Led by Swan Huntley, the author of the novels Getting Clean With Stevie Green (Simon & Schuster), The Goddesses (Penguin Random House), We Could Be Beautiful (Penguin Random House), and I Want You More (2024). She is also the writer and illustrator of the journal-style mini-tomes The Bad Mood Book (Penguin Random House) and You’re Grounded (2024). Swan earned an MFA at Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo, where she was the 2019 recipient of The LeSage-Fullilove Residency. She lives in Los Angeles.

Who Should Apply:
 
Anyone at any stage of the novel writing process should apply. Maybe you have an entire draft and you feel you need to make it better. Maybe you have a novel in your head and you want to start putting it into words. Maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t really matter. If you feel you can dedicate yourself to this process for 3 months, then I’d love to meet you.
 
How It Works:
 
After you get accepted, we’ll have a conversation about where you are in your novel writing process, and we’ll make a plan for how to move forward. If you don’t have some sort of outline, I will suggest that you make one. I will give you deadlines for your work. You’ll be turning in pages every 2 weeks. I will read your pages and we will have a conversation on the phone to make sure you feel clear about what your next steps should be.
 
During our 3 months together, I’ll be available to you via email to talk about your progress. I may also suggest readings if that seems appropriate, and I’m happy to answer questions about my experience publishing books.

Click HERE to Apply Now.

In bullet points, here’s what you’ll get:

• An initial consult on the phone or on Zoom to discuss your specific needs
• An outline of your novel
• A calendar of deadlines
• Bi-weekly calls to discuss your work
• My email address, which you can use as much as you want for 3 months
• A final plan for how you’re going to move forward when the class ends
• Info on publishing books

I will:

• Meet deadlines
• Answer your emails without delay
• Be a compassionate and useful reader

You will:

• Not take this too seriously but be very serious about deadlines
• Be willing to dedicate yourself to your novel for 3 months
• Be open to a new experience

Click HERE to Apply Now.

Praise for Swan:

“Huntley is adept at deploying Catherine’s good fortune as a fulcrum of suspense… Huntley deftly establishes Catherine’s tendency to rationalize and repress… Lively… Huntley writes with wit and verve, excelling at economically hilarious descriptions… The book’s strengths lie… in the zippy social satire, in the portrait of a dysfunctional family (Catherine’s relationship with her sister turns out to be especially affecting) and, most of all, in Catherine’s voice–strange and funny and engaging to the very end.” 
—Jennifer DuBois, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Here’s a thriller we can sink into. Deeply psychological and nuanced, Huntley’s We Could Be Beautiful follows one wealthy Manhattan woman who has nearly everything. The one thing she lacks, however, is a relationship. That is, until her white knight comes along one evening. But it never quite works out that way, does it? (Not in a book like this, certainly.) Huntley’s novel is a twisting, turning, secret-filled story that’s worthy of your precious summer reading time.”
—Meredith Turits, Elle
 
“A novel that is deeper than its heiress-meets-man-of-her-dreams setup. The reason: Huntley’s uncanny ability to detect the fault lines in Manhattan’s glitterati as if flaws in a precious diamond—and make us laugh about them.”
—O Magazine
 
“A riveting psychological thriller, Huntley’s debut takes you inside the world of Manhattan’s elite—and keeps you on tenterhooks.”
—People, “Book of the Week”
 
“A sparkling dark romance… Huntley strings you blissfully along (like a great con man)…right up until that epic twist.”
—Redbook
 
“Quite the psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge wondering how far Catherine will go and how much she’ll sacrifice for the truth… Brilliantly exposes the life of an affluent family and what greed, lies and wealth can do to them.”
—Amanda Douville, New York Daily News
 
* “Posh Manhattanite Catherine West has everything but the family she’s always wanted. But when she falls for the man of her supposed dreams, she unravels a web of deception that upends life as she knows it… Mesmerizing… As elegantly plotted as it is—and it is—Huntley’s debut stands out not for its thrills but rather for her hawkish eye for social detail and razor-sharp wit. It is more than a classic psychological thriller: it is also a haunting—and weirdly moving—portrait of love and family among Manhattan’s flailing upper crust. An intoxicating escape; as smart as it is fun.”
—Kirkus (STARRED REVIEW)

Click HERE to Apply Now.