PAGE ONE
a six-week Environmental Storytelling Studio (virtual)
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS BEGINS MARCH 1, 2026
Below is only a BRIEF summary. At the end of the summary, you can click on the link for many more details about this Studio and contact information should you have questions, but many of your questions may be answered in the detailed link.
PAGE ONE is a writing Studio focused on crafting one page (the first page) of your text. Why? The first page is the opportune moment to engage your reader because they are fresh, unencumbered by bias, boredom, knowledge, or preconception. Page one is also the best place to establish:
*** WHAT you intend write (big and small ideas and themes, topics);
*** HOW you are writing it (voice, style, approach, POV, language);
*** WHY it’s important (to readers, to you, to an editor or sales team, the world);
*** WHY you are the best writer for this project (platform, expertise, life experience, connection to topics).
Timeline
We will meet once a week for 6 weeks beginning Monday June 2, 2026 from 9 am EST to 9-12 Eastern Standard Time, until July 7th.
Cost
$800 USD
Goals
This Studio will help improve your articulation and execution of the components of narrative nonfiction, provide a deeper understanding of how stories are built; explore ways to make your scholarship more legible, accessible and thereby more useful to a wider population; and activate your memory and imagination while staying true to facts. This Studio can also help you build a writing practice, learn more about trade publishing, build your non-academic writing confidence, and hopefully, introduce you to others so that you can begin to build your own writing community.
Process
Together, will study the art and mechanics of literary narratives and explore the promise and perils of environmental storytelling, mainly through writing exercises, large group discussions, small group chats, one-on-one mentoring, and close readings of literature. We will focus on narratives that enrich the imagination, are layered and complex, and expand the possibilities of environmental storytelling. Readings and writing assignments will be 1-2 pages, so the lift is light! Writing is more than a solitary practice: it is social in sensibility and execution, so you will be expected to contribute to our discussions about writing and the writing process and be ready to talk about (and do) the in-class or at-home assignments. Another TESS collaborator may join us to discuss their approach to environmental storytelling.
April 15, 2026 Submissions due (2 pages of text only; no other requirements)
April 30, 2026 Decisions made (by a committee of two)
May 30, 2026 Payment due (payment plans welcome)
June 2, 2026 Studio begins (online)
July 7, 2026 Studio ends and one-on-one meetings begin
TESS 2023
-
Day one.
BEGINNINGS. What are we writing about? What are We REALLY writing about and who are we writing for? What is the difference between tone and voice or between structure and plot? And how do you get started, or where do you start, then how do you keep your reader moving to page two?
-
Day two.
CHARACTERS: How do we write about living beings? What is a character? Is it a person, an animal, or can it be something else, like a virus? Are you a character in your own story? What tools—interviews, archives, experience, etc.—can we employ to animate our characters?
-
Day three.
MIDDLES: We get to the meat of the work and talk about place. Are there places that are key to your narrative or argument, mood, or context? Is the place a character? What is a scene, and where does it happen? How does place configure into the larger thing you have come here to say?
-
Day four.
THINGS: How do you bring entities beyond the living into your narrative—from processes like erosion or an element like copper? How do you express technical information within a narrative, and make it compelling to readers? How can you write about abstract concepts so they are accessible and interesting to more than just experts in the field?
-
Day five.
ENDINGS: How do you know when to end your story? Today we talk about endings, and what comes after them—including guest talks from publishers, editors, & agents.
-
Throughout the week.
There will be plenty of assigned readings and at-home and in-class writing exercises, as well as visits from guest speakers, non-required online or in-person literary events, and small group discussions about each other’s work or specialized topics.