Meets: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Instructor: Michelle Wildgen
Location: live on Zoom
Cost: $75
Enrollment: 8 openings
Workshop Overview
They seem so simple, the query and the synopsis, but once you sit down to write them, a million questions arise about how to create an artful, accurate and compelling few sentences about your book, and how to distill the story into an exciting synopsis that’s more than a list of events.
This workshop will take writers through a discussion and revision of the queries and synopses they bring to class, with discussion about the requirements of both forms and how to make yours into something that makes the reader want to jump in.
Expect to bring your draft synopsis and query letter to class, though we will work on them during our time together. (Bonus: this process can also reveal gaps and issues in the story itself, so you might walk away with some useful ideas there as well.)
Who’s the class for?
This class is ideal for writers who have a strong idea of the story they're telling and possibly a draft or two.
About the Instructor
Michelle Wildgen is the author of the novels Wine People, Bread and Butter, But Not For Long, and You’re Not You, and is the editor of an anthology, Food & Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast. You’re Not You has been adapted for film, starring Hilary Swank and Emmy Rossum.
Michelle received her MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and has taught fiction and nonfiction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and the Tin House Writers’ Workshop. She was a long-time executive editor at Tin House Magazine and former books editor with Tin House Books. Michelle’s nonfiction has included a weekly column on food television as well as individual essays on a wide range of topics: from American Girl doll Rebecca Rubin, Burt Reynolds’ 1970s fan mail, and obscure Wisconsin card games to the craft of writing, fresh mozzarella, deer-hunting for the neophyte, and the number of times one must endure anaphylactic shock before giving up shellfish for good.
Her fiction, personal essays, and food writing have appeared in publications including The New York Times Book Review and “Modern Love” column, O, the Oprah Magazine, RealSimple.com, LitHub, and anthologies such as Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creative Writer, Dirty Words, Best New American Voices 2004, Best Food Writing 2004 and 2009, Death by Pad Thai and Other Unforgettable Meals, and journals including StoryQuarterly, TriQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. Awards and honors include a scholarship to Bread Loaf, residency at the Hall Farm Center in Vermont, and the Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing from Prairie Schooner.
You can learn more about Michelle’s work at her website, and you can contact her via email.