ALLE’S TEACHING CREDENTIALS (click and scroll down)
Richard Hugo House, Seattle WA
Toward a Book Deal: Submitting Short Work
In-peson, 6-weeks: 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, and 6/1 (2024).
Class description You want to write a novel or short story collection. You might have work ready to submit.
For half of each class, we will explore publishing: genre; money; queries; submissions, rejection and rebound; and tools for finding the best places for your work. Then we’ll look at approaching agents (need one?) and publishers for a book deal.
We will spend the second half of each class generating fiction.
Students will leave with an understanding of traditional publishing and their evolving place in the industry, along with a query letter, a self-generated list of places to submit, and a draft of one new piece.
1634 11th Ave., 98122 (206) 322-7030
Alle’s novel: As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back
Past Events
Pacific Northwest Writers’ Assoc. Fall Conference, SeaTac, WA
2023 Alle presents as part of a three-day learning extravaganza. teaches Build to a Book Deal and Head-hopping: IChanging POW with Impunity.
Village Bookstore, Bellingham, WA (360) 671-2626
September 29th, 2023 Alle in conversation with Melinda Cumming, the voiceover artist who narrates the audio book of As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
Literary Arts’ One Page, Portland, OR.
September 6th, 2023 Hosted by Portland favorite Emme Lund, Alle performs 20 minutes of selections from As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back and then participates by giving feedback to any audience member who wishes to read their first page of a work. What a night!
The Potter’s House, Adams Morgan, Washington, DC (202) 232-5483
July 16th, 2023 In conversation with Daniella Mestyanek Young, author of the memoir UnCultured.
Head House Books, Philly (215) 923-9525
July 13th, 2023 In conversation with Andrea J. Buchanan, the finalist for the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Award and New York Times bestselling author of Five-Part Invention.
Bluestockings Cooperative, Lower East Side, NYC (917) 409-0440
July 6th, 2023 A solo reading at the not-un-notorius collectively-run activist center, community space and feminist bookstore.
Black Lab Gallery, Everett, WA (425) 512-9476
April 12th, 2023 This is an open mic with Alle as the featured reader.
Madison Books, Seattle, WA
April 13th, 2023 Light Refreshments Provided
Annie Bloom’s Books, Portland, OR
March 30, 2023 “In conversation” with Portland’s inimitable Emme Lund.
Richard Hugo House, Seattle, WA (206) 322-7030
May 26th, 2023 Second Places, Second Chances: a panel with fellow novelists Emme Lund and Jennifer Haupt; moderated by Sarah Neilson.
The University of Washington Bookstore, Seattle (206) 634-3400
June 5th, 2023 Alle in conversation with Melinda Cumming, the voiceover artist who narrates the audio book of As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
Launch Party for As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back
March 9th, 2023 in the Grotto at The Rendezvous
2022 Events & Classes
Montana Book Festival
—September 15th – 18th, 2022 in Missoula, MT, at the Missoula Public Library’s brand new facility. Reading an essay and flash nonfiction accepted to the inaugural Short Works Reading Series.
Southwest WA Writers’ Conference
—Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Centralia College, Centralia, WA: Teaching the workshop. “Get Published: Your Short Literary Pieces Find a Home.”
AWP Conference and Bookfair March, 2022
—“Five Writers Walk into a Bar: Humor in Flash.” Panelist
Kudos
Aubrey Unemori, observing “Get Published” as a staff member of Richard Hugo House:
In her lecture, Alle’s style of speaking is clear, authoritative and direct. She also does a great job of incorporating personal experience into her lessons, which brings a nice balance to the lecture and keeps content from feeling too dry. Students would often interject and ask questions. When they did, Alle would attentively listen and respond thoughtfully. She was confident in her answers, and you can tell from the amount of questions she answered that she had a lot of experience and knowledge in many genres/categories of publishing. A couple of times, a student would nod or look like they raised their hand. When this happened, she would never fail to check in and ask if they had a question. She also addressed her students by name, which to me, shows an attentive teacher.
Waverly Fitzgerald, formerly Writer-in-Residence, Richard Hugo House:
“Alle is a natural teacher with a gift for setting up structures that help students learn.”
Carolyn McConnell, formerly Senior Editor, YES! Magazine:
When Alle spoke to my nonfiction writing class at the University of Washington, she was at once inspiring, funny, and concrete. All arrived highly prepared and provided a map of publications, what type of material they publish, and how a writer approaches them most effectively. She had designed her presentation to draw forth student participation and used specific examples drawn from students’ experiences and needs. Her presentation was extremely valuable.”
More past classes
Richard Hugo House, Seattle, WA
- “Get Published: Your Short Pieces Find a Home.” February, 2022.
- “Rocking the Rejection.” October, 2010.
- “Get Published: Your Short Pieces Find a Home.” March, 2008.
- “Get Published: Your Short Pieces Find a Home.” January, 2008.
- “Get Published: Your Short Pieces Find a Home.” August, 2007.
- “Crafting Your Pitch.” July, 2005.
Other
- “The Four Rs of Rejection.” Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference, 2007.
- “Inspiration.” University of Washington Extension (guest lecturer), 2005.
Comments from students:
- What I liked about Alle’s material is that she was both broad as well as specific. This makes it great for students who are completely new to publishing while also being helpful for students who already have some foundational experience with querying and submitting. For example, she broke down the query letter into very specific, actionable steps and went through each one. She also broke down her own process for tracking queries (which was again, very thorough).
- My pitch was exploded, re-assembled, and profoundly changed.
- I learned a great deal about how agent meetings at conferences work.
- The best part was seeing how dramatically one student’s pitch changed when given feedback from Alle.
- I learned the basics of developing a pitch, what to do, what not to do, definitions of genres, differences between non-fiction and fiction pitches.
- I think it’s great that Alle is able to cover SO MUCH material in such a short time.
“Alle C. Hall has created part fever dream and part epic journey of survival, recovery and awakening: a world with characters who search for the truth about themselves and the people who have hurt them. You will root for Carlie from page one.”
Ronit Plank, When She Comes Back; Home is a Made-Up Place
Alle C. Hall 