Meet Rachel Simon, our Writing for the Internet instructor

Meet Rachel Simon, deputy editor of Hello Giggles and writer whose work has appeared in NBC News, the New York Times, Glamour, and many others. Rachel will be teaching our first ever Writing for the Internet class, in which students will workshop pitches and stories and will talk about publication, submission, and polishing their work.

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Stuck? Let us cheer you on!

It’s really easy to get into a negative headspace when it comes to creative writing. You set daily writing goals you don’t meet, you feel stalled out in a story, you feel overwhelmed by life—especially during these tumultuous times that give rise to troubling existential questions about whether art matters, about health and safety concerns, and political turmoil. So how do you keep writing?

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Meet Isabel Walsh, our new Fiction I instructor

If you’re new to Redbud, or new to our fiction offerings, look no further than Isabel Walsh’s Fiction I class, which starts next week! Isabel, an NC State MFA graduate and all-around wonderful writer and teacher, will be leading this Fiction I course on Zoom, on Monday nights. Read on to learn all about her!

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Meet our new poetry instructor, Melanie Tafejian

We asked Melanie Tafejian, who will be teaching our new August class, “The Power of Food Imagery in Poetry,” about inspiration, recently read books, and for a sneak peak into the course. Melanie holds an MFA in Poetry from North Carolina State University where she won the 2020 North Carolina State Poetry Contest. Read on to find out what Melanie had to say on these topics and more!

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Coronavirus 2020: How Can You Help Our Community?

I know this is a tough time economically and emotionally for most, if not all of you, but we wanted to provide you with a round-up of organizations and funds in the area that have launched to help the artists and literati who are suffering from lost wages and opportunities during this period. If you can, please consider taking the money you’d spend on drinks and dining and fun and kicking a few dollars towards these fundraising efforts.

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Coronavirus Updates

Hi everyone! As you all know, coronavirus is rapidly becoming a concern throughout the United States, and many universities and other institutions are canceling or postponing events. We wanted to let our Redbuddies (as we call our Redbud community) that we’re aware of this situation and let you know what we’re thinking about in terms of contingency plans.

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Meet our New Fiction Instructor, Diana Fenves

We asked Diana Fenves, who will be teaching Fiction I in Raleigh, about writing rituals, recently read books, and the revision process. Diana is a playwright and graduate of NC State’s MFA program. Read on to find out what Diana had to say on these topics and more!

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Meet Andrea Rice, Our New Memoir and Meditation Instructor

Memoir and Meditation?! That’s right! In our upcoming March/April round, we’ll be rolling out a new course that combines the traditional craft and workshopping of our Memoir I classes with meditation practice. Coming on board to teach this new offering is Andrea Rice, a former New York Times reporter and a current freelance writer and yoga instructor. We talked to Andrea about why meditation and memoir are a natural fit, what to expect from this class, her background in writing, her leash-trained cat, and more. Read on to learn all about her, and then sign up for the class, which starts at VAE Raleigh on Tuesday, March 17.

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Meet our Advanced Essay Instructor, Duncan Murrell

We’re so excited to welcome Duncan Murrell to Redbud! Duncan is an editor at Harper's Magazine, The Oxford American magazine, and The Normal School. He has also written for The Highline @ The Huffington Post, The New Republic, Men's Journal, Our State Magazine, and Southwest Magazine. His work has been recognized in Best American Essays and he holds a master’s in journalism and an MFA in fiction. Duncan will be teaching a class called Advanced Essay for us—this is a must-take if you’re interested in nonfiction. Read on to find out more!

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A Q&A with Fiction Instructor Shervon Cassim

This week, we sat down with one of our fiction instructors, Shervon Cassim. Shervon teaches Fiction I and Fiction II for us, in addition to his role as assistant director to the NC State MFA program and his position as president of the North Carolina Writers Network’s board.

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Meet our New Playwriting/Screenwriting Instructor

We’re offering our first-ever screenwriting/playwriting class starting in January 2020! We sat down with instructor Annie Sarac, who holds a playwriting MFA from UNLV and has had plays staged in Ohio, Nevada, and California, to find out more about her and this exciting new course.

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Meet the Folks Behind Epilogue, Chapel Hill's Newest Bookstore

We were thrilled to see a new bookstore open in Chapel Hill, especially one as stylish and welcoming as Epilogue—the pastries! the books! the murals! We’re excited to partner with them in the coming months: we’re hosting a literary trivia night at Epilogue on Friday, Dec. 13 and are hosting one of our six-week Fiction I workshops there starting in January. In advance of that, we wrote to Miranda and Jaime to learn a bit about how Epilogue came to be and their vision for the store going forward.

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A Q&A with Productivity Class Leader Sarah Ruiz

Today, we are thankful for this Q&A with Sarah Ruiz, who will be teaching a class on productivity for us on December 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books. (Read more about the class and sign up here. Hurry! Early bird registration rates end November 30.) Sarah is an educator, writer, and mother, and one of the most productive people we know! We asked Sarah about her writing obsessions, her tips on how to write consistently, and more.

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Meet our new Fiction I instructor, Ben Murphy

Ben Murphy teaches fiction and freshman composition at North Carolina State University, and is a graduate of the NC State MFA program. He’s going to be teaching our Fiction I class at Quail Ridge Books on Monday nights starting in January. We sat down to talk with Ben about his favorite authors, his teaching philosophy, and more.

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