Name: Short Story Workshop: Winter 2025
Start: 2025-01-25T17:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-01-25T19:30:00+01:00
Location: Massolit Books & Cafe

We welcome all English-language writers and readers in Krakow to join us at our next peer-editing short story workshop - on Saturday, 25 January 2025, 5:00-7:30 p.m. at Massolit Bookshop & Cafe (ul. Felicjanek 4, Kraków, Poland).
Advance registration is required: [email protected]
__________________
ABOUT US:
Our story-writing workshops began in the summer of 2015 at Massolit Bookshop in Kraków, Poland. English-speakers who enjoy writing fiction and wish to share their work with other writers for peer analysis, feedback and criticism are welcome to join. Several short stories are discussed at each of our meetings.
Attendance is free but requires prior registration. The group will meet if there's a minimum of 5 people registered and at least two submitted stories to discuss.
We welcome new members!
Please contact us if you'd like to join:
[email protected]
_________________
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
1. "Do I have to sign up in advance?"
Yes, to join us you have to sign up in advance so that we know how many people are coming and because you need to spend the days leading up to the meeting reading the stories at home and preparing feedback for the authors. To sign up, send an email to: [email protected]
2. "I write poetry. Can I join?"
No, our workshops are only for prose (short stories or novel excerpts). However, our definition of "story" is flexible - for example, we accept abstract flash fiction, short poetic prose (abstract prose experiments), as well as non-fiction (such as personal essay, narrative non-fiction, etc.). To find out if what you write is suitable for the group, you can send it to us in advance: [email protected].
3. "Do I have to submit a story to join?"
No. Since we usually read only 3 stories at each meeting and like to have from 5 to 10 people in the discussion, we need more readers at each meeting than writers. So it’s fine to join us if you’d like to just read and discuss. You can join us at first as a reader and then submit a story for discussion at a future meeting.
4. "What do you do at the meetings?"
At the meetings we discuss stories we've written with the aim of helping each other improve our writing. We usually discuss 2 or 3 stories each time. The stories should be 10 pages or less (but we’re flexible). We decide in advance whose stories we’ll read at each meeting, and then one week before the meeting the organizer emails the stories that will be discussed to all of the registered attendees. We spend the week leading up to each meeting reading the stories at home and making notes for the authors. We write down what works well in the story, what doesn’t work and why, how the story can be improved, etc. We focus on plot development, characters, use of language, etc. When we get together, we don’t read the stories out loud (because we’ve all read them at home) but get straight into discussing them, taking turns giving opinions and advice. After the discussion we give our written notes to the author. Anyone attending the meeting is expected to read each story carefully, take active part in the discussion at the meeting and prepare feedback for the author.
5. "I’m not a native speaker of English, but I like to write in English. Can I join?"
It depends on the quality of your writing in English. If you’re able to write like a native speaker, with no linguistic errors, then yes, you can join. The way to check if your story is suitable for our workshops is to email it to us: [email protected]. We’ll be able to tell after reading your story if this is the right group for you. There are a few other groups in Krakow for ESL students who enjoy writing in English.
6. "I’ve written a lot of stories but none of them have ever been published, and I’d really like to get them out into the world and develop my confidence as a writer. Is this a good group for me to join?"
Yes! This is the perfect group for you. 🙂