Odyssey Writing Workshops
Since so many readers also write fiction, the Odyssey now offers writing workshops. Last year's three classes were very satisfying and new workshops begin this fall. If you are interested in more information, please contact me at odysseybookgrp@gmail.com.

Character & Point of View: Saturday, September 13, 9:00 to 1:00
Setting & Imagery: Saturday, October 18, 9:00 to 1:00
     These small group workshops offer opportunities to explore writing literary short fiction in an intensive format. We will discuss major elements of craft through structured exercises to help the beginning writer build a short story. As a group, we will examine both published and student work carefully to understand how stories work and to share and critique our work in a positive and supportive environment
     The fee for each workshop is $75. Class size is limited to seven. Interested applicants should send an email to us at odysseybookgrp@gmail.com by August 25. Please tell us what you hope to gain from the workshop, and list any previous writing experience (none is required.)

Manuscript Critique Workshop: Sat., November 8, 9:00 to 4:00
     This one-day workshop is designed for writers who are working on stories or longer fiction, and are looking for in-depth group discussion of their work. Student manuscripts (20 pp maximum) will be distributed to all members of the group two weeks before the workshop. Each participant is expected to carefully read and critique the work of all group members.
     The fee for the manuscript workshop is $100 (lunch on your own.) Class size is limited to six. Interested applicants should send an email to odysseybookgrp@gmail.com by September 15, including personal goals for the workshop, listing previous writing experience, and submitting the manuscript they would like discussed in the workshop.

Joy of book groups:
A message from Elli 
Hello! My name is Elli Meeropol and I’m the book group coordinator at the Odyssey.

My job is help your group  – with discounted books, resources, book selection ideas, or inviting an author to meet with your group. 

Book Group Discounts
The Odyssey offers 20% off book group selections, if you order five or more per title at least two weeks in advance of the date you need them, to be picked up by one person. To participate in this discount program, you must register your group with the Odyssey. Click here for a simple online registration form. The best way to place a book group discount order is using our online request. You may also call the store with the necessary information. When the books come in, we’ll call the contact person and place the books behind the counter to be picked up. Please give us plenty of time, so we can have the books available – most groups like to have the books in hand a full month before the meeting at which they’ll be discussed. 

Do you know about our Odyssey-sponsored Book Groups??

These groups are free and open to the public; pre-registration is not required. The month's selection for store-sponsored groups is discounted 20% for group participants.

Literary Fiction: The Open Fiction Book Group, led by Elli Meeropol, usually meets on the third Monday of the month at 7 p.m.

Crime Fiction: Neil Novik, one of the owners of the Odyssey, leads the Odyssey Crime Club at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month.

Sundays with Shakespeare: This discussion group is led by Arthur Kinney, director of Renaissance Studies at UMASS. It meets at 11 a.m. on the third Sunday of every month.

A brief historical note about book groups

        We usually think of reading as an individual experience – curled up in front of a fireplace in a snowstorm with a cat on your lap, or maybe stretched out under a beach umbrella with sand between your toes. If you’re in a book group, you already know the pleasures of reading as a group activity as well. But did you know that gathering in groups to read together, or to discuss books, is part of a grand tradition?
·        In 15^th century France, a group of women gathered during the long winter evenings to spin, read aloud, and talk about books.
·        With the rise of the novel in the early 18^th century, books were very expensive and readings groups gathered to share one book among several listeners.
·        In 1816 Mary Wollstonecraft and her lover Shelley visited Lord Byron in his villa on Lake Geneva where they read ghost stories in a group. Byron challenged his guests to write one of their own, and the result was Frankenstein.
·        In the late 1840’s a group of young women who worked in a British mill town met at five o’clock every morning to read Shakespeare together before going to work.
         Of course since then the proliferation of literacy and of paperback books has transformed reading and publishing. Reading groups have also been affected by changing cultural norms. In the 18^th century, women reading novels was viewed as unwholesome – all those trashy novels and fallen women. But during the same era French women ran salons that attracted the most powerful politicians and intellectuals of the day, of both genders. And this literary activism continued in this country through the Saturday Evening Girls Club in the North End of Boston during the Progressive Era, and the feminist consciousness-raising discussion groups of the 70’s.
        The current explosion of reading groups in this country was possibly launched in September 1996, when Ophrah Winfrey launched her Book Club, arguably the most powerful one-woman literacy program ever.
        So next time your book group meets to discuss character and plot, a sense of place and gorgeous language, you’re NOT ONLY having a great time, you’re also part of a long tradition of readers– over centuries and across continents – who gather to enjoy a good book together.

Check out the Odyssey staff's favorite paperbacks
 for book group discussions here.

Resources for Book Groups

Booksense.com is the website of the independent bookstores of America. Their monthly "picks" showcase new fiction, and they also list book group favorites and specialty recommendations. Check them out at http://booksense.com/bspicks/index.jsp.

General Reading Group Websites:
www.readinggroupchices.com
www.readinggroupguides.com

Book Review Sites:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
http://www.bookpage.com
http://www.bookreporter.com

Printable reading guides from publishers:
Algonquin Books: http://algonquin.com/etcetera/readers-guides
Curbstone Press: http://curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=24
Random House: http://www.randomhuse.com/rgg/
Penguin Group: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/readingguides/index.html
HarperCollins: http://www.harpercollins.com/readers/readinggroups.aspx
Henry Holt: http://www.henryholt.com/readingguides/index.htm
St. Martins: http://www.readinggroupgold.com/guides/guides.aspx
Houghton Mifflin: http://houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readings_guides/fiction.shtml
Simon&Schuster: http://www.simonsays.com
WW Norton: http://wwnorton.com/trade/rgg.htm