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Event Recap: 40th Anniversary Event with Jami Attenberg

The Writing Institute 40th-anniversary event banner featuring two individuals with text about the celebration at Sarah Lawrence College.
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a table topped with lots of books on top of a white cloth covered tablecloth and a pile of blue and yellow books
a woman standing at a podium with a microphone in front of her and a microphone in front of her
a woman in glasses speaking at a podium with a laptop on the side of the podium and a sign that says sarah law enforcement college
a table topped with a stack of books next to a pile of books on top of a wooden table
a group of people sitting in chairs in front of a projector screen in a room with a projector screen on the wall
a group of people sitting in chairs in front of a projector screen in a room with a projector screen on the wall
a table with a green table cloth with writing and accessories on it and a spinning wheel on top of it
a woman standing at a podium with her hands up in front of her and a microphone in front of her
a woman signing a book at a table with people sitting at it and a tote bag in front of her
two women sitting on chairs talking to each other in front of a green wall with a sign behind them
three women sitting at a table with a sign on it that says, sarah lawren college writing institute
a group of people sitting in chairs in front of a projector screen with a presentation on the screen
a large poster with a picture of a woman and a man in the middle of the poster is on a wall
a couple of women standing next to each other on a hard wood floored floored room with a wall in the background
a man sitting at a table with a bunch of boxes on it and a stack of chairs behind him
a group of people standing next to each other in front of a screen with a projector screen behind them
a couple of pamphlets sitting on top of a table next to each other on top of a white table
a person writing on a book with a pen and a notebook on a table next to a pair of gloves

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.

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. 

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