Writing the 800-Word Essay

Jennifer Mattson Jennifer Mattson

The Center for Writing and Public Discourse is sponsoring a workshop for faculty and staff on writing the 800-word essay with journalist Jennifer Mattson on Friday, February 22, from 9-11 a.m. in Roberts South 103.

In this workshop, you will have an opportunity to learn about the art of writing short pieces that can be adapted for various venues. From op-eds to reported pieces, personal essays to The New York Times' Modern Love column, the short essay form can be an ideal way to get your stories out into mainstream media.

This workshop will include a discussion on how to arrive at an idea, exercises for beginning your piece, and feedback from the instructor.

Jennifer Mattson is a former radio producer for "The Connection" and worked as an editor for National Public Radio. She spent over six years as a producer for CNN, where she was responsible for CNN's daily live newscasts and producing CNN's international coverage. Mattson came to CNN to work in the Washington bureau's political unit during the 1996 U.S. presidential election. She later moved to Atlanta, where she worked first as a writer and then as a newscast producer at CNN International. Prior to joining CNN, she worked as a reporter based in Budapest, Hungary covering Eastern Europe, where she reported on a number of regional stories for USA TODAY, including a piece on George Soros and the Clinton-Yeltsin CSCE Summit. She has also reported, most recently, from Asia. Her work has appeared in TheAtlantic.com, USA TODAY, The Boston Globe, The Women's Review of Books, AsianCorrespondent.com, Tablettalk.com and CNN.com. She is the former Managing Editor of AsiaSociety.org.

Please RSVP by e-mail (abilger@cmc.edu) if you would like to attend this workshop.

Afterward, Mattson will be speaking in Parents Dining Room at the Athenauem at lunch (On Deadline: Writing and Reporting in the 21st Century).

Reservations for the lunch event may be made on the Athenaeum website.

Contact

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