NVL 54 — Novel Club: A Guided Writing Group
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Ammi Keller
Date(s): Jan 6—Mar 10
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1040
Refund Deadline: Jan 8
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Begin, develop, or complete your novel this year with a committed mentor and dedicated peers. We'll meet weekly to learn the craft of novel writing, starting with the fundamentals of character, structure, setting, plot, and point of view and building toward techniques for interior thought, fictional time, and dialogue from the inside out. For accountability, this course provides deadlines and breakout groups. Targeted, actionable feedback will keep manuscripts progressing. Novel excerpts will be submitted in advance. While everyone is expected to read each piece closely and come prepared for a thoughtful discussion, no written critiques are required. The instructor will provide detailed written feedback and hold one-on-one conferences with each student. Share the joys and challenges of the writing life. Show up for the work—and for one another.
This is the second course in our Novel Club series. The first course was offered in Fall 2026, and the third course will be offered in Spring 2027. Completing each course guarantees priority registration in the following quarter. Each course can be taken independently as well.
AMMI KELLER
Novel Writing Certificate Instructor, Stanford Continuing Studies
Ammi Keller’s teaching focuses on the intersection of mindfulness and creative writing. Her short stories have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Common, Revel, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and elsewhere. She has edited fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for Soft Skull Press and has received residencies from the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Keller was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.