Faculty:  Andre Dubus III

If I teach nothing else in my writing classes, I teach this: do not outline your novel or novella or short story or essay. Do not think out the plot, the narrative arc, the protagonist’s journey, whatever you want to call it. Instead, try to find the story through an honest excavation of the characters’ total experience of the situation in which they find themselves. Do that, and I promise the story will begin to write itself, with little need for the controlling hand of the godly, intelligent, well-read, and ambitious author. But how, precisely, does one go about this “excavation”? And how, technically speaking, can we ignite a story into “writing itself”? Come to this workshop, and I will seek to demystify those writerly tools and skills that time and time again, if they are sharp enough, and if the writer can summon enough daily faith and nerve, can penetrate the mystery of story itself.

Submission guidelines:

In a single file, submit one or more short stories of no more than 25 pages total.  No synopsis necessary.
 

PLEASE NOTE: we are reading to assess the strength and readiness of the manuscript for workshop. What you submit here will be what you workshop during the conference.  No new material will be accepted.
 

Required format for writing samples:

1. Accepting only Word documents (.doc or .docx only).
2. Font must be 12-pt Times New Roman and Arial.
3. Margins must be 1 inch.
4. Manuscript must be double-spaced and contain a header or footer with page numbers and author’s name.
5. No extra spacing between paragraphs except that which indicates transitions.
6. If you submit more than 25 pages, only the first 25 pp will be read and considered. 
7. Do not include title pages or dedications.
8. Please submit in a single file.