Craft Seminar: Beyond the Book: Building a Literary Career with Isle McElroy
Craft Seminar: Beyond the Book: Building a Literary Career with Isle McElroy
1 Session: Thursday, September 17
6:00-9:00 pm ET
Isle McElroy
Isle McElroy is the author of three novels: The Atmospherians, People Collide, and the forthcoming Satellite. They were a 2025 Shearing Fellow at the Black Mountain Institute and were named a 2026 National Magazine Finalist in criticism. Their writing appears in The New York Times, The Cut, Vulture, The Atlantic, The Believer, and elsewhere.
A writing career often requires more than writing an excellent book. Though a book can serve as the foundation of a professional life, realistically, a writer will need to publish beyond their book to further establish their career. In this course, we will discuss strategies for building a publishing career alongside your book.
Students will learn how to pitch personal essays, trend pieces, and reviews to magazines. We will discuss strategies for applying to residencies, giving readings, contacting agents, and building a literary community.
Highlights:
Students will be given examples of successful magazine pitches and fellowship applications.
Students will learn how and when to solicit agents.
Students will receive inside knowledge on what contest and residency judges are looking for when reading applications.
This class has 1 scholarship available. To apply, please fill out this form by Wednesday, September 9.
Isle McElroy's debut novel, The Atmospherians, was praised in The New York Times Book Review as “exceptional writing” and was named a book of the year by Esquire, Electric Literature, Debutiful, and others. Their second novel, People Collide, was named a New York Times Critics' Pick and a best book of 2023 by NPR, Vulture, Them, Vogue, and other venues. Abbi Jacobson is currently adapting the novel. Their third novel, Satellite, will be published by Viking in 2027. Their essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, and elsewhere. They have received fellowships from The Black Mountain Institute, The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Tin House Summer Workshop, The Sewanee Writers Conference, The Elizabeth George Foundation, and The National Parks.
