Great writing doesn’t begin with form—it begins with obsession. Two novelists offer an inspiring guide to transforming that obsession, using whatever genre fits best.

Writers don’t need formulas; they need encouragement to take risks. The Lab offers a bold, hands-on approach, urging writers to embrace uncertainty, experiment with form, and investigate what haunts them.

The Lab features ten chapters and ninety exercises challenging writers to play with fiction, memoir, and poetry—or push toward hybrid or entirely new forms.

This is a book for those ready to dig deep and write fearlessly.

About the Authors: 

Matthew Clark Davison is the author of Doubting Thomas and founder of The Lab, a generative writing workshop. He is emeritus faculty in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, and lives in Oakland, California with his husband.

Alice LaPlante is the author of the craft book The Making of a Story and the New York Times best-selling novel Turn of Mind. She has taught creative writing at Stanford and San Francisco State University and lives in Mallorca, Spain, with her family.

About the Program: 

• To attend in person please register here. 
• Doors will open to registered attendees at 6 pm. 
• A local bookseller will be on-site and have books available for purchase.
• Free parking vouchers are available to program attendees who park at the Franklin Street Garage (15 W. Franklin Street) after 4pm.  Ask Pratt event staff for your parking voucher prior to or after the program. 
• This free event will be presented in-person and virtually.