Agenda, Workshop Content, and Prep 
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The goal of the Seven Mountains Writers Conference is to provide each poet and fiction writer (genre or literary, short story/novel) a maximum amount of exposure to craft technique and market knowledge. Syllabus and author/poet lists for each workshop are found below. Students choose their workshop preference in advance, but a reasonable amount of cross-over is also allowed.
Workshop sessions within the conference will be interspersed with agent/editor consultations, faculty meetings, and readings, but will follow the plan as noted in the syllabus below. Workshops in poetry and fiction last eight or more hours per day. 8 AM to Noon and 2 PM till 5 PM. The instructors will lead group sessions throughout the week, consult and review student work on a daily basis. Fiction students will bring a short fiction or novel ms (or portion thereof) to the workshop for discussion and editing as appropriate, and poetry students will bring a collection of poems (6-10).
Pre-Conference Study and Exercises
Please note, upon successful application and registration, students will be emailed a reading list (short fiction and novel), as well as pre-conference assignments {poetry, short fiction and novel).
Readings and Consultations
Student Readings will take place after workshop hours and dinner, on a day to be announced. One-on-one ms consultations with fiction editors will take place on the final day of the workshop. Each writer will leave with a specific recommendations and a plan for their writing career.
Seven Mountains Workshops (syllabus)
Novel Workshop
The novel syllabus and author list can be found here. Students will study and apply an array of narrative, scene, and structure technique, thus enabling them to begin, enhance, and/or reconstruct their novel in more powerful and innovative ways. Exercises are derived from analysis of a select group of works by such dramatists and authors as Sue Monk Kid, Mitch Albom, Gail Godwin, Annie Proulx, Michael Chabon, Flannery O'Connor, Barbara Kingsolver, Tennessee Williams, Robert Graves, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Nabokov, and others. By immersing in the craft and narrative learned from select authors, the student's expectations and goals for their own novel are considerably raised. Students will be provided with considerable reference materials, including structure/plot and narrative checklists. Students will also learn ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW about the publishing market. As a bonus, the perfect query letter and synopsis are included.
Short Fiction Workshop
The short fiction syllabus and author list can be found here. This workshop will focus on learning masterful story craft as well as the skills/savvy combination it takes to become a published author. The best teachers of short story craft are those relatively few and brilliant writers who have created it; therefore, lectures, readings, and assignments will explore the ways these particular writers have invented and utilized craft technique to create a legacy of vigorous and enduring short fiction. Students will not only explore these story elements and techniques in extensive discussions, but also apply them directly to ongoing stories-in-progress. Short fiction writers will be given the Algonkian workbook, "Immersed in The Art of Fiction II" to use a guide and reference. Students will also receive a free copy of "SUBMIT" from Erpmedia, a two-set dvd package featuring video interviews with leading short fiction editors discussing both the market and the art.
Poetry Workshop
The poetry syllabus can be found here.This workshop focuses on the development of poetic craft by examining the essential devices and techniques that make a poem successful. Participants will explore these techniques in readings and discussions and will practice and experiment with the skills in exercises that are designed to encourage the poet toward developing a solid foundation of technique. Through critique, analysis, and intense revision of their own work, students will build a portfolio of 6 to 10 publishable poems.
