ZYZZYVA Remote Writers’
Workshops
As we all adhere to social distancing and sheltering in place in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, ZYZZYVA will continue to offer our Writer’s Workshops, in a slightly altered format.
These three-hour courses will be conducted over Zoom’s conferencing service, and will be limited to five students. Courses will include a craft discussion from the instructor, as well as traditional workshop-style group discussion of the attendees’ submitted work.
Following the Workshop, attendees will also be sent a page of feedback on the submitted work from the instructor.
Fiction with Emma Copley Eisenberg
April 24, 2021
11:00 am – 2:00 pm PST
Submissions close: April 10, 2021
About this workshop
From story structure to detailed descriptions, this workshop will help participants hone their writing craft. Have a story in first-person or third-person? Emma Copley Eisenberg will explore the finer points of both in an intimate workshop that will accommodate both veterans and newcomers alike.
Emma Copley Eisenberg’s fiction and nonfiction has appeared in McSweeney’s, The New York Times, Granta, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Tin House, Guernica, The New Republic, The Washington Post Magazine, Esquire and others. Her first book of nonfiction is The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia (Hachette Books). She lives in Philadelphia, where she directs Blue Stoop, a hub for the literary arts. Her next two books, a novel and a collection of short stories, will be published by Hogarth (Penguin Random House) in approx 2022 & 2024.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit a fiction manuscript (short story, flash fiction, or novel excerpt) of no more than 2,500 words (roughly 10 pages double-spaced). Make sure it is a manuscript you wish to discuss in the workshop.
The non-refundable application fee is $15. Accepted applicants will be informed by April 17, 2021. If accepted, the fee to attend is $150.
Building Memorable Characters with Kristen Iskandrian
August 7, 2021
11:00 am – 12:00 am PST
Submissions close: July 24, 2021
About this workshop
Whether discussing classic literature or the bestsellers of contemporary fiction, there's no denying that when it comes to what truly moves readers, it's one thing: characters. But what makes a character memorable? How do you create a character's voice? And how do you give your characters emotional complexity? In this workshop, acclaimed author Kristen Iskandrian will help writers refine their manuscripts until they have the kind of dynamic characterization that keeps readers turning the page.
Kristen Iskandrian is the author of the acclaimed novel MOTHEREST (Grand Central Publishing). Other work has been published in The Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Short Stories, Tin House, Ploughshares, ZYZZYVA, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and many other places. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband and their two daughters.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit a fiction manuscript (short story, flash fiction, or novel excerpt) of no more than 2,500 words (roughly 10 pages double-spaced). Make sure it is a manuscript you wish to discuss in the workshop.
The non-refundable application fee is $15. Accepted applicants will be informed by July 31, 2021. If accepted, the fee to attend is $150.
