Writers’ Residency: Speculative Fiction

Harvard Summer School

CREA S-490D

Section 1

CRN 35845

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This section of the writers' residency is for writers working in genres that depart from our known reality, including but not limited to fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, alternate history, horror, and fabulism. Students interested in exploring speculative fiction for the first time or who would like to expand their skill set are welcome to register. The writers' residency is for advanced creative writers who have been admitted to the Harvard Extension School Master of Liberal Arts (ALM), creative writing and literature. In the first week, participants attend two online classes focused on the craft and business of writing and prepare for the master class held in the second week by reading peers' manuscript submissions. During the second week, students explore fundamentals of the writer's craft in a workshop setting and prepare for and participate in a student reading. This master class is followed by an agents-and-editors weekend, consisting of two days of panels, workshops, and small group meetings designed to teach students how to bring their creative work to the marketplace. Week three of the residency features two additional online classes and submittal of a final piece of writing.

Instructor Info

Emily X.R. Pan, MFA

Author


Jane A. Rosenzweig, MFA

Director of the Writing Center and Head Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University


Christina Thompson, PhD

Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library


Meeting Info

MTWThF 10:00am - 5:00pm (7/21 - 7/25)
MW 3:15pm - 6:15pm (7/14 - 7/16)
MW 3:15pm - 6:15pm (7/28 - 7/30)

Participation Option: See Course Description

Deadlines

Last day to register: June 17, 2025

Additional Time Commitments

Week one: Monday and Wednesday, July 14-16, 3:15-6:15 pm Eastern time, either on campus or via live attendance web conference.
Week two master class: Monday-Friday, July 21-25, 10 am-5 pm, on campus.
Agents-and-editors weekend: Saturday and Sunday, July 26-27, 10 am-5 pm, on campus.
Week three: Monday and Wednesday, July 28-30, 3:15-6:15 pm Eastern time, either on campus or via live attendance web conference.

Students attending on F-1 visas must attend all course meetings on campus.
Final work is due July 31. See syllabus for further details.

Prerequisites

Students must be officially admitted degree candidates in good academic standing in the Master of Liberal Arts (ALM), creative writing and literature. Prospective candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must have successfully completed at least 28 degree-applicable credits with required grades. Pre-arrival requirements: by Monday, June 30, two weeks prior to the start of the writers' residency, candidates must post to Canvas an original manuscript of no more than 3,500 words. Manuscript requirements vary by section, so consult the syllabus for your section. All participants are required to read and critique their classmates' work in advance of the first meeting of the master class on July 21. Candidates who do not meet the degree requirements or fail to submit the manuscript by the deadline and complete their critiques in advance of the first meeting of the master class will be dropped from the course. Final course work is due Thursday, July 31.

Notes

Not open to Secondary School Program students. Students attending on F-1 visas must attend all course meetings on campus. Harvard Summer School housing is available for the full three weeks for students who wish to remain on campus while they work on their writing projects (one-week housing is not available on campus). Students in this course and other sections of CREA S-490a, CREA S-490b, CREA S-490c, CREA S-490d, and CREA S-490e may interact with one another, for example, in Canvas or class sessions. Accordingly, when students participate in live class sessions, they will do so alongside students in other sections. If students participate in a way that causes them to appear in recordings of the class, those recordings may be shown to students enrolled in other sections of this course.

All Sections of this Course

CRN Section # Participation Option(s) Instructor Section Status Meets Term Dates
35845 1 See Course Description Team Taught Waitlisted MTWThF 10:00am - 5:00pm
MW 3:15pm - 6:15pm
MW 3:15pm - 6:15pm
Jul 14 to Jul 31