Summer 2026 Writers' Lab

Meets Online, Monday Nights, May–August 2026

How can you write about anger in a way that doesn’t alienate an audience?
Is it even possible to write stories outside of human consciousness?

What if fabulism and autofiction are actually the same thing?

Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to grow refine the Writer’s Lab, and one thing I love about it is how it harnesses the group’s curiosity about the art of fiction to provide a space for unique craft guidance in a communal setting. Together we explore your craft questions, tackling challenges that are already coming up in your work (and each other’s), then the Lab creates the space to apply solutions. Through generative exercises, craft discussions, and two cycles of workshop, the Lab helps you focus on what is unique about your work—both how to make it and how to sustain it. We build community together and explore other student’s craft challenges that might open new ideas for you.

Whether you're looking for a new accountability structure, are trying to finish a novel, are thinking of applying to MFA programs, or simply want to connect with others who are engaged in this difficult and ennobling creative practice, the class will be a space where writers can grow in their work through guidance by me and community with each other.

Apply Now

This Class Offers:

Short craft talks and discussions of published work
Generative writing prompts and chances to explore based on that weeks' topic
2 deadlines/opportunities to submit work for thoughtful and supportive workshop feedback
Line notes and editorial letter from me for each workshop submission
One-on-one conference with me
An intimate group of 8 writers to foster supportive community

Cost

The cost of the class is $325/month, or $1250 if you pay up front.

About the Instructor

Ted Thompson has been working with writers as a teacher, editor, and manuscript consultant for over a decade. In addition to Longhand, he teaches in the Brooklyn College MFA Program and for Sackett Street Writers' Workshop.

His novel The Land of Steady Habits was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was adapted into a film for Netflix. He was a finalist for the 2021 National Magazine Award in Fiction.

He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and lives in Brooklyn with his daughters. To learn more about Ted, see here.

Apply

Application deadline for this class is May 1st, 2026, though admissions is rolling and the class may fill up fast. If that happens, I will keep a short waiting list. For questions, you can email longhandworkshop at gmail or contact me here.

TO APPLY FOR THIS CLASS:

Please answer the following questions in an email to longhandworkshop@gmail.com with the subject "Summer Writers' Lab"

1. Please tell me (in paragraph or so) why you want to join this class, and what you hope to gain from it.

2. How did you hear about the class?

3. Have you taken writing classes/workshops in the past? If so, where?

4. Please include a writing sample (3000 words max).