SAN FRANCISCO - New America Media, a major multimedia news organization based in San Francisco, has been awarded a grant to start up a series of writers’ workshops for U.S. military veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  NAM is seeking 20 to 30 veterans from a cross-section of the U.S. military to participate in the initial workshops and eventually in the creation of a new journal featuring the vets’ own stories. Participants needn’t have any significant writing experience, only a desire to write.

The goal of the workshop and journal is to help OIF/OEF veterans tell their stories. We want other veterans to know that they’re not alone, that others are dealing with similar issues, and how they are dealing with them. We want to provoke debate over stories that are often unknown or ignored by the public, and we hope to stimulate better media coverage of veterans’ issues. Under the guidance of a professional editor, participants will write about their experiences and their daily lives, and offer perspective on events and trends. They will improve their writing skills, gain publishing experience and contribute to the public discourse on peace, war and veterans’ issues.

During the initial months, the project will convene two or three weekly workshops. Once participants are comfortable writing and meeting deadlines, they will start contributing to the project’s journal. While the journal’s graphic style, format and publishing schedule will be in flux during its startup, participants and the project director/editor will work toward publishing a first edition by the summer of 2009. Writers who wish anonymity will be allowed to publish under their initials or a pseudonym.

Workshops will be modeled on the classic workshop structure: A review of approaches to writing, topic discussion, writing in and out of class, peer review and (voluntary) class reading. Workshops will meet once a week, for 60 to 90 minutes; every effort will be made to schedule for a day, time and location most convenient to participants.

Participants will choose their own subjects — their experiences overseas, their adjustment to civilian life, their transition to being a college student, dealing with bureaucratic red tape, drug or alcohol dependency, PTSD, homelessness, job searches, etc. Participants can write about themselves, about a former comrade, about the military or VA, about media coverage, about whatever or whomever they wish to discuss. The project director/editor will critique, edit and challenge, but not censor.

The program will be supportive and instructive. During peer review, participants will read and constructively critique each other’s work. Stories will be edited in a manner that is sensitive to the writer’s voice and intention, while adhering to writing principles. All edits will be made in “Track Changes” mode, so that the writer can see the changes, and returned within a week of submission. Nothing will be published before the writer has opportunity to review the final edit.

Initial funding for this program comes from the Wallace A. Gerbode Foundation. Scott Mattoon, a veteran journalist who covered the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts as an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, will direct the project and lead the workshops. As funding grows, the number of workshops and participants will grow, the journal’s size and its circulation will increase, and the project will move toward multimedia publishing.

Enrollment in the workshops will begin immediately. OIF/OEF veterans who would like additional information can contact Scott Mattoon at the e-mail address or phone number listed below.

Scott Mattoon        (415) 503-4170, ext. 134        smattoon@newamericamedia.org