Novelette and Novella Writing Workshop with Nisi Shawl

Class Coming Up This Summer: Novelette & Novella Writing Workshop

Nisi and I are giving a writing workshop class focusing on novelettes and novellas since there are quite a few more avenues for publishing them these days. The majority of the workshop will be about critiquing student manuscripts, though there will be some discussion of the long short story/short novel form as well as other elements of craft. It happens in June and July, so you have time to get a manuscript ready!

If you’re interested in this workshop and you’re a past student of ours or a writer of color/Native writer, ping me via email for a discount code.

When: June 1 – July 29, 2018
Where: Online — Available everywhere, no set meeting times
Price: $350

Novellas and novelettes are experiencing a renaissance, and opportunities for publishing fiction that’s longer and more complex than a short story but more compact and smaller in scope than a novel are growing. However, opportunities for workshopping these in-between lengths are not as numerous as those for shorts and novels. This eight week workshop provides a supportive environment for analyzing and discussing novellas and novelettes. Each writer’s manuscript will be critiqued by their peers as well as authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford.

Participants will read one manuscript per week, turning in critiques and participating in discussions about each story on the weekends. In addition, we will study how novelettes and novellas work by reading and analyzing three published works during the course of the eight weeks. During the week students will discuss aspects of writing craft related to the long short story form and fiction in general.

There are no set meeting times for this workshop— all participation will take place via an online forum/mailing list and Google Drive. Students can log in at any time, but must complete critiques and discussions within a set time frame.

To participate in this workshop, you must have your manuscript ready for critique by June 1, 2018. Manuscripts must be no less than 8,000 words and no more than 45,000.

We are committed to providing a safe and respectful writing workshop environment, especially for writers from marginalized backgrounds. We work with critique guidelines that prioritize analysis and craft-based observations, and every student must abide by a class Code of Conduct that emphasizes respect and takes a no-tolerance stance on harassment.

Scholarships

We are offering one scholarship spot for writers who do not have the financial means to take this workshop. We have a broad definition of financial need that ranges from writers who do not have the money at all to writers who have the funds but can’t afford to use them for a writing class. Please don’t hesitate to apply wherever you exist on that spectrum.

To apply, send an email by May 1 to ktempestbradford+febwkshp@gmail.com with the subject Novella Workshop Scholarship Applicant, and include in the body:

  • A brief (300 or fewer words) statement of financial need
  • A brief (500 or fewer words) bio that includes your background, writing class/workshop experience (if applicable), and publications (if applicable). You do not need to have published anything to get the scholarship.
  • A writing sample of 1000 or fewer words. This can be an excerpt from a longer work or flash fiction, from something published or unpublished, as long as it represents what you feel is your best work.

Click here for more details, including full class schedule.