In the December 2021 edition of "Best of Boston," we bring you our top Boston lit events this month, most taking place virtually. See below for our list of local literary happenings.

December Grubby Desk Lunch

Wednesday, December 1st at 12:30 PM ET | Event Fee: $0

The November 2021 edition of "Writing Life Essentials" is a monthly hand-curated list of contests, grants, scholarships, submission calls, and awards. We try to prioritize opportunities that are at least one of the following: local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities

By Katrin Schumann

You may have heard, these days many writers are waiting. Waiting to hear back from their overwhelmed agents. Waiting to hear from busy publishers. Waiting for Covid to really be OVER so they can do live book events again. Waiting for inspiration becuase they're exhausted by the last year and a half. Waiting because their release dates have been moved (again).

Writers attending conferences - like last week's The Muse & The Marketplace 2021 - tend to react to the experience in one of two ways: despair or elation.

Camp #1 is overwhelmed with information. Too much of the advice they absorbed seemed contradictory or overly complicated. They’re not sure they even like agents and editors anymore. And dammit, if all those other attendees are trying to get published, how do they stand a chance? 

Author and GrubStreet instructor Katrin Schumann shares some tips and practical insight into how to present your work in the most compelling way possible for agents. You can learn more about this subject in Katrin's upcoming class "Time to Find an Agent: Perfecting Your Pitch" starting March 11th.