Saturday, Oct. 12
4:00-6:00pm CST

Sometimes a story is following one character, but then we encounter another narrative, following a completely different story, embedded in the frame of the first story. Why might a writer do this?

In this workshop, participants will look at two short stories, one by Robert Bolaño and one by Haruki Murakami, in which the main narrative is interrupted or usurped by another narrative, such as a book within the story. They’ll discuss how multiple embedded narratives within a text may or may not relate to one another, and what the effect may be of "doubling" or "tripling" narratives alongside one another on the reading experience. They will conclude with generative writing prompts inspired by the readings.

Cleo Qian is a queer writer from California. She is the author of LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO (Tin House, 2023), a short story collection which was a TIME Best Book of 2023 and longlisted for multiple prizes including the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence for Fiction. Her writing has been published in over twenty outlets including The Sun, ZYZZYVA, The Massachusetts Review, Shenandoah, Pleiades, and The long read at the Guardian, and was a winner of the 2022 Zoetrope Short Fiction Contest.

To register for “Parallel Infinites,” donate to Hamza (suggested donation $60USD / 55EUR, please donate more if you can!) then fill out the registration form.