Events Calendar
Literary Mindfulness
Writing is an activity that we pursue because, theoretically, we enjoy it and find it rewarding and fulfilling. It’s also extraordinarily challenging. Sometimes we are good at creating habits that have us regularly sitting in our chairs and working on our writing, and sometimes we let whatever distractions or concerns we may be feeling keep us from making the commitment to our creative work.
Literary Mindfulness is about making a commitment to writing and being mindful about it. This is a commitment that means that we will do this writing for ourselves, acknowledging that it is something that is important to us and that nourishes us as much as it may challenge us.
Literary Mindfulness is about honoring ourselves and the creative instinct that resides inside us. Practically, it’s about creating space for yourself to do your creative work. Sometimes, this is just about carving out a few hours, or even minutes, in your busy day.
In these trying times, it’s more important than ever to make sure your creative soul has the chance to be expressed. Hence Open Book Productions is happy to provide some virtual opportunities for regular guided writing.
Each Literary Mindfulness session will begin with focus exercises and goal setting. It will then include structured time that mixes writing exercises and group work with periods of quiet writing time. In addition to general structured writing exercises, it offers the opportunity to focus on writing your own project as well.
Ongoing sessions will be offered.
If you’d like to try a class, email lynn@lynnrosen.com. Sessions are scheduled as soon as a group is assembled at a time that is convenient for all. Each session is an hour and a half.
COST: $25 PER SESSION
Sign up HERE
Hot Off the Press Spring 2020
In this lively monthly book discussion class led by Lynn Rosen, participants read and discuss new literary fiction. Class conversations include a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the book as well as background information provided by Lynn about the author and the book’s path to publication. We talk serious book talk, but have a lot of laughs too!
Class meets on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 8:30pm.
CLASS DATES:
February 26
March 25
April 22
May 20
June 17
LOCATION: Elkins Park, PA 19027
COST: $160
Sign up HERE.
Books are not included and can be purchased by class members at a discount from Open Book Bookstore.
CLASS READING SCHEDULE:
February 26
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Tells of the ordeal of a Mexican woman who had to leave behind her life and escape as an undocumented immigrant to the United States with her son. This book has created a great literary controversy about cultural appropriation, which will also be part of our discussion.
March 25
Amnesty by Aravind Adiga
A riveting, suspenseful, and exuberant novel from the bestselling, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The White Tiger and Selection Day about a young illegal immigrant who must decide whether to report crucial information about a murder—and thereby risk deportation.
April 22
Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang
“Startlingly original and deeply moving…. Chang here establishes herself as one of the most important of the new generation of American writers.” — George Saunders
Equal parts tender and humorous, and told in spare but powerful prose, Days of Distraction is an offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale, a touching family story, and a razor-sharp appraisal of our times.
May 20
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
The first adult novel in almost fifteen years by the internationally bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts happen. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves, but she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
June 17
The Book of V by Anna Solomon
A bold, kaleidoscopic novel intertwining the lives of three women across three centuries as their stories of sex, power, and desire finally converge in the present day.
Hot Off the Press Spring 2020
In this lively monthly book discussion class led by Lynn Rosen, participants read and discuss new literary fiction. Class conversations include a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the book as well as background information provided by Lynn about the author and the book’s path to publication. We talk serious book talk, but have a lot of laughs too!
Class meets on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 8:30pm.
CLASS DATES:
February 26
March 25
April 22
May 20
June 17
LOCATION: Elkins Park, PA 19027
COST: $160
Sign up HERE.
Books are not included and can be purchased by class members at a discount from Open Book Bookstore.
CLASS READING SCHEDULE:
February 26
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Tells of the ordeal of a Mexican woman who had to leave behind her life and escape as an undocumented immigrant to the United States with her son. This book has created a great literary controversy about cultural appropriation, which will also be part of our discussion.
March 25
Amnesty by Aravind Adiga
A riveting, suspenseful, and exuberant novel from the bestselling, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The White Tiger and Selection Day about a young illegal immigrant who must decide whether to report crucial information about a murder—and thereby risk deportation.
April 22
Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang
“Startlingly original and deeply moving…. Chang here establishes herself as one of the most important of the new generation of American writers.” — George Saunders
Equal parts tender and humorous, and told in spare but powerful prose, Days of Distraction is an offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale, a touching family story, and a razor-sharp appraisal of our times.
