Many short stories and novels are funny, and many are moving, but it’s the rare piece of fiction that manages to be both funny and emotionally resonant. In a special workshop, Funny Sad, Funny Ha Ha Or Both, author Katherine Shonk will explore how to use humor to entertain as well as to deepen the emotional impact of writing. The workshop will be held Monday, November 26, 6 – 7:30 pm, at the Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor.
Shonk will share passages from authors such as Lorrie Moore, Flannery O’Connor, Katherine Heiny, and George Saunders and discuss how these writers strengthen our connection to their characters while making us laugh. There will be time for participants to respond to a writing prompt and to share writing with the group. Participants are also encouraged to bring a funny/sad/poignant paragraph or two from a favorite literary author to share.
Katherine Shonk is the author of The Red Passport, a collection of stories set in Russia, and the novel Happy Now?, which Publisher’s Weekly called “both tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud funny.” Her writing has appeared in Tin House, Best American Short Stories 2001, StoryQuarterly, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. Shonk lives in Evanston, Illinois, and is working on a (hopefully) funny-sad novel about motherhood.
Tuition for the 90-minute workshop is $25. For more information about the class, visit www.writeondoorcounty.org.
Write On, Door County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Write On conducts programs to inspire people to write and share their stories at various venues throughout Door County.
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