You begin with a blank sheet and an inspiration, but how do you get from there to the finished work of art: a poem, a play, a short story, or a novel? Four local authors will talk about how they became writers and the creative process by which an imaginative spark takes final shape in words. Each will also read a sample of their work and then entertain questions about their writing, their methods, and their own personal relationship with that elusive entity we call the muse.

• Class #1: Richard Matturro on the short story
• Class #2: Bob Reiss on the novel
• Class #3: Kate Sontag on poetry
• Class #4: Steven Somkin on drama

Richard Matturro is the author of numerous newspaper articles, eight novels, several short stories, and a novella. After 16 years at the Albany Times Union, he taught literature at UAlbany for 14 years.

Bob Reiss is the author of 19 novels of intrigue and suspense, five of which have been optioned for film. He's been published in eleven countries. His work draws upon his experiences as a journalist in the US and in remote areas of the globe. He has taught as a Writer in Residence at Yale/NUS in Singapore and the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. His website is bobreiss.com.

Kate Sontag is co-editor of the essay collection After Confession: Poetry As Autobiography (Graywolf Press). Recipient of the Severy Teaching Award from Ripon College, her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and won several prizes.

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