Off Campus Writers Workshop upcoming events

Christina Clancy - How to Optimize Feedback You Give and Receive (June 04, 2026)

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:30:00 GMT

Sharing creative writing with friends, mentors, editors, and writing groups is an act of extreme vulnerability. It's hard sometimes to separate criticism of the work from criticism of ourselves, since it's our thinking and perspective on the page.

In this session, we'll discuss the role of feedback at various stages in a manuscript's journey, and cover some artist-centered strategies that don't demoralize the writer, but help make the writing less wobbly and more emotionally impactful. We'll go through the various types of feedback and ask: what sorts of comments and line edits truly help? What should you tune in and out? Who should we listen to? How is your writing influenced by your fear of criticism? How do you find a writing community? And once you're published, how should you respond to ratings and reviews?

CHRISTINA CLANCY is the author of The Second Home, Shoulder Season, and The Snowbirds (out Feb. 4, 2025). Her stories and essays have appeared in The Sun Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Lit Hub, The Minnesota Review, Hobart, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She lives in Madison.

Peter Hoppock Presents - The Wind: Lauren Groff (June 25, 2026)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Peter Hoppock launches the summer series with a discussion of Lauren Groff's short story The Wind, a haunting story of a single harrowing day in a family's life which was first published in the New Yorker in January 2021.

Lauren Groff creates a riveting picture of a woman's escape from an abusive husband. The key to drawing the reader into this all-too-common situation are the craft choices Groff has made in point of view and an almost surgical objectivity that melds syntax, diction, tone and voice into a distinct whole. Such stories are too easily sensationalized by either an extremely close —usually raw and ugly—third person narration, or an equally disturbing first person account. Groff eschews both options and has found a compelling solution.

Hosted by: Sam Farler

DOWNLOAD DISCUSSION MATERIALS HERE:

The Wind
Lauren Groff New Yorker Interview
Jonathan Duelfer Review of "The Wind"

BIO: Peter Hoppock has been published in a variety of literary magazines, both online and in print including The Write Launch, Adelaide, Curbside Splendor, Dillydoun Review and more. Palasatrium chose Blues For Rashid for its June 2023 featured story. His novella Mr. Pegg to You was a finalist in the 2013 Press 53 Novella contest, and his novella Precipice won an Honorable Mention in the 2024 Black Orchid Novella Awards. He has co-edited two OCWW anthologies of short stories and creative non-fiction: Turning Points (2021), and Meaningful Conflicts (2023), with a third to be released in Fall of 2026.

Beth DeSchryver Presents - My War with the Ospreys: The Funny Side of Steinbeck (July 23, 2026)

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Elizabeth DeSchryver will lead a discussion of John Steinbeck's essay My War with the Ospreys, originally published in 1957.

“My war with the ospreys, like most wars, was largely accidental and had a tendency to spread in unforeseen directions…. Spring may open new hostilities, although I can find in my heart to wish for peace and even friendship, I hope the ospreys, wherever they may be, will read this.”

Thus begins John Steinbeck’s My War with the Ospreys, a piece of writing that is hard to classify. Is it an essay? Creative non-fiction? Autobiographical short story? Whatever we call it, it’s a great study of narrative voice, of how to selectively use real-life details, and of what can happen to even the best of writers when they are desperate for an excuse not to write.

Hosted by: Anne Beall

DOWNLOAD DISCUSSION MATERIALS HERE:

My War with the Ospreys
John Steinbeck's Advice for the Writer
John Steinbeck Chronology
Steinbeck Discussion Topics

BIO: Elizabeth DeSchryver (Beth) is an award-winning short story author, playwright and poet. Her short plays have been performed throughout the Midwest. Her first full-length play, An Unbuilt Life, had its world premiere at the Washington Stage Guild in April 2024, where it received a Helen Hayes Award Recommendation. Her short stories have been included in three of the OCWW anthologies. A long-time supporter of OCWW, Beth is a member of the Chicago Dramatists Network Playwrights, the Dramatists Guild, and a founding member of the Telling Humans Playwright Studio.

Anne Beall Presents Nobody Knows: Rebecca Solnit (August 27, 2026)

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Anne E. Beall, Ph.D., will lead a discussion of Rebecca Solnit's essay Nobody Knows, published in Harper's Magazine in March 2018.

Nobody Knows, by Rebecca Solnit is an essay that begins with a personal experience and then expands into a cultural lens to explore the relationship between power and knowledge. She shows how power shapes what we see and whose voices we hear. Through personal experience and notable examples from the media, the essay reveals how some are heard while others are silenced. We will discuss several craft techniques Solnit uses and how you can apply them to your own writing.

Hosted by: Paula Mikrut

DOWNLOAD DISCUSSION MATERIALS HERE:

Nobody Knows
Discussion Questions for Nobody Knows

BIO: Anne E. Beall, Ph.D. is an award-winning author and social psychologist who writes about the emotional undercurrents that shape our lives. She’s written nine nonfiction books. Her most recent book, The Compassionate Writer, was awarded the International Impact Book Award in the self-help category. Anne is the founder and editor of Chicago Story Press, a literary journal publishing true stories that invite readers to see something in a new light. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Yale.