The Brouzils Seminars 2008
Les Brouzils 2008 Creative Arts Workshops
A two-session summer program in France for writers and artists.
The Brouzils Seminars. A limited-term residency program for serious students who wish to be mentored by accomplished professionals in a setting well away from the familiar surroundings of everyday life.
The Brouzils Seminars meet in July in a small village in the French Vendée. Major workshops in journalism and creative non-fiction, poetry, fiction, children’s literature and screenplay writing are offered to participants who have demonstrated a commitment to specific writing projects and who wish to bring those projects closer to completion.
Workshops: The two 14-day workshop sessions are conducted in a small, private chateau situated in a park opposite the village church in Les Brouzils. The first session begins June 30 and ends on Bastille Day. The second session, which ends July 28, coincides with an important regional literary festival held in the neighboring forêt de Grasla the third weekend in July. In 2007, more than 60 authors participated.
Location: The Vendée, situated in the west of France just south of Brittany and the Loire, is the most traditional of French regions, with a rich history and its own distinctive character. The quiet village of Les Brouzils is located less than an hour from Nantes and approximately three hours from Paris by rail. An hour to the west is the coastal village of Les Sables d'Olonne. A rural railway station is nearby.
The Brouzils Seminars 2008. Enrollment for July 2008 is limited. Late registrations will be waitlisted. Some workshop classes may be combined.
Classes and calendar.
- Session 1: 30 June to 14 July.
- Session 2: 15 July to 28 July.
Each seminar class meets daily, except weekends. For details, see below or email info at brouzils.org.
THE PRINCIPAL WORKSHOPS 2008
I. POETRY.
· The Graduate Poetry Seminar.
· The Undergraduate Poetry Seminar.
II. CREATIVE NON-FICTION AND JOURNALISM
· The Graduate Non-Fiction and Journalism Seminar.
· The Undergraduate Non-fiction and Journalism Seminar.
III. FICTION
· The Graduate Fiction Seminar.
· The Undergraduate Fiction Seminar.
· Children’s Literature.
IV. SCREENPLAY WRITING
· The Graduate Screenplay Seminar.
· The Undergraduate Screenplay Seminar.
Supporting courses, small-group seminars, discussion groups and mentorships.
· Writing for Documentary Films: A weekend workshop.
Studio courses in illustration, language and music are scheduled according to demand. An online publication edited by program participants will publish work submitted by seminar members.
Faculty:
· Denis Boyles: The author of two books of poetry, a book of design theory and more than a dozen works of travel, history and commentary, including a 2005 critique of French énarques. As a journalist, he has served on the staffs of publications as diverse as National Lampoon, The New York Times Magazine and Men’s Health. His work has appeared in Esquire, Readers Digest, The Washington Post, The New York Times, National Review Online and in many other newspapers and magazines. In February 2008, Doubleday will publish his newest book, Superior, Nebraska, an informal survey of Midwestern American values. Seminars director. BA, University of Baltimore. MA, The Johns Hopkins University.
· Alain Hertoghe: A senior editor at La Croix, a French national daily, for 17 years and the author of a book critical of the French media coverage of the Iraq War. As a documentary filmmaker, he has created several films broadcast on French and Belgian television, including a recent investigation of polling during the French presidential elections. He is currently working with Denis Boyles on Armyville, a documentary film about the sacrifices made by families of American soldiers left behind at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when the 101st Airborne is deployed abroad. Dip., Ecole de journalisme de Lille.
· Nicholas Lloyd. Choirmaster, the Choir of Chavagnes. MA Cantab, LTCL (Piano).
· April Reinking: The illustrator of several books, including books for men and women in Doris Pooser’s “Always in Style” series (Crisp) and A Man’s Life (Harper Collins). Her work has also appeared in various publications, including Men’s Journal. She is a former instructor in illustration at Baltimore Community College. BS, University of Maryland.
· Harry Stein: The former Esquire “ethics” columnist and a co-founder of The Paris Metro. In addition to journalism and personal and political memoirs, he is the author of several novels, including Hoopla and The Magic Bullet. His journalism has appeared in most national newspapers and periodicals in the US, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. His screenplays include The Glory Boys (with Dustin Hoffman), Mr. Ethics, We the People, and Bamboo, among others. He is a contributing editor of City Journal, the publication of The Manhattan Institute. BA, Pomona College. MS, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
· Dominique Torrès: Former senior correspondent for France 2, author and documentary filmmaker, and founder of the Comité contre l'esclavage moderne. One of her special interests has been human trafficking and exploitation in rural areas in Africa. Of her anti-slavery reporting (in books and in broadcast documentaries), l'Humanité wrote, "There are too few journalists for whom this profession is a challenge to the indifference which killed millions...[but] France 2's great correspondent has continued this struggle for years." Her most recent book: Escalves (Broché).
