How to Become a Cultural Critic

Writers need bylines, but short stories can take weeks, months, or years to write — and even longer to get published. The fastest way to build bylines is by writing freelance cultural criticism, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier to write: criticism is literature, after all.

Whether you want to write about books, movies, TV, music, comedy, or theatre, this single-session StoryStudio class with Adam Morgan will teach you how to establish your platform as a cultural critic with a unique voice. You’ll learn how to find the right publications, how to pitch the right editors, how to optimize your web presence, and how to deliver clean, clear, compelling stories.

Becoming a Cultural Critic
Saturday, March 30
10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Click here to register

This class will include a career brainstorming exercise, a publication overview for freelancers, a pitch tutorial, a craft discussion on style, structure, and voice, and a Q&A. Students are encouraged to bring a notebook and a pen.

Adam Morgan is the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Review of Books, a digital media publication devoted to literature and culture. He writes about place, books, and culture for The Paris Review, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Chicago magazine, Literary Hub, Poets & Writers, The Guardian, The AV Club, Longreads, and elsewhere. He splits his time between Chicago and Charlotte.