Little Decisions Feed Big Ideas
with J. Albert Mann
Saturday, March 21st
3:00 pm
Calling all young writers!
Join City of Asylum’s first explorative workshop designed for young writers (13+) led by author J. Albert Mann. J. will read from her forthcoming middle grade novel, The DEGENERATES, discuss her creative process, and workshop your drafts in progress. This workshop is designed for writers and readers of all levels interested in being creative and gaining confidence in their writing.
Please bring a draft of a project and writing materials!
This fiery historical novel follows four young women in the early 20th century who are locked up in the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded — simply because their society has shunned the poor, the disabled, and the marginalized.
The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded is not a happy place. The young women who are already there certainly don’t think so. Not Maxine, who is doing everything she can to protect her younger sister Rose from an institution where vicious attendants and bullying older girls treat them as the morons, imbeciles, and idiots. Not Alice, either, who was left there when her brother rejected a sister with a club foot. And not London, who has just been dragged there from the best foster situation she’s ever had, thanks to one unexpected, life altering moment. Each girl is determined to change her fate, no matter what it takes. This novel is a moving exploration of feminism, disability, and the dangers of marginalizing those who are “different.”