We make a promise both to you and our faculty that we will not accept your hard-earned tuition money unless your writing is at least approaching professional level. Our faculty love Futurescapes because they know that the writing will be of an exceptionally high caliber. They don’t do Futurescapes just for the fun of it, they want make connections, too, and find potential clients.

Acceptance rates vary by workshop, but generally Futurescapes is as competitive as admissions to many top tier graduate programs. The Fall workshop has a lower student cap and is likely to be more competitive than most.

We prefer you make your tuition payment within two weeks. We also participate in the PayPal Pay-in-Four (or Pay-in-Three) program that allows you to pay in installments over a longer period of time.

You’ll be placed into a small cohort of participants and rotate through three workshop sessions—each led by a different member of our incredible faculty.

Normally, our third session is a synopsis session, but in our tenth year, we’re having a second faculty member review your full manuscript!

Here’s how it works:

• Faculty 1 (Primary Mentor): Will read and workshop your 6,000-word excerpt

• Faculty 2: Will read and workshop your query letter

• Faculty 3: Will also read and discuss your excerpt

Your cohort peers will also read your excerpt and query, and you’ll be expected to read and provide feedback on theirs as well. You’ll receive and give editorial letters as part of your session prep, fostering a deeper, more collaborative critique experience.

This format allows you to get multiple professional perspectives on your work while also building lasting connections with your writing peers.

We’re looking for a few things:

1. Mastery of the fundamental mechanics of writing.

2. Compelling plot, characters, dialogue, and world.

3. Evidence of at least one standout attribute (e.g., sharp dialogue, great humor, impressive world building, etc.)

You will need to submit your up to 5,000 word excerpt and query letter by August 10, 2025.

Workshop sessions will take place in either the morning (9:30 AM EST) or evening (5:30 PM EST), and you’ll be placed in one of those time slots for the duration of the workshop. We try to accommodate a range of time zones when assigning groups.

In addition to your small group sessions, the workshop includes several general sessions open to all participants, such as:

• A Welcome Session

• A Faculty Q&A

• A Live Class

• A Keynote Address

• A Closing Ceremony

• Optional social and networking opportunities

We do our best to schedule the general sessions so that they’re accessible to everyone—typically in the evening on the first day and between the morning and evening sessions on the last day.

A full schedule will be provided ahead of the workshop so you can plan accordingly!

Each participant is expected to prepare a 1–2 page editorial letter for every member of their cohort, based on their excerpt and query.

Your letter doesn’t need to be overly formal—it should reflect your genuine reader response. Think of it less as line editing and more as a thoughtful reaction to the story. Some helpful questions to guide your letter:

• What did you feel while reading?

• What pulled you in—and where did your attention drift?

• What were you hoping would happen next?

• What confused you or felt inconsistent?

• What did you love or want more of?

This letter is your opportunity to help fellow writers grow while sharpening your own editorial eye—a vital skill for revision and career longevity.

Before the workshop, make time to read each submission carefully and write your letters. Bringing printed copies with you is recommended, but we'll also provide submission packets in case you need to re-reference anything on-site.