Odyssey Writing Workshop Taking Applications for 2020 Session

Each year, writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror from all over the world apply to the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Only fifteen are admitted.

This year the workshop will be held June 1 – July 10, 2020 on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Class meets for over 4 ½ hours, 5 days a week, and students use afternoons, evenings, and weekends to write, critique each other’s work, and complete other class assignments.  Anyone interested in applying should read “Workshopping at Odyssey” by David J. Schwartz, class of ’96.

The application deadline is APRIL 1.  Those wanting early action on their application should apply by JANUARY 31.  Information on how to apply is here.

Odyssey’s Director and Primary Instructor

Odyssey founder Jeanne Cavelos is a bestselling author and former senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell, where she won the World Fantasy Award for her work.  Her lectures are often called thought-provoking and revelatory, and her detailed, constructive critiques average over 1,500 words each.  In addition, she works one-on-one with students to set goals, chart progress, and talk out problems. 

Guest lecturers come in once a week, for about a 24-hour period, to add their own unique insights and perspectives, and to give students feedback on their work.

2020 Guest Lecturers

Lecturers for the 2020 workshop include —

Participating via Skype:

The workshop is held by the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  Odyssey is funded in part by donations from graduates, grantors and supporters, and in part by student tuition. 

The application fee is $45. The tuition, $2350, includes a custom textbook, weekly group dinners, and weekly snack breaks. If you would like to receive college credit, there is an additional processing fee of $1100. It is strongly recommended that students stay in Saint Anselm College apartments to get the full Odyssey experience. These apartments are in Benedict Court (#30 on the campus map). Each apartment has 2 bedrooms and can house a total of 2 to 3 people (with each bedroom holding 1 or 2 students). The cost to have your own bedroom in an apartment is $1784. The cost to share a bedroom in an apartment for six weeks is $892.

Financial Aid

For those interested in financial aid, several scholarships and one work/study position are available. See full guidelines at the workshop website.

The Miskatonic Scholarship

Bestselling author George R. R. Martin is funding a scholarship for a horror writer attending Odyssey. The Miskatonic Scholarship will be awarded to a promising new writer of Lovecraftian cosmic horror. It will cover full tuition and housing. Martin said –

We are not looking for Lovecraft pastiches, nor even Cthulhu Mythos stories. References to Arkham, Azathoth, shoggoths, the Necronomicon, and the fungi from Yuggoth are by no means obligatory…though if some candidates choose to include them, that’s fine as well. What we want is the sort of originality that H. P. Lovecraft displayed in his day…. What we want are nightmares new and resonant and profound, cosmic terrors that will haunt our dreams for years to come.

The Fresh Voices Scholarship

Funded anonymously by an Odyssey graduate, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding writer of color each year. The scholarship awards $2,000 toward Odyssey tuition.

The Enchanted Bond Scholarship

Funded anonymously by an Odyssey supporter, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding fantasy writer each year. The scholarship awards $1,000 toward Odyssey tuition.

The Quantum Entanglement Scholarship

Funded anonymously by an Odyssey supporter, this scholarship provides support to an outstanding fantasy writer each year. The scholarship awards $1,000 toward Odyssey tuition.

The Chris Kelworth Memorial Scholarship

The Chris Kelworth Memorial Scholarship will be offered to a Canadian writer admitted to Odyssey.This scholarship, funded by alumni and friends of Chris, will cover $900 of tuition. A separate application is required and due April 1. Contact Director Jeanne Cavelos for the Chris Kelworth Memorial Scholarship application.

You can find a video of Odyssey graduates describing their experiences here: 

Odyssey Graduates

R. F. Kuang, class of 2016, won the Crawford Award and was nominated for both a Nebula Award and a World Fantasy Award for her first novel, The Poppy War, published by HarperVoyager in 2018.  The novel was included on multiple “Best of 2018” lists (including the Washington Post‘s and Time magazine’s).  Linden Lewis, also from the class of 2016, sold her trilogy to Skybound/Simon & Schuster in a major auction.  Booklist Online named I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall (published by Penguin Random House), class of 2005, one of the “Top 10 First Novels for Youth,” and Universal has optioned the movie rights.  Ben Affleck will co-star and produce.  Nightbooks, by J. A. White (class of 1996), is being produced as a movie for Netflix.  And it was just announced that The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (Saga) by World Fantasy and Locus Award-winning author Theodora Goss (class of 2000) is in development as a television series on the CW.

[Based on a press release.]