Summer can feel a season of suspension—of real life on hold. I’m calling this workshop Summer School in an effort to reclaim the season, to make it a time of learning and thinking, to make it productive and even generative.

This eight week workshop will explore the complex question of how to write fiction. We’ll talk about style and form, about dialogue and scene, about character and voice. There is no single way to tell a story, no objective wisdom when it comes to art—we’ll work as a group to determine what we care about as writers, and what we are struck by as readers.

Coursework will include readings and discussions as well as some in-class generative exercises (don’t scoff; they work). And the heart of Summer School will be workshop, an in-depth discussion of each writer’s work. Writers should have either a standalone story or novel excerpt (writers of memoir are welcome to join if you accept that the tools and tactics are the same), 25 pages maximum.

Workshops are a collaborative environment. Writers who have not experienced one are welcome to apply, but all applicants must understand this endeavor as a collective one of writers working together in good faith. Beyond the workshop environment, writers will receive the instructor’s written feedback, as well as a 30 minute private meeting to discuss their work.

To apply, submit up to 15 pages of your best work. Please also include a brief personal statement addressing both your perspective on collaboration and the workshop model as well as your goals and hopes for the course.