Community

Being a good literary citizen brings me joy. I’d love to speak as part of your writing conference panel or in a class you teach, appear on your podcast or read with you on stage.

Join us at J.P. Lit and Licks

Boston Book Festival Prologue // October 25, 7-9 p.m., J.P. Licks, 659 Centre St.

Join Title Doctor Kristen Paulson-Nguyen (“Skating through the Ages,”) for a reading celebrating Jamaica Plain, place, and the power of literary community. Novelist Beth Castrodale (I Mean You No Harm), Mindy Fried (Caring for Red, A Daughter’s Memoir) and Neema Avashia (Another Appalachia) will challenge the audience to Tabloid Title trivia and read, with sweet rewards.

Books will be available at JP’s bookstore, Papercuts Bookshop, 60 South Street. Purchase in store or order .

Boston in 100 Words at the 2022 Boston Book Festival

I’m thrilled to be appearing on a panel with other Boston in 100 Words alumni on October 29 at 11 a.m. at the Boston Public Library. Please say hello and find out more about this free city-wide flash contest.

 
“Your energy is a bright and steady light. Thank you for your guidance and passion.”
— Alysia Abbott, Memoir Incubator instructor and author of Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father

Tell-All Boston

I’m a founding creator of Tell-All Boston, the city’s only live nonfiction literary series, produced in partnership with GrubStreet. In 2017, I and several other alumni met with author Alysia Abbott in Central Square, Cambridge. In 2018, Boston’s on-stage literary reading series dedicated to the craft of memoir and personal essay was born. Best-selling authors, award-winning writers, and emerging stars share the stage, mesmerizing with first-person stories that make meaning from lived experience. 

 

Lit Crawl Boston

In 2021 I brought Tell-All to Lit Crawl Boston with an event that featured four local authors who are also Memoir Incubator alumni.

I produced Mistaken Identities: An Illuminating Evening for Lit Crawl Boston 2022! It took place on
the Starlight Square main stage in Central Square, Cambridge on June 9, 2022 from 7–7:45 p.m.

What does it mean to not fit in—when who you are doesn’t align with where you live or the name you’re called? Join authors (and former Grub Street students) Neema Avashia, Ani Gjika, Theresa Okokon, and Sara Petersen, along with MC Dorian Fox as they share their funny/true/sad stories of performing and also defying what others expect. Presented by Tell-All Boston. Ani and Neema’s books will be available for sale at the event.

 

Speaker

I love to share my experiences as a writer, editor and Title Doctor and to encourage writers of all ages. I’ve spoken to students at Brandeis University and GrubStreet, and was a presenter at HippoCamp 2021.

It was so much fun to present “The Answer Is in Your Essay: Creating an Essay Title that Stands Out” at HippoCamp 2022 in Lancaster, PA on August 14, 2022. Read my complete presentation.

Thrilled to present “Tile Doctor: Discovering a Title that Entices Agents” at Gotham Writers Conference. Join me on Saturday, October 15, 10–11 (Zoom session) for take-aways that will improve your book and essay titles.

 

Podcast Guest

I offer humor and honesty to listeners and can speak from experience: what it’s like to become a parent late in life; dealing with hoarding disorder; breaking free from codependence; the craft and practice of writing essays and memoir, and the life of a literary magazine editor and member of the literary community, among other topics.

The Gita Brown Show, Episode 14: How to Pursue Your Dreams At Any Age

 

Gotham Writers Workshop September 2021 Writing Advice

Gotham Writers Workshop featured Title Doctor in their newsletter with “A Title that Works.”