Studio 15
Story, Self, and Society
Reading, writing, and shared inquiry through fiction
Six days of parsing complex human situations through fiction — reading and discussing a short story each day, then generating your own.
When
20–25 July 2026
Six full days
Where
Global Campus
Devanahalli, Bengaluru
You earn
2 Credits
For CU students
Prerequisites
None
Open to all; a love of reading helps
What you’ll do
This studio uses fiction to parse complex human situations — through reading and discussion, and through generating original written narratives from the concepts of story-making you grasp along the way. Shared inquiry is the central tenet.
Each session begins with a short story, which you collectively examine through discussion, observation, and interpretation. These conversations become the basis for short creative exercises in which you experiment with voice, character, dialogue, description, and interiority. Across the six days you move through narratives of exile and return, the relational model of character, the role of description, literature’s capacity for interiority, and the craft of revision — building towards an original short story of your own.
Process is prized over mastery. You’ll read closely, debate openly, draft, share, and revise in response to peer feedback and classroom dialogue.
What you’ll walk away with
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Think critically about complex human situations encountered in fiction
- Develop a deeper appreciation for the written word and the craft of storytelling
- Experiment with voice, character, dialogue, description, and interiority in your own writing
- Navigate group dynamics and disagreement during collaborative inquiry
- Draft, share, and revise an original short story of roughly 1,000 words
What you’ll make
One original short story of roughly 1,000 words, developed and revised over the six days. Alongside the finished story, you’ll take part in individual and group exercises throughout the programme — the drafts, discussions, and peer exchanges that shape the final piece.
Your six days
| Mon | In-class reading of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Third and Final Continent”, a debate on migration versus staying, and a presentation on narratives of exile and return. The afternoon turns to your own writing — recalling a recent journey, then re-imagining it from the point of view of a host or hotel staff member — with readings shared across the class. |
| Tue | In-class reading of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers”, with group work on the protagonist’s hidden past and the plot’s gaps. After lunch, the film adaptation and group discussion of how narrative shifts when it moves from text to screen, closing with a theory of how literature and cinema differ. |
| Wed | A reading of Tanuj Solanki’s “The Issue” and a debate on where our sympathies lie. The Relational Model of Character in fiction is introduced, along with the role of conflict within it. You then develop your own plot — key characters, key conflicts — refining it with your group before presenting to peers. |
| Thu | A deep session on the role of description in fiction, paired with a writing exercise imagining a meeting with a celebrity — rendering the space, the look, and an invented conversation. The afternoon is given to drafting your end-of-programme short story with guidance, and the conclusion of the film adaptation. |
| Fri | An exploration of literature’s superpower — interiority — through presentation, a five-word memory prompt, and an in-class reading and discussion of writing on interiority. The afternoon continues the drafting of your short story with one-on-one guidance. |
| Sat | A closing reading of William Trevor’s “Mrs Crasthorpe” and a discussion of its moral questions. A presentation on revision — both execution and mindset — leads into the final session, revising your short story towards its finished form. |
Sessions run full-day (approx. 10am–5pm). No more than 1–2 hours of theory per day; the rest is hands-on.
How you’ll be assessed
On two components: a final rating out of 20 for your short story, and class participation marks out of 30, finalised on the basis of attendance, enthusiastic participation, and your navigation of group dynamics.
Your instructor
Tanuj Solanki
Fiction writer · Founder, The Bombay Literary Magazine
Tanuj Solanki is a critically acclaimed Indian fiction writer and the founder of The Bombay Literary Magazine. He is the author of four major works of fiction: Neon Noon (shortlisted for the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award), Diwali in Muzaffarnagar (winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2019), The Machine is Learning (longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature and named among the top fiction books of the year by The Hindu), and Manjhi’s Mayhem. His writing frequently interrogates modern corporate mechanics, systemic societal structures, and individual identity. In this studio, he introduces students to the architecture of narrative — teaching them how to unpack complex social dynamics and transform personal observations into cohesive, impactful literary storytelling.
Registration open
Questions about a Studio?
Reach out to the Studios Coordinator. Happy to talk through any of the courses, what to expect day-to-day, or whether a particular Studio fits where you are in your learning right now.
Studios Coordinator
Anand K Sharma
cu.studios@chanakyauniversity.edu.in
+91 88930 33233
Campus
Chanakya University Global Campus
NH-648, Haraluru–Polanahalli
Near Kempegowda Intl. Airport
Devanahalli, Bengaluru — 562165