About:

Application Submission Date:  September 1, 2023

Little Mo Writers Workshop

Intensive workshop for writers who want to advance their writing skills and broaden their knowledge of craft to bring a project to fruition. Participants will learn about the path to publication and receive support and feedback on their project from literary peers.

Nonfiction and fiction writers in any subgenre are welcome to apply. Preference given to projects and writers associated with North Dakota and the greater Midwest region, but all applicants and project subjects considered as space and cohort composition/affinity allow.

Two cohorts of 8 writers/each will be selected via a formal application process. Cohorts will participate in scheduled online writing workshops every other week from October to March, with a break for December and early January. The Little Mo Writers Workshop concludes with a final public event of participants reading from their work (also online).

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Workshop Options

• Short Form Writing Workshop
• Long Form Writing Workshop

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Short Form Writing Workshop

This workshop will begin as a “boot camp” on craft principles--such as significant detail, point of view, scene, setting, dialogue, characterization, action, plot--and will utilize various exercises and prompts for generating writing.

The second half of the Short Form Writing Workshop, during Spring 2024, will involve participants putting into practice what’s been learned by honing a solid and completed piece of writing (e.g. essay, short story, book chapter) to submit for workshop critique and feedback. The goal of the Short Form workshop is to help participants complete a polished draft of a shorter piece rather than a book-length project.

Long Form Writing Workshop

Apply to this workshop if you have a start on or an idea for a book-length project. To begin, each participant will submit a book prospectus (a vision statement describing the project) followed by the submission of 50 pages of writing for the Fall 2023 workshop, as well as another 50 pages of the book project for the Spring 2024 round of workshops.

The Long Form workshop is intended for writers who have a larger story to tell who are seeking help with craft questions but are also desirous of structured deadlines and detailed feedback to help them move toward shaping and completing substantial portions of the in-progress book.

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Workshop Instructors

Debra Marquart (Iowa State University) is a memoirist, poet, and singer/songwriter. She is the author of seven books including The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere. Marquart’s work has received multiple awards including an NEA Fellowship, a PEN USA Award, a New York Times Editors’ Choice commendation, and Elle Magazine’s Elle Lettres Award. The Senior Editor of Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment, Marquart teaches in ISU’s interdisciplinary MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment and in the Stonecoast Low-Residency MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine.

Tayo Basquiat (Bismarck State College) is a writer, teacher, adventurer, and filmmaker. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Wyoming, and his work has appeared in Orion Magazine, Intangible, Superstition Review, Burningword Literary Journal, Nasiona, Proximity Magazine, On Second Thought, as producer of Wyoming Public Media’s “Spoken Words” podcast, and elsewhere.

Participant Application Instructions

Two cohorts of up to 8 writers will be selected via a formal application process. Interested writers are asked to submit the following: 

• Indicate whether you are applying for the Short Form or Long Form workshop.
• A synopsis of the project not to exceed 500 words, including the title and genre of the project; a description of the subject(s) of the project; and details about any research steps completed or required to bring the project to fruition. Please indicate your level of completion of the project (early, middle, end) and steps you need to take to finish the project.
• A writing sample, not to exceed 20 pages.
• A short biographical narrative, up to 200 words, describing your experience and accomplishments.

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Application Submission Date:  September 1, 2023

Participant Cost

• Application Fee (due with submission):

$50 (also makes you a member of HND)

Free for members 

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• Course Fee:

$895 (due upon acceptance of offer of admission)

Actual cost is $1299, but has been reduced thanks to sponsorship funding

Fall 2023 Term, 7 - 9pm CT

​October 5

October 19

November 2

November 16

Spring 2024 Term, 7 - 9pm CT

​January 25

February 8

February 22

March 7

Required Materials

Computer or computer access, Word processing software and reliable internet connection.