Short Story Summer Camp is a six-week exploration of short fiction—as both readers and writers—with author and teacher Jonathan Rogers. Each week we will read one or two short stories from writers including Kenneth Graham, E. Nesbit, Sandra Cisneros, Leo Tolstoy, Isaac Asimov, Willa Cather, Matsuo Basho, and P.G. Wodehouse. On Tuesdays, Jonathan Rogers will host a live* 90-minute lecture/discussion via Zoom, in which we will examine the particular methods and techniques employed in that week’s stories.
Participants will apply these methods and techniques to their own writing, producing an original short story by the end of the class.
Topics to be covered include (but are not limited to):
*Recordings of the lectures will also be available for learners who can’t attend the live lectures.
Dates:
Tuesdays, June 11 – July 16, 2024
Times:
Adult Cohort: 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Central
Cost: $97
REQUIRED TEXT:
A PDF with all required readings will be provided
READING:
One or two short stories per week
WRITING:
One 300-500-word writing exercise per week, culminating in a completed short story
WATCHING:
One live 90-minute lecture/discussion via Zoom
ONLINE DISCUSSION:
Throughout the week, learners will discuss the reading, the lectures, and their writing exercises in a dedicated online forum.
“The Reluctant Dragon”
by Kenneth Graham
“The Deliverers of Their Country”
by E. Nesbit
“Eleven”
by Sandra Cisneros
“By Any Other Name”
by Santha Rama Rau
“How Much Land Does a Man Need?”
by Leo Tolstoy
“How It All Happened”
by Louisa May Alcott
“Victory Unintentional”
by Isaac Asimov
“The Child’s Story”
by Charles Dickens
“A Burglar’s Christmas”
by Willa Cather
“Getting It Right”
by Maeve Binchy
“The Aged Mother”
by Matsuo Basho
“The Man With Two Left Feet”
by P.G. Wodehouse
