Michael Jeffrey Lee’s first collection, Something in My Eye, received the Mary McCarthy Prize and was published by Sarabande. His second collection, My Worst Ideas, is forthcoming in 2023 from Spurl Editions. His stories have appeared in N+1, BOMB, The Rupture, and The Southern Review, among others. He has taught fiction at Tulane University, the University of Louisiana, and New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA). He was the recipient of the Yale Educator Award for his work at NOCCA, and a research fellowship from the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Berlin. He is also the vocalist for Budokan Boys.
TESTIMONIALS:
Michael’s workshop was a shot in the arm! Inspiring, wide-ranging, serious fun. Highly Recommended!
—Christopher Chambers, author of Kind of Blue.
Michael’s flash fiction course was a revelation. The in-class exercises and craft discussions, the thoughtfully selected readings, the style of workshop and the flash format all work together perfectly to generate creativity. The class inspired me to experiment, invent and take creative risks in fiction in ways I hadn’t been able to before. The most helpful writing course I’ve ever taken.
—Jane Yager
Michael is an extraordinarily good writing instructor who excels at zeroing in on the interesting or important aspects of texts. When my own work was being discussed, I always felt that novel aspects came to light, and it was magical to hear people work through how they read and understood my work. He kept the class moving forward productively, and I only ever felt supported and encouraged as a writer. The class was motivating and offered a great deal of freedom for me to try to do exactly the kind of writing I was interested in, and Michael was always on point, no matter the genre of the writing or the experience level of the student. I am confident that any writer who shows up and does the modest amount of preparation necessary for the class will benefit deeply.
— Barnaby Thieme
I have believed for literally decades that despite my training in creative writing and general ability that I would never realize my dream of writing fiction. I thought I didn’t have anything to share. Michael Lee’s Flash Fiction course has cracked that open for me. I found the idea of short pieces very approachable and the form allowed me to try things I would not usually dare–writing from the perspective of a dachshund, or a piece that’s purely dialog. Michael’s compassionate facilitation of our discussions also helped me to be more courageous, and was very appropriate to a mixed group of native and non-native English speakers. Having been in serious writing workshops (albeit long, long ago), I found this approach refreshing and welcoming. I cherish the memory of hearing from the class how they perceived my writing. Michael’s prepared readings were also a great source of inspiration and grounding in the very open question of what Flash Fiction is. As the Germans would say: “Klare Kaufempfehlung!” In English: “11/10, would take this class again!” — Rebecca R.
