Miami Writers Institute Online!

The Miami Writers Institute is an annual creative writing conference produced by the Miami Book Fair.

The conference, which has moved fully online this year, features intensive writing workshops with bestselling authors, craft talks, a publishing seminar, and individual manuscript consultations with a literary agent. Writing workshops are all limited to 15 students each, to allow for individualized attention. Registration is now open. Spots are limited. Explore Miami Writers Institute Online workshops and sign up today.


*Miami Writers Institute Refund Policy
Payment must be received at time of registration and must have cleared at least five business days prior to the first day of class. Full refunds will be given to participants who notify Miami Book Fair by e-mail or fax at least FIVE BUSINESS DAYS before the first day of the class that they wish to cancel. No refunds will be given once a class begins. Allow at least two weeks for refunds to be processed. If a course must be canceled for any reason, you will receive a complete refund.

Past Events

May 2022

Saturday, May 21, 2022 @ 2:00 pm
On Demand (Virtual)

The Breakout Book: A Publishing Seminar with Eleanor Jackson

Saturday, May 21, 2022 (1 day) 2:00 p.m. ET | Online via Crowdcast | Register to receive link Publishing seminar is included in workshop registration fees An experienced literary agent will share her insights on how successful writers support their publications, and create lasting careers and relationships with the publishing industry. Topics include: writing a successful query letter, navigating a book contract, building relationships with your agent, editor and publicist, the publishing process from contract to on-sale-date, and much more.  Eleanor Jackson began her publishing career in 2002 at Witherspoon Associates,…

Friday, May 20, 2022 @ 2:00 pm
On Demand (Virtual)

Craft Talks with Claire Luchette & Wayétu Moore

Fiction Craft Talk: Crafting a World with Claire Luchette A story should transport a reader to a place they’ve never been or allow them to see a familiar place in a new way. This talk will focus on the craft of worldbuilding and how to get the most mileage out of a story’s setting. We’ll study examples of rich and three-dimensional worlds in contemporary fiction, and analyze the authors’ use of detail, voice, and imagery. Attendees will leave with a sense of how and why to build worlds of their own on the page.  …

Friday, May 20, 2022 @ 10:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

“Historia, teoría y práctica de la ficción”, un taller del Writers Institute ofrecido por Jorge Volpi

Evento Online Taller de 3 clases: viernes 20, sábado 21 y domingo 22 de mayo, (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 m) “Historia, teoría y práctica de la ficción”, un taller ofrecido por Jorge Volpi como parte del prestigioso Writers Institute de la Feria del Libro de Miami. El objetivo del curso será analizar el surgimiento y el desarrollo de la ficción, comprender cómo funciona en distintos sus géneros (relato, cuento, teatro, ópera), estudiar los mecanismos mentales que la permiten y realizar diversos ejercicios de creación.…

Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 2:00 pm
On Demand (Virtual)

Craft Talks with Lan Samantha Chang & Willie Perdomo

Fiction Craft Talk: How do Novels Differ from Short Stories? with Lan Samantha Chang The short story and the novel are different forms with separate purposes and effects. Yet we often discuss them together in workshops, as if the process of writing them were the same. I’m interested in looking pragmatically at this dilemma, and I will begin by defining the short story and the novel. What are the characteristics of these two forms? What do they have in common, and how do they differ?…

Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 10:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

Fiction Workshop: Recognition and Surprise with Lan Samantha Chang

In this workshop, we will explore how to create the most consequential moments in stories and novels: those crucial passages of recognition and surprise when truths change and when a reader’s sense of time is altered. At such moments, which are composed of both familiarity and strangeness, the world of the story is transformed. We’ll look at work by James Joyce, Deborah Eisenberg, Jamaica Kincaid, Lesley Arimah, Sally Rooney, and others, to identify elements of transformation and how they are deployed.…

Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 10:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

Fiction Workshop: The World of the Story with Claire Luchette

In this workshop, we will discuss how writers build rich, complicated worlds on the page. We’ll look closely at examples of short fiction by some contemporary masters to understand how the physical setting of the story comes alive and contributes to the story’s meaning. Attendees will also have the chance to practice building worlds of their own, and we’ll provide feedback on each other’s prose. Claire Luchette is the author of the novel Agatha of Little Neon. Their stories and essays have appeared in Best American Short Stories,…

Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 10:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

Nonfiction Workshop: Nonfiction Strategies with Wayétu Moore

The goal of this workshop is to identify strategies for memoir and creative nonfiction narrative writing by reading and discussing works within the genre, exercising elements of creative writing in essay and memoir forms, and learning how to engage with one’s own work through editing. We will explore the changing shape of memories in autobiographical writing, as well as the roles that poetry and voice play in transforming one’s personal experience into a compelling essay. Workshop goals are as followed: 1) To utilize personal experience as a method to understanding the writing process 2) To understand the creative infrastructure of the personal essay 3) To nurture tools that will transform experiential writing into strong narrative pieces.…

Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 10:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

Poetry Workshop: The Empty Spaces with Willie Perdomo

Who or what is the voice on your shoulders telling you that you can’t write about (fill in the blank)? The approach to fresh language is usually accompanied by distancing yourself from what you think might be correct or “right.” Using the “separate language” of poetry, where do we begin filling the empty spaces?  In this workshop, we will approach generative as an associative act, and we will engage in a remix of a standard poem. Award-winning poet and children’s book author Willie Perdomo is the author of The Crazy Bunch (Penguin Books,…

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 @ 6:00 pm
On Demand (Virtual)

An Evening with the 5 Under 35 2021 Honorees | Caleb Azumah Nelson, Dantiel W. Moniz, Claire Luchette, Nathan Harris and Lee Lai

Click here to register in advance and receive your link Join us for an unforgettable virtual conversation featuring the 2021 honorees of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award. This special conversation will feature authors Caleb Azumah Nelson, Dantiel W. Moniz, Nathan Harris, Lee Lai and Claire Luchette, and will be moderated by Natalie Green, Senior Manager, Public Programs at the National Book Foundation. About the 5 under 35 program In 2006, the National Book Foundation established the 5 Under 35 prize to recognize young,…

All day event.
Monday, May 16, 2022 @ 12:00 am
On Demand (Virtual)

Manuscript Consultations with Eleanor Jackson

May 16 – 21, 2022 (1 week) Online via Google Meet | Register to receive link Various times, as appointed. All appointment times in EST. Consultations are limited to 30 people. Meet with an experienced literary agent for a 15-minute individual manuscript consultation. You will have an opportunity to submit a query letter plus 10 pages of a manuscript in advance.  Once you have registered online, please email your 1-page query letter and 10-page manuscript to Madison Whatley at mwhatley@mdc.edu by 11:59 p.m.…

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