A 5-Week In-Person Fiction Workshop
Saturdays, June 27 - July 25, 1-4 PM
A good piece of flash prose is “like the moment you see a figure illuminated across the street during a brief middle-of-the-night flash of lightning” (Dinty Moore). Short prose, or "flash" prose, is too concise to follow an extensive narrative, so the creator must find exactly the right word to convey the immensity of the world portrayed. In this class we will read the best of contemporary flash fiction and nonfiction, and write short pieces that, whether literally true or not, reach into the deepest truths of our lives. We will begin by reading flash prose pieces, one to four pages in length. Using these as inspiration, we will write a series of flash pieces. These will be shared with the class, workshopped and revised.
$280 Members/$480 Nonmembers
Patricia O’Donnell is Professor Emerita of Creative Writing at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she taught fiction writing and directed the BFA Program in Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Agni Review, The North American Review, Prairie Schooner, and other journals and anthologies. Her novel, Necessary Places, was published by Cadent Publishing (later part of Tilbury House). Her memoir, Waiting to Begin, was published by Bottom Dog Press. Her collection of short fiction, Gods for Sale, won the Serena McDonald Kennedy Fiction Award for 2016, and was published by Snake Nation Press. Her novel, The Vigilance of Stars, was chosen by Lily King to be one of two books read statewide in the Maine Humanities Council 2020 "Read ME" program. Her newest book, A Symmetry of Husbands, was published in 2023 by Unsolicited Press. Watch for something new from Unsolicited in 2027!
In addition to the University of Maine at Farmington, Patricia has taught classes in creative writing at Colby College, the Franklin County Jail, the Maine Women's Correctional Center, and at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION