Kweli Art of the Short Story Workshop | Writing for Teens +
Fall 2023

The Art of the Short Story Workshop is a multi session workshop for short story writers and novelists of color with Kweli Founding Editor and Publisher, Laura Pegram.

The workshop is tailor-made for writers of middle grade and young adult fiction, as well as for those who also are interested in writing for adults. It is a safer space for all people of color, including Black, Indigenous, 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 fiction writers and poets. Writing will begin on the first day of workshop. Peer review sessions will take place during the final three weeks of workshop.   

Class Details

Class Dates: November 8, November 15, December 6, December 13, December 20, January 10

Format: Online

Time: 6:30pm EST - 8:30pm EST

Workshop Fee: $325 (Register below)

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

The enrollment is limited to 16 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

“Working with Kweli Journal and Laura was a dream come true! Laura approaches editing with what Toni Morrison calls “the third eye”: ‘knowing what not to touch and asking all the questions you probably would have asked yourself had there been the time.’ The editorial experience with Laura felt like a conversation between us. Laura asked me interesting and challenging ‘what if’ questions that helped break open the story for me, . . . helped me re-see the story with a new perspective. The story we worked on together ended up being part of my debut short story collection Drinking from Graveyard Wells and I will forever be grateful for Laura’s keen eye for guiding the story where it needed to go. Laura and Kweli Journal have also supported me beyond the publication of my story and is a model to us all for what community for BIPOC writers should look like.”

Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
2023 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction Shortlist

“Laura creates an open, safe environment for discussion, expression, and reflection. She's invested in the stories--their characters, plot, and themes--as well as the writers themselves. In her workshop, I was able to imagine alternative and parallel storylines, and to, well, euthanize some of my long-held darlings. The feedback from Laura and the other workshop participants was incredibly useful. The reading list was perfect, a masterful collection of poems and shorts.”

Alejandro Varela
2016 Art of the Short Story Workshop
and 2022 National Book Award Finalist

“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

Register Today. Secure Your Seat.

You can make your payment online with PayPal. 

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