, melt, and fade as the action of the play progresses? You will be guided through short evocative writing exercises. Nina Solomita, MFA, has had plays produced in Massachusetts and California; her monologues were published in the ICWP Mother-Daughter Series, and she has taught playwriting at Pacific Repertory Theatre, Carmel.

This session will be taught in English. 

Spending the night in Paris? The precious hours can slip away faster than a good bottle of Bordeaux. Nicolas Wolff provides an overview of everything a night in Paris has to offer: museums, walks, underground movie theaters, jazz clubs and, of course, food and wine. Bring questions about your upcoming trip and get expert, tailored advice.

“Even though I know Paris fairly well he provided me with many new places of interest to check out on my trip there this Fall. His handouts are super detailed and will be very useful too” one student reported. 

 Nicolas Wolff grew up in Paris and teaches French. 

Four Mondays: June 18-July 9
for kids entering 4th & 5th grade with Karen Benke, author of RIP THE PAGE! and Prartho Sereno, author of Causing a Stir
Here’s a camp to get you to open up to your inner life, rip into favorite words, and cook up some tantalizing images. We’ll play on and off the page with original detail and paint—literally—our poems into illustrations and greeting cards. You’ll leave with favorite haiku, pantoums, and poetry riddles. Just come with your curiosity and willingness to be surprised! All materials included.

Karen Benke has inspired kids’ creative journeys in the form of poem-making for 17 years as a California Poet in the Schools and has authored a collection of poems, Sister, and a new book for kids and kids-at-heart, Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing. Prartho Sereno has been one of Marin County’s beloved Poets-in-the-Schools for over 12 years. Her prize-winning poetry collections include Causing a Stir: The Secret Lives and Loves of Kitchen Utensils (winner of a 2008 IPPY) and Call from Paris.