Fiction | Bootcamp

Publishing Bootcamp: Launching and Developing a Writing Career

In just three hours, you will learn quite possibly everything there is to know about launching and developing a writing career—basically, everything that craft classes don't touch. We'll cover the whole freelancing shebang: how to submit stories, write pitches, rack up freelancing bylines, get bigger ones, work with editors, write toward specific venues. You'll learn the full timeline of book publication, from your first agent queries all the way through book promotion. If you've ever wondered whether readings, contests, conferences, grants, residencies, fellowships, MFA programs, and social media are worth doing, you'll have your answers. We'll also tell you about all the unfair pitfalls you'll have to deal with, and the things nobody tells you you can ask for. Finally, we'll cover the fine and subtle art of handling your money: tax write-offs, debt reduction, professional rate calculation, and different sources of income. You may not like what's in store for you as a working writer, but you'll be ready for it.

Tony Tulathimutte

Tony Tulathimutte’s novel Private Citizens was called “the first great millennial novel” by New York Magazine. A graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has written for The New York Times, VICE, WIRED, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, N+1, Playboy, The Paris Review, and many others. He has received a 2017 Whiting Award, an O. Henry Award, and a MacDowell Fellowship, and appeared as a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Testimonials

"In the work of Tony Tulathimutte, every sentence must be a story all its own… and it’s got to sing. He tackles the 21st century social novel armed with tremendous verve, an unsparing eye, and formidable skill."

Whiting Award Selection Committee

"Tony’s course was one of my favorites from college. He consistently led engaging and mind-opening discussions, and I genuinely looked forward to completing his homework assignments, which consisted of intriguing readings and fun, challenging writing prompts. Not only did my reading and writing improve, but I also became better at critical thinking. Tony puts a lot of work into the classes he teaches."

former student

"I suspect in about 15 years, the young American novelist Tony Tulathimutte will start winning huge literary awards, but in the meantime, I recommend reading PRIVATE CITIZENS, his bracingly smart first novel about messed-up millennials."

Curtis Sittenfield THE GUARDIAN

"In this lovingly portrayed hell, the body is excess baggage, and self-doubt poses dangers so grave only a writer would risk it. It’s not a satire, but an eloquent social novel bristling with logic."

Nell Zink THE FINANCIAL TIMES

"Witty, unsparing, and unsettlingly precise, Tulathimutte empathizes with his subjects even as he (brilliantly) skewers them. A satirical portrait of privilege and disappointment with striking emotional depth."

KIRKUS starred review

"Tulathimutte has begun the essential work of identifying the century’s new forms of vanity and pain. That he’s relentlessly funny in doing so marks him as a genuine talent."

NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"The [novel] I really enjoyed and admired a couple months ago… It’s a book called PRIVATE CITIZENS… it’s a real book. He’s a big talent."

Jonathan Franzen