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Present Tense offering weekly creative writing workshops

By Billie Owens

Present Tense Bookstore in Batavia is offering a series of weekly creative writing workshops focusing on poetry, short stories, novels, creative nonfiction, children’s and young adult books, personal essays, memoirs, among others.

The workshops, taught at the bookstore by retired literature professor and regional novelist Bob Comenole, are generally five weeks in long.

Classes will meet once a week in evening or afternoon sessions. Scheduling is to be determined, depending on how many people sign up for the worskhops and their creative writing interests. But it is anticipated that workshops will begin later this summer or early fall.

They are designed for both beginning writers who wish to learn fundamental techniques and seasoned writers wishing to acquire more advanced skills; there are no prerequisites.

For more than 20 years Bob Comenole has taught writing, literature and communications at several colleges, including Miami University, Siena College, the State University of New York and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He's the author of "Bushel & Lamp" and the novella "The Long Night of Clement C. Craggogre," and has just completed work on a collection of short stories called "Perplexed by the Egg & Other Stories," as well as a collection of essays. He was also the producer of the children’s television series "StoryBrook."

To view what past students have said about the writing workshops, visit: http://www.infinitelycurious.us/Academy/

The fee is $89 for five 2-hour sessions, plus individual conferences with the instructor. Call or visit the store for further details on the workshops or to sign up.

Present Tense is located at 101 Washington Ave. in the City of Batavia. Phone is 815-7640. <http://www.presenttensebooks.com>

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