May 20
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
The first adult novel in almost fifteen years by the internationally bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts happen. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves, but she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
June 17
The Book of V by Anna Soloman
A bold, kaleidoscopic novel intertwining the lives of three women across three centuries as their stories of sex, power, and desire finally converge in the present day.
Genre Writing Classes
Open Book presents Genre writing classes, offering you the opportunity to try your hand at writing in a variety of genres. Each workshop is taught by an expert in a different genre. You can take a class in a genre you’re already working in, or something new, and try one, or try a few.
See below for details about the classes and our talented instructors!
Each class lasts an hour and a half and meets at the Open Book Bookstore in Elkins Park. Details and specific class descriptions are below.
COST: Classes cost $30 each. Sign up HERE.
LOCATION: Open Book Bookstore, 7900 High School Rd., Elkins Park, PA 19027
CLASS DATES, DESCRIPTIONS AND INSTRUCTORS
THIS CLASS IS SOLD OUT. NEW CLASSES WILL BEGIN IN EARLY 2017.
DATE: Monday December 5
TIME: 7pm to 8:30pm
TOPIC: Writing Children’s Picture Books: Creating Words & Images that Flow
INSTRUCTOR: Heather Devlin Knopf
CLASS DESCRIPTION:
This picture book workshop will address the rhythm and flow of a great picture book in relation to words and images. We’ll analyze the beginning, middle, and end of a picture book; pagination for impact; and the importance of editing one’s work. Tip sheets and exercises will provide learning support with a Q&A session to follow. If you are working on a picture book, or have always wanted to create one, join us!
TEACHER BIO:
Heather Devlin Knopf is a Philadelphia-based artist/illustrator, writer, and educator who works in a variety of mixed media. Knopf teaches at Moore College of Art and Design within the departments of illustration and design and at Philadelphia University with the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce. She is currently working on her next picture book, as well as a series of monotypes entitled 196 Women. Learn more at www.heatherknopf.com.
Sign up HERE.
MORE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED FOR TEEN AND YOUNG ADULT WRITERS. IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THOSE CLASSES, EMAIL US!
NOTE: All tickets are non-refundable.
Dinner with a Book à la française Returns!
Our popular French-themed dinner discussions at Spring Mill Café continue this fall with two dinners to celebrate Paris. Co-hosted by Spring Mill’s famed chef Michele Haines and book discussion leader Lynn Rosen, our theme will be: “Paris Je T’aime (et je te cherche).” We will seek the real Paris as we discuss two books on two separate evenings. Join one event or both!
Dinner #1
DATE: Wednesday, November 2
TIME: 7PM – 9PM
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway 
Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway’s most enduring works. Hemingway captures the essence of a Paris long gone, one inhabited by writers and intellectuals, many of them American ex-pats, who worked hard and drank hard, and lived a life that now lives on only in legend. We’ll explore the famous stories in this revelatory book as we dine on delicious Parisian-inspired cuisine.
COST:
Dinner + discussion: $65
Dinner + discussion + a copy of the book: $80
Sign up HERE.
Dinner #2
DATE: Tuesday, December 6
TIME: 7PM – 9PM
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnick
In 1995, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, his wife, and their infant son left the familiar comforts and hassles of New York City for the urbane glamour of the City of Light. As Gopnik describes in this funny and tender book, the dual processes of navigating a foreign city and becoming a parent are not completely dissimilar journeys–both hold new routines, new languages, a new set of rules by which everyday life is lived. With singular wit and insight, Gopnik weaves the magical with the mundane in a wholly delightful, often hilarious look at what it was to be an American family man in Paris at the end of the twentieth century.
COST:
Dinner + discussion: $65
Dinner + discussion + a copy of the book: $80
Sign up HERE.
PLACE: Both events take place at Spring Mill Café, 164 Barren Hill Road, Conshohocken, PA 19428
Sign up HERE.
MENU: Très délicieux!
premier cours
Oysters on the half Shell with Chablis Mignonette
or
Salad Verte
Entrée Choice
Poulet de Bresse
(Free Range chicken with fresh tarragon, shallots, and Mushroom)
or
Trout Fillet with Sorrel Cream
Dessert
Tart tatin with Hadley
(Classic Tart Tatin served warm with vanilla ice cream)
