Applications now open for George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop
Seeking journalists launching careers in creative writing
EVANSTON, ILL. -- Applications are now open for the second George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
Taught by award-winning novelists and writing instructors, this seven-day, fully-funded writing intensive will support up to 10 mid-career journalists as they seek to publish their first novel. The workshop will take place in Evanston, Illinois, and will run from July 9-16.
“The story telling skills journalists employ every day can be extended into creative works,” said Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Medill’s George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling, who will be leading the workshop. “In our first year of the program, we had 12 fellows who made great strides on their first novels after spending just a week at Medill.”
George R.R. Martin (BSJ70, MSJ71, ’21 H), author of the acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones” series, is generously funding the workshop with a $3 million gift.
The week-long program will feature classes on various aspects of creating fictional prose, focused writing time, discussion and critiques of the fellows’ pages in workshops and over meals. It will also offer a chance to meet and chat with editors, publishers and literary agents who can help take these books in progress to the next level. Speakers at the inaugural 2024 workshop included Gillian Flynn (MSJ97), Scott Turow, New Yorker critic and novelist Vinson Cunningham, and award-winning instructors Tananarive Due, Julia Glass and Sarah Schulman.
“I expected the George R.R. Martin writing workshop to be a rare and valuable experience, but I never imagined I could learn so much or write so much in just seven days, or that my writing style could be so thoroughly invigorated,” said Michael Rezendes, an Associated Press investigative reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who was one of the inaugural workshop fellows. "I'm very grateful.”
Applications for the workshop are currently open. The deadline to apply is January 8. Those selected will be notified in March.
Learn more and apply