Creative Fiction Workshop with Tom Conaghan - Clapham Junction

Where and how do we find inspiration when we write? How can we overcome obstacles to follow our unconscious? Join Tom Conaghan, publisher of the writers' craft series REVERSE ENGINEERING, to explore how acclaimed authors open themselves to possibilities and listen to the energies of their story. By giving space to the unconscious, learn how to create writing that’s richer, wiser and more resonant, then explore how we can use our conscious mind to shape our fiction. This ninety-minute workshop will use ideas from Tom’s conversations with Tessa Hadley, George Saunders, Yiyun Li, Sarah Hall, Jon McGregor, Wendy Erskine and many others. Please bring along something to write with.

About the tutor: Tom Conaghan is the publisher of Scratch Books - a small press dedicated to the craft of the short story. His reviews and essays have appeared in The Observer, The TLS, The Irish Times, The LA Review of Books, amongst others. He is a judge of the 2023 The London Magazine Short Story Prize.

About Reverse Engineering: An innovative anthology series revealing the inspiration, ideals and the work involved in a great short story. The Reverse Engineering books bring together contemporary classic stories with their authors’ discussions of how they were written and include stories and interviews from Ben Okri, Tessa Hadley, Jon McGregor, Sarah Hall, Yiyun Li, Wendy Erskine, Eley Williams, Jessie Greengrass, Irenosen Okojie and Tom Drury.Praise for Reverse Engineering:‘Rich with insight into the craft and the art of the short story, this book will delight both writers and readers.’ Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane‘Reverse Engineering will be of huge interest to both practitioners and fans of the short story and to anyone interested in how art gets made. An anthology to inspire and encourage anyone who reads it.’ Colin Barrett, author of Young Skins and Homesickness‘This impressive collection reads like a celebration of the craft of story-writing itself. The triumph of Reverse Engineering is that despite accepted norms of short story craft, every author offers something different.’ The Guardian‘A collection of hugely illuminating conversations, packed with insights into everything from inspiration and the drafting process to setting, character, theme, ideology and the handling of voice, point of view, structure and style.’ Times Literary Supplement