Welcome to the Algonkian writer website. Our goal is to discover new writers and to publish them, agent them, or at least assist them in getting published. Because of our extensive agent connections and our affiliation with the world's most popular and diverse literary website, WEBDELSOL.COM, our goal is both focused and achievable. By creating an atmosphere of new community and mentorship, students in our "model-and-context" writer workshops are able to effectively learn the art of fiction and become published writers.

By "model-and-context" we refer to our pedagogical approach of teaching narrative and structural craft technique learned from a diverse group of select fiction writers and authors, and then methodically applying this technique in the context of a workshop story-in-progress. Given that such craft technique is best learned from the works of these same authors and writers, an examination of their fiction in detail provides students with the comprehensive knowledge they need to transform their own short stories and novels--the aim being to create original, provocative, and publishable fiction.

So how did this approach come about? Stubborn as we are, we didn't listen when a few of those in the academic community told us craft and good writing couldn't be taught. As a result, we dug in and succeeded in creating the most useful, informative, and creative writer workshops online. Review our faculty, read over our workshop samples, our syllabi (AF I) and goals, and published student work. Hash it over for yourself.

In keeping with our pragmatic approach, we realize the immediate and obvious need to educate nascent writers in the realities of the publication process. To this end, we not only employ experienced fiction editors, agents, and writers as instructors and advisors, but we have created a valuable agent interview series that defines the market. Sometimes writers don't always hear what they want to, or perhaps a favorite myth gets debunked, but the truth matters at all times. If a writer can't realistically approach the publishing market, she or he should stick to posting scribblings on the door of the fridge.

As noted above, we work hard to get writers published. It's good for our workshops and it validates our methods.

         Michael Neff
         Director