Novel Writing Bootcamp

About

The Novel Writing Bootcamp is a program designed for serious and disciplined writers, to work and polish their novel in-progress, learn elements of craft that apply directly to their work, and infuse new techniques and methodologies of writing and revising their novels.

The program will be held virtually on September 11 - 22, 2023, led by award-winning writer and novelist Chris Abani. Each day, we will hold craft intensives, workshops and sessions to offer and receive critical feedback that applies directly to the writer’s novels.

Participants will also have the chance to work directly with a literary agent and an editor, to better understand how to pitch their work, how to undertake developmental editing, and how to embark in the publishing process.

Dates & Fees

The retreat will be held virtually on September 11 - 22, 2023. The program costs $1,350, and several partial fellowships will be available. Participants must register by the priority deadline to be eligible for fellowships. Please note that the program has limited space available; priority will be given to early applicants. Because of the bootcamp nature of the program, we recommend only serious and disciplined writers to apply; if you have been trying to write a novel, and have generated hundreds of pages already, this is the ideal program for you.

Registration is now open! The priority deadline is May 30, 2023, with the final deadline on June 10, 2023. Notification will be sent out by June 15th. Please note that submitting an application does not automatically guarantee participation into the program.

What to Expect

The program will provide: daily craft intensives geared specifically towards the participants’ projects; workshop bootcamp; generative and revision sessions; in-depth discussions about craft; consultations with a literary agent and an editor. Participants of the program should expect to complete a polished novella, learn about what it takes to finish their novel-in-progress, and devise different pathways to pitch their work.

Speakers

Chris Abani

Chris Abani is an acclaimed novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. Born in Nigeria to an Igbo father and English mother, he grew up in Afikpo, Nigeria, received a BA in English from Imo State University, Nigeria, an MA in English, Gender, and Culture from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. He has resided in the United States since 2001.

Abani’s fiction includes The Secret History of Las Vegas (Penguin 2014), nominated for the Hurston/Wright 2015 Legacy Award, Song For Night (2007); The Virgin of Flames (2007); Becoming Abigail (2006); GraceLand (2004); and Masters of the Board (1985). His poetry collections are Smoking the Bible (2022), which was shortlisted for the 2023 PEN America literary awards; Sanctificum (2010); There Are No Names for Red (2010); Feed Me The Sun – Collected Long Poems (2010); Hands Washing Water (2006); Dog Woman (2004); Daphne’s Lot (2003); and Kalakuta Republic (2001). Poet Kwame Dawes has noted that “Abani’s line has a sharp precision that turns a scream into a line of memorable lyric music without losing the emotion and force.”

Through his TED Talks, public speaking, and essays, Abani is known as an international voice on humanitarianism, art, ethics, and our shared political responsibility. His critical and personal essays have been featured in books on art and photography, as well as Witness, Parkett, The New York Times, O Magazine, and Bomb.

He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Graceland, the PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the Hurston Wright Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, among many honors. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Romanian, Hebrew, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Dutch, Bosnian, and Serbian.

Abani’s many research interests include African Poetics, World Literature, 20th Century Anglophone Literature, African Presences in Medieval and Renaissance Culture, The Living Architecture of Cities, West African Music, Postcolonial and Transnational Theory, Robotics and Consciousness, Yoruba and Igbo Philosophy, and Religion.

Abani is currently a Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University. He lives in Chicago.

Loan Le

Loan Le is an editor at Atria Books, a Simon & Schuster adult imprint, and she acquires dark, atmospheric upmarket and “literary plus” fiction, or literary fiction with genre elements like horror, mystery, suspense/thriller, and/or folklore. Her authors include Sarah Langan, Louise Candlish, Carolyn Huynh, Meredith Westgate, Kevin Chong, Luke Dumas, Shea Ernshaw, and Jennifer Fawcett. She is also the author of A Phở Love Story, a YA rom-com that earned praise from NPR, POPSUGAR, Bustle, and Buzzfeed. She holds an MFA degree in fiction from Fairfield University, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree. A Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, Loan has had her short stories appear in CRAFT Literary, Mud Season Review, and more. When she’s not writing young adult novels, she’s writing ghostly, dark adult fiction, watching slow-burn K-Dramas, and listening to BTS. Visit her website at writerloanle.com and find her on Twitter @loanloan and Instagram @loanloanle.

Saba Sulaiman

Saba Sulaiman was born to Pakistani immigrants in Sri Lanka. She studied Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at Wellesley College, and modern Persian Literature at the University of Chicago, where she helped edit the department's Center for Middle Eastern Studies's academic journal. After a stint at Sourcebooks as an editorial intern, she joined the Talcott Notch Literary Services. She believes that being an author is an entrepreneurial endeavor, and she sees her role as her clients’ primary advocate as they navigate each and every stage of the publishing process. She is also committed to highlighting marginalized voices with bright careers ahead of them, and compelling stories to tell; stories that demonstrate the true range of perspectives that exist in this world, and address urgent and often underexplored issues with veracity and heart. She is also proud to be on the steering committee for People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization working to serve the interests of publishing professionals of color.