Master Class: The Speculative Short Story: How to Imagine a World with Laura van den Berg
Master Class: The Speculative Short Story: How to Imagine a World with Laura van den Berg
1 Session: Saturday, April 4
2:00-4:00pm ET
Laura van den Berg
Laura van den Berg is the acclaimed author of six works of fiction and currently directs the creative writing program at Harvard University. She has also taught in the MFA programs at the Michener Center for Writers, Columbia University, and Warren Wilson.
Writers of speculative short fiction often hear that their worlds are underdeveloped and unclear or that their worlds are too “big” for a short story. How to strike the right balance? This master class will focus on creating vivid, convincing non-realist worlds in the space of the short story. The session will be divided into two parts. The first part will be a lecture on speculative world-building in two Octavia Butler short stories, followed by Q & A. The second part will focus on exercises that encourage students to explore and refine the world-building in their own stories.
Workshop Highlights:
Learn how to build a speculative world in the space of a short story
Gain a deeper understanding of the worlds you're seeking to create
Lecture, generative writing exercises, Q&A
This class has 1 full and 1 partial scholarship available. To apply, please fill out this form by Friday, March 27.
Laura van den Berg’s most recent book is the widely praised short story collection, I Hold a Wolf by the Ears (FSG, 2020) , which NPR called “exquisite.” Her next novel is State of Paradise, which will be published by FSG in Summer 2024. Other books include the novel The Third Hotel (FSG, 2018), a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, and two other collections of stories, The Isle ofYouth (FSG, 2013), and What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc Books, 2009), as well as the novel Find Me (FSG, 2015).
