Notes from The Writer's Corner
Catch the replay with Amy B. Scher, get ready for next week's Writer's Session, only 5 spots left for our Vermont Writing Retreat, and much more!
This week, bestselling author Amy B. Scher shared how she turned real-life tragedy into her debut YA novel, The Unexpected Afterlife of Salon Rose.
What we covered in this session:
• Switching genres, being open to different publishing options, and staying resilient through rejection.
• How to use humor to approach heavy topics without losing emotional weight.
• Why you often have to write your way through bad drafts to discover what your book is actually about.
• How focusing on “what needs to happen next” helped Amy rebuild her manuscript.
• And more!
To learn more about Amy’s work, click HERE!
Next week …
August 3 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST
The Writer’s Session: An Open Exchange
Our session devoted to community members. Join us for The Writer’s Session: An Open Exchange. No guest—just one hour to discuss the stamina of the creative life and craft. Bring a question, a hurdle, or a recent win you’re proud of.
Reminder: Our open discussion sessions are not recorded because we want them to be a safe space for honest conversation.
Mark your calendar …
August 10 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST
Sarah L. Kaufman for A Craft Conversation
Sarah L. Kaufman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, an award-winning author and a writing teacher. As the Washington Post’s chief dance critic she wrote about the arts, entertainment, and society for 27 years. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and New York Review of Books, among others. Her debut book, The Art of Grace, was a Washington Post Notable Book and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award and a Spirituality & Practice Award. Sarah has received journalism fellowships from the Nieman Foundation and the French-American Foundation, and she has taught writing at Harvard, Princeton, American University, the National Critics Institute, and New York’s Center for Fiction.
Only 5 spots left! …
Don’t miss your chance to join us at the Wisdom & Words Fall Writing Retreat from November 6 to 9, 2026 in the beautiful mountains of Vermont. This retreat is for fiction and memoir writers. We’ll be staying at Amee Farm Lodge—the perfect setting to get away from it all and inspire your next writing masterpiece. Click HERE to learn more!
Recommended reading …
I was honored to have the above essay, “The Body,” published by Memoir Magazine a little while ago. It’s a piece that means a lot to me, so I was thrilled to discover recently it’s been republished here on Substack.
The work Memoir Magazine is doing (led by Founder & Editor-in-Chief Mary McBeth) is outstanding.
One of the most touching parts for me as a writer working with them was being able to help select the accompanying art (“The 2020s” by Madari Pendas). I loved the collaborative process, and it felt like such care was given to my work. This is rare in today’s landscape.
All to say, if you aren’t following Memoir Magazine yet, I highly recommend checking it out!
