My last Novel In A Year class ended last week. I am so sad to see it end, but I'm so very proud of the wonderful work everyone accomplished. If you're in Chicago, join me for my next Novel In A Year. Plus! We meet in StoryStudio's cozy living room. My past students ranged in genres and styles.

Thinking of committing to writing a novel? @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social is an extraordinary writer and teacher. A class not to be missed!

Novel In A Year applications are due TWO WEEKS from today -- February 20 for these 3 cohorts:. ✏️ Novel in a Year: Mystery and Thriller w/Abby Geni (online) ✏️ Novel in a Year: First Draft w/Julie Ironuanya (online) ✏️ Novel in a Year: First Draft w/Cynthia Pelayo (in person) buff.ly/pqDDwxO

Woohoo! Registration is now open for our next Ragdale Retreat. This week-long creative writing retreat with instructor Toya Wolfe happens April 13-17. The theme for the week is "Your Story, Your Voice." Claim your spot now! buff.ly/8SUdDz0

This @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social piece -- @rachellayown.bsky.social interview SFWP Acquisitions and Developmental Editor, @adamalsirgany.bsky.social -- is a perfect supplement to Pub Crawl! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/02/04/i...

Calling all Chicago parents of young aspiring writers! It's only early February but our Youth Summer Camps are already filling quickly. Check out our list of seven in-person camps for 4th-12th grade and register your young writer now.

In Creating Lyric Essays, writing prompts will encourage us to experiment across genres. We’ll look at how form, structure, and poetic devices can bind disparate-seeming threads and facts in our essays. Four online classes start March 17: buff.ly/A9nFGCI #writingcommunity

Terrific @storystudiochicago.bsky.social Amitava Kumar seminar on revision. The right class at the right time. 1. Offer just enough to invite the reader to make the right prediction. 2. Erasure is a necessary element of the work. 3. If something is obvious, it can be removed.

@storystudiochicago.bsky.social's Pub Crawl is in full swing, and we wanted to invite you to our FREE panel on 2/27 w/ CHIRB editors @reemasabrina.bsky.social, @rachellayown.bsky.social, and @gregzimmerman.bsky.social, moderated by @mbwwelch.bsky.social—sign up below! us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

In Writing Suspense, a four-session generative workshop, writers will explore how setting, character, and plot—combined with conflict—are used to create suspense in our stories. On Zoom, four classes start March 2. buff.ly/UcpzMnm #writers

Spicy! This two-hour online class on 2/26 with Nora Nguyen will examine what makes an intimate scene memorable. Register now: buff.ly/M0oqa3u #writingcommunity

Heads up, writers! Registration for our next Ragdale writing retreat will open this Thursday, February 5 at 10 am CT. The retreat will take place April 13-17 with instructor Toya Wolfe. The theme for the week is “Your Story, Your Voice." More info:

Woohoo! Our class with Carmen Maria Machado starts in just 3 weeks! Speculative Nonfiction is a 4-session online class offering 4 lessons on story, memory, speculation, and invention. Each class is presented live, but recorded also so you can learn on your schedule. Register now!

In Writing the Romance Novel -- a two-hour Zoom class on 2/4 -- you’ll learn: • How to plot a contemporary genre romance novel • Elements that make for compelling happily-ever-afters • Resources for continued story development Only a few spots left -- register now: buff.ly/gV7fryn

If a grant or artist residency is one of your goals for 2026, join Laura Grothaus tomorrow night (2/3) on Zoom for this two-hour class on tips and tricks for applying...and getting the money and time to write your masterpiece! buff.ly/fkKPdA9 #writingcommunity

Tomorrow night (2/3) on Zoom -- join writer (and StoryBoard 2026 instructor!) Amitava Kumar for What You Need After the Assembly Cut: A Master Class on Transforming a Messy Draft. Who doesn't need this class?! 😁 Register now: buff.ly/2OHZQOd #writingcommunity

Really looking forward to the next installment of Writers on Writing, with brilliant visiting author Edwidge Danticat and Chicago’s own Rachel DeWoskin! www.newberry.org/calendar/wri...

Novel in a Year applications remain open through Feb. 20! Choose from three cohorts -- Mystery/Thriller (online) or First Draft (online OR in person). The app takes less than 15 and there's no fee. Apply now! buff.ly/pqDDwxO #writingcommunity

And don't forget -- each Pub Crawl session is recorded. So when you register, if you can't attend a class live, you can always go back later and watch on your schedule. It's like a whole month of Master Classes on how to get published!

Tonight's Pub Crawl class is @michaelzapata.bsky.social running writers through a Query Letter Bootcamp. If you want to get published, the query letter is your starting line (well, you know, after actually writing your book lol) ... Register for Pub Crawl now! buff.ly/YzKlk6d #writersofbluesky

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To get published: "You do not need a massive platform if you're writing a novel. You just need a really, really good novel." --Julia Fine in tonight's Introduction to Pub Crawl class. Register now for a full month of learning, pitching, publishing! www.storystudiochicago.org/pub-crawl/

In late 2015, the nonprofit I worked for lost its funding and laid all of us off just after my wife and I learned we were expecting our first kid. Exactly 10 years ago today, while temping at Northwestern and feeling post-MFA isolation, I published @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social on my lunch break.

Kind of a big deal!

