WEEKLY CLASSES
The Short Novel
Draft a complete short novel in seven months
A seven-month workshop with two-time Newbery Honor author and former Hamline MFA faculty member Gary D. Schmidt and award-winning longtime Groundwood Books editor and former VCFA faculty member Shelley Tanaka, for experienced writers ready to write a full manuscript of roughly 80 to 120 pages.
DATE
Sundays, Feb 14th - August 29th
TIME
3pm EST
FORMAT
Online/Live on Zoom
PRICE
$3300
Applications begin Dec 1, 2026
SEMINAR OVERVIEW
Teachers and librarians keep asking for short novels.
Kids want them too, and many of us are still writing books of 200 pages or more. A short novel works on a smaller canvas, and the shorter form impacts how you handle plot, subplots, continuity, story arc, and character development.
This workshop is designed to take you from a premise to a complete manuscript over the course of seven months. You’ll read assigned short novels, brainstorm story ideas with Gary or Shelley, and draft your novel in three packets. Your mentor reads each packet and then meets with you for editorial feedback.
This is an intensive workshop for experienced writers, not beginners. You don’t need to be agented or published, but Gary and Shelley will look for a writing sample that shows experience with craft. The schedule is built to get you to a complete draft by the end of August.
Now in its third year.
The Short Novel has filled every time we’ve offered the workshop. New for 2027, we decided to build more community and connection into our writing months.
We’ve added two optional group writing sessions and one additional group class in the middle of the writing period, with room to add more if the group wants them.
Our writing sessions are quiet working time with the whole cohort, hosted by Whale Rock founder Shari Becker and either Gary or Shelley, followed by a 30-minute conversation about how everyone’s drafts are going.
FOR YOU IF
You want to write a complete novel draft with the expert scaffolding of a mentor and the support of a community around you.
You’ve spent years honing your craft and haven’t had bites from agents or editors yet.
You’re a published author curious about writing in a shorter form.
You’re unpublished, with several novels started and none finished.
You’ve worked on one project for years and can’t seem to finish.
You’re comfortable plotting. The short novel format doesn’t work well for pantsing.
YOU’LL LEAVE WITH
A complete short novel manuscript.
Editorial feedback from Gary or Shelley on each of your three packets and your overall novel.
A working understanding of the short novel form.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
New this year: two group writing sessions, with the option to add more
Optional quiet writing time with the cohort, hosted by Whale Rock founder Shari Becker and either Gary or Shelley, followed by a 30-minute conversation about anything that’s come up in your drafts.
Group sessions with Gary and Shelley
Five workshops on Sunday afternoons from February through April, a bonus book read in July, and a final session in August.
One on one mentoring
Gary and Shelley each work with five writers, meeting with you to develop your premise and to talk through feedback on your pages.
Three packet reads
Your novel goes to your mentor in three parts, with editorial feedback on each.
A reading list.
Four assigned short novels to read before the workshop begins, seven or eight more novels over the course of the workshop, and a lengthy bibliography of short novel mentor texts.
MEET YOUR TEACHERS
GARY D. SCHMIDT
Longtime fiction editor at Groundwood Books, where she has edited more than a dozen Governor General’s Award-winning titles. Author of thirty books for young readers. Faculty emerita of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
SHELLEY TANAKA
Two-time Newbery Honor recipient and National Book Award finalist. Author of The Wednesday Wars, Okay for Now, and many others. Longtime professor at Calvin University. Faculty emerita of Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Whale Rock founding faculty.
THE SCHEDULE
Group sessions, Sundays at 3pm
February 14
February 21
March 14
April 4
April 25
July 11, bonus book read together
August 29, final session
Group writing sessions, Wednesdays, new this year
June 9, 10am-12pm
June 30, 6:30-8:30pm
Packets due
Packet 1, May 31
Packet 2, July 7
Packet 3, August 20
One-on-one mentor meetings are scheduled between you and your mentor.
BEFORE YOU APPLY
Participants must be able to dedicate 25-30 hours of writing time per month. We also want to remind you that writing a short novel requires planning and plotting.
You may come to this workshop with a novel idea, but not with a novel you’ve already begun. A short novel has a smaller canvas, and it’s important to understand the format, size, and scope before you start writing.
This workshop is designed to help you make considered creative choices and then use your writerly skills to make those choices work. In other words, to commit to a path and see a work through to the end. Be prepared to reexamine your own process, possibly to experiment with a new way of approaching a novel. No matter what, you will learn something about yourself as a writer.
HOW TO APPLY
STEPS TO GET STARTED
Because of the workload for our faculty, we can only accept ten writers. Gary and Shelley each work with five writers, and you’ll be paired with the instructor who best suits your needs.
Applications have historically outnumbered available spots.
1
Fill out the application
Click BOOK below and answer our questions. You won’t be charged unless you’re accepted.
2
Email ten pages from a completed work of fiction or a work in progress to submissions@whalerockworkshops.com. This is only a writing sample, not your project for the workshop. Please submit prose; verse novel samples won’t be considered. Your sample should be 12-point Arial or Times New Roman, double spaced with one-inch margins, with your name in the file name, for example The House Around the Corner_JaneSmith. Please include your name and page numbers on the pages themselves. Samples that don’t follow these guidelines won’t be considered, and your application isn’t complete until we receive your sample.