It can be disheartening to hit a stumbling block when working on a piece of writing. But GrubStreet Instructor Ben Berman helps us see how setbacks are often a natural and necessary part of the creative process.

The other day I was cooking dinner when my five-year-old crawled on over to me. Goo-goo, ga-ga, she said, putting her arms in the air. I picked her up and patted her back until she burped.

In the "Books that Made You" series, we're taking a look at the books that made us who we are. To kick off the series, we asked you what book made you a reader. After scrutinizing our highly scientific social media poll, we present to you this non-exhaustive list of Grubbie-approved gateway reads.

Because nobody can resist a listicle, we've listed the most popular titles in a crowd-pleasing top five countdown

GrubStreet Instructor and Consultant Cara Benson offers us tips and tricks for writing flash fiction. Learn how to bundle entire worlds or capture vivid moments into 1,000 words or less. Plus, you can work with Cara in person! She'll be teaching Writing Flash: Fiction and Nonfiction on Saturday, June 23rd at Grub HQ.

GrubStreet's Founder and Executive Director, Eve Bridburg, announces GrubStreet's new "ArtsAmplified" grant from the Barr Foundation. We're thrilled to be honored by the Barr among some of Boston's most esteemed arts institutions, and we're looking ahead to the opportunities for Boston writers this generous initiative will make possible.

"Dear Sugars" podcast host, New York Times columnist, bestselling author, and longtime grubbie Steve Almond fished himself from a pool of dread after the 2016 election by asking, What are the bad, fraudulent stories that got us here? The result was his latest work of nonfiction, Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country? a book-length inquiry into the bad stories we tell ourselves as Americans and how we can use literature as a lens through which to understand what the hell happened in 2016. Earlier this year, Steve was on retreat at Wellspring House ...