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In my writing workshops, I create an environment that is nurturing and safe. I am dedicated to rigor and excellence and encourage writers to become fearless in the pursuit of the unique beauty and truth of their story.
Want to be a published writer? Learn how to write and sell your book.
Start, recharge and develop your writing practice.
You want to write but can’t create or sustain a consistent writing life.
Becoming a skilled writer unleashes demons, doubt, fears and anxieties for which writers are often unprepared. Many who want to write fear they lack the talent or tenacity required of the dedicated writer. I lead workshops where these subjects are not taboo, are discussed openly and where writers find and create community. Through writing exercises inspired by my many years as a master teacher, participants break through the psychological barriers that cripple their attempts to write with regularity and confidence.
12 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST
Stop dreaming and make this the year you publish your memoir, novel, or essay.
You are writing with the goal of publication. You want to be a writer and an author. This two-session, six-hour seminar will demystify the business of publishing and answer the most frequently asked questions you have about how to submit your work, how to find an agent, what an editor does, and how to find the journals and publishers that are right for you.
Session One: How to Write a Book Proposal (May 6th)
A book proposal showcases the essence of your book and is required by agents and editors. The proposal summarizes your book and makes the case that you can successfully complete the project. You’ll learn how to “pitch” your story, how to write a query letter, and how to market yourself and the story you are writing.
Session Two: How to get agent-ready (May 13th)
You’ll learn what an agent does, what to expect from an editor, and learn how to find the right agent for you and your story. A literary agent will be a guest speaker joining us for this session.
12 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST
Second Draft: A Revision Workshop Intensive
Revision is a crucial aspect of writing, and it is more that choosing one word over another. The revision process involves redefining the scope, shape and even the purpose of your narrative.
In this three-hour intensive work shop you will learn:
Why the Thesaurus and the dictionary are a writer’s best friends
Why second readers are crucial to the development of your writing
Bring pages from your in-progress work to revise during the workshop
One Zoom Session
12 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST
A six hour writing craft intensive
What is the story you need to tell right now?
The last three years have given all of us experiences that have been challenging and transformative. Our stories now feel urgent and necessary. You may be ready to process and write about what you’ve lived through and where you want to go next. Writing is one of the most powerful ways to make sense of your life and to give voice to your imagination. You have a story to tell, maybe it’s fiction maybe it’s fact.
What is the story you want to tell at this moment?
How to Tell A Story is a six- hour, two-session writing intensive where you’ll get an introduction to the essential elements of skillful writing.
Whether you want to write an essay or a fictional narrative all effective writing requires an authoritative voice, vivid description, and a well-defined point of view.
You will learn:
In class writing and feedback on your projects
OPEN TO NONFICTION AND FICTION writers.
Two Zoom Sessions
7 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST
A Celebration of Marita Golden, the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Migrations of the Heart and forty years of writing, teaching and literary activism.
Join Marita Golden and writers Tracy Chiles McGhee and Abdul Ali to discuss and celebrate Marita Golden’s impact as a writer, teacher of writing, mentor and institution builder. As a novelist, memoirist, anthologist, and literary activist Marita Golden has created a canon of 21 books, worked with writers in academic institutions and in her individual classes, and built community to sustain and nurture Black writers.
In this program in conversation with novelist Tracy Chiles McGhee and poet Abdul Ali Marita Golden will discuss her influences, her writing process, and how since 1983 with the publication of her memoir Migrations of the Heart she has “dreamed a world” of stories that many readers hold dear.
This event will be Live on Facebook and Twitter.
6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT
Join me at Busboys and Poets for a program celebrating the new edition of my novel A Woman’s Place.
The book, which became a staple of Black literature classes at colleges and universities and popular with book clubs is the story of the friendship of three young Black women who meet at a White college in the late nineteen sixties and how that friendship endured.
After the reading I will be in conversation with Professor Sarah J. Trembath of American University and three Black female students from A.U. to discuss the pressures, the challenges and the sometimes racially charged environment Black women face on White campuses today.
12 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT
Self-care, Well-being, Time for You
I want to celebrate an important shift in how we think about ourselves so I’m ushering in the New Year with a “soul coaching session” for Black women to prepare for 2023 and you’re invited.
Space is limited!
6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST
Write Fearlessly and with Transformative Power!
This Memoir Intensive will give you the tools to write your unique truth.
All Stories Are True a Six-Month Memoir Intensive is for you if:
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST
The Power of Self-Publishing: Get Your Book Published Now!
This is the year to focus on manifesting your biggest dreams!
