Milo Todd firmly believes in creating learning environments where queer and/or intersectionally marginalized students feel safe sharing their work, feedback, worries, and goals. The publishing world is a difficult place at the best of times, starting with the individual workshop experience, and he believes information and community support can break down gatekeeping and help queer writers succeed in their goals.
Milo’s classes are places where students will be treated with respect, and he welcomes individuals of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, races, genders, gender identities, gender expressions, national origins, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, abilities—and other visible and nonvisible differences. All students of his classes are expected to contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every other member of the class. Disrespectful language or behavior toward any of the above groups will not be tolerated and may result in removal from the remainder of the course without refund.
Upcoming Classes:
*FREE* Transcestors Series: Pirates of the 1600s Atlantic
Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 from 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
Virtual via Zoom
Free for The Queer Writer subscribers
Register for this session through my website.
How do modern-day portrayals of queer and trans pirates stack up to the real thing? Were there any pirates who we’d today define as trans? How did pirates view queer sexual orientations and gender presentations? What about other so-called political topics, such as slavery and disability? Take a look at queerness during The Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1730), centered around the Atlantic Ocean, with opportunity for Q&A. Note: This session includes mentions of queer/transphobia, racism/slavery, murder, sexual assault, misgendering/deadnaming, and appropriation.
Transcestors is a series of free 1-hour sessions focused on trans and queer (but mostly trans) history based on Milo Todd’s research for his historical fiction. Those interested must have any subscription tier of The Queer Writer, paid or free, and must use their subscriber email to register for sessions. For safety reasons, sessions will NOT be recorded. Donations are not expected, but the opportunity to donate will be available during sessions. A Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees ~15 minutes before a session starts.
*Sessions are open to all identities, but please know Transcestors centers trans and/or nonbinary attendees.
Writing Outside of Your Lane
Friday, June 21st, 2024 from 10:30am to 1:30pm ET
Virtual via Zoom | 12 seat maximum
$85, scholarships available
Register for this session at GrubStreet.
Over the past several years, the publishing world (and its readers) have thankfully demanded more diversity within stories. But as welcoming as this change is, it can leave many non-marginalized writers with anxiety. How are you supposed to go about it? What if you mess up? Are you allowed to write about marginalized people at all? This 3-hour course provides mainstream writers with the basics of how to write a marginalized character with which they don’t have a lived experience, breaking the process down into the bare bones of Self-Reflection, Research, Craft, Editing, and How to Handle Backlash. With pragmatic and clear-cut information—as well as the wisdom from such writers as Alexander Chee, Peter Ho Davies, and Stella Young—writers will leave this course with significantly more insight, awareness, and confidence to produce the most accurate and empathetic work they can.
*This class is open to all identities.
Past Classes:
Queer Writing Essentials (3 Hours)
March 2024
GrubStreet
How to Start a Newsletter (3 Hours)
January 2024
GrubStreet
The Age of AI: ChatGPT, Prosecraft, and Other Writer Concerns (3 Hours)
December 2023
GrubStreet
Sessions with the Editor: Foglifter Journal (3 Hours)
November 2023
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane: The Basics (3 Hours)
September 2023
GrubStreet
Queery-ing: Navigating Agents and Publishers While Queer (3 Hours)
August 2023
GrubStreet
Non-Toxic Masculinity in Fiction (3 Hours)
July 2023
GrubStreet
Novel Writing Workshop for Queer, Trans, and/or Nonbinary Writers (8 Weeks)
July 2023
GrubStreet
History Reclaimed: Facts and Fictions (3 Hours)
June 2023
GrubStreet
QueerNoWriMo (12 Weeks)
June 2023
Independent
Writing Group: Accountability Cafe for Queer, Trans, and/or Nonbinary Writers (6 Weeks)
May 2023
Independent
Writing Outside of Your Lane: The Basics (3 Hours)
April 2023
GrubStreet
Writing Messy Queer Characters (3 Hours)
April 2023
GrubStreet
Queer Writing Essentials (3 Hours)
April 2023
GrubStreet
Writing Group: Accountability Cafe for Queer, Trans, and/or Nonbinary Writers (6 Weeks)
March 2023
GrubStreet
Queery-ing: Navigating Agents and Publishers While Queer (3 Hours)
February 2023
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane: The Basics (3 Hours)
December 2022
GrubStreet
Queery-ing: Navigating Agents and Publishers While Queer (2 Hours)
December 2022
Independent
Effective Social Justice Storytelling (1 Hour)
November 2022
Independent
Inviting In Outside Readers (1 Hour)
November 2022
Independent
Writing Messy Queer Characters (3 Hours)
October 2022
GrubStreet
Jumpstart Your Novel (6 Weeks)
October 2022
GrubStreet
Writing Messy Queer Characters (3 Hours)
July 2022
GrubStreet
What Literary Journals Want You to Know (3 Hours)
June 2022
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane: The Basics (3 Hours)
May 2022
GrubStreet
Writing Transgender and Nonbinary Characters (90 Minutes)
April 2022
Clarion West
Writing Messy Queer Characters (2 Weeks)
March 2022
Lambda Literary
Novel Writing Workshop for Queer, Trans, and/or Nonbinary Writers (10 Weeks)
January 2022
GrubStreet
What Literary Journals Want You to Know (3 Hours)
November 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane: The Basics (3 Hours)
November 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Messy Queer Characters (3 Hours)
October 2021
GrubStreet
Novel Writing Workshop for Queer, Trans, and/or Nonbinary Writers (8 Weeks)
September 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane Series: Novel Writing Workshop (6 Weeks)
July 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane Series: The Basics (3 Hours)
July 2021
GrubStreet
Genre-Queer (4 Weeks)
May 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane Series: The Basics (3 Hours)
March 2021
GrubStreet
What Literary Journals Want You to Know (3 Hours)
March 2021
GrubStreet
Advanced Novel Workshop (10 Weeks)
January – March 2021
GrubStreet
Jumpstart Your Novel (6 Weeks)
January – February 2021
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane Series: The Basics (3 Hours)
December 2020
GrubStreet
Writing Outside of Your Lane Series: The Basics (3 Hours)
September 2020
GrubStreet
Jumpstart Your Novel (6 Weeks)
June – August 2020
GrubStreet
For Instructors: Transgender and Nonbinary Inclusion in the Writing Workshop (3 Hours)
October 2019
GrubStreet
Write on Fire: Turning Anger into Art (3 Hours)
September 2019
GrubStreet
Transgender Character Bootcamp (8 Hours)
July 2019
GrubStreet