PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULLY BOOKED
Cut to the Heart: Crafting the Great Short Story
The National Book Council (NBC) is renewing its support to the Commonwealth Foundation for the third consecutive year to ensure that the upcoming edition of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is accessible to all Maltese writers. In its continued commitment to provide writers with opportunities to hone their craft and receive constructive feedback on their work, the NBC is thrilled to announce a short story writing workshop tour in collaboration with Aphroconfuso, the Department of English at the University of Malta, Inizjamed and the Malta Society of Arts.
Read more here.
This Short Story Writing Workshop is organised by the Malta Society of Arts, and is supported by the National Book Council. The workshop is part of the 2026 edition of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which is open for submissions from 1st September 2025 until 1st November 2025, accepting entries in Maltese and English.
Description of workshop
Cut to the Heart is an immersive workshop that combines insightful theory with a hands-on practice, guiding participants to a strong understanding of what makes a short story truly great. The theoretical framework will be grounded in Edgar Allan Poe’s Unity of Effect theory and how best to put this into practice, examining ideas such as Raymond Carver’s use of voice, Alice Munro’s deft characterisation, and the idea of emotional shifts observed in Shirley Jackson, Jhumpa Lahiri, and others. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a clearer sense of how to craft short fiction that resonates – and lingers.
Workshop leader: David Samuel Hudson (see biography further down)
Number of Participants: 13
Working Language: English
Participation is free of charge
To apply, please fill in this Google Form:
https://forms.gle/q1VxAJcYHtYwGpE5A
IMPORTANT: Selection of participants will be on a first come first served basis.
