How do writers bring a place to life on the page? Join us for a free craft class and reading with novelist Lucas Schaefer, whose debut novel The Slip is set in Austin, Texas, and incorporates real locations—from restaurants to streets to parks.

In his one-hour craft talk, "Creating a Sense of Place in Fiction," Lucas will share the tools he used to make Austin feel real on the page, explore the advantages and challenges of using actual locations in fiction, and guide participants through short generative exercises to enhance their own place-based writing. Attendees will leave with practical techniques to strengthen their setting and scene work.

Following the class, Lucas will read from The Slip and discuss the writing process with his long-time friend Fatima Kola. Books will be sold by Parnassus Books.

Fatima Kola is a writer-in-residence in the department of Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University, and holds an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers, which is where she met Lucas. She has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize in African Writing and is a former Stegner Fellow and Miles Morland Foundation Grantee. Her work has been published by One Story, Granta, New Contrast, The Guardian and Zoetrope: All-Story.

(You are welcome to come to just the class, just the reading, or both!)

This event is free to attend, but if you’re able, please consider making a donation of $10–$30 to help us sustain these valuable programs at The Porch.