Passport Control by Gila Green is an amazing book with lots of plot twists and mystery. It tells the story of a Canadian Jew, Miriam Gil, who comes to Haifa University to study. She gets involved with many unexpected people and events. Passport Control is fiction, but to be honest, it's clear that everything Green writes about is a real possibility...
The autumn issue of The Fiddlehead is out and I'm honored my piece "Winnipeg 1987" is part of it. Thank you to editor, Alicia Elliott. I enjoyed your editorial so much, I repost it here. So many of you ask me for a definition of non-fiction, I recommend you read below. Whatever We Need It To BePosted on November 12, 2018 Late last year ...
THE TRIBALISM THAT REIGNED IN BEIT SHEMESH FOR A DECADE IS OVER BY GILA GREEN I live in Beit Shemesh, the city that made global headlines when a Jewish man spat on a young girl (in December 2011). As a writer I was asked to speak out, to write a blog post or article that would distance "us" from "them." But I felt articles created more hatred, wer...
Are you looking for a place online where you can find writing advice, read author interviews, watch short and useful vlogs and learn about life in Israel at the same time? You're here. I'm Gila Green, a Canadian author from Ottawa living in Israel. I'm excited to have a new writing space online and I would love to hear what you'd like to see ...
Thank you to Writers Write for guest posting this blog. You can increase your writing productivity by partnering with another writer and critiquing each other's work. But not any good-natured writer will do. If you really want to improve your writing productivity, look for these seven things in your next critique partner: Someone who wr...
Thank you to Writers Helping Writers for Guest Posting this blog. Book publishing is a tough, competitive business. Still, there's no reason to make the road harder to travel. Enter flash fiction—an excellent way to break into both fiction and nonfiction book publishing. Flash fiction pieces are very short stories that still include the...
Thank you to the Book Designer for guest posting this blog. We hear it all the time, "How can I possibly market my existing book while writing my next book?"or "I don't like marketing. I just want to write." But the reality is that to be successful as an author, most of us need to continually do both–marketing AND writing new books. The...
An excerpt from my young adult novel, No Entry is out. My novel is now signed with Stormbird Press, Australia for a September 2019 release. I'm working on a sequel right now.What's No Entry about?Teen heroine, Yael Yekutiel, signs on to an elephant conservation program and ends up coming face to face with violence, greed and murder. The story takes place in South Africa’s famous, breathtaking Kruger National Park. Yael vows to devote herself to saving the planet from human greed and is set to learn all she can about ivory poaching when she accidentally encounters a murderous poaching ring taking place below the surface of her newfound paradise. She receives a second blow when she discovers her idol Clara Smith, the prestigious and well-respected program director, profits from blood ivory, while preaching about the sanctity of wildlife. Yael is forced to decide on a new mission: expose this poaching ring to...
You can check out Passport Control and please let me know what you think.My October release turned into an August one! As of today it is on Amazon Canada, too.
Imagine a group of friends and relatives coming together throughout the afternoon over food and drink, staying late into the evening to share stories that engender laughter, tears, empathy and admiration. The profoundly satisfying stories in White Zion are rich in intimate detail, peopled with a cast of heart wrenching characters at once familiar and unique, a gathering of personalities that leaves me reluctant to leave their company and eager to revisit them.Pearl Luke, author Madame Zee
I'm excited to share with you that my new story "No Entry"will be published in terrain.org. in September 2018. As soon as it's up, I'll post the link.
I'm thrilled to share with you that my novel Passport Control will be coming out with S&H Publishing October 2018."Many novels have attempted to orchestrate the impossible marriage of politics and human relations in the state of Israel, but few have presided over that perilous ceremony with the grace, affection, and emotional clarity of Gila Green's Passport Control. A stunning achievement."Steve Stern, author of The Book of Mischief, A Plague of Dreamers, The Frozen Rabbi, and The North of God.What's it about?Miriam Gil flees Canada for Israel when her Israeli dad says he needs more room in their house — for his new girlfriend. Soon at university, living in a dorm with three bickering roommates, she falls in love with Guy, a former combat soldier who dreams of peace. Miriam is caught off guard when her visa and passport application are rejected on the grounds that she’s suspected of being a Syrian Christian. In rapid order, the university...
The Fiddlehead, Atlantic Canada's Literary Journal, accepted my story "Winnipeg 1987."Look for it in the autumn 2018 issue.
