English 143A

Book List

Ward, Jesmyn: The Best American Short Stories 2021

Description

A short fiction workshop. Over the course of the semester, each student will write and revise two stories. Each participant in the workshop will edit student-written stories and will write a formal critique of each manuscript. Students will also take part in online discussions about fiction. Attendance is mandatory.

Students will only write fiction within the genre of psychological realism.  We will not workshop science fiction or fantasy fiction.

Throughout the semester, we will read published stories from various sources and also essays by working writers about fiction and the writing life. The intent of the course is to have the students confront the problems faced by writers of fiction and to discover the techniques that enable writers to construct  a convincing and engaging representation of reality on the page.

Please note that you have to apply to get into this class. To be considered for admission, please electronically submit 10-15 double-spaced pages of your fiction by clicking on the link below. You may submit one or more stories, but please stay within the page limit and remember to double-space.