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"Richard Bausch's community workshop quite literally changed the course of my life.
I studied writing as an undergrad at USC, but after five years of post-grad struggle
to hold several day jobs while writing novels on the side, I was ready to throw in
the metaphorical towel. When I saw that Chapman was offering a free workshop, I applied
without any real hope of getting chosen. After that, I enrolled in a postbac program
with plans to go to medical school.
But then Richard called.
The semester I spent at Chapman in the community workshop was one of the busiest of
my life. I had two jobs, was taking chemistry and physics at a college, and was still
trying to write every day. If it weren't for Richard's mentorship and priceless creative
wisdom, then I would have put my passions aside in the name of so-called pragmatism.
But what could be more pragmatic than working from and with your passion? What good
has ever come from giving up? I chose not to enroll in science classes for the next
semester, realizing that I was a writer and could not wholeheartedly pursue anything
else.
Working with Richard is unlike any other workshop experience. He doesn't try to change
writers; he helps them to grow organically into their own voices. After the workshop.
I was awarded a fellowship to attend Chapman's MFA program in Creative Writing, and
now I pursue writing very nearly full-time. As I said, the course of my life has changed
irrevocably and for the better because I sent in that application."
-Jenny Howard
"When sitting in a room with Richard, you often forget that you are in the presence
of one of America's most accomplished and award winning story tellers. His humility
and kindness win out, and he makes you feel as if you are a colleague and not a student.
However, his genius not only in the craft, but also in its instruction are never far
away. I have not worked, or laughed as hard in any other workshop. I have made a number
of dear and lifelong friends, chief among them is Richard himself."
-Joshua Prichard
"Mr. Bausch and the group helped me with two pieces of work, a travel essay and a
short story. Based on the workshop feedback regarding tonality and the through-line
of the piece, I split the travel essay into two separate pieces and sold them both
for publication. The short story, revised according to comments of the group and Mr.
Bausch, has received interest from a publisher and is in its final stages of completion.
I have not been to many other workshops, but this one stood apart for its emphasis
on a free flowing discussion in a safe environment. Having this kind of camaraderie
and a forum for sharing our work with smart, accomplished writers makes all the difference
in the world."
-Richard A. Smith
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- Submissions may be from 1-15 pages.
- Submissions must be prose fiction or creative nonfiction.
- Submissions need not be completed stories, but should represent what you consider
to be a good sample of your best writing.
- Manuscripts should be submitted as Microsoft Word documents.
- All submissions must include all of the following: the writer's name, mailing address,
phone number and email address.
- Submit manuscripts here.
Applicants should live within driving distance of Chapman University (OC, LA, Riverside,
San Diego, etc.)
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An acknowledged master of both the novel and short-story form, Richard Bausch has
seen his work published in Esquire, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, GQ, and The Southern Review, among many others, and anthologized in New Stories from the South, The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories, The Pushcart Prize Stories, The Vintage Book of the Contemporary American Short Story, The Granta Book of the American Short Story and more.
He is the author of 11 novels and eight collections of stories, including the novels
Rebel Powers, Violence, The Night Season, Hello to the Cannibals, Thanksgiving Night and Peace, and the story collections The Selected Stories of Richard Bausch, Spirits, The Fireman’s Wife, Wives and Lovers and Something Is Out There. His novel The Last Good Time was made into a feature-length motion picture in 1995, directed by Bob Balaban and
starring Armin Meuhler-Stahl and Maureen Stapleton. Bausch has won two National Magazine
Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Fund Writer’s Award,
the Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the PEN/Malamud Award for
Excellence in the Short Story. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers,
and since 2002 has been the sole editor of the prestigious Norton Anthology of Short Fiction.
Prior to joining the Chapman faculty, Bausch taught creative writing on the faculties
of George Mason University and the University of Memphis, where he also launched highly
successful versions of his free Creative Writing Workshop.
