Writers’ Night: Exploring Literary Genres
On Demand Video
English teacher and author Jason Hinojosa and our panel of alumni authors explore various literary genres – including historical fiction, creative nonfiction, and young adult fiction.
About the Panel
Moderator Jason Hinojosa
Jason Hinojosa is the author of numerous award-winning short
stories and two
novels, The Last Lawsons and The
Conception of Zachary Muse. In the last decade, Jason has
lived and worked in Hong Kong, India, Rwanda, and the United
States. He recently completed his MFA in fiction at the Iowa
Writers’ Workshop, studying with Marilynne Robinson, Ethan Canin,
Ayana Mathis, and Paul Harding. His fiction focuses primarily on
themes of family, time, sexuality, place, and perspective.
Jason has taught literature and creative writing courses at
various levels including university, continuing education, high
school, and middle school programs. He currently teaches at
Sacramento Country Day School and serves as the High
School English Department Chair.
Panelist Adam Braver (‘81)
Adam Braver is the author of six novels: Mr.
Lincoln’s Wars, Divine Sarah, Crows Over the Wheatfield, November
22, 1963, Misfit, and The Disappeared. His books
have been selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover New Writers
program, Borders’ Original Voices series, the IndieNext list, and
twice for the Book Sense list, as well as having been translated
into Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and French. Braver’s fiction
and essays have appeared in journals such as Daedalus,
Ontario Review, Cimarron Review, Water-Stone Review, Harvard
Review, Tin House, The Normal School, West Branch, The
Pinch, and Post Road.
Additionally, Braver is editor for the Broken Silence series for the University of New Orleans Press, a series that tells the firsthand stories of political dissidents. He is on faculty and Library Program Director at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. He also teaches at the New York State Summer Writers Institute.
Panelist Jennieke Cohen (‘01)
Jennieke Cohen (JEN-ih-kuh CO-en) is used to people
mispronouncing her name and tries to spare her fictional
characters the same problem. Jennieke is the author of
the young adult historical novel Dangerous Alliance, a
Junior Library Guild Selection, and the upcoming My Fine
Fellow. She studied English history at Cambridge University
and has a master’s degree in professional writing from the
University of Southern California. Jennieke has worked as a
nonfiction ghostwriter, a literary agent’s assistant, and as a
writing consultant to Silicon Valley tech companies. When not
writing or researching little-known corners of history, you’ll
find her singing opera arias and show tunes, over-analyzing old
movies, or discovering the best foodie spots in her native
Northern California.
Read more on Jennieke’s website or say hi on Twitter or Instagram @Jennieke_Cohen.
Panelist Susan Harlan (‘95)
Susan Harlan’s essays have appeared in venues
including The Guardian US, The Paris Review
Daily, Guernica, Roads & Kingdoms, Literary Hub, The Common,
Racked, The Brooklyn Quarterly, The Bitter
Southerner, and Public Books. Her
book Luggage (Bloomsbury,
2018) takes readers on a journey with the suitcases that support,
accessorize, and accompany our lives. She also writes satire
for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Billfold, Avidly,
Queen Mob’s Tea House, The Hairpin, The Belladonna, Janice,
and The Establishment, and her humor
book Decorating
a Room of One’s Own: Conversations on Interior Design with Miss
Havisham, Jane Eyre, Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Bennet,
Ishmael, and Other Literary Notables was published
by Abrams in 2018. She teaches English at Wake Forest
University.
Sacramento Writers’ Workshop
July 12-23, 2021
MWF 6 – 8 p.m.
The Sacramento Writers’ Workshop is an intensive manuscript development program for aspiring short story writers and novelists, hosted by Sacramento Country Day School. Participants will have the opportunity to polish a piece of writing, refine their craft, and connect with other writers in a constructive setting.
Learn more about the Workshop here.