The Twenty-First Century Fantastic class concluded Friday, and I’m going to miss them. Smart, engaged, if a bit frostbitten in the chilly classroom.  Everyone brought hoodies, myself included.  I’ve worked in walk-ins that were warmer.  They never bored me, and I hope they can say the same of me. Their favorite of the four story collections we read was Jeffrey Ford’s The Empire of Ice Cream, not just one of my favorite short story collections, but one of my favorite books of all time.  They liked all the films, Children of Men especially, but Another Earth made a strong showing.  Thank you, guys, you were wonderful.

I begin an eight-week fiction workshop Tuesday, and I’m looking forward to it.  I’ll be suggesting stories available online for them to read along the way.  In honor of Jeff’s popularity in the last class, and because it’s so damn fine, the first story I’ll suggest is “Creation,” which first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and is collected in his wonderful collection, The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant.  If you don’t know his work, “Creation,” isn’t a bad place to start—and just in time for Father’s Day.

In the midst of a 3-week romp through the Twenty-First Century Fantastic class, I’m pausing for a breather to sing their praises. They’ve been a terrific group. We’ve been through Link and McHugh, and we’re in the midst of Fowler. We finish with the inestimable Jeffrey Ford next week.
On June 12th I begin a Fiction Writing class that meets Tuesdays and Thursday 6-8:40 pm for eight weeks. There’s still room available, if you’re interested.

Need something to read? As I’m preparing for my summer classes, I find this site invaluable. Almost any writer worth reading in the field has at least one story here.  It’s a great way to sample new authors you’re curious about.  Enjoy.
Free Speculative Fiction Online.

This summer I’ll be teaching two classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. The first one is an intense 3-week version of The 21st-Century Fantastic. We’ll read 4 short story collections by Kelly Link, Maureen McHugh, Karen Joy Fowler, and Jeffrey Ford, interwoven with the films Pan’s Labyrinth, Children of Men, Another Earth, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The class begins May 21st and meets Monday through Friday 9 am-noon, ending on June 8th. The class is listed as English 215-001 Textual Analysis.  There’s plenty of room.  Get a whole semester’s worth of fantastic in just 3 weeks.  Reality will never be the same.

The second class is a Beginning Fiction Writing class (English 305-903, Creative Writing: Fiction) which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 6 pm-8:40 pm June 12-August 2.  We’ll explore both process and craft to figure out what a story is and how to make yours more wonderful.  Students read some professional stories and write their own for workshop.  I’m accepting ideas for favorite exercises.  I suppose it goes without saying, but unlike some workshops, it’s okay to write sf in my workshops, though it’s still okay to write like Chekhov too.  These classes fill up fast, but there are still a few seats available.  If you miss this one, I’ll be teaching another in the fall.  Stay tuned.