The Muse 2013 | Overview & Details
Overview
The Muse and the Marketplace is a three-day literary conference designed to give aspiring writers a better understanding about the craft of writing fiction and non-fiction, inside information about the world of publishing, and thoughtful networking opportunities. On all three days, prominent and nationally-recognized established and emerging authors lead sessions on the craft of writing-- the "muse" side of things-- while editors, literary agents, and publicists lead sessions on the business side-- the "marketplace." Grub Street also offers the Manuscript Mart, at which, for an additional fee, an attendee can meet one-on-one with an established literary agent or editor who has read his or her work in advance and provides direct feedback. Many conferences offer pitch sessions, but The Muse and the Marketplace is one of the few conferences where your actual pages will be discussed and thoughtfully evaluated by an agent or editor.When & Where
The Muse & the Marketplace 2013 will take place from Friday, May 3rd to Sunday, May 5th, 2013 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street, Boston. The Park Plaza Hotel is handicapped accessible.The Conference Includes....
1.) Your choice of 3, 4, 8, or 11 sessions, depending on whether you register for one day, two days or the full weekend. Session choices feature a mix of craft seminars and industry-focused panels with agents and editors, which you select in advance. 2.) On Friday, our annual National Book Prize reading and reception with non-fiction winner Ellen Cassedy. 3.) On Saturday, a sit-down, served three-course lunch in the Imperial Ballroom of the Park Plaza hotel. For an additional fee of $75, you may choose to sit at one of our "Shop Talk" lunch tables, which includes a combination of four authors, editors, and agents. These tables are located in the adjacent Plaza ballroom to provide a quieter atmosphere more conducive for networking and socializing. 4.) On Saturday, our "Marketplace" Keynote Address with Amanda Palmer. Introduction by Steve Almond. 5.) On Sunday, our "Muse" Keynote Lunch. This is a sit-down, served three-course lunch in the Imperial Ballroom with open seating. 6.) The Manuscript Mart, in which you can spend 20 minutes discussing your work one-on-one with a prominent literary agent or editor, who will have read the work in advance. (The Manuscript Mart costs an additional $145).Schedule of Events
Friday, May 3rd, 2013| 12:00 - 1:00pm | Registration, Meet & Greet |
| 1:00 - 2:15pm | Session 1 Seminars and Panels |
| 2:30 - 3:45pm | Session 2 Seminars and Panels |
| 4:00 - 5:00pm | Hour of Power Seminars and Panels Manuscript Mart Sessions I-VI |
| 5:00 - 6:30pm | National Book Prize Reception, Reading, & Craft Discussion |
| 5:15 - 8:30pm | The Afters |
| 8:00 - 9:45am | Registration, Continental Breakfast, Meet & Greet |
| 8:30 - 9:40am | Manuscript Mart Sessions VII-X |
| 9:45 - 11:00am | Session 3 Seminars and Panels |
| 11:15 - 12:30pm | Session 4 Seminars and Panels |
| 12:45 - 2:00pm | Casual Lunch. Attendees may sit at a "Shop Talk" table for an additional fee. Grub Street happily accommodates vegetarian and allergy needs. |
| 2:15 - 3:30pm | Session 5 Seminars and Panels |
| 3:45 - 4:45pm | Hour of Power Seminars Manuscript Mart Sessions XI-XV |
| 4:45 - 6:00pm | Lit Lounge: Cash Bar & Festive Mingling |
| 5:15 - 6:15pm | The Afters |
| 7:00pm | Marketplace Keynote Address with Amanda Palmer. Introduction by Steve Almond. |
| 8:00 - 9:45am | Registration, Continental Breakfast, Meet & Greet |
| 8:30 - 9:40am | Manuscript Mart Sessions XVI-XIX |
| 9:45 - 11:00am | Session 6 Seminars and Panels |
| 11:15 - 12:30pm | Session 7 Seminars and Panels |
| 12:45 - 2:30pm | Muse Keynote Lunch with James Wood. Open seating. Grub Street happily accommodates vegetarian and allergy needs. |
| 2:45 - 4:00pm | Session 8 Seminars and Panels |
| 4:15 - 5:15pm | Hour of Power Seminars |
| 5:15 - 6:00pm | Lit Lounge: Cash Bar & Festive Mingling |
| 5:15 - 6:15pm | The Afters |
Three Days, Many Ways
New to the 2013 conference, we have added an extra day (Friday) that we've designated for “Essentials." These 21 Friday sessions focus on the building blocks of fiction, non-fiction and publishing-- everything from outlining a novel to the protocol of query letters to our now legendary “Literary Idol.” This is the perfect introduction to the rest of the weekend, which will featured more nuanced craft and publishing sessions, two keynote addresses, a networking lunch, and other surprises. Saturday and Sunday sessions are geared toward the "intermediate to advanced" level of writer, with the exception of the "Essentials Of..." sessions, which are led by active Grub Street instructors and pitched to those who want to revisit the fundamentals.Choosing Sessions & Appointments
