Sunday, 12/4/2022 11am: Flash Fiction/NonFiction Writing Workshop on Ekphrasis @ West Windsor Arts (Princeton area)

For those in the Princeton area, if you have the time and the inclination, please join me as I run a flash writing workshop at the West Windsor Arts Center. Info below!

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Sunday: Flash Fiction/NonFiction Writing Workshop on Ekphrasis [Adult]
12/04/2022 11:00 AM – 01:30 PM ET

Location
West Windsor Arts Center
952 Alexander Rd.
West Windsor, NJ 08540

Description
The definition of ekphrasis is “the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device.” Writers should bring in a meaningful photo of someone they will write about in the workshop. It can be a family member, a historical person, or even a photo of themselves. This is a flash writing workshop, so writers will be creating a 500 word or less piece by the end of the workshop, which will be critiqued and shared in the class.

Tomorrow: Collingswood Book Festival!

A reminder that the Collingswood Book Festival is indeed happening tomorrow! The weather gods have thrown a little fit, so due to the rain, the festival will move to the high school. From the website:

Due to the weather forecast for this Saturday, October 1, the festival will be held at Collingswood High School, 424 Collings Avenue, Collingswood, NJ. Enter through the high school gym building on Eldridge Ave. If you’re not vaccinated for COVID, mask up!

https://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/

Saturday, October 1 – Adult Authors

NEW LOCATION: Collingswood Middle School, Main Auditorium (second floor)

10:00 a.m. — Ann de Forest, Ways of Walking

11:00 a.m. — Town Book Presentation: Jo Piazza, We Are Not Like Them

12:00 p.m. — Sannii Crespina-Flores, Machetes are Forged in Soft Rivers and Faleeha Hassan, War and Me

1:00 p.m. — Riley Sager, The House Across the Lake and Sung J. Woo, Skin Deep

2:00 p.m. — Mike Sielski, The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality

3:00 p.m. —Beth Macy, Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis (sequel to Dopesick)

5/22/2021 2PM ET: In-Person Jersey City Free Public Library Event — Yes, In Person!

I almost can’t believe I’m typing these words, but folks, I’ll be at the Jersey City Free Public Library next Saturday, 5/22/2021, at 2pm. Like physically. Like I will drive and park and walk over to Hamilton Park! I will not be sitting in front of a laptop. Me, human Sung, will be at the park to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. If you are in the area, please stop by! They have a few more programs after me, so stick around. Check it out!

AAPI Heritage Month Celebration at Hamilton Park: Author Discussion with Sung J. Woo

May 22 @ 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm EDT

Sung J. Woo, author of Everything Asian (2009), Love Love (2015), and Skin Deep (2020) will talk about his experience growing up Korean American and his journey as a writer.

Join us for this event at Hamilton Park! Meet us by the gazebo (center of park) for some library fun.

Masks are required for all participants above the age of 2. Social distancing will be respected.

Hamilton Park, 25 W Hamilton Pl, Jersey City, NJ 07302, https://goo.gl/maps/jC6rMveEBM3jTxz79

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Wed 9/23/2020 7PM ET: Virtual Visiting Authors Series @ WCCC

How cool is it that I’ll be sharing the virtual stage with a fellow Washington, NJ author, Ysabel Y. Gonzalez, this Wednesday night at 7PM? Please come on by!

Wednesday, September 23, 2020 7PM ET
Virtual Visiting Authors Series
with Ysabel Y. Gonzalez
Warren County Community College (registration)

11/2/2018 7:30pm: The Washing Society/Loads of Prose

Attention, friends and strangers who happen to live in the vicinity of NYC!  I’ll be at the Anthology Film Archives on Friday, 11/2 at 7:30pm, to take in the screening of the film The Washing Society and afterwards, I’ll be doing a reading in support of Emily Rubin‘s Loads of Prose.  My story is titled “The Best of the Vest,” and if you want to know what it’s about, come on by!

Here’s a trailer for the movie.

The Washing Society (trailer) by Lizzie Olesker and Lynne Sachs – 2018 from Lynne Sachs on Vimeo.

And here’s all the info you need for the event.

THE WASHING SOCIETY/LOADS OF PROSE
Screenings and Readings
Thursday and Friday November 1, 2 at 7:30

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 2nd Ave NYC NY 10003
212-505-5181
http://anthologyfilmarchives.org

The Washing Society
by Lizzie Olesker & Lynne Sachs
2018, 45 min, digital

Film Notes

SPECIAL SCREENINGS: ARTISTS & SPECIAL GUESTS IN PERSON!

Featuring laundry workers Wing Ho, Lula Holloway, and Margarita Lopez, and actors Ching Valdes-Aran, Jasmine Holloway, and Veraalba Santa.

THE WASHING SOCIETY brings us into New York City laundromats and reveals the experiences of the people working there. Filmmaker Lynne Sachs and playwright Lizzie Olesker collaborate to observe and investigate the disappearing public space of the neighborhood laundromat, and the continual labor that happens there. The intersection of history, immigration, and underpaid work is woven into the film’s observational moments and interviews, along with the uniquely public/private exchange of dirt, lint, stains, and money. The juxtaposition of narrative and documentary elements creates a dream-like, yet hyper-real portrayal of a day in the life of a laundry worker, both past and present.

Screening with:
Lizzie Olesker & Lynne Sachs DESPERTAR: NYC LAUNDRY WORKERS RISE UP (2018, 5 min, digital)

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Thurs, Nov 1:
Historian Tera Hunter, whose book TO ‘JOY MY FREEDOM depicts the 1881 organization of African-American laundresses in Atlanta, and Mahoma Lopez and Rosanna Rodriguez (Co-Directors, Laundry Workers Center), will join us to discuss justice in the workplace.

Fri, Nov 2:
‘Loads of Prose,’ a reading series staged in laundromats, presents authors Emily Rubin (STALINA, 2011), Sung J Woo (LOVE LOVE 2015, EVERYTHING ASIAN, 2009), and Christine Lewis (Organizer, Domestic Workers United), who will read their stories of hidden labor and the challenges of our changing neighborhoods, where infrastructures are crumbling due to the visceral and economic demands of gentrification.

And here’s a bit of lovely trivia — I watched the film Private Life this afternoon, written and directed by the always wonderful Tamara Jenkins.  It’s currently playing on Netflix, and how cool is it that the Anthology Film Archives is featured in the film!  Check out the screencap.

Private Life (2018)