The Short Story Incubator is a competitive, accessible – and repeatable – MFA-level course, spanning 8 months, for ten short story writers from all backgrounds who want to move their stories from “workshop good” to publishable quality. We are now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 Short Story Incubator. The submission deadline is Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at 11:59PM ET. There are fellowships available. Apply today!

Can you tell us about your journey to the Short Story Incubator?

I was not going to take the Short Story Incubator. It sounded ideal—like, bunnies eating sundaes with unicorns ideal. But I wasn’t even going to apply.

The Incubator was expensive, I wasn’t sure I was right for it, and I had precious little
writing time as it was—did I really want to spend what time I did have on meetings and readings and discussions? (Okay, yes, of course I did. But I also worried about losing my craft time.)

But the Incubator's description stuck with me: “for writers… who want to move their stories from ‘workshop good’ to publishable quality.”

That promise—that there was more to revision than one dutiful round of workshops might suggest—gnawed at me. I was feeling stuck, in a place where I believed in my own voice but was receiving rejections from journals. Realizing that I needed to learn whatever that “more” could be is what made me, finally, apply.

Enter Ron MacLean and the Incubator. On Day 1, we talked about identifying threads in our work of the stories we wanted to tell. Then we were off to the races: reading stories, discussing craft, and workshopping, always with one foot in the playful creativity zone and the other foot in the deadly serious zone of respecting the work. For me, the Incubator was a perfect blend of brainy craft deconstruction and empathetic discovery. And the fact that on day approximately 230 we were still talking about identifying the story threads in our work just proves to me how rich and fertile short stories can be, particularly when we take the time to bring them fully into the light. Walking through all those “more” possibilities with Ron and my cohort is what makes me so wildly glad today that I applied.

What made the program stand out from other options?

The 8 month length sounded like a dream: even my college workshops were only 4 months long. Having the chance to work with other serious writers for 8 months felt both rare and important.

What did your life look like after the program? What have you been able to achieve since?

I received my first journal acceptance while I was in the program, on a story I’d workshopped in class. More importantly, through my work in the program, I unearthed a boldness in my voice that is making all my newer stories and novel revisions stand tall.

What would you tell someone who's considering applying but maybe on the fence?

Imagine saying ‘yes’ and applying; imagine spending 8 months in conversation with other serious writers about craft, about themes that drive your work, about bringing illumination forward in your stories. If imagining all that feels like a big old “Welcome Home” mat at your feet, I’d strongly suggest you apply.

What about the program surprised you the most?

One great surprise was the time we spent focusing on our own craft investigations: each of us identified an area of craft we wanted to explore in-depth through found and suggested readings, and we shared what we learned in class. Hearing everyone’s discoveries was one of my favorite parts of the whole program, and completing my own investigation gave me a rubric for revision that I will never not use.

What's the main reason you recommend the program?

Because you, future Incubee, have a story to tell. Because you want to tell it. Because making sense of the publishing world can feel like blundering a convoluted brainteaser, and because the Incubator, warming and encouraging and challenging the potential within all of us, lives up to its name.