Session Descriptions
Session 1A (11am PST): Artist Relations and the Power of the Interview w/ Jason King and Liz Pelly
PUBLIC SESSION in Sky Church
Anyone who aspires to write music journalism needs to sharpen their skills at conducting artist interviews; the artist interview is also a core feature of music curation for podcasts, music documentaries, and live events. Writers are often tasked with artist relations, which can include finding, pitching and recruiting musicians for features, and for a wide range of curated projects and events—that wrangling is a skill on its own. In this workshop, writers and scholars Jason King and Liz Pelly discuss how writers can conduct effective interviews through by becoming skilled at asking savvy questions and by becoming effective listeners; and they’ll address best practices in artist relations that every music writer should master.
Session 1B (11am PST): Strategizing a Book Launch w/ Regina Bradley
PRIVATE SESSION
So you wrote a book, huh? Congrats! Now for the hardest fun you'll have in the book writing process: promoting your book. This workshop focuses on how to cultivate your "seller's pitch" for a wide-range of academic and non-academic readers and use social media to your advantage.
Session 2A (12pm PST): Public Writing For Academics w/ Hua Hsu and Oliver Wang
PUBLIC SESSION in Sky Church
The goal of this session is to discuss ways in which academics and scholars can seek opportunities to bring their expertise to a wider, public audience. Especially in a time of rampant misinformation and anti-intellectualism, informed voices are more important than ever but it's not always easy to bridge scholarly expertise over to general audiences without making a concerted attempt at writing with greater legibility and understanding what venues would be most open to having academics contribute essays, op-eds, etc. Both speakers have spent their professional lives split between academia and journalism and will be offering suggestions on how to navigate between those spheres.
Session 2B (12pm PST): Art of the Pitch w/ Paula Mejia and Jenn Pelly
PRIVATE SESSION
From pithy reviews to longform reporting, all stories start with a pitch. How do you distill a complicated subject into a concise email? How do you persuade an editor to take a chance on a little-known artist or a big idea? In this mentorship session, we'll break down the art of the pitch from conceptualizing an idea to drafting that email and hitting send.
Session 3A (1pm PST): How To Write a Hot Take…That Lasts w/ Ann Power
PUBLIC SESSION in Sky Church
The think piece has become the coin of the realm in cultural journalism -- often quickly produced in response to a new release or cultural event. This presents opportunities for music writers, but also serious challenges. How can writers be prepared to formulate ideas about music quickly, providing necessary context and interpretation, in ways that draw in readers -- and, more importantly, have an impact past the usual hot take's short sell-by date. Powers, who has been writing cultural criticism for the popular press, will discuss developing an information toolbox to use when writing quick-react essays; integrating first-person, historical and theoretical material to create balanced and compelling views; and developing an authoritative voice in a highly reactive world.
Session 3B (1pm PST): Writing Biographies w/ RJ Smith and Karen Tongson
PUBLIC SESSION in the Oscillator
This mentorship session examines the process of researching, writing and selling biographies. The session will open out into a discussion with all present regarding issues involved in writing about the arts, for few literary forms support such a sprawl of approaches and voices that both draw and diverge from traditions in criticism, history and personal history writing more than does the biography.
