Registration closes on Thursday, November 7th to ensure you receive your packet in time which will include the required reading, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.

November 22nd Workshop: Tara Campbell knows a little weird goes a long way. In this workshop, participants will explore two ways of unlocking new stories: defamiliarizing common expressions and excavating unfinished business to write horror (even if you don't think you write horror). We'll then interrogate the line between speculative fiction and horror in a discussion of Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild." The workshop includes writing time, which participants can use to flesh out works in progress or generate entirely new stories.

November 23rd Workshop: Fonda Lee explores the process of building on ideas and how to transform the seed of a story into a compelling narrative. She’ll hone in on character development, with an emphasis on tools and exercises to create more complex and nuanced personalities on the page. Through generative exercises, participants will stock themselves with new ideas but also consider how to evaluate which projects to focus on.

November 24th Workshop: Minal Hajratwala opens a window into speculative poetics for prose writers. Experiment with symbolism, metaphor, and syntax to generate new work and to revise/revive older work. Bring a printout of a stalled or "failed" story that still haunts you, and a pair of scissors. Participants will play with language, leaving with an array of tools to dissolve and reconstruct the inner workings of their writing. 

November 25th Workshop: Nisi Shawl offers word-building for world-building. Meet them at the intersection of creating new words and repurposing old words to imagine and build a new world, considering both setting and cultural impacts. In smaller breakout sessions, participants will share and witness fresh writing built on prompts. Nisi will structure “homeplay” – an opportunity to shape what’s next in continuing and developing writing begun in the workshop.

Thank you to our event sponsor: