Creating Humor in Difficult Times - a discussion with filmmakers and writers

Susan diRende will be leading a discussion with filmmakers and screenwriters participating in this year's Broad Humor Film Festival regarding the possibilities of comedy in changing and troubled times. Are there lines that should not be crossed in the name of humor? Is there an obligation for artists to shine a light on the cracks in the cultural and societal facade? Is it even possible to effect change with art? What are we as women creators in it for?
This event is for current and past participants of the festival and not open to the general public.
Sunday, September 3, 2017 at the Electric Lodge Performing Arts Center, 1419 Electric Avenue, Venice, California

Unpronounceable Wins Special Citation of Excellence Award

The Philip K. Dick Memorial Awards have recognized Susan diRende's debut novella, Unpronounceable, with its Special Citation of Excellence Award as part of the 2017 ceremony at Norwescon in Seattle, Washington.

Philip K. Dick Memorial Award - Nominee

Susan diRende's debut novella, Unpronounceable, is one of six finalists for the 2017 Philip K. Dick Memorial Award to be presented at Norwescon April 13-16, 2017. Susan will be part of a panel discussing the current nominees and their books, as well as participating with a reading and signing as part of the weekend events.

Residency in New Zealand

Susan diRende is heading to the New Zealand Pacific Studios Artist Residency Centre for a four-month stay to work on the manuscript for her latest project "A Year in Miniature." The text is a further exploration that began with the year long visual art project she began while at the centre for a previous residency that began January 1, 2015. That project, painting a miniature every day of the year to document and reflect a year on the road traveling the world, culminated in Paris on December 31. Now she is writing a travel memoir to accompany the pictures.

Susan will also be taking part in a group show taking place at the Aratoi Museum of Art in Masterton, NZ. Art Is a Living Thing will exhibit works from the 15-year history of NZPS, and will include performances, readings, and workshops.

Susan will be reading from her memoir along with a number of other writers, musicians, and performers to kick off the six-week exhibition.

Art Is a Living Thing Group Show - Aratoi Museum

The Aratoi Museum in Masterton, NZ hosts a showcase retrospective of artists who have been in residence at the NZPS Centre in Mt. Bruce. The six-week exhibition will include live performances, readings, and workshops,as well as works on display covering the 15 years the centre has been welcoming visiting artists from New Zealand and around the world.

Susan diRende will be among the featured artists reading at the opening celebration Friday, December 2 at 6pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Art Is a Living Thing Group Show
Aratoi Museum
December 3, 2016-January 15, 2017

Aqueduct Authors Reading at Borderlands

Susan will be reading with a group of Aqueduct Press authors at Borderlands Books in San Francisco on September 25, 2016 at 3pm. Come for a "fabulous" afternoon and stop by to chat afterward. Borderlands specializes in new and used speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror.

NOVELIZE! - A strategy for screenwriters

NOVELIZE!

Come for brunch and discussion with Susan diRende, author/artist/filmmaker and Founder of the Broad Humor Film Festival on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 11:30 AM in Venice. She will share her experience of turning her script into a novella that found a publisher and is now a book in its own right.

She will widen the discussion to what women can do to resist the sense of failure that the structural inequities of Hollywood cause in us. After 15 years in the LA entertainment community, the respect and welcome she encountered in the print community, especially its receptivity to the work of women. Susan will make a case for adding “/author” to your self-description and broadening your idea of how to get your stories out there.

This event is open to the public. Tickets $12

Broad Humor Film Festival, Electric Lodge Performing Arts Center, Venice, CA

More information at BroadHumor.com