My short story collection White Zion is coming out with Cervena Barva Press.White Zion migrates between 19th century Yemen, pre-State Israel, modern Israel and modern Canada. Stories explore racism, alienation within the family unit, and the fall-out after generations of war.In a journey of generations from Aden to Palestine to Ottawa, one Yemenite family encounters new and difficult realities: racism and war, rejection and divorce, resourceful survival and tragic death. With smells of delicious breads wafting up from the page, embroidering detail upon detail in fine literary stitch, Gila Green draws us fully into her narrative, as she generously shares with us the hidden core of family life and the stories she is not afraid to tell. Yael Unterman, author of The Hidden of Things: Twelve Stories of Love & Longing. Voices in the collection include Assaf, a Yemenite boy growing up in pre-State Israel, Miriam, a young Canadian girl growing up in...
I took one of your classes and, you may remember, the story (The Storm) I wrote? Anyway I entered it in a contest and placed third which pleased me.Nancy SheltonSpringfield, MO
Please see my latest noir flash fiction in Akashic Books Mondays are Murder Series./
Come see me at WriteSpace for Spring Flash Fiction SeminarsCan't come to Jerusalem? Virtual Classes start May 11, 2016Eight Weeks Flash, Six Weeks Short Story, Four Weeks Mini Publishing Workshop. OR join me at the Jewish Women's Writers Seminar May 24
3, 2, 1, lift off…Come meet fellow writers and flex your writing muscles with guided prompts.Find out more about WriteSpace Jerusalem and meet a selection of our instructors:Jane Medved (poetry), Gila Green (flash fiction), Mitch Ginsburg (literarytranslation), Anna Levine (young adult & children), Sheffi Raiskin (bibliotherapy),Batnadiv Hakarmi-Weinberg (creative nonfiction), and Nadia Jacobson (fiction).Date: Thursday, April 7, 2016Time: 19:30-21:30Location: PICO Jerusalem, 4th floor, Poalei Tzedek 2, Talpiyot, Jerusalem (oppositeHadar Mall)Entrance is free of charge and light refreshments will be served.An additional perk: Receive 10% off your first seminar or workshop.Reserve your place:Subscribe to our mailing: www.writespacejerusalem.com/contact-us.htmlEmail:
Focus on Flash Fiction Half-Day Seminar Date Options:March 7 / 8 / 13 / 14 To Register and for more Info: WriteSpaceEveryone has time to read flash fiction. That’s one of the reasons why it’s become such a popular genre.What value is there to distilling whole stories into narratives under 1,000 words, down to even 6 words? We read fiction to build empathy, to explore new realities, to escape, Can you do that in so few words? Yes, you can.Flash is ideal for our modern short attention spans (though there’s nothing really new about it). The 21st-century reader has made flash fiction "in-demand" fiction. It’s ideal for our screens: tablets, smartphones, netbooks, and laptops. Reading a whole story on a single screen is an aesthetic experience and, best of all, it’s an increasingly sought after genre offered by small presses. There’s even a National Flash Fiction Day on, you guessed it, the shortest...
Some Flash to Read by Gila Green TMy Mom fought the fifties. I never knew. If anyone would have asked me I would have told them that my mother was straight-laced, demure, a Canadian Capital City poster girl, not just in character, but on the ground.In the photo I like best, my mother is a teenager, a head turner, a talent. She and her acting group have just returned from yet another triumph at the annual Dominion Drama Festival. Mayor Charlotte Whitton has come as part of the surprise welcome home to the young, gifted locals. The camera has captured the confetti in my mother’s bark colored hair and I imagine the scent from the rose petals overpowers the usual train station smells of machinery and cigarette smoke. Well, it’s not the usual train station atmosphere, it’s a party.The thought that she is going to be giving birth in six years time...
We just started this week, but there's still plenty of room and lots of time to catch up.Four Fantastic Virtual Workshops:Flash: 8 weekshttp://wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/GilaGreen_FlashFictionWorkshop.phpLiterary Devices I & II 6 weeks: http://wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/GilaGreen_MemorableWritingLiteraryDevicesI.phpHow to Publish Your Short Story 4 weeks: http://wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/GilaGreen_PublishShortStoryWorkshop.phpOR if you're in the area, sign up for my four week workshop in Jerusalem offered through Temech. The JWWS network, in conjunction with Temech, is pleased to announce our FOURTH SESSION for all women writers…The JWWS Writers’ Educational NetworkFor WomenRegistration is via Temech’s office (02- 538-8665, press 0 and say you are calling for JWWS/ Writers’ Courses) and tell them you are registering for the next JWWS course that is to begin on Jan 19th. To ensure your place you must pre-register. These JWWS courses will be a pre-paid and pre-booked only in advance option.Price for full course, all four sessions: 200 NIS per personPrice for only one session at a time: 75 NIS per...