If publishing your book is one of those dreams, then you are in the right place at the right time.
You don’t have to do everything on your own. We will ease your journey with insightful and strategic guidance.
12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST
Move from Dream to Book-in-Hand
Join Award-winning author and writing coach Marita Golden and award-winning
author and indie-publishing consultant Tracy Chiles McGhee for a two-hour
masterclass that will answer the most frequently asked questions about
independently publishing your book.
You will learn:
2-hour online session
12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST
All Stories Are True: The Fact and Fiction of Memoir
Writing a memoir is a way to find meaning in our lives and make art of our experiences coming-of-age, struggles with identity, all the “stuff” of life.
In this workshop, we’ll:
Two 3-hour Zoom sessions
12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
Unforgettable: Creating Memorable Characters in Fiction
In this workshop, we’ll explore the characteristics of unforgettable fictional characters. Through close reading of excerpts from novels and short stories, and lots of writing assignments, we’ll create confounding, conflicted, maddening characters, the kind that readers can’t look away from and that they never forget.
Open to beginning and advanced fiction writers.
You will create and revise a fictional narrative during the workshop and receive my
written evaluation.
Two 3-hour Zoom sessions
12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST
The Deep End: How to Tell A Story
We’ll cover how to begin a story, and develop it through vivid description and characters, drama, and conflict, and an authoritative voice.
Open to those writing fiction and nonfiction. You will create a narrative to be read and discussed in the workshop and revised for my evaluation.
Two 3-hour Zoom sessions
12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST
Get Ready to Write: A Motivational Writing Workshop
Do you need a writing “refresh”?
Are you finally ready to write?
Writing is as much psychological and emotional as it is physical. The stories we want to write require not only technical skill but courage. I’ll introduce you to techniques and exercises to help you defeat self-censorship, self-sabotage of your desire to write, and the belief that your story is too big, simply too much, for you to master.
Participants will have the option of submitting a 500-word narrative after the workshop for evaluation.
In these sessions:
Two 3-hour Zoom Sessions
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
My Memoir: A Six-Week Memoir Masterclass with Marita Golden
If you are ready to take your memoir to the next level, this is your last opportunity to take a memoir writing course with me in 2021.
Only three openings left.
This is a small class limited in size. This six-week advanced memoir masterclass will focus on thematic development of your narrative, writing, creating structure, revision and editing. Open to those working on individual essays or book-length projects.
Participants must have written a minimum of 25 pages of memoir narrative by the beginning of the workshop. The 25-page narrative or sections of it will be revised, expanded and edited during the workshop.
Features of the Masterclass Intensive:
Six 2-hour Zoom Session
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
Agent-Ready/The Book Proposal: The Business of Getting Published
Whether you have completed your manuscript or are still writing, whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, whether you want to independently publish or find an agent who gets you a book deal, this workshop is indispensable. We’ll discuss how the publishing business works, what an agent does and how to get one, the job of an editor, and how to get yourself and your story agent-ready. You’ll learn how to write a query-letter, we’ll discuss the role of social media and how to create a book proposal.
3-hour Zoom Session
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
How to Tell A Story: Character, Plot, Drama
Whether you are writing a novel or a memoir, there is only one way to tell it. A character is challenged, tested, changed, in a narrative that reads, and feels like a compelling, remarkable journey. You’ll be introduced to the elements of character, plot, and drama that are the foundation of powerful storytelling. Discussion of your in-process project. Lots of writing.
3-hour Zoom Session
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
The Naked Truth: Writing A Memoir That Matters
Writing a memoir is a way to find meaning in our lives and make art of our experiences coming-of-age, struggles with identity, all the “stuff” of life. In this workshop, we’ll explore writing techniques that will allow you to write fearlessly and with transformative power. Discussion of your in-progress work and lots of writing.
Two 3-hour Zoom Sessions
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
Unthinkable, Unspeakable, Unforgettable: Creating Compelling Characters in Fiction
In this workshop, we’ll explore the characteristics of unforgettable fictional characters. Through close reading of excerpts from novels and short stories, and lots of writing assignments, we’ll create confounding, conflicted, maddening characters, the kind that readers can’t look away from and that they never forget.
Open to beginning and advanced fiction writers.
Two 3-hour Zoom Sessions
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
Write Now! 2021: A Creative Writing Intensive to Jumpstart Your Writing in the New Year
In this intensive you’ll learn how to tell a compelling, unforgettable story that is compelling and unforgettable. We’ll cover how to begin a story, and develop it through vivid description and characters, drama, and conflict, and an authoritative voice. And you’ll write.
