Online Novel Writing Workshop

Interested in the 2026 workshop? Mark your calendar: this year, applications will open in October. Read more.

Dates:

Applications: October 13 – November 13, 2025
Course Dates: March – November 2026

Schedule and Tuition Information to Come

2026 Instructor

Karen Lord

Barbadian writer Dr. Karen Lord is the author of Redemption in Indigo (winner of the 2008
Frank Collymore Literary Award). Her other works include The Best of All Possible Worlds
(winner of the 2009 Frank Collymore Literary Award), and The Blue, Beautiful World
(longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction). She also edited the anthologies New
Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean, and Reclaim, Restore, Return:
Futurist Tales from the Caribbean.

About the Novel Writing Workshop

Are you a science fiction, horror, or fantasy writer with a partially written novel, but you feel stalled out on where to go next? Do you have early chapters and a sense of the overall arc of your book, but can’t see a way through to the final pages? Are you bogged down in the Mushy Middle with no momentum to reach ‘The End’?

There’s no one way to complete a novel — the journey is about discovering what works for you, your writing style, and the story you want to tell. Whether you’ve outlined extensively or are navigating by instinct, Clarion West’s nine-month virtual workshop is designed to guide you from conception to completion of your novel.

Led by an author and veteran Six-Week Workshop instructor and Clarion West team, this program is built around finding and sustaining your unique process.

This workshop offers:

Weekly classes (6 months of the 9-month period) on craft, genre, and process, starting with your existing draft or outline.
Monthly one-on-one meetings with the instructor to help fine-tune your approach and keep you on track.
Guest lectures from industry professionals to expand your understanding of the speculative fiction landscape.
Author-centered workshop models that prioritize your goals to help you gain clarity and confidence in your writing process.
Community and critique partners that will help keep you on track.

At the end of nine months, you’ll have a complete draft, or a solid roadmap for completing your manuscript. From the initial spark to a finished draft, we’re here to support your journey.

Application Information

The application includes questions that help us understand you and your current writing process. In addition, you will need to submit:

Your novel pitch and three chapters, OR
Three well-drafted chapters and a sense of where your book is going, OR
Opening chapter, plus an outline and synopsis, and writing sample.

The total word count for submitted written materials should not exceed 10,000 words. Documents can be uploaded as PDF, .doc, .docx, or .rtf files.

The application takes approximately 30-45 minutes to complete and does not need to be completed all in one session — you can save your application and come back to it at a later time.

If you know you will require the services of a live translator or captioner to attend the workshop, please contact as soon as you know you want to apply so that we can begin seeking grant funding.

Is the Novel Writing Workshop right for you?

Got questions about who the workshop is for? Find Out More.

As their time in the workshop winds down, six students from our 2025 Novel Writing Workshop sat down with Remy Nakamura (CW’10) to discuss their experiences, working with Samit Basu, and offer advice to potential applicants for the 2026 cohort.

Meet the students of our inaugural Novel Writing Workshop.

2025 Instructor

Samit Basu

Samit Basu is the author of several novels, most recently of The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport (Tordotcom, 23, Locus/Goodreads/Dragon shortlisted). He’s been publishing fantasy and SF novels in India since 2003 (The Simoqin Prophecies, Penguin India). His US/UK debut was in 2013 (Turbulence, Titan Books). Samit has also co-written/directed a film for Netflix, written comics and children’s books across a range of genres, and penned non-fiction as a journalist and columnist. He lives in Delhi and on the internet, and is on social media at @samitbasu. Read an interview with Samit.

2025 Schedule (2026 Schedule TBD):

Section One (March 10 – May 26, 2025)

Classes: Mondays 6–8pm, Pacific Time
Office Hours/Writing Sessions: Will be coordinated based on group availability
1:1 Meetings: To be scheduled with the instructor based on student availability
Guest Lectures: We will do our best to schedule these based on student and guest availability. We will record sessions for those who aren’t able to attend live.

Section Two (June – August 2025)

Office Hours/Writing Sessions: Will be coordinated based on group availability
1:1 Meetings: To be scheduled with the instructor based on student availability