Ahh, April. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and new short classes are springing up at GrubStreet. Take a look at some of this month's exciting offerings:

April 8th, 12th & 13th

• Pieces of Me: Writing about Gender

In this post, GrubStreet Instructor Ben Berman thinks about the importance of both praise and scrutiny when participating in writing workshops.

It was my four-year-old’s first day at her new school and she was clinging to my leg so tightly that I was beginning to lose circulation. Don’t leave me, she kept saying, as though I was abandoning her at an orphanage.

Authors bristle at having to fit their books into neat boxes according to genre—yet the industry and readers continue to demand that we do so. Katrin Schumann explores why, and how best to find your genre.

Personally, I've found it quite challenging to figure out the genre of my novels. It seems overly simplistic to categorize my own work according to genres, and differentiating between them can be hard

It's that time of year, when we rack our brains trying to figure out our gift list. Last year I shared a list of gifts for your favorite socially savvy author (or for you, if you are aspiring to be one!)

Last month at DeadDarlings, we were lucky enough to speak to two authors about their debut works. Ladee Hubbard told us about what led to The Talented Ribkins (Melville House, 2017) and Arif Anwar shared how he wrote The Storm, (HarperCollins/Simon & Schuster May 2018).

Ladee: What did it take to get The Talented Ribkins sold and onto the bookshelves?