Writing Workshops

Percival Everett’s American Fiction with Ricky Tucker

$745

12 sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Wednesdays, 6:00 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT July 2 to September 24, 2025

The Center for Fiction

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Percival Everett’s vast catalogue is a deep investigation into American life and a meta meditation on the art of writing. In this generative beginner and intermediate workshop, we will closely read and become scholars of Everett’s vast repertoire, demystifying his very cerebral process and using it as a launch pad for creating our own compelling fiction. Our mission: interrogate the literary canon—and dare to reinvent it.

Course Outline:

Week 1: Getting the Big Picture
- What are the moving parts of compelling fiction, starting with constructing short stories? How do setting, phrasing, and negative space in storytelling better transmit pertinent information? And finally, who is Percival Everett? Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 2: An Erasure of What We Think We Know
- A hard look at the utility and impact of first-person narrative, and the writer as protagonist. How does the narrator define themselves? Are they credible? Are they likeable? Should that matter? Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 3: Satire, Metafiction, and “My Pafology”
- Mirroring and exploding the culture and collective unconscious that pervades us. Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 4: The Erasure of American Fiction
- Comparing and contrasting Everett’s heralded book vs. its acclaimed film. Was anything lost—anything gained? Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 5: Grand Canyon, Inc., a Startup
- Writing capitalism, colonialism, absurdity, and other American exports. Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 6: Not for the Trees
- How does one write blind spots? We’ll study procedurals, specifically those looking into the many crimes of a nation’s past. Plus, a relevant writing prompt.
Week 7: Life and Loss in a Long Game of Telephone
- Perfectly marrying style and content. Plus, a final, relevant writing prompt and the rules for workshopping your story.
Week 8: Twain & Everett, Finn & James
- Turning canonical matter on its head, and looking into the phenomena of banned books. Plus, writing workshops.
Week 9: Damned If I Do…
- The art and satisfaction of diversifying story collections and your personal repertoire. Plus, writing workshops.
Week 10: Finishing the Book of James
- A reflection, plus writing workshops.
Week 11: In A Frenzy
- Taking on mythologies and writing for the Gods. Plus, writing workshops.
Week 12: Future Forward
- Defining your writerly self and finding your readerly audience.

Level: Introductory/Intermediate

This course will be held in person at The Center for Fiction. Please note that this course will not meet on August 20th.

Upcoming Reading Group: Dive deeper into Percival Everett’s oeuvre in our summer reading and discussion group led by Zack Graham. Register today.

Led by

Ricky Tucker

Ricky Tucker

Ricky Tucker is a passionate writer, editor, art critic, and educator whose work uplifts and amplifies the voices and narratives of myriad communities. He is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestselling book And the Category Is… Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community, and been featured in the Paris Review, Vogue, Time, New York magazine, among others. Tucker teaches creative writing at The New School and Pratt Institute. Tucker is currently working on the 331/3 book on Mary J. Blige’s What’s the 411, and his second essay collection, But They Did That On Television: Queer Dispatches from the Late 20th Century.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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