Autumn Workshop

The Tin House Autumn Workshop is a long weekend intensive for fiction writers that consist of curated workshops with 6 participants per class, meetings with faculty/Tin House Books Editors/Agents, craft lectures, generative exercises, and readings. There will be plenty of opportunities for mingling, sightseeing, and, of course, karaoke.

Saturday is reserved for attending the Portland Book Festival. Admission to the festival is included in the tuition price.

The workshops will take place at our offices in NW Portland, which are centrally located and features the bookstore Bishop & Wilde. Many housing and eating options are within walking distance.

Room & board are not included in this workshop (though dinner will be provided on the opening night, as will drinks and snacks throughout the weekend).

Enrolled applicants will be given the opportunity to connect for shared housing as well as provided with a list of nearby hotels.

We ask for one (4,000 words or less) unpublished fiction writing sample from a novel or short story.

If you have previously been accepted/attended, please do not apply with the same sample. A different excerpt from the same project is acceptable.

Once admitted, you will have the opportunity to workshop a different manuscript or section from your project.

In addition to the writing sample, the application includes several questions about your project.

Applicants must be 21 years of age to apply.

International writers may apply.

There is no cap on the number of Tin House Workshops you may attend.

Applications are read by a board composed of Tin House Workshop staff and Reading Fellows. At least two readers will read all applications, and acceptance is based on the strength and promise of the writing sample and how much the board feels an applicant might benefit from the Workshop and contribute to the community.

We will award three general scholarships for our 2023 Autumn Workshop. Scholarships cover the full conference’s tuition as well as lodging in Portland. Scholars will be responsible for their own travel to/from Portland. 

All scholarship applicants are considered for general admission (you do not need to submit a separate general application).

You may only receive a scholarship to attend a Tin House Workshop once.

We announce the names of the Scholars after the conclusion of the workshop.

Please reach out to workshop@tinhouse.com if you have any eligibility questions. 

Tin House offers a limited number of application fee waivers through our Pay It Forward program. We will distribute these waivers on a first-come, first-serve basis. As an applicant, you can help cover the cost of another writer’s application fee through this same program. All excess application funds will go towards additional 2024 scholarships/application fees.

For inquiries, please email workshop@tinhouse.com with the subject line “Autumn Fee Waiver.”

Upon acceptance, everyone attending the 2023 Tin House Autumn Workshop will need to email proof of vaccination/boosters and provide documentation prior to the event. For those participants with approved religious or medical vaccination exemptions, proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test must be sent within 72 hours before the workshop.

At this time, we are planning to require masks for all indoor workshop events.