Welcome to Left Margin

Since last year Rachel and I have worked for a new nonprofit called the Bay Area Book Festival, which takes place every year in downtown Berkeley. Our colleagues’ passion for offering incredible free programming to readers of all kinds, and especially to children, has inspired us. If you’re not familiar with the festival, check it out here and keep it on your radar for next year. It’s a wonderful civic project.

The success of the festival (only in its second year) served as something of a bellwether, a sign that the East Bay deserves an organization like Left Margin LIT. Left Margin stands for creative discourse, inspiration, and fellowship. We love writing and talking about writing. In fact, that’s our favorite activity, the thing that makes us feel most alive.

We know there are writers in this community working on ambitious projects in nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and fiction. We also believe such people would benefit from the resources we have to offer: structure, time, and the rapt attention of a master teacher and devoted cohort. Because we’ve accumulated so many years of experience participating in such classes (as teachers and students), we’re convinced that creative workshops improve writing and writing habits.

Are you struggling to finish a novel? Have your writing habits languished because of work or family obligations? Do you have writer’s block or need to open a new creative path toward your subject? Try one our classes this fall and see if we can help you. We’re confident that we will.