Applications for the 2026 George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop are now open
The workshop is designed for mid-career journalists who are writing their first novels
EVANSTON, ILL. -- The third annual George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is now accepting applications.
The 10 mid-career journalists selected to participate will learn from award-winning novelists and writing instructors. The eight-day, fully funded writing intensive program will take place in Evanston, Illinois, from July 7-15.
“Talented journalists often have numerous vital stories to tell — and some of those stories would make compelling novels,” said Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Medill’s George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling, who will be leading the workshop. “In the first two years of our program, we’ve seen journalists arrive at our workshop with pages or chapters of a novel in progress that’s been percolating in their heads for years and leave with solid pages of a working manuscript. We’re looking forward to achieving the same with our 2026 GRRM Workshop class.”
George R.R. Martin (BSJ70, MSJ71, ’21H), author of the novel “A Song of Ice and Fire” and co-executive producer of HBO’s Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones,” funds this writing intensive program.
"The workshop was truly a gift,” said Olivia Konotey-Ahulu, a London-based journalist who participated in the 2025 workshop. “I learned so much about storytelling and the discipline of writing from a host of wonderful teachers and fellows.”
During the 2026 workshop, participants will get to learn from leading instructors and guest speakers. In 2025, Martin and fellow authors Lev Grossman, Scott Turow, David Ebershoff, Dawn Turner and Christopher Farley spoke at the intensive, as did literary agents Gail Hochman, Barbara Jones and Mackenzie Brady Watson. Instructors included award-winning novelists Tananarive Due, Julia Glass and Sarah Schulman. Fellows also did a field trip to Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company for a class on writing dramatically led by Director of New Play Development, Jonathan L. Green. The 2026 workshop will include classes on various aspects of the craft of writing fiction, from developing compelling characters to world-building, plot, structure and narrative arcs, as well as small group workshop sessions in which each participant will have their novel manuscripts critiqued by instructors and peers.
“From educational classes that provided me with the structure for creative writing I never acquired as a journalist; to thought-provoking small-group workshops that broke down everything I needed to do to make my manuscript stronger; to the meaningful, supportive relationships I'll carry for years to come — every piece of this experience was carefully curated to create an enriching, fulfilling week,” said 2025 workshop participant Massarah Mikati, a Philadelphia-based community engagement journalist. “I'm endlessly grateful to have had the luxury of basking in book world for seven days.”
Applications are currently open for the workshop. The deadline to apply is January 12.