Summer 2026 Mini-Workshop

How long is the workshop? 2 Days (plus welcome dinner)
When?Friday, August 14 – Sunday, August 16, 2026
Location? Serendib House, Oak Park, IL (just outside Chicago)
Instructors? Mary Anne Mohanraj and Ben Rosenbaum
Number of spaces? 10
What’s the price? $250

Deadline to apply? August 1, 2026 

Notified by? August 5, 2026

 

This 2-day (plus optional welcome dinner), in-person only workshop is a series of talks, exercises, and seminars designed to inspire, dig deep, and kickstart your writing praxis. Participants will be polled to help select the talks and activities – all of which are optional, in case you’re feeling inspired and want to sneak off to write in one of the many beautiful, quiet locations in Mary Anne’s spacious Victorian house.

 

Compared to our critique-focused intermediate-level Writing Science-Fiction and Fantasy Workshop offered in the spring, this is a mellower chance for writers of all levels to focus, learn, connect, ask questions, push into new territory, and spread their fantastical-literary wings.

 

A $50 deposit is required to reserve your spot. On August 5th, the remainder will be charged. The total cost (including the deposit) is $250.

 

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Benjamin Rosenbaum has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Sturgeon, World Fantasy, Locus, Otherwise, and Ennie Awards. He is the author of Jewish historical fantasy interactive novel The Ghost and the Golem; far-future coming-of-age novel of love and social unrest The Unraveling; Jewish historical fantasy tabletop roleplaying game Dream Apart, which co-launched the Belonging Outside Belonging family or roleplaying games; and short stories translated into 25 languages. He lives near Basel, Switzerland, where he serves on the board of Basel’s liberal synagogue Migwan. He co-hosts the SLF’s podcast, Mohanraj and Rosenbaum are Humans, with Mary Anne.

 

 

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INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOP/TALK/SEMINAR OPTIONS

We’ll poll attendees to help decide which of these to offer. (Some might fit into one block, others might need a part one and part two.)

 

Point of View is one of the most integral parts of fiction writing. What are the pros and cons of each one, and more importantly, which should you choose? In addition to the classic examples (1st, 2nd, 3rd person), Mary Anne and Benjamin will break down unconventional options such as epistolary and head-hopping fiction.

 

Most of us understand our identities on an intrinsic level. Yet different identities can inform the ways that characters act and think in your fiction. In this workshop Mary Anne and Benjamin will explore the ways dialogue can show identity, ways to portray the body and its senses, and the difference between “identifying” vs “being identified”.

 

Here we will tell not show, write the most unprotagging protagonists, break POV and shake our fists at the sky. They say you must learn the rules before you break them, but we will be breaking all the rules to see the benefits of stepping outside the mold (and when it is helpful to stay within them).

 

Endings are an important part of your story to get right. In this talk you’ll learn about how different genres handle endings, ways to revisit the story’s overall question, and the best way to pull off the inevitable surprise ending. There’s no right way to do it but this talk will give you some much needed options when your ending proves too complex.

 

In this round-robin experience, every participant will bring and present a worldbuilding dilemma they’re struggling with. Together everyone will brainstorm some solutions that can help dig you out of your worldbuilding rut.

 

 

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For those already available Friday evening, we’ll gather at a nearby restaurant (or get takeout) to get to know each other and/or catch up. (The cost of this optional meal is not included in the workshop fee.)

 

 

In the morning, a breakfast will be offered to all attendees.

MORNING BLOCK: 9:30am-11:30am
This block is reserved for one of the talks/seminars that will be offered over the course of the workshop. 

Lunch will be provided, and we encourage workshop and retreat members to gather… and/or to sneak off to the writing shed, library, a comfy chair or nook to get some writing done.

 

EARLY AFTERNOON BLOCK: 1pm-2:30pm
This block is reserved for one of the talks/workshops/seminars that will be offered over the course of the workshop. 

TEATIME BREAK: 2:30pm-3:30pm
Snacks provided; time to decompress, socialize, or write.

 

 

We’ll provide a list of local restaurants in walking distance, and encourage those interested to choose one together.

 

Oak Park is 7 miles from the heart of downtown Chicago.  It offers a host of attractions, most famously, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (the tour is very much worthwhile), Wright’s Unity Temple, and architecturally significant Pleasant Home.  Many restaurants and shops are also walking distance from our location, in both downtown Oak Park, and nearby downtown Forest Park.  A quick Green line subway away (or drive on 290) is the city of Chicago, with fabulous museums (The Art Institute, the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium) and some of the best restaurants in the world.

 

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HOUSING
There’s a local hotel just up the block (the Carleton), and a variety of Airbnb options in the area. Housing is not included in tuition cost.

 

Breakfast and lunch will be provided by Mary Anne, who is an avid lover of cooking. If you have any dietary restrictions please let us know and we’ll do our best to work around them!

 

The workshop will be held at Mary Anne’s home. There are several steps up to the front door, and she has a gentle cat. The kitchen is not kosher or celiac-safe; we can reimburse you for breakfast and lunch costs if you need to bring your own. We will also be using our SLF Discord for us and other members to communicate.

 

DISCORD COMMUNITY
All participants will be invited to a Discord channel, where we can coordinate in detail and get to know each other. (If access to Discord is a problem, let us know and we can consider other solutions).

 

If you’re not already logged in, the form below will ask you for a username and password to create an SLF account.

 

We’re processing registrations as they come in and will try to let you know as soon as possible… in any event, you will hear back by August 5th at the latest.