With a New York Times best-selling author as your guide, you’ll learn how to turn your family history into an unforgettable story.
Hi, I’m Russell Shorto. I’m the author of seven books of narrative history and a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine. My books have sold half a million copies and have been published in 14 languages.
For my latest book, Smalltime, which is the basis for this course, I spent years researching my family. The book tells the story of my grandfather and the smalltown Mafia.
I was thrilled when the legendary director of the Godfather movies said this about my book:
“Russell Shorto’s Smalltime draws a convincing portrait of a time when Italian Americans weren’t permitted to live in certain neighborhoods or rise too high in the political firmament. This remembrance of his grandfather’s and great uncle’s lives – of slots and pinball machines and places like the Melodee Lounge and City Cigar – mixes great history and lovely, lingering memories: ‘long conversations about spaghetti sauce and aunts who kissed you on the lips; those were the ways we were Italian.’”– FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
In this live, two-hour class, I’ll use what I learned researching Smalltime to guide you in writing your own family history story.
Maybe you’re an experienced writer looking for your next project. I’m here to tell you that the richest source of inspiration imaginable is right in front of you. Or maybe you’ve got a shoebox of old letters. Or family stories about your grandmother’s remarkable life. Or maybe you’re working on a memoir: the juice of it might just be in mining your relationship with your parents.
Consider this an invitation to jump-start your family history project. In two hours, we’ll take inchoate ideas and possibilities that may be floating through the back of your mind and focus them into something real. A book. A screenplay. Let’s bring your history to life.
