Class Description
Speculative fiction cracks open reality—whether by bending the rules of physics, imagining entirely new worlds, or slipping a little magic into the everyday. This ten-week workshop is for fiction writers ready to dive deep into the craft of writing beyond the limits of the known world. With just nine students, the class is designed to be both rigorous and collaborative, offering plenty of feedback, support, and creative energy. This is a fantastic opportunity to experiment with something new, get feedback on something you've got sitting around, and critically engage with speculative storytelling.
Each week, we’ll read and discuss craft essays, published stories, and one another’s works-in-progress, drawing inspiration from writers like Henry Lien, Craig Church, Tananarive Due, Ken Liu, V.H. Chen, Tobias Buckell, and Nisi Shawl. You’ll take on targeted craft exercises, engage in multiple methods of critical workshop, and deliver thoughtful feedback letters for your classmates. This class will encourage you to engage with the craft conversations of the greater Science Fiction and Fantasy writing community, build new relationships in support of your craft journey, and offer new methods of interrogating your stories and others you read.
Whether you’re fine-tuning a sci-fi epic, dreaming up a new fantasy realm, writing magical short stories, or crafting something wonderfully unclassifiable, this class offers the structure, community, and momentum to help you push your work forward alongside a group of experienced, dedicated fiction writers.
Please note: Class does not meet Tuesday, November 11th.
Important dates: Applications for this class are due Monday, September 1st, at 11:59PM (EST). Late submissions will not be reviewed or receive a response. All applicants can expect to hear back within one week of the application deadline. The enrollment deadline for admitted students is Wednesday, September 8th.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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.