Master Class: The Speculative Short Story with Laura van den Berg
Master Class: The Speculative Short Story with Laura van den Berg
1 Session: Saturday, January 23
3:00-5:00pm ET
Laura van den Berg
Laura van den Berg is the author of six works of fiction, most recently the novel State of Paradise. She is the director of Creative Writing at Harvard University and has taught creative writing at the MFA Programs at the Michener Center and at Columbia.
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.
Highlights:
Develop a deeper understanding of how to imagine a speculative world
Gain new craft tools through close reading & discussion
Explore new world-imagining possibilities through guided writing exercises
This class has 1 full and 1 partial scholarship. To apply please fill out this form by Friday, January 15.
Laura van den Berg’s most recent book is State of Paradise (FSG, 2024), which received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal, and Booklist, and was named a must-read summer book by TIME, Publishers Weekly, Oprah Daily, and others. She is also the author of the widely praised short story collection I Hold a Wolf by the Ears (FSG, 2020), which NPR called “exquisite.” Other books include the novel The Third Hotel (FSG, 2018), a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award; the novel Find Me (FSG, 2015); and two other collections of stories, The Isle of Youth (FSG, 2013) and What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc Books, 2009).
