“Felony & Fiction”

Weiner will explain how she crafted her novel around the infamous "Preppy Murder" of 1986. She'll discuss fictionalizing true crimes and guide a writing intensive where participants create their own stories.

Felony & Fiction: A presentation and workshop led by Cynthia Weiner, Assistant Director of The Writers Studio, NYC, and author of the novel A Gorgeous Excitement (Crown, 2025). Weiner will explain how she crafted her novel around the infamous "Preppy Murder" of 1986. She'll discuss fictionalizing true crimes and guide a writing intensive where participants create their own stories incorporating true crime case elements. Choose from a selection of cases in the handout (or bring your own) and begin to craft your original, fictional piece.

Cynthia Weiner has had a long career writing and teaching fiction. Her short stories have been published in Ploughshares, The Sun, and Epiphany, and her story “Boyfriends” was awarded a Pushcart Prize. She is also the assistant director of The Writers Studio in New York City. A Gorgeous Excitement, her first novel, was inspired by her upbringing on New York’s Upper East Side in the 1980s, and particularly by the infamous “Preppy Murder” of 1986. Weiner now lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

www.Cynthiaweiner.com(link opens in a new window/tab) | Social Media -  Facebook: @cynthia.weiner.31(link opens in a new window/tab), Instagram@cynthiaweiner