Jonathan Evison

Jonathan Evison is an award-winning full-time novelist and New York Times bestseller. He has published nine novels: All About Lulu; West of Here; The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving; This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!; Lawn Boy; Legends of the North Cascades; Small World; Again and Again; and The Heart of Winter. His tenth novel, Wednesday Night Lights, is forthcoming from Happer Collins. 

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"In this workshop, be prepared to set aside such aspirational ideals as inspiration. We will concentrate on the real key to writing a successful novel: the work. Think of this course as novel bootcamp. Here, along with craft, we will develop fortitude and discipline. We will demystify the art of novel-writing, roll up our sleeves and work our butts off, no excuses. We’re going to make time for our stories if they come out of our sleep. We’re going to hold one another accountable, but more importantly, hold ourselves accountable. Our objective for this twelve-month intensive is to get our novels as close to completion as possible. In doing so, we will hone our craft, distill our narrative and thematic vision for the work, develop wholly realized characters with fully developed dramatic arcs, ever aware of conflict, stakes, rhetorical persuasion, thematic cohesion, and all the elements of drama that make a novel sing. We will workshop our novels in an environment that is both respectful and demanding. Our goal is not merely to occupy the cultural space afforded the writer, but to become great writers, to push ourselves ever toward further growth and understanding as artists.”

The workshop begins in person in July 2027 (July 11 – 17, 2027) during a 7-day fall retreat at Fort Worden State Park on the Olympic Peninsula and shores of the Salish Sea.   

Following that weeklong session, we will submit monthly packets and meet online twice a month for a year. Over the course of the year, participants will workshop progress on novel drafts. We will audit our process, our approach, our themes, and advance our plots and characters toward complete drafts.   

After a year of working together, the workshop will culminate in another weeklong retreat in July 2028 (tentatively July 30 – August 5, 2028), where we will finalize discussions of our drafts and talk about what happens to them upon completion. 

Please note the following dates, including when to apply for consideration for the workshop:  

Applications accepted online January 4 – March 31, 2027. Applicants are notified of acceptance by April 15, 2027.  

In person retreat at the 2027 Port Townsend Writers Conference at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA. July 11-17, 2027.  

Online workshop meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month, August 2027 through July 2028.   

In person retreat at the 2028 Port Townsend Writers Conference at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA. Tentatively July 30 – August 4, 2028. 

Additional meetings online with guest authors, editors and agents, organized throughout the yearlong program (TBA). 

$7,750 total, which can be paid in 12 installments or all at once (see below). 

$550 deposit due at time of application, fully refundable if not admitted to the workshop.  

10% discount for paying full tuition before the first in-person workshop meeting at the 2027 summer retreat, July 11-17, 2027, which amounts to a one-time payment of $6,450 ($7,000 - $550 deposit); or 

12 monthly installments of $600 in addition to the 1 deposit at the time of application ($7,750 - $550 deposit = $7,200/12 installments = $600/month) on the first of the month from July 2027 – July 2028.  

For accepted applicants, tuition includes: 

12 months of instruction led by award-winning and bestselling novelist Jonathan Evison. 

2 weeks of in person, concentrated work during retreats at the 2027 Port Townsend Writers Conference (July 11-17, 2027) and 2028 Port Townsend Writers Conference (tentatively July 30 – August 5, 2028) at Fort Worden State Park, located on the inspiring shores of the Salish Sea on the Olympic Peninsula (travel, meals, and lodging not included). 

Access to afternoon workshops, craft lectures, and readings by Centrum’s award-winning faculty of writers at the 2027 and 2028 Port Townsend Writers Conference. 

2 online sessions a month for 12 months, for a total of 22 online sessions focused on feedback and advancing your novel. 

Access to Zoom and cloud-based file sharing services. Participants will not need a professional Zoom, OneDrive, or Google Drive account. Centrum will facilitate services needed to meet and share writing online.  

Dynamic discussions about drafting novels (organization, character, plot development, reader expectations) and living a writing life (workflow, rhythm, and habit). 

Support from Jonathan Evison, including building a culture of community and confidence, as well as emails and discussions as he mentors you and your peers through drafting novels and living a writing life.  

Consistent writing schedule, submitting monthly packets as you make progress toward the draft of your novel. 

Personalized feedback from your peers and Jonathan Evison on the first 5-7 pages of every packet you submit.  

Connections with a workshop and community of writers dedicating themselves to learning about and writing or re-envisioning a novel. 

Guest appearances and discussions with award-winning novelists and bestsellers including Kristin Hannah, Stewart O'Nan, Jami Attendburg, Will Vlautin, and Lidia Yuknovitch; as well as discussions with developmental editor Jim Thomsen, along with a prominent literary agent (TBD). 

For accepted applicants, tuition does not include:  

Travel, lodging, and meals to and from Fort Worden State Park for in-person retreats at the 2027 Port Townsend Writers Conference (July 11-17, 2027) and 2028 Port Townsend Writers Conference (tentatively July 30 – August 5, 2028).  

Postage, printing, internet or word processing software and cell phone expenses throughout the 12-month course of the workshop. 

Technical support to operate your own personal computer. Participants should be familiar with electronic file storage and how to use Zoom/videoconferencing programs, email, and Microsoft Office/electronic word processing programs on their own devices.