The Study and Practice of Autofiction

This course is for all levels of writers and readers; the only requirement is a desire to take a deep dive into the unique art of autofiction (autobiographical fiction). We will read and discuss excerpts from contemporary authors who write within the genre, such as Lucia Berlin, Tao Lin, Edouard Louis, Chris Kraus, Garth Greenwell, Zinzi Clemmons, Ayak Akhtar and others, in addition to weekly craft essays on the genre.

There will be an opportunity to submit either one or two short excerpts of yourwriting (can be from a short story or novel-in-progress) to be workshopped during the. This course is generative, so participants should plan to submit at least 1500 words per week. Most importantly importantly, the goal of this course is to be inspired and to feel supported in your writing.

Class assignments:
Excerpts: Frances will provide two short (10-15pp) readings per week, excerpted mostly from novels, to be discussed during the first part of class
Craft essays: two craft essays on the topic of autofiction, mostly in relation to the authors discussed for the week, will be provided for discussion during the first part of class
We will workshop two writers’ work per week; participants should plan to submit 1500 words per week even if you are not being workshopped

Class outcomes:
• a concrete understanding of the unique art of autofiction
• inspiring community dialogue and critique of contemporary autofiction authors
• opportunity to workshop 1-2 stories or novel excerpts
• looking at your work as a bigger picture plan/project (ie,.book, story collection)
• writing practice/planning: during the first class and last class, we will discuss overall goals for your work, whether you want to complete a short story, plan a bigger project like a story collection or novel, or to simply establish a more consistent writing practice

Access Program
We want our writing classes and Delves to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and Delve tuitions at a reduced rate. The access program for writing classes covers 60% of the class tuition. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.

Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.