You've probably heard it said that a story is driven by the desires of a single protagonist, but what happens when you instead look at short stories through the lens of relationships? Relationships don't have to be romantic. Think of a father and daughter, worker and boss, teacher and pupil; friends, enemies, and lovers. All of these connections might give rise to instant story possibilities.
In this workshop, short story writer Edward Hogan will take you through a series of reading and writing exercises which use relationships between characters as a way to generate ideas, give structure to your stories, and drive dialogue and action.
There will be a Q&A session at the end, so have your questions ready!
The masterclass will take place online via Teams. It will also be recorded so if you are unable to attend live, you'll be able to catch-up and access the recording for up to two weeks after the event has taken place.
I am a writer and teacher of fiction, with a specialism in the short story. I took an MA in Creative Writing at UEA, where I won the David Higham Award, before securing an AHRC PhD studentship at the Open University. For my PhD, I studied narrative disruption in cinemagoing and D/deafness, and spent several years learning British Sign Language.
My first novel Blackmoor, won the 2010 Desmond Elliott Prize, and I have published four more books, including two for young adults and The Electric, which arose from my doctoral study. I've been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, The Encore Award, the Branford Boase Award, and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
More recently, I have focused my attention on short fiction, and my stories have appeared in The Moth, and Best British Short Stories 2022. My story 'Single Sit' won the Galley Beggar Press Prize 2021, and 'Late Velvet' won the Dinesh Allirajah Prize in 2025. My stories have been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, the V.S Pritchett Prize, and the Manchester Fiction Prize. My critical work has been published in Writing in Practice, and I have written for The Guardian, the BBC, and The Conversation.
The workshop fee of £20 (incl. VAT) is payable in full online. Please note that payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on [email protected] so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
This is a live online event which will be presented using video conferencing software. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided by the W&A Team a week before the event start-date. Please note, all event timings are in UK time.
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Accessible to All
- It’s of real importance to Writers & Artists that our events and courses remain accessible to all.
- Writers & Artists has made one bursary place available for this event as part of our accessibility scheme. Please visit our bursaries page to find out how to apply for a bursary to the event.
- Payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on [email protected] so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
- At the speaker's discretion, event materials will be made available to attendees after the masterclass.
- A link to a recording of the masterclass will be circulated after the event. This will be made available to event attendees only, and for a time-limited period.
- If you'd like to receive a transcript of the session, please do let us know and we can circulate following the session.
- This event will include written text and visuals. Please contact us in advance so that we can make arrangements to be sure all documents appear in a format that works for you.
- If you’d like to attend but have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, then please email [email protected]
