StoryStudio Chicago

Today, we're delighted to introduce you to our seven StoryBoard Fellows.

The StoryBoard Fellowships are awarded to writers with some experience, publications, and/or a book out in the world. We are pleased to work with these writers this summer and to see their potential continue to grow by working closely with our faculty.

The seven 2026 StoryBoard Fellows are:
✍️Agata Brewer
✍️Jameka Williams
✍️Kim Coleman Foote
✍️Kira Tucker
✍️Mario Elías
✍️Matthew Frye-Castillo
✍️Nita Noveno

Mark your calendar now for a special reading with the fellows, August 13 at 6:30 pm at Exile in Bookville.

Congratulations to our 2026 StoryBoard Fellows!

ANNOUNCING! Today we're excited to tell you that applications are open for four new Novel In A Year cohorts. The cohorts open for application are:

✍️Novel in a Year: First Draft with Michael Zapata (in person)
✍️Novel in a Year: First Draft with Lindsay Hunter (online)
✍️Novel in a Year: Speculative Fiction with Gabino Iglesias (online)
✍️Novel in a Year: Revise and Launch with Frances de Pontes Peebles (in person)

Novel In A Year is your chance to dedicate a whole year to your book. Whether you have the first 50 pages, a full draft, or just an idea, we welcome you to apply to one of the programs. There is no application fee, and the application is super easy. It takes less than 15 minutes --- just tell us about your work in progress or planned project, upload a sample, and then get excited!

Applications are due July 10.

These four cohorts all begin in August 2026.

Apply now! https://www.storystudiochicago.org/advanced-writing-programs-at-storystudio-chicago/in-a-year-book-programs-at-storystudio-chicago/

Writer Anca L. Szilágyi is the instructor for our one summer Write Club happening in July. Anca is the author of the novels Daughters of the Air, which Shelf Awareness called “a striking debut from a writer to watch,” and Dreams Under Glass, which Buzzfeed Books called “a novel for our modern times.”

July Write Club is meeting IN PERSON at StoryStudio -- so join the club now and stay focused and accountable all month long...and beyond.

Register now: https://www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/classes/july-2026-write-club-with-anca-l-szilagyi-in-person/

Writer Nina Li Coomes is teaching the perfect class for your summer writing! What is summer if not backyard barbecues with amazing food, family vacations and time with your loved ones, and movie nights both at home and seeing the summer blockbuster in the theaters.

Food, Film, Family: Culture Writing to Unblock Creativity is a four-session online class beginning July 7. In this four-week generative class, writers will use different genres of culture writing to create four written pieces.

Here's a rundown of the class schedule:

Week 1: Food as memory portal with Anthony Bourdain and Bryan Washington
Week 2: Film as experience filter with Roger Ebert and Moeko Fujii
Week 3: Object lessons to untangle hard stories with Alexander Chee and Eula Biss
Week 4: A wild-card week where we will vote as a class on what kind of genre we’d like to focus on

Join Nina for this innovative and fun workshop -- register now at the link in the first comment.

Woohoo! Our Online Master Classes for Summer 2026 are now live! Check out these four amazing two-hour workshops, each focused on one particular aspect of craft. The four master classes for summer term are:

✍️ I Speak, Therefore I Am: A Master Class on Voice with Traci Chee, July 7

✍️ Too Fast or Slow: A Master Class on Pacing in Fiction with Jimin Han, August 8

✍️ A Master Class: Writing the Scene That Will Make or Break Your Story with Christopher Castellani, August 17

✍️ A Master Class: Criticizing Pop Culture with Taylor Crumpton, September 10

Hit the link the in the first comment to register for one or all of these amazing classes. But hurry, these classes always fill up quickly!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Today, we're excited to tell you that Early Bird tickets are now on sale for our 9th Annual StoryBoard Festival, August 15 at the Newberry Library. 🌞😁✍️🎉🎉🎉🎉

Curated by Artistic Director Rebecca Makkai and Program Curator Ananda Lima, this year's StoryBoard Festival is a Saturday of craft panels, classes, and social events. The festival includes 15 craft classes and lectures to choose from.

Early Bird Tickets, available now through the end of June, are $300 (a $25 saving over regular registration). In addition to the writing education, your ticket also includes a coffee and breakfast social, lunch at the Newberry Library, and a cocktail reception and book signing on Saturday evening with all the day's attendees and instructors. What a great opportunity to build your writing community!

This year's featured craft lecturers include StoryBoard Conference faculty Mat Johnson, Peter Ho Davies, Michelle Tea, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Carl Phillips.

Participating instructors also include: Christina Clancy, Taylor Crumpton, Robert Falls, Kat Falls, Dionna Griffin-Irons, Ananda Lima, Cynthia Pelayo, Cyn Vargas, and more!

One final exciting note: On Friday night, at the Driehaus Museum, we'll host a very exciting (and to-be-announced soon!) keynote speaker, who will be in conversation with Rebecca Makkai. This is a free, public event as part of the Festival, and Festival attendees are cordially invited!

We can't wait to see you in August for this amazing day! Read all about the StoryBoard Festival and get your tickets now at the link in the first comment.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, writers! The unofficial start of summer truly means our Youth Creative Writing Summer Camps are right around the corner.

Our June fiction camp for 6th to 8th graders is fully booked, but there is another one for that age group in August, and overall, there are six total camps beginning in July for age groups 4th through 12 grade in a variety of genres.

Grab a spot now for the young writer in your life! Hit the link in the first comment for camp descriptions and dates.

If you're thinking of learning the ins and outs and ups and downs of travel writing, Suzanne Roberts is the ideal instructor. Suzanne has published several nonfiction books, including Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel (North American Travel Journalists Association Bronze Award for a Travel Book), and Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail (Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award).

Suzanne's four-session online class kicks off June 9. Writers will learn to turn their trips into tales.

Get yourself ready for the summer travel season, and register now! https://www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/classes/travel-writing-with-suzanne-roberts-spring-2026/

ANNOUNCING: Today, we're excited to tell you that we're launching our summer 2026 term of classes. We have more than 30 new in-person and online workshops and creative writing writing classes to get your summer creativity flowing.

This summer includes cornerstone classes like Memoir and Novel Foundations, Creative Writing Essentials (both in person and online), and July Write Club.

There are also plenty of new and exciting classes, including Writing Magic, Summer of Speculative Fiction, Take A Walk: Developing Your Writing Practice, and The Cinematography of Fiction, just to name a few.

Peruse the full list at our course catalog (hit the Classes link in the first comment) and grab your spot in a summer class now. Happy writing!

StoryBall was a wild mysterious dream. Here’s a photo drop from a wonderful inspiring evening.