Wednesday evenings, 6.45pm-9.15pm; dates October 30, (no class November 6), November 13, 20, 27, December 4, 11; cost £99; venue Collage Writing Room, Wood Green Works, 40 Cumberland Road London N22 7SG. Click for details of courses. To book, email kate@collage-arts.org

The short story – liberating to get down, exacting to get right! Over six intensive sessions, we’ll explore the art and craft of the form. In doing so, we’ll look rigorously at your own stories, alongside a diverse range by other writers. From the traditional to the experimental, from character-based to thematically driven, from stories that expand a moment to those that cover a lifetime, we’ll discuss what works, how it works and why it works. Come along if you’d like to be inspired, motivated and challenged in your practice. All levels welcome.

Kiare’s short story ‘Van Rensburg’s Card’ was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2018. She has a Creative Writing PhD, which focused on short fiction (stories and novellas) while exploring Italo Calvino’s concept of lightness. Before this, she did a Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia for which she was given the David Higham Literary Agency Bursary Award. Her short stories have been shortlisted or received honourable mentions in competitions including the Bridport Prize, the Short Fiction Competition, the Short Sharp Stories Award, storySouth Million Writers Award and Glimmer Train. Kiare Ladner’s debut novel Nightshift will be published by Picador in autumn 2019.