Whale Rock Workshops

Short novels are in demand. Teachers want them, librarians want them, and kids want them. And yet authors continue to churn out 200-page-plus books for young readers. 

Join beloved faculty members, award-winning author Gary Schmidt and award-winning editor Shelley Tanaka will walk you through the process of writing a short novel (approximately 80-120 pages) from beginning to end. That’s right. We have designed the program to enable you to come up with a novel premise and write a full manuscript over seven months with the help of these two amazing mentors.

This is an intensive workshop. It is not intended for beginners, but rather experienced writers who want to experiment with a shorter format while building their writing skills. You will explore the essentials of storytelling – plots and subplots, continuity, story arc, character development, and more – and how these may be affected by the shorter form. 

Workshop Breakdown, Time Commitment and Expectations

This workshop runs over seven months.

• In the month leading up to the workshop: read four assigned short novels. 
• February and March: participate in four workshops led by Gary and Shelley, and brainstorm story ideas with either Gary or Shelley.
• March to August: Focus on developing your novel in three parts, submitting each part as a packet to your assigned mentor. To this end, commit to spending 25-30 hours per month during this period. If you do not realistically have 25-30 hours to write per month, please consider another workshop.
• Monthly: attend group check-ins with faculty to help you stay on track, and meet with your assigned mentor for editorial feedback. 
• Over the course of the workshop: read an additional, assigned, seven or eight novels. 

Please Note: You may come to this workshop with a novel idea, but not with a novel you have already begun. A short novel has a smaller canvas. It is important you understand the format, size, and scope before you begin writing.

Who is this for?

• Authors looking for an opportunity to write a complete novel draft with community scaffolding. 
• Published authors interested in experimenting with a shorter format.
• Authors who have spent years honing their craft, but still have no bites from agents or editors. 
• Authors who have spent years working on one project they can’t seem to complete.
• Unpublished authors with multiple started, but incomplete novels. 
• Authors comfortable plotting. The short novel model does not work well for pantsing.

Application Process

Due to the workload of this workshop, we can only accept ten students. Gary and Shelley will each work with five students.You will be assigned to the instructor who best suits your needs.

Writers may apply to the program between December 1 and December 18. 

Writers must submit a ten-page sample from a completed work of fiction or a fictional work in progress. (The submission is only a writing sample. It is NOT your project for this workshop.) Your application is not complete without this writing sample. Please do not apply with a verse novel sample. You will not be considered for this workshop unless you submit prose.

Please email your sample to: submissions@whalerockworkshops.com.

We will inform accepted students in the second week of January. 

Please Note: You do not need to be agented or published, but you must demonstrate experience with craft.

Important Dates

** Please note all group sessions are Sundays at 3:00 PM ET

Required Workshops
February 15, 2026
February 22, 2026
March 1, 2026
March 8, 2026

Mentor Meeting and Story Selection

Between March 6 and March 27, 2026

(Exact dates and times to be determined by you and your mentor)

Packets Due
May 8, 2026
June 12, 2025
August 21, 2025

Monthly Check-ins
Dates to be determined

Final Gathering
August 26, 2026

*Please note: There is a $30 non-refundable deposit. Writers who are not accepted to the cohort may use their $30 for any 90-minute workshop we offer in 2026. Accepted writers will have 72 hours to either pay in full or put down a $500 deposit to hold their spot. Payment plans are available for this program.