Sonal Champsee

I rarely write about myself on this blog (I have Facebook for that) but I do have some exciting news in my writing life that I’d like to share.

The first is that I have been selected by Sarah Selecky to help her teach the newly-launched the Story Intensive master class. Sarah has been a great source of inspiration to me.  I remember taking a class with her shortly after I’d been rejected to the point where my own writerly confidence was severely shaken.  She’d had no idea what was going on in my head at the time, but 90 minutes of of class time later I was recharged and refreshed and ready to write.

What I didn’t know, when Sarah asked me about TA’ing, is that she’s developed a new writing master class with Margaret Atwood.

Yes, that said Margaret Atwood.

Margaret Goddamn Atwood!  I was excited to help teach this class before but now, if I wasn’t TA’ing I’d be taking it.

Sarah posts some details about how this all came about on her website.  But in her words:

The Story Intensive is an online writing program that’s set up like an MFA workshop in short fiction, with a focus on generating new short stories.

The Story Intensive provides the scaffolding, feedback, deadlines and accountability that a self-paced writing program can’t offer. This program is for you if you find it hard to write alone. It helps you recognize that your writing is important, and it makes your writing a priority. It will be a transformative experience.

You can sign up for The Story Intensive here.  (Note: affiliate link.)

If you don’t feel ready for The Story Intensive, I highly recommend Sarah’s self-directed writing program, The Story is a State of Mind.  The excellent thing about SSMind is that you work at your own pace, when you have time.

As a thank you for signing up through my affiliate link, I’m offering a free critique of any short story.

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The next news I have is that one of my short stories is coming out in an anthology.  That is, a real book that can really be purchased from real stores.

It’s called Friend. Follow. Text. and it explores the intersection between literary fiction and social media. My story is about a text message fight. At a wedding.

The official launch is October 1st, but you can pre-order from Amazon.  If you are on Facebook, please like the page for introductions to the writers who have contributed, articles about how social media has changed the way we communicate, and details about publication and its associated events.

There are some tremendous authors included in this book, including Steven Heighton, Heather Birrell, Zoe Whittall, Greg Kearney and Jessica Westhead.  It’ll be a great read.

That’s about it for now.  I have a few other things that are in the works, so hopefully there’s more news soon.