Description
Ready, Set, Go! How to write the perfect opening for your story, from the first paragraph to those all-important first chapters.
Join award-winning author Lavie Tidhar for an in-depth look at crafting that all-important story opening, whether for a short story or a novel. Learn how to “hook” the reader’s attention and how to best prepare your manuscript for agent or editor submission.
In this workshop, we will:
- Study classic openings and what they do, in genre and out
- Explore Lavie’s own successful openings, from short stories to award-winning novels
- Learn the who, why, where, when and how of a successful beginning
- Identify the “telling detail” and the how to make use of effective dialogue, action and description
- Prepare that critical three chapters submission package
- Understand what agents and editors look for
- Become aware of the common pitfalls, traps and clichés of ineffective openings
DATE: May 23, 2026 – Saturday
TIME: 1PM ET | 12PM CT | 11AM MT | 10AM PT | 17:00 UTC
RUNTIME: Approximately 90 minutes
Lavie Tidhar is author of numerous novels such as Osama, A Man Lies Dreaming, Central Station, Neom, and Maror. His awards include the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Awards, theJohn W. Campbell Award, the Neukom Prize and the Jerwood Prize, and he has been shortlisted for the Clarke Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. A prolific author of short stories, he has published more than two hundred, everywhere from Tor.com (where he created the popular Judge Dee series of vampire mysteries) to Analog, Asimov’s, Clarkesworld and Apex. As editor, he created the five-volume Apex Book of World SF series and edited the three volumes of The Best of World SF. Currently an honorary visiting professor and writer in residence at the American International University in London, he has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses on fantasy fiction and creative writing.
