Email olivia@thereaderberlin.com to sign up!
In the first two weeks, we’ll read short fiction and work through targeted exercises that take up these questions directly, experimenting with multiple ways of closing a story and opening it again. We’ll also think about revision as discovery, not drudgery: how a second draft can open possibilities the first draft only hinted at, turning revision into the place where the real story emerges. The final three weeks are devoted to workshopping participant pieces, with each student receiving detailed written feedback from the instructor. You’ll leave with practical strategies for revision, sharper instincts for how endings work, and a clearer sense of what your own stories are aiming toward.
Olivia Parkes is a British-American writer and artist based in Berlin. Her short stories have appeared in Tin House, Electric Literature, American Short Fiction, Zyzzyva, and The Masters Review, among other publications. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2021 and is the recipient of fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Dorothea Konwiarz Stiftung, and the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Berlin.
TESTIMONIALS:
I love Olivia’s workshops! She brings such a joyous atmosphere to the group discussion, such a collegiate feel, and yet her observations, and questions to the group are always so deft and incisive. She has a way of drawing out the best in a group, ensuring that we’re reading and thinking, as writers. Everything seems worthy of attention during workshop weeks: writing feels fun, easy and possible. Group feedback on a work in progress is gently shepherded in a particularly useful way by Olivia: the result has been totally invaluable for my writing (and re-drafting). If you’re feeling stuck or lonely in your writing practice, Olivia’s workshops are a great way to open a few doors and let the light in.
– Louise East
I’ve participated in two of Olivia’s workshops, and both experiences were equally fulfilling in different ways. I don’t have much of a writing background, and this was the perfect way to explore the process more. Olivia is warm and engaging, and steers all the different personalities with a light touch, ensuring that discussion is both beneficial and lively. The sessions are a lot of fun! Olivia gives excellent pointers on both the technical and creative sides of storytelling, and I learned a lot about generating as well as revising work. I’d recommend the workshop to anyone, and will certainly join the group again in the future.
– Lauren Kavanagh
Olivia’s workshop is an absolute gem! Her approach to stories and craft is exploratory and makes storytelling feel full of opportunities. Her writing exercises invite you to approach your creativity in new ways, and her feedback balances exploration and rigorous analysis in service of the writer’s aim. She finds the heart of a piece and goes from there. This was especially useful to witness when discussing our own pieces, which sometimes didn’t quite know what they were yet. Each workshop I’ve taken with her has allowed me to discover something new about my writing. There is much more I could say about her workshop — the great generative exercises, the thought-provoking in-class discussions, the joy of meeting Berlin-based writers — but if there’s one reason you should take this class, it’s to learn from Olivia.
– Victoria Jacobi