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Meet THe Team
The study of genre fiction strengthens ALL writing. In this course, we’ll consider the tight plotting of a mystery, the world-building of fantasy and sci-fi, the historical specificity and symbolism of iconic objects in a Western, and the character dynamics and tension of a romance. By piecing apart what makes different genres ‘tick’ we can build our own writing practices, much the same way elite athletes train in areas outside their focus in order to improve their performance, endurance, and strength. Cross-training is also a productive way to avoid creative burnout. While it feels like a playful break, we’re actually fine tuning specific skills. These interactive workshops will include model texts from across various genres, generative sessions of genre exploration, peer feedback, and deep reflection.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Medium
• Homework: Optional
• Workshopping Drafts: Optional
Tierney Oberhammer is a writer based in New York's Hudson Valley. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Swamp Pink, The Adroit Journal, Aster(ix), Cincinnati Review, Copper Nickel, Callaloo Literary Journal, and River Teeth. Tierney is the recipient of generous support from the Nancy Craig Blackburn Program, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Indiana University Writers Conference, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Tierney is also an Anthony Veasna So scholar and co-founded the Wildcat Writing Group. She lives with Jamie, Mariah and Wavy.
Marguerite (Maggie) Sheffer’s stories appear in The Cincinnati Review, BOMB, LitHub, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Smokelong Quarterly, among other magazines. Her collection, The Man in the Banana Trees, won the 2024 Iowa Short Fiction Award, was named a “Best Debut Book of 2024” by Debutiful and a “Most Exciting Debut Story Collection” by Electric Literature and is a finalist for the 2025 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. At Tulane University she teaches courses in design thinking and speculative fiction as tools for social change. She is a founding member of Third Lantern Lit, a New Orleans writing collective, and the Wildcat Writing Group.
Tierney and Marguerite are new to The Porch. Welcome!
