Here’s an announcement for NY-area writers and university students! This summer I will be teaching a YA Novel Workshop in the School of the Arts at Columbia University…
The course is for YA writers working on a novel-in-progress, and is open to Columbia students as well as visiting students from other universities and adult professional students through the School of the Continuing Education. The class starts on July 6 and runs for six weeks—and there is still time to register!
Here is an abbreviated course description:
Young adult fiction is a popular and still-growing category in book publishing that encompasses all genres—fantasy, paranormal, romance, historical, science fiction, dystopian, coming-of-age realism, literary fiction, and more. YA books are written for a core audience of teenagers, but their reach often crosses over to adult readers. In this class, students will embark on writing their own YA novels. Each student’s work will be critiqued in weekly writing workshops, with the discussion focusing on guiding each writer to find the best way to tell his or her story. With an eye always on our own work, we will discuss craft issues including voice, POV, character, style, plotting, and more. There also will be weekly discussions of the work of current YA novelists including Laurie Halse Anderson, Libba Bray, David Levithan, Courtney Summers, Rita Williams-Garcia and more. The emphasis, however, will be on writing and critiquing our own work. Students will write up to three chapters of an original YA novel along with a partial outline for their book in progress. The class will include a visit from published YA authors who will speak about craft, audience, and getting published.
For more information about taking a summer session course with Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and to register, visit this page.