Tag: writing

Writer’s Symposium By The Sea 2017

8232Join host Dean Nelson as he welcomes three writers to this year’s Writer’s Symposium by the Sea. This annual event at Point Loma Nazarene University presents an evening of interviews conducted by symposium founder Dean Nelson, featuring lively conversations about the inspiration behind the authors’ works. Enjoy cutting edge creators, life stories, examples of great writing, and evocative conversation that will inspire the reader and writer alike.

8232An Evening with Tracy Kidder
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder reveals his reporting strengths as he describes how he earned the trust of the people he has featured in books such as “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” “House,” “A Truck Full of Money,” “Old Friends,” and “Strength in What Remains.” Kidder shares the joys and doubts of a career in writing with veteran journalist and host Dean Nelson.

8232An Evening with Robert Pinsky
Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky describes himself as a “composer” who considers poetry to be first and foremost a vocal art, and his work seeks to blur the distinctions between language and music by emphasizing the rhythms and innate physicality of recited verse in a jazz context. In this performance, Pinsky’s reading is accompanied by a talented trio of PLNU students. The music – a blend of rehearsed and improvised – employs a variety of jazz styles, sometimes sympathetic and sometimes in playful counterpoint, but always responsive to the poet’s distinctive voice.

8232An Evening with Shauna Niequist
This far-reaching conversation with best-selling author Shauna Niequist offers an honest account of her journey of becoming and evolving as a writer. She shares her love of storytelling and her goal of living life to the fullest, and offers tips for aspiring writers. Niequist’s newest release is “Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic For A Simpler, More Soulful Way Of Living.”

Browse past seasons of Writer’s Symposium by the Sea to watch interviews with Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott, Billy Collins, Mary Karr, and more!

Story Hour in the Library

8232Good writing should be heard.

Watch some of your favorite writers as they read selected excerpts from their works. This prose reading series is hosted by UC Berkeley English department faculty Vikram Chandra and Melanie Abrams and features distinguished prose writers from the Bay Area and beyond.

Look for these new programs:

28831Jess Row
Jess Row, the author of “Your Face in Mine” and two short story collections, “The Train to Lo Wu” and “Nobody Ever Gets Lost” reads from his work at UC Berkeley. He has received a Whiting Writers Award, the PEN/O. Henry Award, and two Pushcart Prizes. In 2007 he was named a “Best Young American Novelist” by Granta. He teaches at the College of New Jersey and is an ordained Zen Teacher.

28890Joyce Maynard
Joyce Maynard has been a writer of both fiction and nonfiction since the age of 18. Her memoir “At Home in the World” has been translated into fifteen languages. Her eight novels include the newly released “After Her,” as well as “To Die For” and the New York Times bestseller, “Labor Day.” In addition to writing, Maynard performs frequently as a storyteller with The Moth in New York City, and is the founder of the Lake Atitlan (Guatemala) Writers’ Workshop.

29110And coming soon – Tom Barbash
Tom Barbash is the author of the new book of stories “Stay Up With Me.” Previous books include award-winning novel “The Last Good Chance” and “On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11,” which was a New York Times bestseller. His stories and articles have been published and performed on National Public Radio.

Story Hour in the Library celebrates the writers in the UC Berkeley campus community with an annual student reading. The event features short excerpts of work by winners of the year’s biggest prose prizes, Story Hour in the Library interns, and faculty nominees.

Visit The Story Hour for more from this series.

Remembering Ray Bradbury

Today we remember legendary writer Ray Bradbury, who passed away this week at the age of 91.

A prolific writer who helped elevate the literary reputation of the science fiction genre, Bradbury has also been one of the most popular guests on the “Writer’s Symposium by the Sea” series from Pt. Loma Nazarene University.

He appeared in 2001 to talk about his craft in “An Evening with Ray Bradbury,”, and sat down with host Dean Nelson for an in-depth and frank conversation about his life and love of writing. Both videos are online and ready for you to enjoy and fondly remember this iconic American writer.
 

 

Writer’s Symposium By the Sea 2010

In March, UCSD-TV will tape two of Dean Nelson’s author interviews as part of the 2010 Writer’s Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Look for the broadcast premieres of “An Evening with Michael Eric Dyson” and “An Evening with Bill McKibben” in April.

Watch online videos of all Writer’s Symposium by the Sea programs and learn more about the series.