Ethan Gilsdorf 1/7/21 Ethan Gilsdorf 1/7/21

Take an online writing workshop with me this winter & spring

The downside of Covid is I don't get to teach in person. The upside is that all my classes are now on Zoom or online and anyone regardless of location can be a part of my writing workshops. Here's what I'm offering this winter and spring (thus far). I hope you'll join us!

GrubStreet Seminars and Multiweek workshops:

**Note: Due to Coronavirus, for the time being, all GrubStreet classes in Boston and Providence will be offered remotely, online, live via Zoom video conferencing. More info on how this works.

Seminars:

So You Want to Be a Writer in 2021? Section C - Remote!: Friday, February 5th, from 2:00pm-5:00pm

So You Want to Be a Writer in 2021?: Section D - Remote!: Friday, March 19th, 10:30am-1:30pm

Personal Narrative Essentials: Building Characters, Friday, February 12th, 10:00am-5:00pm

Personal Narrative Essentials: Structure and Form, Friday, February 26th, 10:00am-5:00pm

Generator Bootcamp, Friday, March 5th, 10:30am-1:30pm

Personal Narrative Essentials: Using Research and Immersion, Friday, March 12th, 10:00am-5:00pm

Personal Narrative Essentials: Finding Your Narrative Arc, Friday, March 26th, 10:00am-5:00pm

Personal Narrative Essentials: How to Publish, Friday, April 16th, 10:00am-5:00pm

Multi-week workshops:

Remote (Zoom) workshops:

Writing the Risky Personal Essay, 6 Thursdays, 10:30am-1:30pm, starting April 8

6 Weeks, 6 Op-Eds, Wednesdays from 10:30am-1:30pm, starting March 10th.

Online Multi-week, asynchronous workshops:

Online: 6 Weeks, 3 Essays, 6 Weeks, starting January 20th

In PROVIDENCE, for GrubStreet:
None at this time. Please see GrubStreet's Providence page for current info on all classes being offered in Providence.

Other venues:

The Westerly Writers Workshop: Online Memoir classes. Westerly, RI, at the Ocean Community YMCA, Westerly-Pawcatuck Branch. Classes will be held remotely via Zoom.

6 Wednesdays, 6:00pm-9:00pm

Session 1: January 27 – March 3. Register here.

Session 2: May 19 – June 23. ;Registration info TBA.

Stay tuned for Summer 2021 sessions TBA soon.

Ethan Gilsdorf 10/22/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 10/22/20

Best American "Notable" Essay for 2020

OK some cool news! My essay "'Creative Trespassing' sets me free" was named a Best American "Notable" Essay for 2020. Read the essay the here. Thank you Experience magazine editor Joanna Weiss, Best American Essays editor Andre Aciman, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Such an honor.

Ethan Gilsdorf 7/1/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 7/1/20

Study the essay with me September 2020-April 2021

Take your essays to the next level and apply to GrubStreet's Essay Incubator program, our eight-month (September to April) intensive program for writers seeking high-level feedback on their essays, immersion in a community of essay writers, and a leg up on the publishing world. I'm your fearless leader on this creative writing adventure.

More info on the program here. If you have questions about the program or application process, or if you're unsure you're a good match for the program, please drop by the remote (Zoom) Open House & Info Session on July 14. For more info on that, and to tegister: http://ow.ly/tvjY50AmXF5

Ethan Gilsdorf 4/30/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 4/30/20

Geeking out about D&D

Sure D&D is fun ... But is it good for you? Over on the DiceGeeks podcast, I discuss this and share stories of growing up playing D&D and its benefits with host Matt Davids.

Ethan Gilsdorf 4/20/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 4/20/20

Best games against social isolation

I was asked by the Boston Globe to recommend my favorite games --- board and card games, charades-type games, and role-playing games --- to play in person with your quarantine crew or online via video conference. In the story, I recommend Cards against Humanity, Dungeons & Dragons, and Pandemic.

Here are some of my picks that didn't make it into the story:

Dungeon Mayhem: fantasy-based card battle game, family-friendly, multi-player

Pass the Pigs: "dice" game -- like Yahtzee but with pigs, family-friendly, multi-player

"In the manner of": charades-type game, family-friendly, gets you up and moving

Here's the full story.

Ethan Gilsdorf 4/13/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 4/13/20

take a spring or summer writing workshop with me

Hey writers. GrubStreet (the place where I teach) is adapting to the virus by offering all creative writing classes remotely. No matter where you live, you can take a workshop. Here's a sample of what classes I'm offering in May, June, July and August. More deets: http://ethangilsdorf.com/teaching/

Ethan Gilsdorf 1/13/20 Ethan Gilsdorf 1/13/20

Can a 53-year-old nerd with bad-hand eye coordination excel at esports?

Can a 53-year-old nerd with bad-hand eye coordination excel at esports? My essay explores that and the whole college esports scene.

https://expmag.com/2020/01/forget-football-video-games-are-the-next-big-college-sport/

Ethan Gilsdorf 12/16/19 Ethan Gilsdorf 12/16/19

Some teenagers play football ... others slay dragons.

Some teenagers play football ... others slay dragons. Morified meets Dungeons & Dragons in this new podcast. Take a listen! [I come on at about the 15 min. mark]

http://getmortified.com/episode/179-dungeons-dragons-and-totally-awkward-diaries/

Ethan Gilsdorf 11/16/19 Ethan Gilsdorf 11/16/19

Me, the New York Times and D&D

I wrote this feature story for the New York Times Books section "In a Chaotic World, Dungeons & Dragons Is Resurgent: The role-playing game has made a surprising return to mainstream culture." (published online Nov. 13, 2019; on print Nov. 15).

Ethan Gilsdorf 6/21/19 Ethan Gilsdorf 6/21/19

Come study the essay with me

I'll be leading GrubStreet's 2019-2020 Essay Incubator program.

Over 8 months (Sept-April), you'll take a deep dive into essay craft and tradition, work on 3 to 5 essays inthe company of other serious essayists, and workshop and revise three of them in preparation for publication. I'll invite guest writers and editors into the classroom to share their secrets, and you'll get a professional look at your work at Grub's Muse and the Marketplace conference. Among other cool things. You can read more details here. (Note: fellowships are available.)

I'll be holding a Free Open House and Info Session on Thursday, June 27th at 6pm at GrubStreet in Boston (sign-up in advance here, if you think you can make it). The open house will be a chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the Incubator re: the workload; application process; schedule; my teaching philosophy, or anything else. Perhaps most importantly, it's a chance to find out if the program is right for you. Drinks and snacks provided!

You can apply whether or not you attend the open house. In either case, let me know if you have questions.

cheers,

Ethan Gilsdorf 4/9/19 Ethan Gilsdorf 4/9/19

Quiz: Trump Administration Dismissal/Resignation or Monster Defeated in My Last D&D Campaign

1. Kirstjen Nielsen

2. Demogorgon

3. Manafort

4. Manticore

5. Shulkin

6. Reince Priebus

7. Gibbering Mouther

8. Gorka

9. Owlbear

10. Omaroso

11. Zinke

12. Mimic

13. Mattis

14. Githyanki

15. Scaramucci

16. Tarrasque

17. Slaad

18. Fleitz

19. Rex Tillerson

20. Displacer Beast

[Answers: Trump Dismissal/Resignation: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19; D&D Monster: 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20]

Ethan Gilsdorf 3/6/19 Ethan Gilsdorf 3/6/19

My obsession with trespassing

My essay for Northeastern University's new Experience magazine, about the pleasures of being where I'm not supposed to be.

Ethan Gilsdorf 10/25/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 10/25/18

I got Mortified

As always, a great time performing at Mortified, that event where you get on stage to share journals, stories, poems and other artifacts from your childhood, teenage and young adulthood. I was at the Oberon Theater in Cambridge, Oct 12 and 13, laying bare my soul via my old Super 8 animated films and MTV-style videos from the 1980s. Thanks for Mortified producer Sara Faith Alterman for helping shape the stories.(Photos courtesy of Mary Ann Guillette).

Ethan Gilsdorf 10/25/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 10/25/18

In The Adventure Zone

I was thrilled to be part of this event to launch The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, the graphic novel adapted from The Adventure Zone comedy and adventure podcast (based loosely on D&D). Brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and father Clint McElroy, were in Boston at the Wilbur Theater July 19th, 2018, and I was there to interview them/moderate their on stage antics. Thanks for inviting me!

Ethan Gilsdorf 10/3/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 10/3/18

Writing and the Literary Life in Rhode Island

Over 100 folks came out to the ”Writing and the Literary Life in Rhode Island" roundtable and meet-and-greet on Monday, September 17, that I helped organized with GrubStreet and SchoolOne. The event featured representatives from literary and writing organizations across the state including Frequency Writers, What Cheer Writers Club, Reading with Robin/Point Street Reading Series, Rhode Island Center for the Book, Association of Rhode Island Authors, Ocean State Review, and others.

here are some photos from the event itself, and you can watch my video interview preview of the event here on GoLocal Prov LIVE below.

Preview of the event here on GoLocal Prov LIVE below.

Ethan Gilsdorf 9/13/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 9/13/18

Providence: Your New Favorite Lit Scene?

Don't mess with ... Rhode Island either! In which I make the case that Providence, RI has "emerged from the literary shadows of more established hubs New York City and Boston to hatch a burgeoning scene all its own" for the GrubStreet blog.

Ethan Gilsdorf 8/30/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 8/30/18

I celebrated the 1980s

I was thrilled to be part of NEON RetroFest in Warwick (Providence) on Aug 24.

The Providence Journal previewed the event here.

We played Galaga and Star Castle, and drank Mountain Dew. I talked about "How D&D Changed the World." Peter Bebergal and I nerded out about the 1980s at our "INTELLI-VISION: THE PETER AND ETHAN PUBLIC ACCESS TV SHOW" event-- here's our intro video. Rad!

Ethan Gilsdorf 7/3/18 Ethan Gilsdorf 7/3/18

A visit to my nerd cave

The kind folks over at East Side Monthly came by to check out my nerd cave and chat. Here's what we talked about. They also got a shot of a nerd in his natural habitat.