From: van@eff.org (Gerard Van der Leun)
Subject: Ploughshares Writers Conference
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 20:48:16 GMT


The Ploughshares International Writers' Conference

     Living in a Renaissance castle in the placid Dutch countryside, cut
off from the world by gardens and a double moat; talking and debating
writing with other writers, listening to the advice of visiting editors
and authors.  Waking up in the morning to a rooster's crow; going
downstairs to a hearty Dutch breakfast in the converted wine cellar;
perhaps taking a bicycle ride with a friend in the afternoon into the
tile-roofed village and over the river Maas, or into Germany--but always
involved with thinking, talking, writing fiction.
     No, that isn't a fantasy that swam into the head of a harassed
fiction writer as he got up at five a.m. to steal a couple of dark hours
to work on his novel before he had to pack himself off to the office. Or
of another harassed writer who rose to give herself a little time before
she had to feed the kids and get them off to school.
     It really exists. It happens every summer at Castle Well in the
Limbourg region of the Netherlands, under the auspices of Boston's
Emerson College. There isn't anything else quite like it in the way of a
writers' conference because Castle Well isn't a classroom or a lecture
hall but a community of writers who, for two weeks (Aug. 16-28), are
relieved of office, kids, meals, telephone calls and every other
obligation except putting words on paper.
     Thirty writers at an early stage in their careers will have
the chance this summer.
     A typical day at the castle is something like this: there are
morning sessions for a thorough critique of selected manuscripts. In the
afternoons, you might have a personal conference with one of the seminar
leaders, or might want to work on a revision, or continue a
work-in-progress. Or you might want to attend a specialized workshop on
some aspect of writing. In the evenings, there may be a talk by a
visiting publisher in one of the castle drawing rooms, a round table
with a panel of editors, or readings by participants or faculty. On
weekends, there's time for Amsterdam or Brussels, or some  of the
charming small towns in Holland or Belgium--or just enjoyment of the
castle at leisure.
     At Castle Well, the company you keep is very good. Most members are
from the United States, but there are always American writers living
abroad--and in past years there have been others from France, Italy,
Israel, Korea, Holland, and Switzerland (though all of them write in
English). The age range is from graduate students, through young
professionals, to the 70-plus of a retired American brain surgeon from
Paris who came last summer in order to get a critique of the novel he's
writing.
     The castle is now the comfortable quarters for Emerson College's
student year abroad, but there are many reminders of its long history.
The mediaeval Castle Well sent knights to the crusades and was a refuge
from local dragons. (Those who are skeptical of this,  1- can visit the
ruined Dragon Tower on the grounds.) In the sixteenth century, Anne of
Cleves, Henry the Eighth's fourth wife, once fled from her enemies to
the safety of Castle Well.
     Rooms look out on the gardens and a moat where black and white
swans swim. Peacocks parade across the lawn. Meals are prepared and
served in a vaulted wine cellar by the staff of a nearby Dutch inn.
There is a bar in one of the luxurious drawing rooms.
     You work closely with one of the fiction writers on the
staff--there is one faculty member to every five or six participants.
And each of these faculty member has an interesting professional
background.
   James Carroll is the author of eight novels, including the
highly-acclaimed Mortal Friends and the 1991 publication, Memorial
Bridge. Three of his novels have been on the New York Times bestseller
list.
     Robie Macauley has been editor of The Kenyon Review, Fiction Editor
of Playboy, and Executive Editor at Houghton Mifflin Co. He is the
author of five books, including two novels, a collection of short
stories, and a critical book, Technique in Fiction.
     Alexandra Marshall's most recent novel, her third, is The Brass
Bed. She is the author of a non-fiction book, Still Waters, published in
conjunction with the Nova film of that title.
     Pamela Painter's stories have appeared in Harper's, The Atlantic
Monthly, Story magazine and others. Her prizewinning collection is
titled Getting to Know the Weather. She is the co-author, with Anne
Bernays, of What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers.
     David Applefield is the European Co-ordinator of the Seminar. He is
the editor and publisher of Frank: An International Journal of
Contemporary Writing & Art. He is also a fiction writer and a teacher at
the American University in Paris.
     For a brochure with detailed information, write or call:

            David Griffin
            Emerson College
            Department of Continuing Education
            Emerson College
            100 Beacon St.
            Boston, MA. 02116


            tel:(617) 578-8615