The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College began in 1983 with three classes for adult writers: one non-fiction workshop and two fiction workshops offered in the fall. Since then, the Writing Institute has grown into a community of writers with more than 70 classes each year, online and on campus, in a variety of genres.
When it came time to plan our 40th anniversary celebration we could think of no better writer to embody the tenacity and altruism of our community than Jami Attenberg. The author of more than ten books and creator of the grassroots #1000WordsofSummer writing accountability group, Jami knows the value of writing together.
On October 5th, we welcomed Jami Attenberg to campus for two special events. Writing Institute community members and MFA Writing students were part of a small book club discussion with Jami in the afternoon, where we discussed everything from character driven fiction to the motivation to keep writing. “When I started writing in earnest nearly two decades ago I would have been happy to just publish one book, maybe two. I never would have thought I could make it to nine books. Nor would I have expected I would have written in different genres,” Jami has shared. This intimate talk included time for writers to share about their projects, with encouragement from Jamie on how to reach the finish line. Guests also enjoyed complimentary copies of Jami’s recent memoir I Came All This Way To Meet You: Writing Myself Home.
For our keynote event, more than fifty guests joined us at the Barbara Walters Campus Center, with dozens more on Zoom, to toast the Writing Institute and listen to Jami’s craft talk on carving out a creative life. Welcoming remarks from President Cristle Collins Judd set the tone for the celebration, and later Jami was joined on stage by Denne Michele Norris MFA ‘13 for a robust conversation on the writing life. This generous talk included the origin story for the grassroots #1000WordsofSummer online writing community, where writers pledge to write 1,000 words every day for two weeks. The community has swelled to include thousands of writers around the world, and Jami curates writing advice from famous writers to motivate everyone along the way. She also provided the template for her newsletter success, inspiring writers to think about what makes their story unique and what they want to accomplish in telling it.
The festivities continued with a reception, featuring a book signing and books for sale courtesy of Transom Bookshop. The audience included Writing Institute students who had gone on to publish books of poetry, novels, and more, beloved instructors and new students who hadn’t yet met each other outside of Zoom. Everyone left inspired to get writing and help the Writing Institute into its next chapter.
Special thanks to Ava Robinson, Assistant Director of the Writing Institute; Sarah Lawrence College Events, including A/V and Catering, as well as Alumni Relations for their help in hosting this special event.
Ready to get writing? Check out our upcoming Writing Institute classes here! You can also find Jami Attenberg’s book 1,000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused & Productive All Year Long out now.