2023 Autumn Workshop
June 12, 2023
July 12, 2023
2022 Autumn Scholars

Amber Blaeser-Wardzala is an Anishinaabe writer, beader, fencer, and Jingle Dress Dancer from White Earth Nation in Minnesota. A current MFA Fiction Candidate at Arizona State University, her writing is forthcoming from Tahoma Literary Review, CRAFT, and a Penguin Random House anthology. Her work has appeared in Ruminate Magazine, Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle, Jet Fuel Review, and others. Blaeser-Wardzala is a former fiction fellow for the inaugural Women’s National Book Association Authentic Voices Program. In 2022, her novel in-progress was shortlisted for the Granum Foundation Prize. She is the current Nonfiction Editor for Hayden’s Ferry Review.

Gretchen Potter is a citizen of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation from western New York State who lives in Southern California with her three children, three cats, and (shh) two rats. Her fiction is current or forthcoming in Room Magazine, About Place Journal, and The Hopkins Review. She has received fellowship support from Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Key West Literary Seminar, the Barbara Deming Foundation, and Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, as well as residencies from Hedgebrook, Storyknife, and the Vermont Studio Center. She's writing a linked story collection about the chaos and wonder that follows when a Seneca tribe wins a major land claims case.
Program
Dates: November 2023
Cost: TBA
The Tin House Autumn Workshop is a weekend intensive for fiction writers that consist of curated workshops with 6 participants per class, one-on-one meetings with faculty, 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.
Once accepted and registered, workshop participants who have a completed manuscript may also apply for a mentorship (a full manuscript review) with select faculty for an additional fee.
The workshops will take place at our offices in NW Portland which are centrally located. Many housing and eating options are within walking distance.
Room & board are not included in this workshop. Enrolled applicants will be given the opportunity to connect for shared housing as well as provided with a list of nearby hotels.
Application
We ask for one unpublished writing sample, novel or short fiction, 4,000 words or less.
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, though our scholarship travel stipend only applies to those traveling in North America.
Applications are read by a board composed of Tin House Workshop staff and previous Tin House attendees. 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. All applications are evaluated through the lens of our Core Values.
Scholarships
We will award two general scholarships for our 2022 Autumn Workshop. Scholarships cover the conference’s tuition and North American air travel (purchased by Tin House). Scholarship recipients will need to provide for their own room/board.
In addition to our General Scholarships, we will be offering the following award:
TBA
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.
Fee Waivers
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 2023 scholarships. For inquiries, please email workshop@tinhouse.com with the subject line “Autumn Fee Waiver.”
COVID Policy
Upon acceptance, everyone attending the 2022 Tin House Autumn Workshop will need to email proof of vaccination/boosters and provide documentation during in-person registration. 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.
Schedule
Thursday
4:00pm: Welcome Lecture
4:30pm: Welcome Workshop Meeting
5:00pm: Happy Hour
Friday
9:ooam: Coffee Social Hour
10:00am-12:00pm: Workshop
12:30pm-1:30pm: One-on-One Meetings
3:00pm: Lecture
4:30: Student Readings/Happy Hour
8pm: Karaoke
Saturday
Portland Book Festival
Sunday
9:ooam: Coffee Social Hour
10:00am-12:00pm: Workshop
12:30pm-1:30pm: One-on-One Meetings
3:00pm: Lecture
4:30: Lecture
7:30pm: Faculty Readings
Monday
9:ooam: Coffee Social Hour
10:00am-12:00pm: Workshop
12:30pm-1:30pm: One-on-One Meetings