Class Description
A competitive and affordable MFA-level course, spanning 12 months, for ten fiction writers interested in deep revision of their novel drafts, a comprehensive craft-based study of the novel form, and a thoughtful introduction to the publishing world.
The Novel Incubator year is divided into three distinct phases, each with its own requirements and structure.
- Phase I: (May 23rd - August 8th), students receive full critiques of their entire novels in a workshop setting and craft lectures directly applicable to the novel form.
- Phase II: (September 6th - December 19th), students focus on discrete chapters and study the mechanics of chapter-writing as well as micro-editing.
- Phase III: The final phase (January 16th - April 3rd) will follow the same format as the first, except that students receive full critiques of their entire revised novels. During this phase, students also submit their revised novels to an outside reader, an established author who will offer comprehensive macro feedback and suggestions for revision.
Throughout the year, students are guaranteed a certain number of one-on-one meetings with the instructor and the outside consultant to discuss the specifics of their projects as well as novels read outside of class. Toward the end of the final phase, prominent local authors, editors and/or agents will visit as guest speakers. At the end of the program, students will have a chance to meet with an agent and/or editor as part of the Manuscript Mart at the 2019 Muse and the Marketplace conference; this agent or editor will read an excerpt of the student's novel with an eye toward representation.
For more information check out our Novel Incubator programs page.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.