Novel Incubator: A Year-Long Intensive with Omer Friedlander

Begins Thursday, September 3, 2026

Classes will meet weekly via Zoom on Thursdays, 6:30 PM EST

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Instructor Bio

Instructor Omer Friedlander is the author of the short story collection The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land, winner of the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award and a finalist for the Wingate Prize. The book was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize, chosen as an American Library Association Sophie Brody Medal Honor Book for outstanding achievement in Jewish Literature, and longlisted for the Story Prize. Omer has a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and an MFA from Boston University, where he was supported by the Saul Bellow Fellowship. He was a Starworks Fellow in Fiction at New York University. His collection has been translated into several languages, including Turkish, Dutch, Italian, Slovak, Czech, and Romanian. His writing has been supported by the Bread Loaf Fellowship and Vermont Studio Center Fellowship. He currently lives in New York City and teaches creative writing at Columbia University. His forthcoming novel, The House in Talbiya, will be published by Random House in Spring 2027.

Who is this year-long program for?

This program is for fiction writers who are serious about completing a full draft of a novel ready for publication. Whether you're working on a first draft and feeling stuck or you've already drafted a manuscript and are hoping to shape it into a finished work, this year-long novel writing workshop welcomes writers at all levels.

This workshop is designed for writers who are:

• Serious about making substantial progress on your novel 

• Able to commit 10-15 hours per week to their project

• Ready with a draft that they’re ready to revise 

• Open to learning and collaborative feedback

• Eager to contribute to an encouraging writing community

What to expect:

This competitive, year-long online writing class is your opportunity to finally finish your novel. During this 12-month intensive fiction workshop, you will focus on all aspects of novel writing, from drafting to revision, and finally publication. The goal is for you to complete—or be well on your way to completing—a full draft of your novel or short story collection.

This one-of-a-kind creative writing course will be tailored to your specific needs. If you've started a novel recently or have a detailed idea for one and need the time and focus to get the words down, this workshop will provide the space for that. If you have been writing your novel for years but feel "stuck," the class will help you identify what is making you feel stuck and help you break through. If you feel you made a wrong turn somewhere along the way but can't figure out exactly where—a point in novel-writing that almost all novelists encounter—we'll help you retrace your steps and find your direction.

The class combines a rigorous and intimate workshop with generative writing prompts tailored to your individual project, close reading of short stories and novel extracts by masters of the craft, and advice about the best writing habits and routines to support a long-term project. 

You will also explore publishing and the literary marketplace, agent querying, and submitting to literary magazines. 

Omer Friedlander published his debut story collection with Random House at the age of 27, and this class draws on his own experience writing and publishing his books, as well as his years of teaching creative writing at NYU, Columbia, Boston University, 92NY, and the Center for Fiction.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will generate a full-length novel draft. 

Each participant will receive robust and detailed feedback on 25 pages of their novel at least four times over the course of the year. This includes extensive line edits as well as a 2-3 page feedback letter. 

Participants will also have the opportunity for 20-minute live-edits—a close-reading and revision of a passage of their work on the sentence level—as well as four 30-minute one-on-one meetings with the instructor and a personalized Revision Plan including reading suggestions, tips, and ideas for revising your work.

Testimonials: 

Thank you so much for your comments and edits. I am so grateful for the care and time you take, not only in reading and critiquing my work, but in preparing material for each workshop. Wednesday evenings have become the highlight of my week, and I hope you know that your effort is deeply appreciated. --- Former Student

Hi Omer, thank you so much for your terrific and very detailed comments and letter! I really appreciate the insight and thought you put into this, and it already has me thinking through what revisions I want to make. Also, I just want to mention that I am really enjoying this class! You have managed to create an atmosphere of ease and trust with great discussions and where critiques can be smart and insightful without being scary! It’s great. ---- Former Student

Thank you, Omer! This is incredibly helpful feedback, I really appreciate it. Thanks for holding a great workshop. --- Former Student

Readings:

Readings may include excerpts from: "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri, "Crazy They Call Me" by Zadie Smith, "Mastiff" by Joyce Carol Oates, "The Other One" by Tessa Hadley, "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro, "Edgemont Drive" by E.L. Doctorow, Foster by Claire Keegan, "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease" by Jonathan Safran Foer, "Found Objects" by Jennifer Egan, "Unzipping" by Etgar Keret, "Axolotl" by Julio Cortázar, "Wednesday's Child" by Yiyun Li, The Death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy, "Your Duck is my Duck" by Deborah Eisenberg, "Career Move" by Martin Amis, Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín, and A Feather on the Breath of God by Sigrid Nunez.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Openings and Beginnings 

