The Art of the Novel Workshop
March 2025

The Art of the Novel Workshop is a multi session workshop for novelists of color with Kweli Founding Editor and Publisher, Laura Pegram. Princess Joy L. Perry, author of This Here is Love, will be one of our visiting artists.

The workshop is tailor-made for BIPOC writers of adult fiction. It is a safer space for all people of color, including Black, Indigenous, SWANA, AAPI, Latinx, LGBTQiA+ writers at all levels. It includes seminars focused on craft and in-class writing exercises. There will be reading assignments and a study of works by well-known adult fiction writers and poets. Writing will begin on the first day of workshop. Peer review sessions will take place during the final two weeks of workshop.   

Class Details

Class Dates: March 22, March 29, April 12, April 26

Format: Online

Time: 12:00pm EST - 3:00pm EST

Workshop Fee: $425 (Register below)

Please note: Payment must be received to secure your spot in the class.

The enrollment is limited to 10 participants.

Testimonials 

“Kweli came into my life when I needed it most. The guidance, and support of other indigenous writers and writers of color fostered through Kweli gave me encouragement, a newfound understanding of craft, and comradery with writers who had faced and overcame barriers to publication. Early in my writing life, editors at Kweli recognized the strength of my stories at a time when very few journals would even offer me a form rejection. I hardly look at my old submittable account now, but when I do, there are dozens of rejections for every story that would eventually end up in my debut collection Sabrina & Corina.”

Kali Fajardo Anstine
2019 National Book Award Finalist
and American Book Award winner
Author of Woman of Light (a Novel) and Sabrina & Corina (Stories)

“Kweli is one of the most empowering literary spaces I’ve come across, on the level of craft, and on the level of community. From rigorous work on the page to my development as a literary professional, Kweli has been instrumental to my growth over the years. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of the Kweli community, and all the magic Laura Pegram and her team make possible.”

Alejandro Heredia
2024 - 2025 Shearing Fellow, Black Mountain Institute
Author of LOCA (a Novel)

“Kweli Journal was one of the first major publications to accept my work. The editor, Laura Pegram, went above and beyond the acceptance letter. We worked on the edits over the phone for hours and revised draft after draft through email. When “Straight Dollars or Loose Change” was finally published in Kweli, I was proud of the story that emerged from so many hours of work with the Kweli staff. When I received that acceptance email from Kweli, I had received so many rejections that I was just about to give up on publishing altogether. That acceptance and the journal’s belief in my work was just what I needed to push through as a writer. To believe in myself as a writer.”

LaToya Watkins
2023 National Book Award Longlist Fiction
Author of Perish (a Novel) and Holler, Child (Stories)

Register Today. Secure Your Seat. 

You can make your payment online with PayPal. 

Please note that there is a $40 administrative fee for processing refunds for the Art of the Novel Workshop. Thank you.

For more information, please email events@kwelijournal.org.