Annabel Abbs in conversation with Courtney Maum
Beyond the Writing of Fiction Series
March 22, 2022
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
“Inspirational.”
— Smithsonian, named a Best Travel Book of 2021
“Ms. Abbs’s brief biographies are unfailingly interesting and even revelatory….. Reading about the unfettered freedom to roam enjoyed by these trailblazing women induced considerable vicarious pleasure—and envy."
Join us for Women's History month with author Annabel Abbs discussing Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women--a beautifully written mediation on connection with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. Her footsteps follow Georgia O'Keefe, Nan Shepherd, Gwen John, Daphne du Maurier, and Simone de Beauvoir.
As an author of multiple books in different genres, the writer and book coach Courtney Maum is thrilled to host guests from across the literary stratosphere on The Mount's new monthly "Beyond the Writing of Fiction" craft series. From self-published authors to screenwriters, mystery writers and memoir writers and many other kinds, the breadth and diversity of the interviewees will celebrate Edith Wharton's own affection for various forms of writing while focusing on the elusive but essential tool of craft.
The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact The Mount at 413-551-5100 or by email, info@edithwharton.org, to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.
Beyond the Writing of Fiction has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
- Free online program.
- Monthly discussion--October 2021 through June 2022.
- April is poetry month; Arda Collins, a winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition, and Darrel Alejandro Holnes, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, joins us!
- May is for short stories; join the discussion with author and cultural critic Fernando Sdrigotti.
Annabel Abbs is an award-winning author and journalist, writing regularly and widely for newspapers and magazines; she lives in London with her husband and four children. Her novels, The Joyce Girl and Frieda, were published to great acclaim.
Courtney Maum is the author of the novels Costalegre (a GOOP book club pick and one of Glamour Magazine’s top books of the decade), I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You and Touch (a New York Times Editor’s Choice and NPR Best Book of the Year selection), the popular guidebook Before and After the Book Deal: A writer’s guide to finishing, publishing, promoting, and surviving your first book, and the forthcoming memoir, The Year of the Horses. A nominee for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, Courtney’s writing has been widely published in such outlets as the New York Times, and O, the Oprah Magazine, and her short story This is Not Your Fault was turned into an Audible Original at Amazon. Courtney is the founder of the artist residency, The Cabins and she privately coaches writers on how to preserve the mystery and joy of the creative process in a culture that wants artists to become brands. You can sign up for her newsletter at CourtneyMaum.com