Course Statement
If you want to write weird fiction, you need to read weird fiction. And in this day and age, what I’m mostly talking about is NEW weird fiction. The difference? The old weird was essentially Lovecraft, the new is more uncanny and modern, tapping into voices like Jeff VanderMeer, China Mievllie, Brian Evenson, Brian Hodge, Nathan Balingrud, Laird Barron, Caitlin R. Keirnan, Kathy Koja, Thomas Ha, Kelly Robson, John Langan, Kelly Link, Carmen Maria Machado, Karen Tidbeck, and myself—to name a few. This class will focus on reading The Best New Weird Fiction of the Year, edited by Michael Kelly. We’ll break the stories down, analyzing the content to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
CONTENT WARNING: We will read stories and novels that contain sex, violence, and other potentially upsetting material.
Course overview
This course is reading and writing intensive. It is not a course for beginning students. We will not teach the basics in this course. It focuses on an essential skill—critical analysis.
Prerequisite: You must come into this class with one short story already written and ready to workshop. You will write three short stories during the class
Each week you will read two short stories curated by Richard from the assigned anthology, analyze them, and be ready to discuss them during the weekly Zoom call (2 hours). You’ll learn to recognize what the authors did well, how they were innovative, and then how you might apply that to your own writing.
You will also be responsible for critiquing two of your classmates’ stories, each week, applying the same level of critical analysis to them that you’ll apply to the published stories—that’s four short stories to read each week. In addition to discussing them in class, you will give feedback to your classmates via email. This can be done via Track Changes and comments in word, or you can use a form that will be provided. (See the template as well as guidelines for giving good feedback in the Resources section of this website.)
Additional ongoing questions and conversations will occur on Facebook in a private, secret group.
At the beginning of each month, you will turn in an original short story, up to 5,000 words, based on whatever inspired you over the course of your studies. Obviously we’re focusing on new weird fiction and all of its various flavors. Richard will read, edit, and critique each story, returning it to you with advice on what to do next—keep editing, drop it, polish it up, or send it out.
At the end of the semester you will get one hour of private Zoom time with Richard to talk about anything you like—your work in class, other projects, the industry in general, markets, query letters, how to get an agent, what to do next, etc.
BOOKS
The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Volume 1 edited by Michael Kelly (2025)
ISBN-13 : 978-1988964522
$20.99
2027 Weird Fiction Writing Workshop Reading
who is this class for:
Advanced students who are looking to take their writing to the next level.
Authors who have written and/or published several stories already (ideally for pro
pay).
Authors who write genre fiction (especially weird fiction) and are looking to make
their work more literary and compelling.
Literary authors who are looking to add some genre or supernatural aspects to
their realism.
Anyone looking to expand their understanding of both old and new weird fiction.
Authors who don’t need to be taught craft, or the basics of short story writing.
Writers who have the time and discipline to read and write every week for the
next sixteen weeks.
Authors looking to expand their understanding of contemporary speculative
fiction.
Authors looking to publish in the top magazines, websites, and anthologies.
syllabus
Exact story order and selection TBD; selections change each year.
Sound good? Check out our Payment Plans and Referral Program.
Ready to sign up? We’d love to have you.
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the details
Class Size: 8 Students
Cost: $800 (Discounts and payment plans available.)
Platform: Zoom
Structure: Video
Duration: 16 weeks
Schedule: Tuesdays from 8:00 to 10:00 PM CST (Winter and Summer only.)
objectives
To learn how to recognize greatness in weird fiction, and then apply it to your own work.
To understand that not all “great” fiction works for YOU, and that’s okay.
Skype call with class.
Picture by Valentin Ivantsov on Pexels
2019 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop required reading.
2018 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop.
2017 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop.
2016 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop.
2022 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop
2023 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop
2025 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop
Banner image by Jimmy Elizarraras on Pexels
Sidebar illustration by Valentin Ivantsov on Pexels.
“I feel like I broke through some internal membrane that held me back as a writer in this class. Reading “best of ” genre stories and the in-depth discussions while receiving Richard’s trained analytical eye on my own pieces was unbelievably helpful. I’d take any writing class by Richard—he cuts to the quick, the sublime, and the profound unlike any other teacher I’ve encountered—and I’d recommend this class to beginning and intermediate writers everywhere.”
