Join author and teacher Elizabeth Genovise for a special four-part workshop. These sessions will follow the traditional method for a fine arts/fiction workshop, providing budding writers with an opportunity for in-depth feedback. Two writers each will submit a work of fiction (maximum of 15-17 pages, double-spaced Word document) a week before each session. The other attendees will read the two submissions and complete reviews, which they will bring to the workshop along with a printed copy of each piece the following week. Instructions will be provided for how to structure the reviews so that we might have a measured and organized conversation when we convene. Each workshop will last approximately one hour (two workshops per Saturday session). Genovise will lead the workshop, directing conversation, but all attendees will be expected to participate in the discussion, and to turn in their written critiques to each “writer of the week” when the workshop has ended.

Structured round-table discussion, written critiques, and personal feedback will provide each writer with a template for revision and a sense of his or her strengths and weaknesses. We will explore problems of point-of-view, scene, dialogue, setting, pacing, and character development as we consider each submission. We will look for each story’s heart, and if we can’t find it, we’ll discuss why this might be the case. The goal is not to tell a writer what to do or how to fix something; rather, the point is to highlight trouble areas and question why those issues have arisen. Ideally, we assist the writer in elevating the work so that it conveys what he or she most wants it to convey. The process of critiquing others’ work is also enormously helpful when honing one’s own work, so each workshop session will be informative and enriching for all attendees.

Elizabeth Genovise, O. Henry Prize winner, is a graduate of the MFA in fiction program at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She is a member of the East Tennessee Literary Hall of Fame and the author of three short story collections. Her latest book, Posing Nude for the Saints, was published by Texas Review Press in 2019. She teaches creative writing, literature, and composition, and lives in Oak Ridge, TN.

Special pricing for this four-session workshop: $125 by June 29, then $150 until registration closes on July 2. Class limit of 8. Each class participant receives critique and discussion of work both from Genovise, one of our most popular workshop leaders, and from the group. Similar workshops from other authors go for $400 and up.

July 11, 18, 25, and August 1, 2020