Workshop: Closure – Finding Ending Scenarios for Queer Characters

09 am – 12 pm, Sat 11 May 2024
Goethe Institut Library
56-58-60 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

From Goethe Institut:

How can a story, which features queer and intersectional identities, find an ending that acknowledges the hardships of being marginalized appropriately? Mainstream audiences’ expectations and even our own reading experience often create the demand for a “good” or at least satisfying ending. Thus, it can be challenging to find a closing scenario for the character’s conflicts with being marginalised that actually make sense. Can there be a satisfying yet appropriate storyline that provides closure despite a reality which often doesn’t accept queerness? We will examine our own reading perception and expectations, and discuss how this is challenged in the stories we want to tell. Following our discussion, we will turn to the participants’ own works. In the practical part of the workshop the participants will develop scenarios for the characters of the texts they are currently working on. We will then discuss the drafts and provide feedback for each other.

Requirements:

This workshop is suitable for participants who already have some experience in creative writing and are interested in developing fictional characters with queer and/or intersectional identities.

Participants are asked to bring short drafts of their work to be able to briefly present their characters’ stories and conflicts and to be able to work on ideas for an ending scenario in class.

Furthermore, some prior reflection on your own reading experience will come in handy for the discussion.

Workshop, coordinated by critic Quyen Nguyen, is FREE. Participants will be provided with beverages and light snacks during the workshop.

Application Information:

To apply for the workshop, please follow these steps:
Prepare a Word file containing:
1. A sample of your work, approximately 2000 words (short story, novel excerpt).
A brief self-introduction including your name and background.
Your expectations for the workshop (up to 200 words).
2. Send the Word file via email to [email protected].

In the subject line of your email, please write: “Application for Workshop with Nilufar Karkhiran Khozani in Hanoi.”

Registration period: From April 26, 2024, to May 4, 2023.

Selected participants will be notified by May 7, 2024.

For any inquiries or assistance regarding application, feel free to contact us at the provided email address. We look forward to your participation.

Workshop Instructor:

Nilufar Karkhiran Khozani, born 1983 in Giessen/Germany, studied Comparative Literature and Psychology, and completed training as a cognitive-behavioural therapist. In 2020 Romance Would Be a Very Fine Bonus Indeed, a work of sampled poetry, was published by resonar. In the same year, she was artist in residence at PROSANOVA festival and translated the script Town Bloody Hall for the film Als Susan Sontag im Publikum saß (When Susan Sontag was sitting in the audience) by RP Kahl into German. In 2023 her debut novel Terafik was published by Blessing. In the following year, her essay about the protests in Iran In Schatten gebannt was nominated for the Wortmeldungen Ulrike Crespo literary prize. She lives in Berlin.

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Goethe-Institut Hanoi 56-58-60 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi Tel.: +84 24 3734 2251 Fax: +84 24 3734 2254 [email protected] website