Faulkner said writers need two of three things — ‘experience, imagination, observation’. As Fredric Jameson has pointed out, only one of these is available in the classroom. This workshop will proceed on two assumptions: that a community is a writer’s most invaluable resource; and that, imagination and experience being unteachable, all writers can actually learn is to look closer.

In this practice-based workshop, we will share, respond to and critique works of narrative prose. It’s encouraged — though not compulsory — to begin this workshop with a project in mind. Ideally, your project will be workshopped twice during the ten 2.5 hour sessions. You’ll be expected to attend workshops having read and thought about each other's work, which will be distributed in advance of each week’s session.

Workshops will be accompanied by a reading list, consisting of short fiction, novellas, and novel excerpts, and ranging from the late-nineteenth century to the contemporary. This reading list will be reflexive to workshop discussions and the work presented, shifting to accommodate conversations in the workshops and the participant’s work. Each workshop will start with a brief discussion of one or more of these texts.

Workshopping is designed to be undertaken alongside critical seminars. The workshops are participation-led, and seminars are not designed to act as a formal syllabus to be ‘applied’ in the workshop setting, though there is an expectation of participation in both.

To apply, please send a writing sample of several pages — roughly 1500 words — and a short bio. Fees cover enrolment in both the creative writing workshop and the critical seminar. If you’d like to apply but can’t afford it, please let us know in your application.