The Craft of Fiction with Leigh Gallagher

How do writers of great fiction generate plot, create complex characters, and craft sentences that take our breath away? Over the course of six meetings, we’ll identify and practice the techniques that make for compelling short stories and novels. Homing in on a different craft topic each week, each 90-minute meeting will consist of a brief lecture, group discussion of a model piece of fiction, and generative writing prompts designed to jump-start your imagination. For writers and aspiring writers of all levels. Ages 18 and up.

Meets in person on six consecutive Mondays from 5:30PM-7:00PM. Members $120; Student Members $90; Non-Members $180. Registration is for the full course only.

Leigh N. Gallagher’s writing has been published in Lit Hub, Full Stop, American Short Fiction, Beloit, Salt Hill, the Reading Room anthology, and in nontraditional formats through collaborations with artists and musicians. A graduate of the Helen Zell Writer’s Program at the University of Michigan, her work has been supported by the Zell Fellowship, the Hopwood Program, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, the Ox-Bow School of Art, and Hawthornden Castle, among other institutions. Her first novel, Who You Might Be, was released by Henry Holt in June, 2022.

As a teacher and facilitator, Leigh has coordinated workshops and events through many organizations, including Blue Stoop, InsideOut Detroit, the Front Street Writers, and as part of the Detroit Art Book Fair. She’s taught writing at the Pratt Institute, the City University of New York, the University of Michigan, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Originally from Northern California, Leigh lives in Philadelphia.