Step 8: Follow Up and Write Description

• Follow-up with outside partners to confirm the program’s date. You’ve probably already discussed a few date options, so send another email just to clarify month, day, day of the week, and time, so that there’s as little as possible room for a calendar mishap.
• Write a program description. Send a draft program description with title and ask your partner to read over it. This will often get a response much faster than simply asking your partner to write the program description for you. Also, this ensures that the program partner knows exactly what you’re expecting for the program.

Molly,

We’re working on scheduling Fall programming and I was hoping you might have a preferred Tuesday evening in September in mind so we can get the Handmaid’s tale program on the calendar? September 19 would work really well for us, and the 26 is also a good option!

For the programming guide and advertisements I’ll also need a short description of the program. I’ve come up with the following description; please feel free to adjust or send me a different one!

Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Join Ohio State University’s Dr. Molly J. Farrell as she delves into the Emmy-nominated television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel. Farrell specializes in early American literature, particularly colonial writing; gender, sexuality, and reproduction; and the history of science. She will focus on the popular show’s version of the story, the infertility outbreak narrative, and our Puritan legacy.

The only other thing I will need from you before-hand is a short bio for your introduction. I can take this from OSU’s website or you can send me something else. We’re really looking forward to this and thank you again for agreeing to come speak!

She reponded….

Dear Leann,

Sept. 19 works! And yes, the description of the talk you included is accurate. For a bio, feel free to take from the website (which I think currently needs to be updated with my title from Assistant to Associate–just got promoted); or you can say something along the lines of: Molly Farrell is Associate Professor of English at the Ohio State University in Columbus where she works on early American literature, the history of population science, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She earned her B.A. from Kenyon College and her Ph.D from Yale University, and her first book, Counting Bodies: Population in Colonial American Writing was published last year by Oxford University Press.
Hope that works. Looking forward to being in touch about this!

Best,

Molly

So the final Programming Description was:

Join Ohio State University’s Dr. Molly J. Farrell as she delves into the Emmy-nominated television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel. Farrell specializes in early American literature, particularly colonial writing; gender, sexuality, and reproduction; and the history of science. She will focus on the popular show’s version of the story, the infertility outbreak narrative, and our Puritan legacy.