with Suzanne Strempek Shea (she/her/hers)

Three Sessions:

Saturday, January 7th, 1:00 -5:00 pm Eastern

Saturday, January 21st, 1:00 -4:00 pm Eastern

Saturday February 4th, 1:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern

Space is limited to 10 writers.

Price: $300*

*Our Access Fund provides self selected Sliding Scale Pricing to residents of Passamaquoddy Territory, Charlotte & Washington Counties.

In the literary world, proposing involves a bit more than getting down on one knee. Paired with your best writing, a strong query letter and literary proposal can be the key to landing a literary agent or publisher, and getting that book on the shelf. It’s your first and best, and probably only, opportunity to make your case, and this workshop will help you make it well.

Over three sessions, writers will work on drafting a lengthy and vital business document. You’ll study, craft and workshop the most important elements in the query and proposal, and will come away all the more ready to pitch their projects. Though proposals are most commonly used in pitching nonfiction, writers of fiction are welcome to register. Your manuscript need not be completed in order to write a proposal or to take this workshop.

Writing and reading assignments will be given weekly, and will include one given to give you a head start prior to our first session. This homework will be returned with comments from Suzanne, and several pieces will be shared with the group during each session, so know that your work might be read by others. Participants will be asked that work by group members be dealt with respectfully and not be discussed outside our sessions.

Iota celebrates the small, the brief, the miniature. Through online learning opportunities lasting from two hours to six months, writers learn skills, get feedback, and develop an understanding of how to say more with less. Alongside offerings focusing on the specifics of short forms, Iota offers opportunities to learn writerly basics such as revision, grants, artists statements, and more.