Class Description
Recent years have seen an explosion in the popularity of “flash” or “sudden” prose: fiction and nonfiction of about a thousand words or less. Paradoxical as it may seem, the constraints of a low wordcount can open up an amazing range of narrative possibilities. This one-day class introduces writers to the short-short form by both exposing students to a wide range of styles in this genre and guiding them in their own experimentations. Students will read work by popular and groundbreaking authors such as Amelia Gray, Kathy Fish, Nicole Walker, Lydia Davis, Sarah Manguso, Brian Doyle, and others, with an eye to examining how each uses the compressed form. Through in-class exercises, students will generate new work (or, if they wish, revise work in progress), and share their exercises with each other. In addition to craft, the class will discuss the process of finding markets and submitting flash work for publication. Students will leave the class with a robust understanding of the breadth of possibilities available in this short form, as well as a sense of how to use such brevity to take their work in new directions.
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. Please visit the Resources tab to access the video-conference link.
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!