Introduction to Short Story Craft with Makena Onjerika (Continuous Enrollment)

Meeting day: Thursdays

Time: 5-8pm (Kenyan time)

Start date of next cycle: 17th June 2021

Online via Zoom

10 sessions over 10 weeks. Join at any point for 10 sessions

Cost: US$150 or KES 16000 payable in up to 2 installments via PAYPAL, MPESA, WorldRemit and other

Makena Onjerika won the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing, was shortlisted for the 2020 Bristol Prize and was a 2020 Best of the Net nominee. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Granta, Adroit Journal, Johannesburg Review of Books, Fireside Quarterly, Wasafiri, Waxwing, Jalada, New Daughters of Africa, Doek!, DRR and others.

This class introduces participants to the fundamental elements of fiction, with special reference to the short story, through exposure to over 50 short story writers and topical essays. Participants learn how to read short stories for techniques that can help them improve their own writing and receive feedback from Makena on up to 4 short stories. This is an intensive class suitable for writers who have already attempted to write short stories but not published significantly. Writers who have full-time jobs AND also other educational commitments may struggle to keep up with this class.

Topics covered:

1. Characterization

2. Character Interiority

3. Point of View and Narrators

4. Narrative Distance and Reliability

5. Showing and Telling

6. Dialogue

7. Western Traditional Plot

8. Other Ways of Plotting and When There is No Plot

9. Gesture and Detail

10. Setting

To join this class, send an email to makenaonjerika@gmail.com and use the subject line "Introduction to Short Story Craft with Makena Onjerika". State your intention to join and your location to receive the correct payment details. There is no application required. Upon payment, you will be able to join the next available session of the class.

Please note: scholarships for this class are only available intermittently. To apply, send your two best short stories to makenaonjerika@gmail.com and use subject line "Short Story Class Scholarship". Your submissions should be no more than 3000 words long. Also share a 100 word biography and a 200 word essay explaining why you need a scholarship.

Things to Note

1. You can pay your fee in two instalments. The first one must be made before you attend classes and the second within 30 days.

2. No refund is possible once you attend the first class.

3. Check that your internet connection can sustain an online class lasting up to 3 hours.