Belong to the
Academy.
Three ways in. Start free and keep what you are given; step up when you want to be taught. Membership is ongoing professional education — the Core curriculum, live sessions, critique circles, and a community that keeps you writing.
No card. No expiry.
- The New Foundations in Storytelling — the Dean’s book, yours on joining
- The Academy community
- Open writing sprints, moderated weekly
- One open lecture each term — a full class from the Core, taught live
- First word on new articles, episodes and sprints
or $99 monthly
- The full twelve-course Core curriculum
- Weekly live sessions and moderated writing sprints
- Critique circles matched by genre
- The Dean’s List — a bi-weekly Q&A with the Dean himself
- Academy Partner Perks and the resource library
or $199 monthly
- Everything in Annual, plus —
- Every elective included: all Genre Studies and Masterclasses
- All specialty curricula — screenplay, novella, anthology and publisher
- Instructor forums with direct faculty access
- Priority admission to the cohorts
The full program · by application
- Twelve seats, admitted by application — never more
- A faculty mentor beside you all year
- A developmental edit and a full-manuscript copy edit
- A story in the Academy Anthology, published by your class
- Capstone week in Las Vegas — and the signing at Reader Nation
Annual and Professional both include the full Core. Scholarships available for veterans and educators — ask admissions.
Something arrives
in the post.
An online school does not have to be a screen and nothing else. Every paid membership — Annual, Professional and the Novelist Cohort — comes with a package posted to you.
- Your curriculum, printed — the courses ahead of you, in order
- A welcome note from the Dean, signed
- An enamel pin — the Academy mark, made to be worn
- A bumper sticker, for the people who want one and know who they are
- The resource list — vendors, tools and partner perks, on paper
Graduates of the Novelist Cohort are presented with their graduation certificate — in person, at the Capstone in Las Vegas.
The ideas are open.
The instruction is the school.
We do not lock the thinking behind a paywall. Every essay and every episode is free to anyone who wants it, forever — that is how you judge whether we are worth studying under. What you pay for is being taught: the courses, the live rooms, the critique, and the Dean’s attention.
Open to anyone
- The Journal — every essay
- The Podcast — every episode
- The newsletter
- The full curriculum, described in the open
No account. No email required.
Free with an Associate account
- The New Foundations in Storytelling
- The Academy community
- Open writing sprints
- One open lecture each term
An email address, nothing more.
What membership adds
- The twelve-course Core, taught and examined
- Weekly live sessions with working authors
- Moderated critique circles
- The Dean’s List
The teaching itself.
Progression you can wear.
Four ranks mark a storyteller’s development — earned through coursework, examination, and finished work. Academic honors and guild achievement, never gamification.
Apprentice Storyteller
Completes Term I of the Core and its examinations. The craft’s first vows.
Journeyman Storyteller
Completes Term II and the Capstone — an examined work to their name.
Professional Storyteller
A published, examined body of work. The identity our students earn.
Master Storyteller
Advanced work, a mentored capstone, and the examination board. Few hold it.
The rhythm of
a working writer.
Course Release
New material opens in the current Core course.
Writing Sprints
Moderated sessions, morning and evening.
Instructor Forums
Bring pages. Faculty are present and paid to be.
Critique Circles
Peer workshops, moderated and matched.
Live Session
The week’s course session with open Q&A.
The Dean’s List
A bi-weekly Q&A with the Dean himself. Bring the hard question.
Doors open April 2027.
The founding Spring Term admits by application from the waitlist. Join it and you will hear from the Dean directly when the window opens.