documentary fiction: history as plot and setting with ryan lee wong

Saturday, march 21st, 2026
2:00–4:30 pm ET

In describing my first novel, Which Side Are You On, writer Cathy Park Hong proposed the term "documentary fiction." Building from "documentary poetics," "documentary fiction" uses historical archives, interviews, places, and objects to tell fictional stories. This craft class will explore forms of research like oral history, archiving, and mapping, and will invite participants to bring in their own historical objects to explore through generative exercises. We will explore works that might be described as "documentary fiction" by writers including John Keene, Karen Tei Yamashita, and V.S. Naipaul. Open to all genres, with an emphasis on those working at the meeting places between personal and social history, fiction and nonfiction.

eligibility:

This craft class is open to all writers of color. The non-refundable tuition fee is $50. This class will be held over Zoom; if you are not able to attend, a recording will be shared with all registered participants the week after class. There are scholarship spots available, and the applications are open through Saturday, February 28th.

REGISTer FOR THIS craft class here

apply for a scholarship here

Note: If you can presently afford to pay for a spot in this craft class, we ask that you please do not apply for a scholarship. This will help us provide scholarship opportunities to folks who cannot otherwise register for the class.

FACULTY:

Ryan Lee Wong is author of the novel Which Side Are You On, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a fifth-generation Chinese American father and a Korean immigrant mother. He has a decade of Buddhist training and lived for two years at a Zen temple. He organized several exhibitions and workshops on the 1970s Asian American Movement.