Event

Food Writing 101

Food is one of the big stories of the moment, with once food-averse magazines printing 20,000-word chef profiles and hard-hitting nonfiction titles about the food industry on bestseller lists. Cookbooks continue to be one of the few book categories that sell well, and most lifestyle publications, both online and in print, include some food element.

At its essence, good food writing is good writing. Good writing comes in many forms, but it all shares clarity, honesty, and authenticity. The aim to write well will form the backdrop for this daylong workshop, which is aimed toward writers interested in expanding to food, food industry folks who want to write, and even food bloggers looking to refine their skills. It will cover:

What makes food writing a specialty

Forms of food writing, including the differences between magazine, newspaper, online, and book writing
- Restaurant reviews
- Essays, memoirs, and travel
- Reporting, investigative
- Blogs
- Cookbooks
- Recipe writing

Breaking in and getting started
- Recognizing a good story
- Writing a great pitch
- Writing the story (research, interviewing, drafts, reporting, editing, rewriting)
- Working with editors

Establishing and maintaining industry contacts

We will also workshop story ideas and have plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Light breakfast and lunch included in the class price.

The class is led by Tara Duggan (a James Beard Foundation Award-winning food journalist and author with 15 years editorial experience, including 10 years on staff at the San Francisco Chronicle; see more at www.linkedin.com/in/taraduggan) and Molly Watson (a food writer and recipe developer formerly on staff at Sunset magazine who also has extensive experience teaching writing; see more at www.mollywatsonwrites.com).