I have enjoyed the (Flash Fiction) course. I found the way you gave us pieces to study most helpful. The two lessons which gave me the most were those on sensory detail and pacing.Thank you,Regards, Eileen Cooke Australia.
I often receive e-mails from class participants (Thank you. Keep them coming).One of the most troubling comments is this: I can write, but I can’t edit. This type of writer usually proves she really believes this when she sends in a new piece instead of an edited version or revision of a piece she’s already sent me.If this sounds familiar, you need to stop thinking this way because it hurts your chances of publication. This bears repeating. Stop selling yourself this line. I don’t know who made it up, but it’s got to go.All writers need some self-editing skills. This is not to say that writers don’t need editors. They do. I do. Still, at some point all writers must switch from writing to editing mode. Editing mode is not the same for all literary forms. If you are editing a Flash Fiction piece, your first goal will be to eliminate...
By Gila GreenWriters are forever hearing they need to improve their writing skills. No matter what we produce and how frequently, there’s always some well-meaning editor, fellow writer or classmate hinting that you can never learn enough about writing. Interpret that as you wish. Perhaps, you see great writing as an exercise bike you need to ride forever, or like a sink in which dishes grow (if it’s anything like my kitchen sink). Either way most of these messages are downers. The answers we’re given repeatedly once we ask that inevitable question: how does a writer improve her craft are often framed as more of a chore than a bowl of cherries. No doubt you’ve read that writers have to be voracious readers, readers so starved for reading material that only the dry end of a book cover or sharp end of a kindle is true nourishment. Food is blasé in...
Dear Gila: This course has been superior so far. I can't thank you enough for your keen attention to detail and piercing critiques. A great learning experience!Also, thanks for your summary, How Not to Write flash. I see it covers most of the mistakes I've been making--so an invaluable guide. A great course, and I appreciate that you made it available to me over email. You're the best, Gila--may you thrive in your writing, editing, and teaching.Best wishes,Tom Allan
Flash Fiction (8 weeks)Create Memorable Writing with Literary Devices (6 weeks)Create Memorable Writing with Literary Devices II (6 weeks)Publish Your Short Story (4 weeks)
Hi, Gila! Hope you are well. Just wanted you to know about a flash market that’s very writer-friendly, a good place to land for some of your flash students who are looking for their first publishing credit (or have a good piece that doesn’t seem to fit with other markets): Every Day Fiction. I just had a piece published there (http://www.everydayfiction.com/campaign-button-by-joyce-barton/), and here was my experience:-Their response time was reasonable (90 days is their max; I heard from them in 88)-All 6 of their editors gave me comments/feedback on my story.-I was given the opportunity to make changes based on the feedback before publication, if I wished to do so (had a nice back-and-forth with one of the editors and added a sentence as a result)-Readers can comment and rate your story (1 to 5 stars), and the writer has the opportunity to respond to the readers (not something you see in most...
Fall Classes Begin October 5 and registration is open:FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP by Gila GreenHOW TO PUBLISH A SHORT STORY WORKSHOP by Gila GreenCREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES by Gila GreenCREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES II by Gila GreenNeed a little more time to catch your breath from summer?For the first time I'm offering two sets of fall classes. No need to wait for winter, but you can still pause a little longer than usual this year:November 16, 2015 registration is open CREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES by Gila GreenCREATE MEMORABLE WRITING WITH LITERARY DEVICES II by Gila GreenHOW TO PUBLISH A SHORT STORY WORKSHOP by Gila GreenFLASH FICTION WORKSHOP by Gila Green
The summer writing season has begun.If you would like a post on any particular topic, please send me your request.I'd be happy to consider it. Summer post by Gila GreenI have a confession. When I fill out forms in my kids’ schools or any other official forms —for some reason only schools seem to come to mind, but that’s another post—I always write ‘housewife’ under mother’s occupation and I instruct my husband to do the same. He always nudges me in the ribs with the same expression on his face, his jaw slightly lowered, his eyes at a half roll. “Because” I hiss at his unasked question. “How many times do I have to tell you?” This is normally enough for him to shrug his shoulders and follow my instructions. Would that all marital conflicts resolve themselves so easily.So, why don’t I put in writer or even editor? Because I always, yes always,...