· Priscilla Turner: Former executive story editor at Columbia Pictures and the author of television scripts for Miami Vice, the Cosby Mysteries and other network programs. In addition to her film and television work, she is the author of several children’s books, including The War Between the Vowels and the Consonants and Among the Odds and Evens: A Tale of Adventure (both Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and the co-author (with her sister, Susan Pohlman) of The Girl’s Guide to Life (Scholastic). BA, University of California Berkeley.
Additional full-time faculty may be added. Each year, two visiting writers (one during each session) are invited to spend a day in Les Brouzils meeting with students. European faculty from the neighboring Chavagnes International College will provide seminars and classes for those who wish intensive instruction in music (piano and voice) and in French language. These classes are limited in size and offered based on demand.
A syllabus for each major workshop is available on request.
Notes: Most seminars are scheduled to meet before lunch each day, allowing the rest of the day for small-group activities, writing and travel. Weekends are free. A limited number of bicycles are available for use by participants. Wireless internet service is available at the chateau.
All participants must be fully insured against injury and illness. The Brouzils Seminars can assume no liability whatsoever for participants’ injuries or illnesses. The use of Seminar property must be completely at participants’ risk. The chateau building is quite old. Those with special needs should contact the Seminars before enrolling.
Fees and enrollment procedures:
Tuition: US$1460.00 per Seminar session or US$2690.00 for both sessions.
The tuition includes seminar and small-group courses and evaluations, breakfast and light lunch buffets (on class days), enrollment fees, travel expenses for all required group expeditions, a welcoming party for the first session, a mid-term Bastille Day evening social, and a farewell dinner for the second session.
Not included: Air fare, accommodations, insurance, travel document fees (including valid passports), independent excursions, telephone charges, books, any personal items.
Transportation: London and Brussels are often the most inexpensive destinations in Europe for participants coming from the US. Ryanair operates frequent, low-cost air service between London and Nantes. Connections from Brussels and from Paris to Nantes by rail are fast and frequent. Direct TGV trains link Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris with Nantes. Car rental is available in Nantes and in La Roche sur Yon. SNCF-TER trains provide transportation to Nantes from the neighboring village, (l'Hébergement). Trains to and from Nantes run several times daily; travel time is approximately 35 minutes. Travel time to Les Sables, on the coast, is approximately one hour.
Accommodation: A very limited number of participants may be accommodated in Les Brouzils by prior arrangement on a first-come, first-served basis. Bedrooms are single or double occupancy. En suite bathrooms are not available. We will help arrange accommodations. An accommodation and information list is available here.
Enrollment procedure: Please submit by email a current CV, a writing sample and/or a statement of goals. For those who prefer to use our formal application form, one may be downloaded by clicking here. If you have a question or need assistance, please contact the Seminars. The email address: info at brouzils.org.
Academic credit information: The Seminars are fully accredited. Through our American partner, Fort Hays State University, graduate and undergraduate credits are awarded on the basis of participation and accomplishment. Course syllabi are available on request.
A $400 enrollment fee, applied against tuition, must accompany all applications. The enrollment fee is refundable only if the applicant is not accepted by the Seminars or if a session is canceled. All remaining fees are payable in advance and due 30 days before the beginning of the first seminar meeting. A fifty percent refund may be made if cancellations are received by the Seminar administrator in writing before 1 March 2008. A ten percent refund may be made for cancellations received by the Seminar administrator in writing before 1 May 2008. Notification address: Brouzils Seminars LLC, US Agent, 118 N. Locust St., Mankato KS 66956 USA. No refunds are possible after 1 May 2008 or for students who withdraw from the Seminars at any time after a session commences. These fee policies apply to all students regardless of enrollment date.
Payment of the enrollment fee may be made by personal check or by credit card via PayPal.
Tuition fees may also be made through PayPal or by check through the US agent: Brouzils Seminars LLC, 118 N. Locust St., Mankato, KS 66956. For additional information, please email info at brouzils.org.
Les Brouzils. The village is largely unchanged since this photograph was taken a century ago.
:: The Brouzils Seminars 2008 ::
Creative Arts Workshops | Memoir-writing Project | Individual Creative Retreats
Home
Subject to change without notice. © 2007 The Brouzils Seminars LLC.
Contact us: email info at brouzils.org | tel +33 (0)6 25 67 75 70 | US (messages only) +1 415 578 5101 | Fax +1 480 287 9458