Read Like A Writer

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The 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 6:30 – 8:00 EST on Zoom.

Writers read to become better writers by teasing out the brilliance in the stories we love. And then trying things out for themselves. Fiction writer Riki Moss brings us short stories from The New Yorker, Granta, The Paris Review, etc.; stories picked for their unique voices, or a stunning first paragraph, exquisite sentences, unexpected endings, the way tension builds in a conventional narrative or circles in fragments: like that. How does the writer pull it off?  Prompts are provided for generative writing, so we hear each other’s voices without judgement. A two month schedule will be posted in advance, the files provided with enough time to read before each workshop. That’s what we ask of you; Read the story, pull it apart, delight in the conversation and write.

To join a session, email [email protected]. We’ll respond with the file and a zoom link. It’s that simple.

Here are the currently scheduled workshops for 2026:

Currently Scheduled Workshops

5/11/2026 Deb Olin Unferth: The First Full Thought of Her Life. I don’t know how to describe this story, UnFerth is one of the most startling writers around. There’s so much left out in the text, the word “erasure” comes to mind, the story’s strength comes from what isn’t there, it’s pared to the essentials and then explodes. Unferth is one of George Saunders’ favorite students, he  is currently working through this story in his substack, so I’ll just tag along with him and we’ll get the benefit of his beautiful mind.

5/25/2026 Russell Banks: Blue from the Barcelona Review. Ventana is a 47-year old Black divorcee who has been meticulously saving up money for her own car for years. Today is the day she’s planned for, but it all goes terribly wrong in a stunning Russell Banks way. The story builds slowly, one mis-step after another. A good place to explore building tension through a narrative that leads to an outcome no one wants.

6/8/2026 Keri Miller: Ma Barker Floats Across Lake Weir. Yes, that Ma Barker. Miller has taken the Ma Barker we know as the ruthless “most vicious criminal mind of her generation” and not desensitized her, not at all. Instead she locks into her house while the neighborhood is being raised for gentrification and sails her away. We are in her mind – it’s an interesting way to deal with a folk heroine, instead of working against the myth she creates a believable fiction, a moment in her life. An interesting take on reimagining a contemporary myth. Do not confuse her with Kari Miller.

6/22/2026 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: In The Grove. When we think of Rashōmon, we think of the wondrous Akira Kurosawa film. It was based on a real short story, which in turn was based on an ancient myth – written by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, who, almost a hundred years after his death by suicide, still evokes adoration (Japan’s greatest literary prize is named after Akutagawa). He wrote a tale called Rashǒmon, but it was his much more complicated story called In The Grove that was the basis for the film. There is so much to unpack here; telling a story without a plot turns it into an un-story meant to convey human emotions – a revolutionary idea then.  How does it work?

Workshop leader Riki Moss