A collection of readings, discussions, and workshops on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted lives, social movements, and the future of creative writing.
Dispatches from Quarantine is a publishing project developed by our founder and local writer Alexandra Kostoulas, with the support of the California Arts Council. The purpose is to examine how the coronavirus pandemic and its impact have affected creative writing.
This project began as a blog in March 2020. Then, it expanded to include a reading series, public discussions, and writing workshops with genre and background diverse writers. It's scheduled to finish by Summer 2023. Readings and discussions will be published on our YouTube channel.
Also, we'd love to publish your stories, essays, and poetry related to the COVID-19 pandemic on our blog. We will consider all genres. Send your work to the email: submissions@dispatchesfromquarantine.co
Tongo Eisen-Martin
How has the Coronavirus Pandemic and its surrounding cultural turbulence affected a generation of creative writers and the poetry of our culture?
How will it continue to affect storytelling and poetry in the shared reality of our culture for the ages to come?”
In this poetry workshop hosted by SF Poet Laureate Tongo-Eisen Martin we will explore these ideas in our own writing as well as have a dialogue about how the events of the last few years influence our poetry.
Location: Online
Date: May 1, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM PST, 9:30 PM EST
Tongo Eisen-Martin
“How has the Coronavirus Pandemic and its surrounding cultural turbulence affected a generation of creative writers and the poetry of our culture and how will it continue to affect storytelling and poetry in the shared reality of our culture for the ages to come?”
That’s the question we are asking local authors to answer in this project developed by SF Creative Writing Institute.
Listen to the poets share work and ideas on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected poetry, in this intimate reading and dialogue with San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin and special guests.
Location:
Medicine for Nightmares in the Mission
3036 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Date: May 3, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM PST, 10:00 PM EST
Nick Mamatas, Vanessa Vaselka, Max Booth III, and Molly Tanzer
When the world shut down in 2020, many of us were stuck at home. So too were writers, and their books were stuck too.
Most bookstores closed, and even Amazon stopped shipping novels to turn their capacity over to sending millions of sheltering people toilet tissue instead. Hollywood let movies go direct to streaming, but authors had few options.
What was there to do? Publishing AT HOME: Books and the Plague Years brings together four authors to talk about publishing books just as a disease swept the world.
Location: Online
Date: May 17, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM PDT, 5:00 PM EDT
Nick Mamatas
How does one write about the experience of COVID? It’s universal–the virus has covered the world, but it is also particular. Some of us were home, others “front line workers.”
Many of them had mild cases, others very severe. And almost all of us spent a lot of time alone, or in cramped conditions with family and cohabitants.
This workshop will tangle with the idea of writing about a worldwide phenomenon without devolving into cliché or empty sentiments, how to build a first-person narrator’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a way that is both unique and can connect to a large audience.
Come prepared to write about yourself, or about someone else who might have been a little lonesome when shelter-in-place began.
Location: Online
Date: May 24, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM PST, 9:30 PM EST
Kristina Wong in conversation with Rebecca Solnit
How has the Coronavirus Pandemic affected a generation of creative writers and the playwrights of our culture?
How will it continue to affect storytelling and drama in the shared reality of our culture for the ages to come?
In this live performance hosted by Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama and Doris Duke Award winner, Kristina Wong in conversation with bestselling author Rebecca Solnit, we will hear insights on how Covid-19 reshaped storytelling as we know it.
Join us in person at the CounterPulse Theatre in San Francisco.
Location:
CounterPulse Theatre,
80 Turk Street,
San Francisco, CA 94102
Date: June 12, 2023
Time: 6:00 PM PST
Kristina Wong
A workshop for participants who are new to writing comedy or curious about strategies for incorporating humor into writing about seemingly unfunny subjects.
Participants will be presented with my personal rubric of strategies and some exercises to hone the “eye” for funny.
Location: Online
Date: July 20, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM PST, 9:30 PM EST
Michelle Amor
How has the Coronavirus Pandemic and its surrounding cultural turbulence affected a generation of creative writers, specifically Hollywood screenwriters, and how will it continue to affect storytelling in the entertainment industry in years to come? These questions and more will be discussed in this special project developed by SF Creative Writing Institute.
This insightful panel led by WGA Screenwriter and LMU Clinical Professor of Screenwriting, Michelle Amor will also explore how COVID-19 has changed the art of pitching during the pandemic. Join us for the ins and outs of how pitching to networks, studios, and streaming companies has changed, and how that change will impact the entertainment landscape in the years to come.