In attending the conference, you'll have numerous opportunities to participate in sessions on both the craft of writing and the world of publishing. All sessions are led by established and emerging authors, top literary agents and editors, and special guests whose bios you can read here. Many of these presenters are generously donating their time, effort, and expertise, such that all proceeds from the Muse and the Marketplace are used to support Grub Street and in particular our free outreach programs for teens and senior citizens. To contribute as well, or become an official sponsor of the Muse, click here. All sessions generally have between 15 and 55 participants. While "Literary Idol" and other interactive sessions offer the chance to get direct feedback on your work in a group setting, no sessions are traditional workshops that offer a thorough critique of your manuscript. If you are interested in getting such feedback, consider submitting a 20-page manuscript to the Manuscript Mart. All sessions are labeled as Lecture with Q&A, Discussion, Guided Writing Exercises, Panel Discussion, or a combination of the above. Please read session descriptions carefully to decide which format is best for you. We have asked each session leader to provide at least one handout. You are required to select which sessions you would like to attend when you register for the conference in advance. Please know that some sessions fill very quickly. If your session descriptions ask you to bring or read work in advance, please do so. You do not have to pre-register for the "Hour of Power" sessions, which you may sample at the conference. Hours of Power sessions are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited to the number of chairs set up in each room. When you register, the online form you complete represents a series of your REQUESTS to be placed in particular sessions/appointments, and NOT official placement. One week before the conference, we will email you a final itinerary of all your sessions and applicable Manuscript Mart/Lunch Table appointments, based on the preferences you submit here. While it's extremely likely that you will be placed with all your top choices if those choices are available at the time of registration, we cannot guarantee those placements. Grub Street reserves the right to make changes to our conference offerings at any time due to unforeseen circumstances, but will always let you know in advance if we need to do so.Keynote Speeches: Featuring Amanda Palmer and James Wood
Grub Street welcomes two exciting keynote speakers who will address the entire conference on Saturday evening, May 4th, and over lunch on Sunday, May 5th. Both addresses will take place in the Imperial Ballroom. The addresses will last approximately one hour, and the speaker will take your questions on the content of the talk, as well as other relevant questions related to his or her talk.
Coming into public consciousness in 2002 with punk-cabaret troupe The Dresden Dolls, Amanda Palmer has heaved her way to the top of the music industry. Four albums and five tours later, she and her independent attitude went solo, releasing Who Killed Amanda Palmer, produced by Ben Folds, in 2008. Two self-released EP’s followed, along with a musical theater-esque Evelyn Evelyn album and tour with Jason Webley. Palmer has made a name for herself in the last few years as the quintessential social media artist, engaging in daily interactions with her fans 365 days a year and making an art form out of Twitter. With over half a million Twitter followers and a deeply personal blog, she has one of the most responsive and supportive online fan bases on the internet. Palmer made global headlines this year with her wildly successful Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign, raising $1.2 million dollars for her new album, Theatre is Evil. Passion is what drives Amanda, and her success proves how determined she really is to make a difference not only in her own music, but in the way that music is created and consumed around the globe. Amanda Palmer has taken everything that was in her nimble-fingered grasp, from tweeted keytars to Melbourne coffees and the expansive grounds of the internet, and has woven them into a world first. This is the future of music, and Amanda Palmer is leading the way.
James Wood has been a staff writer and book critic at The New Yorker since 2007. He was the chief literary critic at the Guardian in London, from 1992 to 1995, and a senior editor at The New Republic from 1995 to 2007. His critical essays have been collected in two volumes, The Broken Estate: Essays on Literature and Belief (1999) and The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel (2004), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of a novel, The Book Against God (2003), and a study of technique in the novel, How Fiction Works (2008). He lives in Boston, and teaches half time at Harvard University, where he is Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism.