It happens all the time: people ask me to read their manuscripts, sometimes in Swedish but usually in English.  So I read and give comments, discuss where they think the manuscript is headed, where they think they as a writer are headed… and then almost without fail they ask whether I know of any local writing groups or classes in English.

I used to shrug my shoulders.  For years the English Department at Stockholm University has offered a class at the master’s level, but that’s not realistic for most people.  Other than that, an American I know named William Males (one of the founders of Frostwriting.com) used to teach a popular writing workshop in Gävle.  But he’s retired.

Now I’m pleased to say that starting spring 2012, I’ll be teaching an evening course in Creative Writing and Narrative Theory at Folkuniversitetet’s Författarskola in Stockholm. The course will be split between practice and theory: we’ll be practicing narrative techniques and stylistic elements, as well as studying narrative structure and theory.  We’ll be doing a lot of exercises, some inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin’s Steering the Craft, others designed by me during the years, and reading half-a-dozen theoretical essays (all available in the public domain) by authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Virginia Woolf.  Being a native speaker isn’t a requirement, though the class will require proficiency in English (this is an opportunity for people who work in Swedish, as well, to try their hand at writing fiction in English, and to learn about another theoretical tradition).

It should be a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a lot of learning.  I’m looking forward to it.  I’ll post a link when the sign-up for next spring goes public (details should be available around the 15th of November), and maybe I’ll see you there.