This weeklong workshop is designed as a kickstart for writers who need to shake off the rust, as well as for those deeply immersed in their writing but in need of a refreshing change of pace. During morning sessions, we’ll write in response to prompts that are both playful and firmly grounded in aspects of technique. We will also discuss short stories by old masters and exciting new voices, and talk about reading in pursuit of inspiration and instruction – skills that can keep you on track long after the workshop is over. Afternoons will be left open for daily assignments that allow you to experiment with character, voice, point of view, and structure. You’ll come away from the week with a head full of story ideas and your first efforts at bringing them to life on the page.

The Fiction workshop will be taught by Brendan Mathews. An accomplished writer and educator, Brendan has taught fiction writing at Bard College at Simon’s Rock since 2007. His work has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2010 and in Virginia Quarterly Review, Epoch, TriQuarterly, Southern Review, and other US journals, and in the UK in PORT Magazine and the Manchester Review. In 2007, he was awarded the Emily Clark Balch Prize by VQR and the McGinnis-Ritchie Prize by Southwest Review. He is also the recipient of fellowships from the University of Virginia and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Prior to Simon’s Rock, Brendan taught at the University of Virginia.