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Big things can come in small packages—their own perfect beauty tied to their size. The short short story—also known as “flash fiction,” “suddens,” “nouvelles” (in France), “pocket-size stories,” and “the smokelong” (the time it takes to smoke a cigarette)—is literary proof that great fiction can come in a small package.

A tale told quickly offers pleasure long after its telling, perhaps because the form sits on so many thresholds, or because brevity and urgency demand study. In this workshop, says Andy Touhy, “You’ll get a taste of this quicksilver genre by closely reading a variety of short shorts for inspiration, as well as to understand how they operate, all with an eye toward approaches that suit your writing style, mind, and personality. You’ll also, through a series of generative exercises, try your hand at multiple versions of the form. We’ll discuss these together, exchange feedback, then reopen the conversation.”

Finally, this class will take a look at the many places these microfictions are being published now, in print and online, and at strategies for submitting and placing them. By the end of the class, everyone will come away with a Tiny Kingdom or two of their own, to polish up and send out.

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Instructor

    Andrew R. Touhy is the author of Designs for a Magician’s Top Hat, winner of the inaugural Yemassee Fiction Chapbook Prize. He is also a recipient of the San Francisco Browning Society’s Dramatic Monologue Award and Fourteen Hills Bambi Holmes Award for Emerging Writers. Stories from Secret of Mayo, his full-length collection and a finalist for the BOA Short Fiction Prize, have appeared in Conjunctions, New England Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, New American Writing, The Collagist, Colorado Review, and other literary magazines. He holds graduate degrees in literature and creative writing and has taught at SFSU, Academy of Art, and Ohio University.

Schedule
  1. Saturday, October 19, 10:00am-4:00pm
Reviews
  • I enjoyed the class today and found Andrew to be a very pleasant and informative teacher. I would definitely take another class from him again if the opportunity arises. I sense that he has a depth of knowledge of the craft that we only began to see today in our limited time. Thank you.

    Richard Cormack
  • WOW, is he a great teacher!! He is so knowledgeable, articulate, thoughtful, and generous! I learned a ton and really enjoyed exploring the short fiction form with him. PLEASE PLEASE get him to teach more classes at the Writing Salon.

    Margaret Murray
  • Andy was a fantastic teacher in so many ways that I cannot enumerate them all. This would be a ten page essay. First of all, his broad knowledge of all things written in literature was fulfilling. I am a Berkeley graduate with a degree in English and I felt that his teaching was much better than the writing classes I took at UC Berkeley in the late 1980’s (I am getting old!) He made sure that we got our money’s worth in the small amount of time that we did have. Because of his helpful comments on my re-write in my story, I think this was the reason I got published, first time, in the forthcoming Queer issue of Pank Magazine.

    Leslie

Details

Date:
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Time:
5:00 pm - 11:00 pm PDT
Cost:
$145.00
Event Category:

Venue

Berkeley
2121 Bonar St, Studio D, 2nd Fl
Berkeley, CA United States
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Cancellation Policy

10 days or more before the start date for a class, the registrant will receive a credit minus a 10% fee OR a refund minus a 20% fee.

3-9 days before the start date for a class, the registrant will receive a credit minus a 20% fee OR a refund minus a 30% fee.

2 days or less before the start date for a class, the registrant will not receive a credit or a refund.

The Writing Salon cannot offer refunds, credits, or makeup sessions for classes a student might miss.

In the event of an emergency, we may consider a refund or credit, whether partial or full. We review these requests on a case-by-case basis, and we ask that you notify us as near as possible to the start date for the class.

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