GrubStreet

GrubStreet, Inc. is a non-profit creative writing center located in Boston, Massachusetts that hosts workshops, seminars, consultations, and similar events. It also offer scholarships.[1]

This article is about the Boston writing center. For the New York Magazine food blog Grubstreet.com, see New York (magazine) § Digital expansion and blogs.

In October 2021, several members of GrubStreet leadership were involved in a controversy surrounding the alleged plagiarism of the work of a former student and instructor by Sonya Larson, then-director of the center's annual Muse Conference.[2]

History

GrubStreet was founded in 1997 in Boston, Massachusetts by Eve Bridburg. At first, GrubStreet had two instructors (Bridburg one of them), teaching eight students in workshops centered on fiction. By 2001 GrubStreet had nearly 100 students, more than a dozen instructors, and courses in poetry, screenwriting, nonfiction, and playwriting. GrubStreet became a nonprofit in 2002.[3]

Beginning in 2012, GrubStreet led a coalition promoting a "Literary Cultural District," which would include "some 80 literary landmarks in downtown Boston, Back Bay, and Beacon Hill," according to Boston Magazine.[4] The coalition was led by GrubStreet but included other partners, including the Boston Public Library, the Boston Book Festival, and Emerson College. In October 2014, the Massachusetts Cultural Council officially recognized Boston's Literary Cultural District.[5]

In 2018, GrubStreet was chosen by the Boston Planning & Development Agency to get construction funding and below-market rent for moving from its 3,500-square-foot headquarters in Boston's Back Bay to a 13,000-square-foot space in a luxury condo building in the Seaport District. GrubStreet, which had already received a $2 million grant from the Calderwood Charitable Foundation for the transition, said that it would still need to raise "substantial funds" for the move.[6] In 2019, after successfully raising $8 million, GrubStreet relocated to the Seaport District.[1][7]

Controversy

In October 2021, GrubStreet came under scrutiny after journalist Robert Kolker wrote a piece for The New York Times magazine detailing the multi-year ongoing litigation between two Grubstreet employees: Muse & Marketplace director Sonya Larson and former Grubstreet student Dawn Dorland. Dorland had accused Larson of plagiarism based on her use of a letter, written by Dorland, in a published short story; this accusation prompted Larson to sue Dorland for defamation.[2] Kolker's piece brought new attention to text messages and emails exchanged by GrubStreet employees and leader who were close friends and colleagues of Larson's, including GrubStreet's artistic director Christopher Castellani.[8]

In response to concerns expressed by its members, GrubStreet launched an investigation.[9] On October 29, 2021, GrubStreet announced that, based on a third party review, it had asked not only Sonya Larson but also Director of Online Learning Alison Murphy and board member Jennifer De Leon to step down from their leadership roles.[10] Castellani, who stayed on, posted a letter on the official GrubStreet website, expressing regret for causing Dawn Dorland personal hurt.[11]

Muse & the Marketplace

The Muse and the Marketplace, is an annual weekend-long writer's symposium hosted by GrubStreet.[12] In 2010, it was attended by over 900 writers and publishing professionals.[13]

Many authors, agents, and editors have been involved with GrubStreet's Muse and the Marketplace. In 2010, Chuck Palahniuk was the keynote speaker.[14] In 2013, the keynote speaker was Amanda Palmer.[15]

Muse and the Marketplace was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVD-19 pandemic, but was held virtually in 2021, with panelists including Alexander Chee, Vievee Francis, and Nick Flynn.[16]

GrubStreet Book Prize

Between 2007 and 2015, GrubStreet awarded prizes to a writer publishing his/her second book or beyond. As the goal of the prize was to bring writers to Boston, only writers whose primary residence was not Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, or Rhode Island were eligible. The award was discontinued in 2015.[17]

Previous Book Prize winners include:

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

References
  1. Laucharoen, Shira (October 12, 2021). "Get a glimpse of GrubStreet's new literary center in Boston's Seaport". WBUR. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  2. Kolker, Robert (October 5, 2021). "Who is the Bad Art Friend?". NY Times. Retrieved November 2, 2021. She started a private Facebook group, inviting family and friends, including some fellow writers from GrubStreet, the Boston writing center where Dorland had spent many years learning her craft.
  3. Miliard, Mike (October 13, 2005). "Putting in a good word". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  4. Shao, Yiqing (June 26, 2014). "Local Groups Want an Official Literary Cultural District in Boston". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2021. The story goes that two years ago, GrubStreet founder and executive director Eve Bridburg was talking with Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, lamenting about the lack of a spotlight on Boston's literary events.
  5. Shao, Yiqing (October 3, 2014). "The Boston Literary Cultural District Is Officially Official [Updated]". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2021. The campaign for an 'LCD [Boston Literary Cultural District] was spearheaded by GrubStreet, helmed by founder executive director Eve Bridburg, and several other local organizations including the BPL, the Boston Book Festival, Emerson College, Suffolk University, and more.
  6. Shanahan, Mark (December 19, 2018). "GrubStreet to get Seaport arts space". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 5, 2021. The new 13,000-square-foot space, which GrubStreet will lease for a substantially below-market rate, will include a bookstore, cafe, podcast studio, classrooms, and an area for readings and storytelling events. City officials hope its year-round programs will draw a more diverse crowd to the predominantly white, wealthy neighborhood.
  7. Green, Alex (November 1, 2021). "Grub Street Tackles 'Art Friend' Fallout". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 2, 2021. Following a multi-year $8 million capital campaign, Grub recently relocated to a 13,000 sq. ft. location in Boston's Seaport district.
  8. "Author at the center of 'Bad Art Friend' controversy leaves GrubStreet following review". WBUR. October 29, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021. In another, GrubStreet artistic director Christopher Castellani writes of Dorland, 'my mission in life is going to be to exact revenge on this pestilence of a person.'
  9. Kaufman, Amanda (October 12, 2021). "GrubStreet, Boston-area writing center of 'Who Is The Bad Art Friend? says it's launching a review after NYT story". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 2, 2021. 'Bluntly, we are appalled by the disconnect between GrubStreet's stated values and the alleged behavior by some that has come to light,' the statement read.
  10. Eve, Bridburg (October 29, 2021). "Update for the GrubStreet Community 10.29.21". Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  11. Castellani, Christopher (October 30, 2021). "Message from Christopher Castellani". Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  12. McKenna, Kathleen (May 4, 2008). "Novices peek at literary world". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  13. Gardner, Jan (July 4, 2010). "Empowering writers". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  14. GrubStreet blog (April 23, 2020)
  15. Burdge, Margaret (May 6, 2013). "What You Missed at Muse and the Marketplace: Amanda Palmer's Keynote Speech". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2021. At the annual event, Boston's writers flocked to the Park Plaza to learn how to become a successful, published writer. Grappling with the future of authorship was the running concern of the conference.
  16. Brown, Nell Porter (2021). "Write It!". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2021. This year's panelists include (from top left): Alexander Chee, Laura Van den Berg, Jennifer De Leon, Vievee Francis, and Nick Flynn.
  17. "The GrubStreet National Book Prize | 2006 - 2014 | GrubStreet". grubstreet.org. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
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