“At the workshop, I received vital, necessary, transformative teaching about the craft of writing that I had not encountered in 10 years of other conferences & workshops, the duration of my MFA program, or any book on writing that I’ve ever read.”
2010 Participant
Program
General Description
The Tin House Summer Writer’s Workshop is a weeklong intensive (July 14-21) of workshops, seminars, panels, and readings led by the editors of Tin House magazine and Tin House Books. and their guests – prominent contemporary American writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The program combines morning workshops with afternoon craft seminars and career panels. Evenings are reserved for author readings and revelry.
Workshops meet for six sessions, Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Each workshop will have no more than twelve students and will treat two to three manuscripts per session. You may only enroll in one workshop. If you have questions about which faculty member would best suit your work, call our office at 503-219-0622 and we will make every effort to steer you to the most appropriate workshop. Please continue to check the Web site for updates on new faculty or call our office for details.
Tin House editors and guest agents are available to meet individually with students throughout the week. For students who have completed a collection of stories or poems, a memoir, or a novel, one-on-one mentorships are available with select faculty and staff for an additional fee (for further details see MENTORSHIP.)
Full Program TUITION:
$40 application fee
$1100 for registration.
Workshop Schedule
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast - 9:00 am – 9:50 am
Morning Lecture - 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Workshops - 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Lunch - 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Panel or Seminar
- 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Panel or Seminar - 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Cocktails, Agent Meetings,
and Student Readings - 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dinner - 8:00 pm
Author Readings - 9:00 pm
Reception
Location and Logistics
The Tin House Summer Writer’s Workshop is held at Reed College, located on 100 acres of rolling lawns, winding lanes, and magnificent old trees in the southeast area of Portland, Oregon, just minutes from downtown and twelve miles from the airport. Portland offers a vibrant art scene, unique dining, and excellent public transportation. More importantly for writers, Portland is home to Powell’s, the largest independent bookstore in the world.
Summer Writer’s Workshop participants will be housed in the dormitories of Reed College near the center of campus. Most rooms are doubles, but not shared unless requested. The confines are clean, but quite sparse (remember your college days?) and students are encouraged to bring extra blankets, lamps, and fans to help make their stay more comfortable. All classrooms, readings, panel presentations, dining and reception areas are within walking distance from the dormitories.
During the summer, Reed College offers access to its bookstore, library, mail service, art gallery, print shop, and athletic facilities. Computers with modems may be used through the telephone connection in dorm rooms for no charge. Wireless internet is also provided to those participants with airport cards in their laptops. Tin House will also host a cybercafé where students can access the Internet. A limited number of printers are available and students are highly encouraged to print all needed materials before arriving at the conference
Meals are served in the dining area of the college and are catered by Bon Appetit. We work closely with these folks in the hopes that all dietary requirements and restrictions are accounted for and that our participants’ needs are met. Students not staying with us on campus need to pay for meals individually.
Portland is easy to get to by air, train, bus, and car. The Portland International Airport (PDX) is accessible to major cities throughout the country, and is about twenty to thirty minutes from Reed College via public transportation, shuttle services, and cabs. The bus and train stations, located in downtown Portland, are about fifteen minutes from the college campus. Participants can also rent cars at the airport and throughout the city. Click here for directions.
Seminars and Readings
The 2013 lecture schedule will be posted June 7th.
2013 READINGS
To be held in Cerf Amphitheater ($5 for the public)
Mentorship
Once accepted and registered into the program, Workshop participants who have completed a book of stories or poems, a novel, or a memoir and want to receive a consultation on ways to improve their manuscripts are invited to apply for a mentorship with select faculty, guests, and editors. To be considered for this program, please fill out the mentorship application included in your acceptance packet. Tin House will then submit a query to your choice of faculty member. If the mentor is available, the student is required to submit his or her book-length manuscript before the Workshop begins.
A mentorship is not an edit, but a manuscript evaluation. Students can expect to meet with their mentors two to three times throughout the week of the Workshop and receive a comprehensive three-to-five-page manuscript evaluation.
For an updated list of faculty, staff, and guests available as mentors, please email Lance at workshop@tinhouse.com or call the office at 503-219-0622. Mentorships are highly competitive. Acceptance into the Workshop does not automatically qualify students for the mentor program. Please keep in mind, if your manuscript exceeds 250 pages, the cost of the mentor program will increase and we do not accept manuscripts over 350 pages long.
MENTORSHIP:
$750.00 for manuscripts under 250 pages
$1000.00 for manuscripts over 250 pages
