FICTION TO FILM with Emily Adrian
SOLD OUT
4 Weeks | Thursdays, 8pm - 10pm ET (on Zoom) | April 18 - May 9, 2024
$350 | REGISTER
Why do we so often say the book was better than the movie? Can film do things that fiction can’t? In this course, we will read four works of fiction (three short stories and a novel) and watch film adaptations of each text. By studying fiction and film side by side, we’ll discover how adaptations can shape, inform, or expand our understanding of a story. What do adaptations reveal to us about form? How does a ten-page short story lend itself to a two-hour movie? We’ll take a close look at how filmmakers interpret moments of literary ambiguity, as well as the creative choices that allow each film to stand as a work of art independent of its source material.
We will begin by reading “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” by Alice Munro and watching Away from Her (2006). Next will be “Killings” by Andre Dubus and In the Bedroom (2001). We’ll read “Baster” by Jeffrey Eugenides, the inspiration for the 2010 romcom The Switch, and finish with Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and the 2010 film adaptation of the same name.
PDFs of all three short stories will be provided. You will need to purchase or borrow from the library a copy of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. All four films are available to rent on multiple streaming services.
Our class time will be used entirely for discussion. However, I will be available throughout the course to give you feedback on your own writing, some of which may be generated by prompts related to our reading assignments. In the fourth week, students will have the opportunity to submit a full short story or novel excerpt (up to 4,000 words) to me for extensive written feedback. The course includes an optional private Zoom call with me to discuss your work.
Please write to emily@greatplacebooks.com with questions.
Emily Adrian is the author of four novels including The Second Season and Everything Here Is Under Control. Her memoir Daughterhood will be published in 2024. Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, Joyland, and Epoch. She is a teacher, editor, and co-founder of Great Place Books.
"Emily's class opened my eyes to so many new ways of thinking about fiction, as a reader and writer. I felt like I got to know the other writers in the class well, which is so rare for an online class, and is entirely thanks to her teaching. And Emily's feedback on my writing was encouraging and insightful. I loved her class so much."
— JAIME GREEN, AUTHOR OF THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE