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Events & TeachingReadings & Events Stay Tuned Place Reading Thanks to all of you who've recently attended readings at the following great independent bookstores and other venues. Your support has been wonderful. The Writer's Place (Kansas City) The University of Arizona Poetry Center (Tucson) Why There Are Words (Sausalito, Calif.) Newberry Library Bookstore (Chicago) Diesel Books (Oakland, Calif.) Book Passage (Corte Madera, Calif.) Bloomsbury Books (Ashland, Ore.) Powell's (Portland) Elliott Bay Books (Seattle) Chaucer's (Santa Barbara) Read Booksellers (Danville, Calif.) Nightbird Books (Fayetteville, Ark.) Teaching I teach at several venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, and occasionally through UCLA Extension online. Here are a few comments from recent students: Cary Groner was a wonderful teacher: patient, organized, and encouraging. Although I’ve been writing quite a while and have had a little bit of publishing success (children’s fiction) there were still things I didn’t know about structure and point of view and motivation, conflict and suspense. If I’d succeeded with any of these elements in the past, it was due to in part by chance. Cary’s class has made me a more conscious writer relying less on instinct and more on mindful decisions. I am able to see more clearly where my short fiction is missing the mark. I hope to continue with the Writing Salon in the fall and it would be wonderful to have Cary as my teacher again. I know he has so much more to offer. --Karen E., Berkeley, Calif. I highly recommend taking a course from Cary. His approach is to pack as many components of an MFA program into a nine week class as possible. The class is well organized and demanding. If you believe, as I do, that it is necessary to “know the rules in order to break them,” then Cary’s class is the one for you. In workshop, he is skilled at noticing gaps in stories and then introducing literary strategies to fill them—which is not to say that he is opposed to unconventional techniques, but that he feels students should be aware of and have many useful tools in their arsenal in order to improve their craft. --Avery M., Berkeley, Calif. I recently had the pleasure of taking an online fiction writing class from Cary Groner. I’m not sure how I lucked into having Cary as the professor, but I could not have asked for a better writing instructor. His assignments challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone into a place where I was able to experience tremendous personal growth as a writer. His feedback was very detailed and valuable. He could see things in my work that I was too close to recognize and, even better, he helped me develop my own skills for critically reading my own work. Going into the class, I was nervous about sharing my writing, but I came to recognize that Cary always provided both honest and critical feedback in a way that still nurtured, motivated and encouraged me as a new writer. He also facilitated vibrant discussions among my classmates and I was able to witness growth through their experiences in the class, as well. I would highly recommend taking a writing class from Cary if given the opportunity; I know I would sign up for another one in a heartbeat. —Maggie L. (UCLA online student) Cary Groner brought an infectious spirit of professionalism and hard work to this class which helped bring out an impressive set of short stories from the students. His sophisticated leadership in discussions of the essays on writing and of the published stories which he selected for his class, and of the stories written by the students in this class, developed awareness of fine points of diction, point of view, dialog, tone and conflict. --Ed O., Kensington, Calif. Cary Groner is that rare combination of talented writer and gifted teacher. I have an undergraduate degree in English/Creative Writing and I can honestly say that I learned more in one class with him than I did in my degree program. Cary nurtures the talent of every writer in his course. He encouraged each of us to break out of his or her comfort zone. He engaged us in lively discussions of essays on writing and used examples of great contemporary and classic literature. The writing exercises we completed each week were challenging and helped me to learn more about the different elements that make up a great literary short story. Although I was in a class of fifteen students, I felt as if he were my personal mentor. His criticism and comments helped me to improve tremendously. Through Cary’s course, I also learned to read like a writer. After my degree program, I felt that I was lacking as a writer and really did not know how to write a short story. I have had stories published before, but I don’t really think that I knew what made a short story great until Cary’s class. I would highly recommend taking a class with Cary and would take another class with him in the future if given the chance. I learned so much from him and, by the end of class, produced one of the best pieces I have written to date. Because of his instruction, I feel that I can write many more great pieces.—Tanya A. (UCLA online student) My online course with Cary Groner was as intensive and beneficial as if I had been in a classroom setting. The reading material, lectures and writing assignments meshed together seamlessly, giving me great insight into writing styles and technique as well as guidance into my own writing. In trying to move forward with my literary education, I couldn’t have asked for a better or more knowledgeable teacher. The time and care he puts in to working with the students is nothing short of wonderful. The class was invaluable to me, and I would not pass up a chance to take another writing course with Cary in the future.—Maddie B. (UCLA online student) I had not taken a creative writing course since my undergraduate degree program over twenty years ago. I was hesitant to take this course, fearing that it would either be amateurish and a disappointment or focused on professional development for writers more skilled and experienced than I am. Cary did an excellent job of creating a rigorous course that exceeded my expectations. He respected the class members and treated us as peers; he set high standards by providing excellent examples of classic and current literature; he was flexible and responsive to the needs of the group; and he gave thorough, balanced, personalized, and helpful criticism that improved every class members’ writing skills by the end of the course. I am sure that Cary could do for any class what he did for me in a very short amount of time. He helped me grow in confidence and skill and renewed my love of writing. --Kate S., Oakland, Calif. Radio Here's a link to a radio interview I did with KBOO in Portland, Oregon, in June 2011: KBOO Interview Photos Here are some photos from the reading at Why There are Words in Sausalito, December 2011. 
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