In Milan, at 7 via Carlo Tenca, Spazio Tenca is born, a new writing school that occupies the same spaces that already host the editorial offices of Laurana Editore and Zolfo Editore.
Spazio Tenca “affonda quindi le radici nell’esperienza concreta del lavoro sulla pagina e questa concretezza è quello che intende offrire agli iscritti”. The teaching, in fact, “does not provide generic creative writing courses, but offers paths dedicated to genres, forms and precise techniques”: from the historical novel to poetry, from crime fiction to horror writing and beyond. “Different territories, each with its own tools, but also opportunities to tackle fundamental questions of writing.”
All of it “rigorously in presence“, with a limited number of enrollments “to foster real exchange”, will discuss how to construct a story, design a character, find a voice,work on language, use a source, govern pace, recognize what in a text works and what must be rewritten.
For the promoters, indeed, “for those starting out, specialization is not a barrier, but the best possible starting point“. The paths of Spazio Tenca “are designed as much for those who already have a project as for those who simply want to understand better”.
Starting with historical novel and poetry
The 2026-2027 academic year opens with Inventing the Past – Tools and Techniques of the Historical Novel, a workshop led by Gabriele Dadati and Lucia Tilde Ingrosso starting on October 24.
Five Saturdays, one per month, to tackle historical storytelling through theory and practice. The starting point is an essential question: how can one restore to the reader a world that disappeared without ending up writing a manual? The object of the lessons and exercises – which will occupy the entire day, with a one-hour lunch break – will be the model of the hero’s journey and, more generally, the conception of a structure, documentary research, the construction of ensemble novels, families and generations, the relationship between true history and invention and, in the final meeting, a moment of work focused on the personal projects of participating students who wish to share them.
With a start on October 31, it will then be Non solo lirica – Reading and writing poetry, a path designed and led by Alberto Cristofori. Five four-hour sessions, each “dedicated to an idea of poetry broader than the one traditionally associated with mere emotional outpouring.” In each session the writing exercises will allow enrollees “to strengthen their command of rhetorical and stylistic tools and to find a more conscious voice.”
Courses coming in 2027
From the beginning of 2027, Spazio Tenca will explore other territories of writing, specifically those of the crime novel, curated by Giovanni Cocco, and horror, curated by Orazio Labbate.
For information, the number is 0223002408 and the email is [email protected].
