Very exciting news: my friend, the incredibly talented author (and literally the most well read person I’ve ever met) Rafe Posey, and I will be leading a short-form genre fiction workshop at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network early next year. Writers of all experience levels, and ages 14 and up, are welcome. Both in-person and virtual participation is an option. Registration is open now — and seats are limited.
For this workshop, Rafe and I have designed a curriculum that will take participants from generating ideas, to revising a finished short story, to submitting their polished work to appropriate markets.
Here’s the official description:
“Over the course of seven weeks, you’ll generate ideas for an original piece of short-form genre fiction (mystery, horror, romance, historical, experimental, etc.) of 1,500-6,000 words, based on provided prompts. You’ll workshop that piece to prepare it for being submitted for publication. You’ll also learn about the contemporary marketplace for short genre fiction and how to select the best venues for your story.
“Each of the first four weeks are dedicated to a different specific aspect of genre writing (worldbuilding, point of view, voice, writing within constraints, homage, and style). You’ll read examples of each, engage in class discussions, and then write a short piece (800-1,200 words) with an emphasis on that week’s central topic.
“Week five will be a thorough discussion of the contemporary short fiction marketplace with regards to genre work specifically, best submission and querying practices, and lessons to take away from rejections. You’ll research five potential marketplaces to which you could submit your work after completing the course.
“Meanwhile, you’ll complete your final assignment — choosing one of the initial four “mini-assignments” as a starting point, write a complete short story between 1,200 and 6,000 words long in your chosen genre. The last two weeks will focus on group critiques and workshopping those stories.”
Between us, Rafe and I have practical first-hand experience in essentially every possible aspect of writing and publishing fiction. And I think this class is going to be a huge success. If you are interested to learn more, check out the course listing in the BARN catalogue here.
Here’s a bit of background on Rafe: he is the author of the novel “The Stars We Share” (Viking/Penguin, 2021) as well as numerous works of short fiction, which have appeared in journals such as Poydras Review, Empty Sink, Urbanite, and The Light Ekphrastic. He also worked as the fiction editor for Cobalt Review for several years, and as a guest editor for a [PANK] special issue. After teaching English, writing, and humanities at the University of Baltimore and, most recently, in a maximum-security prison in Maryland, Rafe now works as a bookseller on Bainbridge Island.
And, of course, an updated bio of yours truly:
An award-winning writer and photographer, Luciano is the author of the werewolf novella trilogy “The Ambush Moon Cycle” and numerous works of short fiction that have appeared in anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, The Best New Weird Horror, Monsters, Movies & Mayhem (winner: Colorado Book Award), and Crash Code (nominee: Splatterpunk Award), Nightscript, Pseudopod, Chthonic Matter Quarterly, and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. His written and photographic reporting has earned a number of industry accolades, and he was twice named a feature writer of the year by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. A U.S. Navy veteran originally from rural western Pennsylvania, he now lives near Seattle.
I’m very excited about this!
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