Location: Online
Date: August 17th, 2023
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM PST
Michelle Amor
In this screenwriting workshop hosted by Screenwriter, Professor, and Producer Michelle Amor, we will explore these ideas in our own writing as well as have a dialogue about how the events of the last few years influence our storytelling when developing and writing scripts. She will also cover techniques for pitching during a pandemic.
Location: Online
Date: August 26th, 2023
Time: 1:00 - 3:00 PM PST
SF Poet Laureate, poet, and activist
Tongo Eisen-Martin is the current poet laureate of San Francisco, California. He is the author of Someone’s Dead Already, which was nominated for a California Book Award. And he wrote Heaven Is All Goodbyes, which received a PEN Oakland Award, 2018 American Book Award, a 2018 California Book Award, was named a 2018 National California Booksellers Association Poetry Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the 2018 Griffin International Poetry Prize. His 2020 title Blood on the Fog was named a Best Poetry Book of 2021 by Elisa Gabbert of the New York Times.He's also an educator and organizer whose work centers on issues of mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings of Black people, and human rights. He has taught at detention centers around the country and at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University. He is also the co-founder of Black Freighter Press.
Author, Editor and Publisher
Karla Brundage is author of two books of poetry, including Swallowing Watermelons, and co-author of Mulatta–Not so Tragic. Her work as editor and publisher for Pacific
Raven Press has included authors in the Bay Area, Hawaii, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya in the following anthologies: Sisters Across Oceans, Our Spirits Carry Our Voices , and Black Rootedness: 54 Poets from Africa to America. Media credits include Sister Power on ThinkTech Hawaii, C-SPAN, LitSeen, Wanda's Picks and Chills at Will Podcast. Her poetry, essays and short stories can be found in Konch, Literary Magazine, sPARKLE & bLINK, Write America, Black Fire This Time, Essential Truths, and A Gathering of Tribes: Black Lives Matter
Issue amongst others. A graduate of Vassar College, Mills College MFA Program, and San Francisco State Clinical Schools Project, Karla is curator for the 2023 LitQuake Poetic Tuesday reading series and founder of West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange.
Professor, poet, and painter
Landon Smith is a father, a professor, a poet, a painter, half Mende and half Balanta & Fulani. He evokes the feeling of falling that wakes you up in a dream, the amethyst geode on your desk, Angela Davis’ afro, Frantz Fanon’s pocket notebook, Walter Rodney’s fingernail, the 7-10 bowling split, your favorite pillow. Despite his institutional degrees, he really became a poet through the East Side Arts Alliance in Oakland. Landon thanks his older sister Alia for buying him his first journal, starting his ever-evolving relationship with words. You can often find him processing the world through poetry.
Poet, activist, and educator
Karla Brundage is a Bay Area based poet, activist, and educator with a passion for social justice. Born in Berkeley, California, Karla spent most of her childhood in Hawaii where she developed a deep love of nature. She is the founder of West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange (WO2WA), which has facilitated cross-cultural exchange between Oakland and West African poets. Karla is a board member of the Before Columbus Foundation, which provides recognition and a wider audience for the wealth of cultural and ethnic diversity that constitutes American writing. Her editorial experience includes a pan-Africanist WO2WA poetry collection, Our Spirits Carry Our Voices, published by Pacific Raven Press in 2020; Oakland Out Loud (2007); and Words Upon the Waters (2006) both by Jukebox Press. Her poetry book, Swallowing Watermelons, was published by Ishmael Reed Publishing Company in 2006. Her poetry, short stories and essays have been widely anthologized and can be found in Hip Mama, Literary Kitchen, Lotus Press, Bamboo Ridge Press, Vibe and Konch Literary Magazine. She holds an MA in Education from San Francisco State University and an MFA from Mills College.
Writer, performer, and educator
Norman Antonio Zelaya was born and raised in San Francisco. He has published stories in ZYZZYVA, NY Tyrant, 14 Hills, Cipactli, and Apogee Journal, among others, and he was a 2015 Zoetrope: All-Story finalist. Zelaya has appeared on stage, in film and in the squared circle as luchador “Super Pulga.” Currently, he lives and works in San Francisco’s Mission District as a special education teacher. Orlando & Other Stories is his first published book.
