Five Days, Five Stories: Shelley Weiner on Curating the Best Short Fiction for Writers
3 minutes read
Shelley Weiner, tutor on Faber Academy’s Five Day Short Story course, reflects on the vast world of short fiction, and the challenge of choosing the best of the best.
For writers, the Five Day Short Story is an exhilarating dive into the mysteries of short fiction. How did the ‘greats’ achieve mastery? How can their techniques light the way for the tale that each participant will tell by the end of the week?
For me, the tutor, as I lead discussions and insights into the stories selected as models of the form, there’s the constant question: from among the myriad of narratives shouting for inclusion, how to choose the most potent five?
It is random, of course. And, because of the way the literary canon is weighted, big hitters like Chekhov and Hemingway elbow confidently into the mix. Borges follows, with his elliptical mutterings – and I think, hey guys, step back, there’s a bigger world of words out there. C and H dig in their heels but Borges, with Latin sensitivity, moves aside.
And into the gap slips Angela Carter, with her potent, succinct ‘Snow Child’ – and the brilliant Shirley Jackson, whose ‘The Lottery’, even now, raises a chill. And Miranda July, whose sharp and funny ‘Roy Spivey’ appeared long before All Fours brought her international fame. And Zadie Smith’s ‘Lazy River’, her ironic take on the kind of all-inclusive holiday we recognise with some shame. And, yes, ‘Sweetness’ – Toni Morrison’s heartrending refrain. And as a final riposte, Courttia Newland’s chilling story of blind racism – told backwards.
Backwards, forwards, sideways . . . there’s no end to the structural potential of the short story. Nor the subject matter or the reach. The important thing, I realise, as I brace myself for writers to say, ‘You should have chosen X!’ or ‘What made you include Y?’, is the miracle of creativity.
And the biggest miracle of the Five Day Short Story course is its core and its culmination: the fifteen new stories created alongside the study of the ‘greats’, whoever they are, and celebrated on our final session.
Shelley Weiner is an acclaimed novelist, short-story writer and journalist who has, over the years, established a reputation as an inspirational creative writing tutor and nurturer of new talent. Shelley’s novels include the critically-acclaimed A Sisters’ Tale, The Last Honeymoon, The Joker and Arnost. Her latest novel is The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green. As a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, Shelley has served at Middlesex University and the University of Westminster in London. She is currently employed as an Advisory Fellow.
Shelley has lectured in fiction writing on the Creative Writing MA at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, as well as for Birkbeck College, the Open University, the Taliesin Trust, the British Council in Israel, and Durham University Summer School. She is a mentor on the Gold Dust Mentoring Scheme and teaches for the Skyros Writers’ Lab.
Master the art of the short story in one intense week with The Five Day Short Story. This creative and inspiring examination of the art of the short story examines the form from a writer’s perspective. It is also a hands-on experience, turning theory into practical effect as each participant is nurtured and guided towards the completion of a story from beginning to end. Come away with new insights into the genre – and inclusion in our post-course anthology as a tangible record of your immersion.
If you’re looking for an immersive, intensive introduction to the craft of short-story writing, this one’s perfect for you. You’ll spend five days at Faber’s London offices with a group of fellow short-story writers, writing a new story from start to finish under the guidance of one of our most experienced tutors, Shelley Weiner.
Find our more about The Five Day Short Story here, and about all of our short story courses here.
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