3-hour Zoom Sessions
7:00 P.M. TO 8:30 P.M. EST
Can We Save the Children? Black Youth and the Post-Covid Mental Health Crisis
A Multigenerational Panel Discussion
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST
Sankofa Bookstore
Purchase the book online to enhance the book talk experience.
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
A Special Book Mecca Presentation: Marita Golden, Author of The Strong Black Woman
Marita will be in conversation with Book Mecca Founder Shaylon Scott about her new book, The Strong Black Woman and Black women’s health.
Purchase the book online to enhance the book talk experience.
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST
Marita will read from The Strong Black Woman and be interviewed by writer Tina Jenkins Bell
Purchase the book online to enhance the book talk experience.
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Book Talk: The Strong Black Woman with Marita Golden
For generations, in response to systemic racism, Black women and African American culture created the persona of the Strong Black Woman, a woman who, motivated by service and sacrifice, handles, manages, and overcomes any problem, any obstacle. The syndrome calls on Black women to be the problem-solvers and chief caretakers for everyone in their lives. Never buckling, never feeling vulnerable, and never bothering with their pain.
Join the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) as they host me in conversation with IPS Director, Tope Folarin, about my new book “The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.” Also joining the discussion is special guest Dr. Seanna Leath, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia in the Psychology Department who runs the FHIRE Lab. She uses education and psychology to understand the holistic development of Black girls and women within their families, schools, and communities. Specifically, her work focuses on how individual factors (e.g., race and gender identity beliefs) and contextual factors (e.g., friendship groups and community support) promote wellbeing.
Purchase the book online in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
Two 1-hour Zoom Session
12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST
Workshop on the Book Proposal for Well-Read Black Girl Conference
Purchase the book online in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER >>
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Reading from The Strong Black Woman and Conversation with novelist Patricia Elam.
Purchase the book to enhance the conversation.
In-person @ Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Reading and discussion about Black women’s mental health
presented by Pyramid Bookstore interviewed by writer Janis F. Kearney
Purchase the book to enhance the conversation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS >>
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Interview on Black Authors Matter TV discussing Black
women’s mental health.
Purchase the book to enhance the conversation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS >>
2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. EST
Well-Read Black Girl Conference Panel Discussion and Reading
On Taking Care of Ourselves
Panelists: Marita Golden, Inger Burnett-Zeigler, Minda Harts, and Dr. Joy
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST
Marita Golden Presents Write Now! 2021: A Creative Writing Intensive
Join author Marita Golden in a 3-hour creative writing workshop, offered online for up to 20 participants. This workshop will include a 15-minute break. You must register to attend this event.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
Virtual session
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Meet Black women who have learned though hard lessons the importance of self-care and how to break through the cultural and sometimes family resistance to seeking therapy and professional mental health care.
In The Strong Black Woman, hear the stories of African American women who:
I will be in conversation with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Balm. Her forthcoming novel Take My Hand will be published in April 2022. Dolen is the current Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and is Associate Professor in the Literature Department at American University in Washington, DC.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
Two 1-hour Zoom Session
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Baltimore Public Library - Enoch Pratt Free Library Reading and Conversation with Dr. Georgie Willie-Carnegie, cardiologist, Washington Hospital Center about The Strong Black Woman and Black women’s physical and mental health.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
Zoom Session
10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PST
Marita Golden in Conversation - Las Vegas Book Fair Reading and Conversation with Michelle Petties, Author, Speaker and Food Story Finder about Black women’s health.
Author Marita Golden will read from her works while engaging in a discussion with author Michelle Petties before opening up the discussion for questions from the audience.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
Virtual session
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST
Discussion of "The Strong
Black Woman" and how Black women can create new definitions of strength on “Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys”, an interactive, live Internet talk-radio show that focuses on providing people with tools to enrich and advance their lives mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Callers are encouraged to call (516) 387-1745 to listen or ask questions. The show is LIVE on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.12:00 p.m. Eastern.
Joy is a licensed social worker, mother, trainer, speaker, mentor, actress, writer, producer and director. Ms. Keys holds a Masters in Social Work.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
1-hour Podcast
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST
Clubhouse Stage Celebration of "The Strong Black Woman" Hosted by Tracy Chiles McGhee on Clubhouse
Reading from The Strong Black Woman, interview by host Tracy and discussion with women interviewed for the book.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the conversation.
1-hour Clubhouse Session
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST
Creative Conversations with Marita
Join Marita for the official launch of her new book, The Strong Black Woman How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.
