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Lycanthrope Academy
for the shapeshifters
hybrid genre writing classes, book clubs, lectures, and workshops
The wolf is the protector of the threshold who roams liminality and guards the crossroads—much like Hecate, goddess of witchcraft. What if the dream world and the in-between could be invoked, written into, enacted? The lycanthrope, much like a werewolf, means "the form and characteristics of a wolf made possible by witchcraft or magic"—if you believe it to be possible, so it is. Lycanthrope Academy exists to have a place for the muses, the chaotic cocktail napkin scrawlers, the secret sirens covered in paint, the waitress witches in the backwoods. This is the place where the outcast meets the avant-garde, misfit means maven, and where writing can take any form it wants, which is why whether you choose to write in poetry, prose, mixed media, photo essay, collage—we're thrilled to have you. Each course syllabi could contain poetry, film, novella, album, sculpture, and more. Difference makes the world more interesting and more alive, and we'd be delighted to welcome you to our pack of artist-creatures.
Upcoming Courses
Poetics of Embodiment
Syllabus sneak-peek: prose by Clarice Lispector and Bhanu Kapil, poetry by Donika Kelly and Anne Carson, film by David Lynch, literary theory by Hélène Cixous, horror theory by Julia Kristeva, Titane (film), paintings by Dorothea Tanning, performance art by Vincent Cassils, sound magic and poetry by Johanna Hedva
6 weeks — $310. Mondays 6-7:30pm EST
weekly readings, generative writing prompts, in-class discussion & writing feedback
Sapphic Summer Book Club
Co-led with Alex Juarez of Queer Classics LA!
Come discuss sapphic books and film with us, or just listen in like your personal gay podcast.
Every other Monday night 8:30-9:30 pm EST (5:30-6:30 PST). June-August
drop in: $25 per session, or full series discount $100 (1 month free!)
Monstrous Feminine
Syllabus sneak-peek: Suspiria (film), Susan Stryker (essay), Carmilla (novella), Carmen Maria Machado (short story), Octavia Butler (novel), Leonora Carrington (art + interview)
6 weeks — $310. Mondays 6-7:30pm EST
weekly readings, generative writing prompts, discussion, and writing feedback
Why Lycanthrope?
Lycanthrope Academy revels in writing that goes between, beyond, stops abruptly, that you aren’t sure if it qualifies (it does), writing that pays no mind (or is self-aware and excited to transgress) the preconceived boundaries it’s hurtling across. All of this shapeshifting work, no matter the genre, can find a generative, supportive, and empowering workshop community right here. While this is at its root, a writing school, we welcome and celebrate artists coming from other mediums, as well as any lovers of curiosity who want to try something new within a community of creative care.
Founder and Headmistress of Lycanthrope Academy, Leia K. Bradley has taught Monster Studies, Queer Poetry, Gender & Sexuality, Contemporary Essays, and more. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University and a BFA in Writing from Pratt Institute, has taught all over NYC and beyond, and believes everyone should have access to arts and writing education—not just those in academia. She has work in POETRY Magazine, West Trade Review, Southern Humanities Review, BOOTH Journal, and more, with her epistolary poetry collection VENUS IN TRANSIT out with Red Hen Press in June 20o27. For more on the author and her work, find her website here.