Year-Long Novel Generator: Decolonizing The Novel with John Manuel Arias
Year-Long Novel Generator: Decolonizing The Novel with John Manuel Arias
25 Sessions: every other Wednesdays, March 11, 2026 - March 24, 2027
6:00-8:30pm ET
John Manuel Arias
Payment plans available
John Manuel Arias is the national bestselling author of Where There Was Fire, named a best debut by Apple Books and a Finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, and the forthcoming novel Crocodilopolis. His poetry and prose have appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, The Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, F(r)iction and The Rumpus.
It all starts with a sentence. One line will grow into a story, then into a draft, and finally a manuscript, polished and perfected, to be sent out into the world. But the process—getting to know your characters like family, writing twists even you didn’t see coming—is where the beauty lies. It’s in creating a novel that is whole. Because the novel, to come alive, must be whole.
The year-long generator will take a holistic approach to creating that first draft; from the sonic to stylistic, to inventing unique architecture, students will master novel-writing from the structural down to the sentence level. Along the way, with inspiration from books by authors, poets, and essayists of color (from Toni Morrison to Eduardo Galeano, Edwidge Danticat to Arundhati Roy), students will be able to discover their own voice, style, and strengths.
Through craft lectures and generative prompts, students will learn and master plot, character development, outlining, dialogue, research, and metaphor, while discussing texts that push the boundaries of what a novel can be. Writers will benefit from multiple workshops throughout the year, bonding with their cohort through constructive and encouraging feedback meant to nurture writers and their manuscripts. Three one-on-one meetings with the instructor will keep writers on track throughout the year, ensuring their work-in-progress receives the care and guidance it deserves.
The final part of the generator will focus on navigating the publishing industry as a debut novelist, facilitated through visits by agents, editors, and veteran writers.
This workshop is perfect for students looking to write literary, historical, or magical realist fiction with a focus on decolonial storytelling.
Workshop Highlights:
Completed novel draft
Deeper understanding of craft and decolonial storytelling
Insight into the publishing process
Payment Note: There is the option to pay by installment. To setup a payment plan, please contact Kate Mabus, kate@theshipmanagency.com. All scholarships for this course have been awarded.
Scheduling Note: There will be no class on August 26, September 9, and December 30. The complete list of course dates is March 11, March 25, April 8, April 22, May 6, May 20, June 3, June 17, July 1, July 15, July 29, August 12, September 23, October 7, October 21, November 4, November 18, December 2, December 16, January 13, January 27, February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24.
John Manuel Arias is a queer, Costa Rican-American poet and writer. He is the author of the debut novel, Where There Was Fire (Flatiron, 2023). He is a Canto Mundo fellow and alumnus of the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop. His prose and poetry have been published in PANK, The Rumpus, F(r)iction, Joyland Magazine, and Akashic Books.