FREE! TONIGHT! FOR WRITERS! An online intro to publishing class with the brilliant @finejuli.bsky.social to kick off @storystudiochicago.bsky.social's monthlong Pub Crawl (where you can learn a LOT more about publishing), but tonight is commitment-free and you can just get the lay of the land! 1/

TONIGHT! Join us for our FREE and open-to-the-public Pub Crawl Kick-Off class: Introduction to Publishing with Julia Fine. This hour-long online class begins at 6 pm CT. Register here: buff.ly/dvSfvcm

I was so happy to write about the brilliant Toya Wolfe for @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social series on Chicago books of the past 10 years! We are absolutely living in the New Chicago Renaissance, and there's a lot that sucks about the world right now but the Chicago lit scene is not one of those things.

In solidarity with Minneapolis and organizations participating in the National Shutdown today, please read our Statement to Support Our Community we published in October. We will continue to back this statement with real action. www.storystudiochicago.org/stories-matt...

Did you hear? #AWP27 will be in our beautiful city in March 2027. Chicago is where it's at! Can't wait until next year? Spend a week in August with us working on your craft -- apply for the StoryBoard26 now! buff.ly/jPqkslB #writingcommunity

Our winter term Memoir Foundations class with Suzanne Roberts is almost sold out -- grab your spot now for this five-class online generative workshop starting Feb. 9. buff.ly/7p4clcF #writersofbluesky

Join us this Sunday online for our FREE Pub Crawl Kick-Off Class: Introduction to Publishing with Julia Fine. This hour-long class will give you an overview of the ins and outs of the publishing industry. Register here: buff.ly/dvSfvcm

This class is for writers who want to grow into the space between a wordless emotional response and incendiary text on the page. Writing Rage is four in-person classes beginning March 16. buff.ly/rt8XwNm #writingcommunity

Join us this Sunday online for our FREE Pub Crawl Kick-Off Class: Introduction to Publishing with Julia Fine. This hour-long class will give you an overview of the ins and outs of the publishing industry. Register here: buff.ly/dvSfvcm

Novel In A Year applications remain open through Feb. 20, but don't wait -- get yours in now. Choose from three cohorts: First Draft Online, First Draft In Person, and Mystery/Thriller (online). The app takes 15 minutes and there's no fee. Apply now! buff.ly/ASkCDjE #writingcommunity

Still a few spots left in our Zoom class tonight: Speculative Fiction with a Purpose: Finding Your Themes. Starts at 6:30 pm CT. Register: www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas... #writingcommunity

Our second installment in the Chicago Renaissance series is about Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe (@wmmorrowbooks.bsky.social, 2023), chosen by novelist @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/01/28/t...

Have you ever wondered what’s going on under the hood of your favorite romance novels? Take this two-hour online class and find out! If you're writing love, affection, sex, or intimacy, this class will help you learn some tips for how best to handle these. www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...

StoryBoard 2026 applications are open! And wow, just look at this INCREDIBLE lineup of instructors. StoryBoard is our week-long writing intensive with both in-person and online cohorts available. Read more here, and apply now! buff.ly/xGOkq8Z #writingcommunity

Chicago! Join us in-person on Feb. 18 for our next Breakfast & Book Club event. We're so lucky to welcome novelist and essayist Edwidge Danticat to the studio to discuss her latest collection, We're Alone. Coffee and treats will be served. Grab your spot now! buff.ly/BdCFrI4 #chicago

If you've ever thought of writing suspense, this online class is for you! In this four-session generative workshop, we will explore how setting, character, and plot—combined with conflict—are used to create suspense in our stories. Starts March 2. buff.ly/UcpzMnm #suspense

It's 4 degrees in Chicago -- so let's keep thinking about summer! Today, we're excited to announce that our Youth Summer Camps are open for registration. Seven in-person week-long camps to choose, from 4th -12th grade. Check out the whole list and register now! buff.ly/MEyNhhn

This is the most comprehensive publishing education out there for authors, and I'm so proud that we're making it happen for the fifth year. If you have a finished book or will soon, this is for you.

ONE WEEK until Pub Crawl! Spend the whole month of February learning about the craft of writing and the publishing industry. Learn, pitch, publish! buff.ly/YzKlk6d #writingcommunity

Tired of the snow and the ice? Picture August in Chicago—a warm summer breeze, a walk by the lake, and then turning around, leaving the lake, and heading towards @storystudiochicago.bsky.social to attend one of these awesome classes led by awesome instructors! Apply for StoryBoard today 🤩

Yesterday, our big news was that we opened applications for our 2026 StoryBoard Conference in August. StoryBoard is one of our FAVORITE events of the year, and we are so lucky to have such a STRONG lineup of instructors. Won't you join us? Apply here: buff.ly/xGOkq8Z

Step 2: Register for Pub Crawl 😁 www.storystudiochicago.org/pub-crawl/

🤖 I’m going to write today. You’re going to write today. We’re all going to write today. ❤️

Today in the Midwest, it's so cold, we've been warned of exploding trees. Sounds like a good writing prompt, right? So here is your FOUR-WEEK WARNING to get your Novel In A Year applications in for the three cohorts currently open by Feb. 20! 😁🥶 Apply now: buff.ly/ASkCDjE #writingcommunity

Thank you so very much to @storystudiochicago.bsky.social and Ragdale and to the wonderful writers who joined me this week where I led a weeklong workshop on creative restoration. You’re all so brilliant and I’m grateful you trusted me with your words and time.

Fun announcement today. 😁 👇👇👇👇👇👇