Week 2: Point of View 

Week 3: Character 

Week 4: Setting and Place 

Week 5: Narrative Urgency 

Week 6: Detail and Description 

Week 7: Story Structure 

Week 8: Narrative and Time 

Week 9: Dialogue 

Week 10: Narrative and Time 

Week 11: Action and Movement 

Week 12: Revision (Part 1) 

Week 13: Revision (Part 2) 

Week 14: Interiority 

Week 15: Using Objects in Fiction 

Week 16: Voice 

Week 17: Generative Prompts 

Week 18: Building a Writing Habit 

Week 19: Close-Reading for Writers 

Week 20: Conflict and Tension 

Week 21: Sound and Rhythm 

Week 22: The Hero's Journey 

Week 23: Storytelling and Humor 

Week 24: Inspiration, Getting Unstuck 

Week 25: The Business of Writing

(Additional weeks include case study sessions, live-edit workshops, and continued craft instruction through 40 weeks total.)

PROGRAM TAKEAWAYS:

• Receive robust and detailed feedback on 25 pages of your novel at least four times over the course of the year, including extensive line edits and a 2-3 page feedback letter

• Participate in 20-minute live-edits featuring close-reading and revision of a passage of your work on the sentence level

• Four 30-minute one-on-one meetings with the instructor

• A personalized Revision Plan from the instructor, including reading suggestions, tips, and ideas for revising your work

• Craft classes with extensive handouts on topics including Plot, Structure, Character, Narrative Time, Setting, Objects in Fiction, and more

• Traditional and experimental writing prompts that tap into other art forms—including paintings, sculptures, music, dance, and film—to help you get unstuck and fuel your writing

• A special class on Revision comparing different versions of work by writers such as Carver, Nabokov, and Joyce

• A deeper understanding of the literary marketplace, including submitting to literary magazines, querying a literary agent, and applying for residencies, fellowships, or MFA programs

Tuition Payment

Full tuition for the 12-month program is $7,200. You can pay the tuition in full, or payment plans of varying installments are available upon acceptance to the course. Accepted writers must commit to the full year and meet all assigned deadlines.

Additional Program Information

• Tuition is $7,200 USD

• Between 6-12 writers will be accepted

• Program starts September 3rd, 2026

• The program is fully online and students may participate from anywhere

• Meeting format: Zoom (Professional account provided by instructor)

• Level: Intermediate to Advanced fiction writers

• NOTE: Shifting some dates around may be necessary, but any changes will be communicated well in advance, if possible

FAQs:

Why not an MFA program?

This program combines the best aspects of an MFA program—community, mentorship, and intensive craft analysis—with specialized, practical publishing advice.

Why does this class cost so much?

The 12-month mentorship is an MFA-level course, taught by a published novelist who is also an experienced educator with years of creative writing teaching experience at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Your tuition helps pay your instructor a living wage, and covers the cost of booking guest speakers, arranging second readers, scheduling events, and administering the program.

Can I get a refund if I do not complete the program?

Once paid, your full tuition is nonrefundable. This is a selective program with limited spots. We are making a commitment to you for the full year and expect that you will do the same. For this reason, there are no refunds after your tuition has been paid.

I finished the program. When will I get published?

We can’t promise that every writer who leaves the 12-month manuscript generator will get published right away, or ever. Publishing is a tricky business, involving lots of luck and time—as students who enroll in this course will learn! That said, as writers ourselves, we strongly believe that we can help prepare emerging novelists to better navigate the publishing industry, and that our program and the connections made here will increase your chances of success.

In the course description, there are mentions of meetings with guest speakers. I want the details right now! Why can’t I have them?

People who work in publishing are busy, and we confirm guest speakers on a rolling basis, as their schedules permit.

I barely have an idea for a full-length book or collection. Is this class too advanced?

Maybe. How serious are you about the idea? If you just have an inkling, but you’re committed to coming in and focusing on that idea over the course of the year, this class might be the right fit for you. The key thing is that on the first day, you come ready to write. No one will write the pages of your collection for you, but this course can help you apply structure to your idea, and motivate you to finish the draft.

I have written several drafts of a novel, and I can’t seem to find an agent or figure out the next steps. Should I take this class? 

Absolutely. Sometimes, taking a novel to the next level requires cracking it open and figuring out how it works, and the insight of new readers can help that process along. This class will give you a new perspective on your work and offer concrete next steps for you and your novel.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Omer Friedlander

• Begins Thursday, September 3, 2026

• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Thursdays, 6:30 PM EST

• Tuition is $7,200 USD.

• Maximum enrollment: 12 writers