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a Weekend Workshop in

 

Historical Fiction

online

May 20 to 21, 2023

 
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what runs through the sieve

an intensive workshop with Rachel Kadish

 
What’s left in the sieve after the centuries have run through it.
— Hilary Mantel on the historical record

Rachel Kadish (photo credit: Kevin Day)

Workshop Description

Only the writer of historical fiction can supply what’s escaped that sieve: details that were never recorded and now can only be imagined; entire lives and communities left anonymous because the sieve was never designed to catch them. Reaching back in time offers the fiction writer extraordinary material--unexpected perspectives, poignant and telling details, and occasionally narrative rocket fuel. Yet it also makes unique demands on the writer.

Bring your work to the next level with award winning historical novelist Rachel Kadish.

This intensive weekend workshop will feature constructive critique of each participant’s historical fiction manuscript, and will introduce a “project roadmap” exercise designed to help writers clarify their approaches to their chosen time periods. The weekend will also include lively discussion of the challenges, delights, and responsibilities that come with writing about the past. How does a writer research the details of a life lived one hundred or five hundred years ago? How to handle dialogue--how to handle language altogether, if the sentence structures and vocabulary of an era are foreign to modern ears? How strict an allegiance does the writer owe to historical fact? How much history is too much--and how can the writer educate without being didactic? What are the ethics of writing about actual people? And are there arenas of history that should be off-limits to art?

Fee: US$875 (Online, via Zoom)

 

details

  • Group limited to SIX (6) writers only (writers new to Authors at Large must apply to attend). NOTE: there are currently only TWO (2) places left.

  • Registration will be first come first served and we will close the workshop once it fills.

  • Saturday to Sunday May 20 to 21 - 5 1/2 hours per day

  • Deadline to register is Saturday April 22 and your workshop manuscript will be due by no later than Friday April 28 (5,000 words max. — guidelines and additional reading assignments will be provided)

Participants in this workshop may also be considered for private mentorship with Rachel to work on their historical fiction project.

workshop schedule

Accepted participants will be notified on a rolling basis and must respond and register by no later than April 22 to guarantee your place. 

Final start time has now been determined based on our participants’ respective time zones, and the daily schedule will be as follows (in US Eastern Time):

8 to 10 am

Break

10:45 am to 1:45 pm

 

Application & registration

Writers new to Authors at Large (AAL) must apply to attend. Submit your application as a single WORD or PDF document that includes:

  1. A brief summary of your writing background and any publication history

  2. A statement describing your historical fiction project

  3. A writing sample of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 words

  4. Contact information with your name, email, phone and the time zone where you will be during the workshop weekend.

Please email your applications to aalauthors@gmail.com by no later than April 16, 2023.  There is no application fee.  We encourage early applications as acceptance is competitive and places are limited for this exclusive, small-group workshop opportunity. Current and former AAL clients need not apply and may register directly HERE.