But just because I’m missing doesn’t mean you have to. Yes, if I weren’t getting married that week, I would be running off to BlogHer 2008 and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. And at the latter, I’d be here: “Memoir: The Vertical Pronoun and the Who Cares? Question,” which happens July 13-18, and “Narrative Journalism: The Art of the Profile” on July 19-20, both taught by Sarah Saffian. For more info on these workshops, click here. For general registration, here.

And for the folks who have recently asked me for advice about MFA programs in creative nonfiction: While I know little about the difference between various programs, I do know that had I not maxed out my savings on a PhD I would be running to go get me one of those. Fellow writer and workshop teacher Elizabeth Merrick, however, knows a lot about these programs and offers counseling and coaching and the like. So I thought I’d point those wondering her way, since unfortunately I can be of little use in this particular respect.