She will be interviewed by Gwen McKinney founder of McKinney & Associates, the first Black woman-owned communications firm in the nation’s capital dedicated to progressive public policy.
We will welcome your questions after a reading and interview and look forward to a lively discussion about Black women's health, healing and new ways to define strength.
Purchase The Strong Black Woman in advance to enhance the conversation.
1-hour Facebook Live session
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST
Author Talk with Marita Golden
DC Public Library reading and conversation with Dr. Pamela Brewer about the mental health issues affecting Black women.
Dr. Pamela Brewer, a practicing psychotherapist for over thirty years, is also the host of MyNDTALK with Dr. Pamela Brewer, a relationship and mental health program currently airing on YouTube.
Purchase the book online in advance to enhance the book talk experience.
1-hour Facebook and YouTube Live Session
UCA hosts Marita Golden as Artist-in-Residence
I will be a Visiting Writer-in-Residence at the University of Central Arkansas presented by the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
Thanks to novelist M. Shelley Conner, author of the novel Everyman for inviting me to speak with undergraduate writing students, MFA students and to give a public reading.
In-person:
University of Central Arkansas, College of Business Auditorium, room 106
12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST
Black Children's Stories Matter: The Evolution of Children's Literature
Join me June 12 at noon for a Creative Conversation with authors Caroline Brewer and Leslie C. Youngblood.
We'll discuss the growing popularity of narratives for young people that focus on the lives of Black children. These books are winning major literary awards and topping the bestseller lists. We'll discuss why.
Leslie C. Youngblood is the award-winning author of the middle-grade novels, "Love Like Sky" and the forthcoming "Forever This Summer." Her honors include the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Prize and and the Go On Girl! Bookclub Aspiring Writer Award.
Caroline Brewer writes picture books and middle grade books. She is a teacher, the author of 13 books, including children's picture books, and an education consultant. Her books include "Darius Daniels: Game On!" and "Barack Obama A Hip Hop Tale of a King's Dream."
1-hour Facebook Live & YouTube Live session
12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST
Colorism is a once-taboo topic that is now openly discussed, challenged, and confronted in personal conversation, on social media, and increasingly in cultural expressions from film to videos. But how far have we come from the tyranny of “the paper bag” test and how is the discussion of colorism shaped by the increasing ethnic diversity of our society?
Lori Tharps is an associate professor of journalism at Temple University and the co-author of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America and author of Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love, and Spain.
1-hour Facebook Live & YouTube Live session
12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST
Creative Conversations with Marita - A Black Women Writer’s Showcase to Honor Women’s History Month
Join me as I host a roundtable with six of today’s most talented, creative and impactful Black women writers.
We’ll discuss the women in our lives who inspired us to write, the women writers who modeled excellence for us, and the challenges and satisfactions of our current projects.
Joining me will be:
1-hour Zoom session
12 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST
Our City, Our Stories: Author Talk with Sadeqa Johnson and Marita Golden
During this author's talk, I interviewed Sadeqa Johnson LIVE on the DC Public Library’s Facebook page and YouTube channel about her newly published historical novel, "Yellow Wife." "Yellow Wife" is a harrowing story that follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
Sadeqa is originally from Philadelphia, and is a former public relations manager, a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and the author of three additional novels.
1-hour LIVE session
12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST
Creative Conversations with Marita - Special Guest Wil Haygood, Author of The Butler
I had the pleasure of interviewing award-winning biographer Wil Haygood. Wil has written biographies of Adam Clayton Powell, Sammy Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and wrote the book that inspired the film The Butler, which starred Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker. He has also written Showdown Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America. Our conversation about Black heroes, Black history, and his forthcoming book "Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Film in a White World" was provocative, informative, and entertaining. We discussed the amazing Black lives he has captured and the trials and triumphs of Black actors since the dawn of the age of film.
You can pre-Order Wil's new book, "Colorization One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World" here >>
1-hour Zoom session
12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST
Zoom Q&A: First Page to Finished On Writing and Living the Writer’s Life
Inspired by my nearly 40 years as an author and teacher of writing, in this book I share with you everything I know and everything I have learned about how to write well and how to find community and satisfaction in the process.
Get First Page to Finished today and join me for a half-hour ZOOM discussion -- on Saturday, January 2, 2021 -- of how to get the most out of the book and answers to your most pressing questions.
1/2-hour Zoom session
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST
Let's virtually mix and mingle with our favorite libations (coffee, tea, mocktail ...). I'll take your questions as we celebrate:
1-hour Zoom session
Author. Creative Writing Coach. Literary Consultant. Master Teacher. Book Editor.
to get your questions answered.
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