Actor, lyricist, poet, and writer
Donté Clark is a native of Richmond California, reigns as one of the most prolific writers and voices out of the Bay Area arts community. He's also is an actor, stage and film director, scriptwriter, lyricist and Public Defense attorney consultant. His recent collection of poetry Close Caskets was released Feb 2021, available now on Amazon.
All of Donté’s work as an artist and community member is dedicated to shifting the narrative(s) of black/aborigine peoples history; While challenging educators and courtroom officials to abolish all racist policies.
Artist, activist, and teacher
DonJuan Carter-Woodard is a father, son, artist, teacher, activist & all around student of life. He has been doing Poetry and Hip-Hop since the 90’s. He is a Youth Coordinator and Poetry facilitator at Eastside Arts Alliance. He is also the author of “Bleeding Between the Bars”.
Novelist, short story writer, and editor
Nick Mamatas is the author of several novels, including I Am Providence and The Second Shooter. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Asimov's Science Fiction, Tor.com and many other venues. Much of it was recently collected in The People's Republic of Everything. Nick is also an anthologist; his latest book is Wonder and Glory Forever: Awe-Inspiring Lovecraftian Fiction.
Filmaker, bookstore owner and novelist
Max Booth III is the publisher & owner of Ghoulish Books, the host of the GHOULISH and Dog Ears podcasts, the co-founder of the Ghoulish Book Festival, and the author of several spooky books, including Abnormal Statistics, Maggots Screaming!, Touch the Night, and others. He wrote both the novella and film versions of We Need to Do Something, which was released by IFC Midnight in 2021 and can currently be streamed on Hulu. He was raised in Northwest Indiana and now lives in San Antonio.
Fantasy, horror, and science fiction writer
Molly Tanzer is the award-winning author of five novels, two collections, and many works of short fiction. She lives outside of Boulder, CO with her notorious cat, the Toad. She won the Colorado Book Award for historical fiction, and has been nominated for the Locus Award, British Fantasy Award, and the Wonderland Book Award. She is known for genre-bending fiction that combines horror and fantasy with strong female protagonists, depth of characterization, and realistic interpersonal relationships.
Writer and author
Vanessa Veselka is the author of The Great Offshore Grounds, which was nominatedfor the 2020 National Book Award, and which won the Oregon Book Award, and the cult classic, Zazen, which was awarded the 2012 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. Her short fiction appears in Zyzzyva and Tin House Magazine, and her essays in The New York Times, GQ, The Atlantic, Bitch Magazine, The Atavist, and Best American Essays.
Performance artist, comedian, actor and writer
Kristina Wong is a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow and a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama. She’s a performance artist, comedian, actor and writer who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa. Her work has been awarded with support from Creative Capital, The MAP Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, National Performance Network, a COLA Master Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, nine Los Angeles Artist-in-Residence awards, Center Theatre Group’s Sherwood Award, the Art Matters Foundation, and the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund from En Garde Arts.
Writer, historian, and activist
Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than twenty books on feminism, western and urban history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and catastrophe. Her most recent publication is the climate anthology co-edited with Thelma Young Lutunatabua titled Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility. Other books include Orwell’s Roses,Recollections of My Nonexistence, Hope in the Dark; Men Explain Things to Me; and A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster. A product of the California public education system from kindergarten to graduate school, she writes regularly for the Guardian and Lithub and serves on the board of the climate group Oil Change International.
Michelle Amor
Screenwriter, Producer, Professor
MICHELLE AMOR sold her second TV show, PG COUNTY, along with Lionsgate and Mary J. Blige’s Blue Butterfly Productions to Lifetime in January 2023, and her first TV show, THE HONORABLE to BET/Viacom CBS in March 2020. The Honorable first sold to the CBS Network in 2019. Co-created with Everybody Hates Chris’s Ali LeRoi, the political drama is produced by Dr. Phil’s Stage 29 Productions and CBS Television Studios. Michelle previously co-wrote PLAYIN’ FOR LOVE, directed by and starring Robert Townsend, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Jenifer Lewis, wrote OF BOYS & MEN starring Academy® Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, and co-produced and co-wrote the documentary feature film TUPAC SHAKUR: BEFORE I WAKE. A proud and active member of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), she served four elected terms as co-chair of the Committee of Black Writers (CBW) and in June 2020, penned an open letter titled Dear Hollywood addressing systemic racism that went viral. A passionate Clinical Professor of Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, she previously taught at UCLA, Chapman U., CSUN, and AFI. She received her B.A. in Entertainment & Media Management from Columbia College, Chicago, and her M.F.A. in Theater, Film, and Television from UCLA, and in April 2020, she was honored in Variety’s Entertainment Education Impact Issue as a "top educator around the globe". Michelle currently resides in Westchester, CA with her family, but her heart will always belong to her hometown of Chicago.
