Healing History’s Wounds with Speculative Fiction
Stories can wound or heal. In this class, award-winning author and editor Nisi Shawl will talk about the ways stories can hurt, the ways they can help, and how you can use their power–particularly when writing speculative fiction and alternate history. This asynchronous class will cover:
- The kinds of harm toxic stories can do to their audience
- Telltale features of many toxic stories
- A review of specific stories with harmful effects
- Discussions of ways to subvert or pass the harmful effects by
- Writing techniques for disarming said harmful effects.
- Live and take home exercises to provide practice in these valuable techniques.
Join us to learn the special, restorative power of writing speculative fiction and alternate history!
Event Details
Date: April 23rd – April 26th, 2026
Where: Online — Available everywhere and at your own pace
Price: 100 USD Scholarships are available for attendees who need financial assistance.
Registration Deadline: April 19th, 2026
Who Should Take This Class?
Writers of all genres — Literary, YA, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Children’s Books, Romance — and all mediums — Prose, Playwriting, Screenwriting, Comics/Graphic Novels, Games — at any point in their career from newbie to professional
Our classes are not only for white people or cis men or other authors who hew closer to the dominant paradigm. They’re for all writers who want to decolonize their writing and be more inclusive and representative.
Course Format, Schedule, and Time Commitment
This 4 day class begins on Thursday when students will get access to the classroom space and the lecture. Q&A and discussion threads are open from Friday morning through Sunday evening when class ends. During this time instructors may also offer writing exercises or other class materials.
The class is asynchronous and does not have set meeting times. You can access the classroom at any time during the class period from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection. All class discussions take place in a private online forum and class work, if any, is done on Google Drive.
The time commitment will depend on your level of participation. You may manage your time as needed based on your own schedule.
Accessibility and Technical Requirements
The class takes place in a private WordPress forum with a theme designed for accessibility. We’ll utilize Google Drive and a mailing list. All of these services are accessible to students using screen readers. Most lectures are in video form and include both closed captions and transcripts.
If you have questions about potential needs, or if there are any other ways we can make a class accessible for you, please contact us before registering and we’ll answer as soon as we can.
You do not need a Google account to participate in class, though we do find that it’s easier to share files on Google Drive if you do.
Scholarship Opportunities
We have full and partial Vonda N. McIntyre Sentient Squid Scholarships available for this class. If you do not have the financial means to pay for all or part of the registration cost, we encourage you to apply. We have a broad definition of financial need that ranges from writers who do not have the money at all to writers who have the funds but can’t afford to use them for a writing class.
We especially encourage writers who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to apply. Wherever you exist on the financial needs spectrum, don’t self reject! (Still not sure whether you should apply? Read this post.)
Our scholarships are available to any writer regardless of background or identity. We set aside a portion of scholarships specifically for students who identify under the POC, BIPOC, or BAME umbrellas as well as for Palestinian writers/writers of Palestinian heritage, though we do not limit the number of scholarships we give to marginalized authors.
If you can afford to pay for part but not all of the registration fee, please apply for a partial scholarship. Under this financial aid plan you can let us know the amount you can afford. If you cannot afford to pay at all, please apply for a full scholarship.
To apply, please fill out this form by 11:59PM Pacific April 5th. You’ll be asked to provide:
- A brief (300 or fewer words) statement of financial need
- A brief (500 or fewer words) description of a work or works in progress that you hope the webinar will help you create.
- If you identify as POC, BIPOC, BAME, or Palestinian, you may indicate that if you wish.
Deadline: 11:59PM Pacific April 5th. We will notify all applicants of their standing two weeks before class begins. If you have any questions, please use our contact form to ask!
Refund Policy
If you find that you need to drop the class, you may do so via Humanitix.
If you send a refund request up to 14 days before the class start date, you will receive a full refund minus a service fee.
Beyond that time you will not have your registration fee refunded. However, you will be able to use your payment as credit toward enrollment in a future class.
Register Below
If you have a promo or discount code, please choose your registration option first, click Enter Details, then add it to the Discount Code field on the next screen. If the whole box below gives you trouble, click here to register on our Humanitix page.