What is a novella? Chances are, you’ve already encountered one – or many – and that there are several on your bookshelf. Novellas hold a distinct place in international arts and letters: many classic and beloved works of fiction fall in the “novella” range of 25,000-60,000 words. Some KR staff favorites include:
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Slow Boat by Hideo Furukawa
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
- Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville
- Sula by Toni Morrison
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- We the Animals by Justin Torres
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Night by Elie Wiesel
With this in mind, The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop is launching The Novella Series. The Novella Series is a three part modular workshop designed for young writers working on long-form fiction (50-90 pages). Each Novella Series workshop focuses on particular learning goals and provides immersive instruction to students at any stage of project development, from absolute beginner to draft-in-hand.
- Exploring the Novella: The Middle Child of the Word Count World debuts in our Young Writers Winter Online Workshop. Applications are open now, and classes meet on Saturdays in January/February. Click here to apply.
- Writing A Novella: Staying the Course focuses on developing the novella in progress. Apply in March. Classes meet on Saturdays in April/May.
- The Novella Cohort: Summer Residential Workshop meets during both sessions of our in-person, on-site summer program in June and July. Apply in January.
Young Writers Novella Series Overview
Novella Series workshops are flexible. Participants can take one, two, or all three courses. Each module can be taken as a standalone course. Begin anytime. All Novella Series workshops are open to new and returning students alike.
Exploring the Novella: The Middle Child of the Word Count World. This workshop leads Young Writers through the early stages of writing a novella. This module focuses on novella craft elements such as plot, pacing, character development, style, point of view and voice. Generative writing prompts provide building blocks to shape the novella’s first draft. Applications are open through December 16. Apply here.
Writing a Novella: Staying the Course. The middle of any long writing project is always the most challenging. Great fiction takes time to develop. Continuing is essential to completion, so Staying the Course provides students with a community and generative instruction to make progress. Whether you’re starting your novella, stuck in the middle or nearing the finish line this 6-week intensive helps Young Writers sustain momentum and stay on track.
The Novella Cohort: Summer Residential Workshop. Novella Workshop participants join The Kenyon Review’s in-person Young Writers Summer Residential workshops as a designated cohort. Each morning, Novella Cohort attendees take multi-genre generative writing workshops in concert with their peers. Each afternoon, the Novella Cohort meets in a genre-specific workshop to generate a strong draft of the work-in-progress.
Schedule and Tuition
Exploring the Novella: The Middle Child of the Word-Count World
- Saturdays, January 23rd–February 27th, 2027
- Tuition: $695
Writing A Novella: Staying the Course
- Saturdays, April 3rd–May 8th, 2027
- Tuition: $695
The Novella Cohort: Summer Residential Workshop
- Session 1: June 27th–July 10th, 2027
- Session 2: July 18th–July 31st, 2027
- Tuition: $3200
FAQ’s
- What do participants do in this workshop? All three modules of the Novella Series are generative. You’ll compose new work each session and make progress towards completing your novella.
- Do I need to have a draft of a novella to apply? Wherever you are with your novella project – starting from scratch or working with a draft – each session will help you make progress at your own pace.
- How many Novella Series classes can I take? Novella Series participants can take one session or enroll in multiple sessions. Participants can enroll in Novella Series courses in any order.
- I missed Exploring the Novella this winter – can I still sign up for Staying the Course or apply for The Novella Cohort: Summer Residential Workshop? Sure! There are no prerequisites for the Novella Series courses, but an application is required for each session.
- What is the average class size? Novella Series classes are capped at 10 participants to provide a tight-knit, supportive community.
Although enrollment in The Kenyon Review Young Writers workshops is competitive, writers at all levels of writing practice are encouraged to apply. We offer robust, need-based scholarship support for Young Writers admitted to our online and residential workshops.