Producer, Writer – “Bosch Spin-off”, “Dr. Death”, “Raising Kanan”
BASHIR GAVRIEL, of Jamaican descent, is an accomplished professional in writing, acting, and healthcare. He co-produced the Amazon BOSCH spin-off THE “UNTITLED J. EDGAR SERIES” and contributed as an EXECUTIVE STORY EDITOR for the hit anthology "DR. DEATH" on PEACOCK. He has also written for shows like "THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE" on HULU and CBS's "GOOD SAM." Bash's impressive work includes producing and co-writing an episode for Starz's "POWER: RAISING KANAN" and selling a pilot script to USA Network/UCP. With a background as a cardiothoracic Registered Nurse and an actor with over 30 credits, Bash brings unique depth to his creative pursuits.ays.
Writer/Director/Professor – “The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel”
A Sundance alum, writer CAMILLE TUCKER hails from Compton, CA, where both her father and brother formerly served as mayor. She has sold scripts to Sony, Universal, Fox TV and New Line. She is the co-writer of Lifetime’s hit TV movie, THE CLARK SISTERS: THE FIRST LADIES OF GOSPEL, which was executive produced by Queen Latifah and nominated for five NAACP Image Awards. Currently, Camille is writing a biopic for LeBron James’ Springhill Entertainment and Disney+, a TV pilot 50 Cent’s G-Unit and the Starz network and is a writer/EP on the Gladys Knight limited series. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, and repped by Entertainment 360.
Joe Carroll
Writer/Director - "Lethal Legacy," BET+, Writers' Assistant/Script Coordinator -"Bel Air," "The Chi," "The Resident"
JOE CARROLL is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, having recently written and directed BET+ thriller LETHAL LEGACY. After making national news for crashing a Marvel red carpet impersonating comedian Hannibal Buress, Carroll signed his first studio deal with CBS Studios for SUGAR MAMAS. He also co-created the award-winning Amazon series MS. INCORPORATED and has since served on the writing staff for BEL-AIR, THE CHI, and THE RESIDENT. In addition to screenwriting, Carroll pens the highly acclaimed novel series SINFUL CONFESSIONS.
SF Poet Laureate, poet, and activist
Tongo Eisen-Martin is the current poet laureate of San Francisco, California. He is the author of Someone’s Dead Already, which was nominated for a California Book Award. And he wrote Heaven Is All Goodbyes, which received a PEN Oakland Award, 2018 American Book Award, a 2018 California Book Award, was named a 2018 National California Booksellers Association Poetry Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the 2018 Griffin International Poetry Prize. His 2020 title Blood on the Fog was named a Best Poetry Book of 2021 by Elisa Gabbert of the New York Times.He's also an educator and organizer whose work centers on issues of mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings of Black people, and human rights. He has taught at detention centers around the country and at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University. He is also the co-founder of Black Freighter Press.
OUR SPONSORS
"Thank you [SF Creative Writing Institute] for offering this great opportunity to learn, hangout, and live poetry with Tongo Eisen-Martin. My notes are full of Tongo’s joyful and provocative prompts."
- Robin Terra
Multi-Media Artist
"I loved [Nick Mamatas's class] and learned a lot. Made me feel like I had so much craft to learn. And that I want him as an editor. I'd love to be included in any mailing lists [he has] about further classes and recommendations. I am intrigued by the notion of being in the writer's room. Appreciated his class greatly!"
- Jenny Strauss
Aspiring Creative Writer
Email: info@sfwriting.institute
Phone: (415) 371-9054
San Francisco Creative Writing Institute (SFCWI) is passionate about making creative writing sustainable for the teachers, clients, and the community of artists in the Bay Area. We're proud to be part of the Bay Area’s thriving literary scene.
In addition to honing writing and editing skills, students are invited to the many readings and events hosted by the institute and instructors, who offer opportunities for sharing work and networking with fellow authors, artists, and writers.
