St. Basil Writers’ Workshop is the gathering place for this generation’s Inklings.
Designed for advanced beginning and intermediate fiction and narrative non-fiction writers, the Workshop prepares writers to respond to the acute cultural need for restorative stories by helping hone their craft to connect with today’s readers using time-tested techniques that infuse their words and worlds with the heartbeat of reality. Together with Dostoevsky, we believe that “beauty will save the world.”
Subscribe for:
Workshop application information; and
Monthly newsletters with the best books, talks, and tips on writing.
About the Workshop
St. Basil Writers’ Workshop is a 9-month writing program that begins with an in-person retreat in August, after which all courses are hosted online. Admissions is capped at 12 students per year to ensure personalized mentorship and tight-knit community bonding.
Our instructors
Paul Kingsnorth
, author of , has written ten books in various styles and forms, and they all tell the same story, however hard he tries to tell another. It’s the story of the brokenness of modern humanity: specifically, of the severing of the link between people and place, between the humans and the wild and between the sacred and the profane; about the results of that severance and how, maybe, we can begin to correct it. His most strongly-held belief is this: that our modern crisis is not economic, political, scientific or technological, and that no ‘answers’ to it will be found in those spheres. He believes that we are living through a deep spiritual crisis; perhaps even a spiritual war. His interest these days is what this means.Learn about Paul Kingsnorth’s class: Rewilding Your Words.
Deacon Nicholas Kotar
writes epic fantasy inspired by Russian fairy tales. Throughout his writing career, he has amassed a wealth of information on the craft of writing and the business of publishing books that sell. This craft knowledge he combines with a love for old stories that illuminate a lost past that inspires us to think, act, and live differently—more in tune with our age-old faith, and less pandering to the demands of the fickle world. In our own time of inner and outer fracturing, he believes more than ever that our world is in dire need of these stories.Learn about Deacon Nicholas Kotar’s classes: Establishing a Writing Ritual that Defeats the Blank Page, Techniques of Fiction Writing, and The Track to Publication Success.
Jonathan Pageau
Jonathan Pageau is a professional artist, writer and public speaker, giving workshops and conferences all around North America. He teaches carving and speaks on art but mostly explores the symbolic structures that underlie our experience of the world. Through his YouTube channel and podcast, The Symbolic World, he also furthers the conversation on symbolism, meaning and patterns in everything from movies to icons to social trends. Articles on The Symbolic World are contributed by several writers engaged with him in the exploration of symbolism across all fields.
Lean about Jonathan Pageau’s class: Worldbuilding: Developing an Internally Cohesive Novel
Katherine Bolger Hyde
Katherine Bolger Hyde has spent her life surrounded by books, as a reader, editor, and writer. Her love of classic literature is reflected in her degree in Russian Literature from Reed College. She has worked for a number of years as senior editor for Ancient Faith Publishing, where she enjoys mentoring promising writers. She has published a number of adult novels and children’s books in both the secular and Orthodox markets. What they all have in common is the theme of the redemption of broken lives through the power of grace. As an instructor, Katherine focuses on helping students improve their craft in whatever type of writing they choose to pursue.
Katherine Bolger-Hyde primarily coaches students 1:1, but you can also learn about her Characterization and Self-Editing Workshop here.
Nicole Roccas
Nicole Roccas is a writer, podcaster, and communications professional at the intersection between faith and the “tough stuff” in life like mortality, time, infertility, doubt, and grief. She grew up in Wisconsin, did her graduate work in Cincinnati, and lived in Germany for a few years before settling down in Toronto in 2013. Along the way, she converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, received her PhD, and began writing and podcasting. But beneath the veneer, life isn’t always easy. From a young age, she has been fascinated and haunted by the deep, answerless questions of existence: Why do we die? What is eternity? What is the purpose of suffering? In her writing, podcasting, and speaking, she seeks to bridge the hope and meaning of faith with the reality of suffering and grief.
Learn about Nicole Roccas’s class: Soul-Centered Writing: Unblocking Your Muse
Samira Kawash
Samira Kawash holds a PhD in literary studies from Duke University and is a professor emerita at Rutgers University. She is a regular contributor to First Things, and her essays have also appeared in The Atlantic, Compact Magazine, and beyond.
Learn about Samira Kawash’s Workshop: Critique Groups: Giving and Receiving Feedback
Subscribe
Subscribe for:
Workshop application information; and
Monthly newsletters with the best books, talks, and tips on writing.
Join our online writing community
The Story Hearth is a faith-based writing community that offers structure and guidance in the craft of writing and the business of publishing.
The Hearth is home to writers across genres, including memoir, fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, philosophy, poetry, and beyond. Our community is for writers who:
🔥 Seek fellowship with supportive peers eager to share knowledge
🔥 Are burnt out on DIY writing craft books and want a real person to be their mentor
🔥 Want to explore the intersection between their faith and their creative life
🔥 Have stories collecting dust and don’t know how to publish them
🔥 Want a friendly nudge to sit down and actually write
Weary of writing alone? Join us for a free 14-day trial. It’s time to find your people.
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