Enrollment in Book Lab is by application only. Priority applications open Saturday, August 1 and close Sunday, August 16 at 11:59 pm PT. Applications received after August 16 will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the program fills.
Click here to apply to the 2026-27 Book Lab Cohort
Take your book from draft to submission-ready manuscript.
You’ve finished a draft of your book: that’s no small feat.
You may even have revised, reworked, and wrestled with it—more than once. You’ve taken your manuscript as far as you can on your own, but you know it needs more work before it’s ready to submit for publication or agent consideration.
Book Lab is Hugo House’s nine-month manuscript incubator, designed to help writers transform a completed draft into a submission-ready manuscript. Through mentorship from award-winning and bestselling authors, individualized feedback, and a supportive cohort of fellow writers, you’ll strengthen your manuscript, refine your vision, and prepare your work for submission.
You’ll leave with a thoroughly revised manuscript, a draft of your query letter, a personalized submission strategy, and an actionable roadmap for next steps.
Book Lab is offered in two cohorts:
- In-Person with Tara Conklin (Tuesdays, 7:10 PM – 9:10 PM, starting September 22, 2026)
- Online with Sonora Jha (Wednesdays, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, starting September 23, 2026)
Book Lab is by application only.
Is Book Lab Right for Me?
Book Lab is designed for writers who have a completed or nearly completed first draft of a book-length manuscript and are committed to preparing their work for publication and/or querying agents.
Applicants should be ready to spend nine months engaging deeply with their book project, incorporating feedback, and writing and revising toward a submission-ready manuscript.
Book Lab is open to writers of all prose genres working on a book-length project, including literary fiction, commercial fiction, genre fiction (romance, fantasy, historical, horror, speculative, etc.), nonfiction, memoir, essay, short story collection, hybrid, and more.
Book Lab warmly welcomes writers of all backgrounds. You do not need an MFA or previous formal writing instruction to apply for this program. We especially welcome voices that have historically been excluded from traditional publishing spaces.
Program Overview
Months 1–3: Assess & Plan
You’ll begin with a ten-session weekly intensive designed to review core storytelling principles and help you evaluate your manuscript as a whole. Together, we’ll identify your project’s strengths, clarify what it’s asking for, develop a revision plan, and address key craft challenges as you learn alongside your cohort.
Months 4–9: Revise & Prepare
With a revision plan in hand, the remainder of the program is devoted to sustained individual revision and includes:
-
- A full editorial read of your manuscript from your mentor, including a detailed editorial letter, margin notes, and line edits (where appropriate).
- Monthly cohort meetings to workshop scenes, exchange feedback, and stay accountable (meeting dates and times will be determined by each cohort).
- Four one-on-one meetings with your mentor to troubleshoot, discuss your project, and share your progress.
- Craft and industry talks from published authors and agents to deepen your understanding of the publication process and the professional writing life.
- Professional preparation, including pitch practice and guidance around publication goals, whether you’re pursuing Big Five publishers,small presses, or alternative publishing paths.
- Dedicated writing time and space to sustain your momentum.
- An end-of-year reading to celebrate your project and the progress you’ve made over the last nine months.
You’ll also get:
- Access to a private Discord community where you can stay connected with your mentors and fellow Book Lab writers throughout the program.
- Two years of Hugo House membership, which grants early access to and discounts on creative writing classes.
- Two years of discounted Hugo House coaching services.
You’ll end the program with:
- A thoroughly revised manuscript.
- A draft of your query letter.
- A personalized submission strategy.
- A clear, actionable roadmap for what comes next.
How to Apply
To apply, you’ll submit three short pieces:
-
- A short bio (350 words max): Tell us about yourself, your writing journey, and any struggles you’re currently facing in your writing life.
- A project synopsis (500 words max): Give us the big picture of your book project. What genre are you working in? What story are you trying to tell? Where are you in the process (drafting, revising, reimagining)? Include the current word count—or your best guess.
- Your project status (250 words max): Where is your project in the writing process with regard to drafting, revising, and/or reimagining? What challenges or roadblocks are you experiencing with your manuscript? How many rounds of revision have you completed on your manuscript, if any?
- A 3–5 page writing sample from your manuscript: Send us the pages that best reflect what you’re working on—whether it’s a novel, memoir, short story collection, or a hybrid-style manuscript. We’re looking for a sense of your voice, your vision, and where you might want to go next.
Key Dates:
- Priority applications open Saturday, August 1 and close Sunday, August 16 at 11:59 pm PT
- Applications received after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the program fills.
- Applicants will be notified starting Monday, August 24
- In-Person Book Lab with Tara Conklin starts on Tuesday, September 22.
- Online Book Lab with Sonora Jha starts on Wednesday, September 23.
Book Lab tends to fill quickly. If Book Lab sounds like the right next step for you and your project, we recommend applying early.
Tuition for Book Lab is $6,800. Payment plans are available. Unfortunately, we do not offer scholarships for Book Lab at this time.
The submission portal will open on Saturday, August 1.
Priority applications open Saturday, August 1 and close Sunday, August 16 at 11:59 pm PT.
Applications received after August 16 will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the program fills.
Meet Your Mentors
Tara Conklin is a writer and former lawyer whose first novel, The House Girl, (William Morrow) was a New York Times bestseller, #1 IndieNext pick, Target Book Club pick, and has been translated into 8 languages. Her second novel, The Last Romantics (William Morrow) was published in February 2019 to wide acclaim. An instant New York Times bestseller, The Last Romantics was a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick, IndieNext Pick, and was selected by Jenna Bush Hager as the inaugural read for The Today Show Book Club. Her latest novel Community Board is out now. Tara’s writing has appeared in Vogue, LitHub, National Geographic, the Berkshire Eagle, and elsewhere. She has been coaching and mentoring writers for nearly a decade.
Sonora Jha is the author of four books, the latest of which is the novel Intemperance, a finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize and hailed as a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal, the LA Public Library, Book Page, Ms. Magazine, and others. Her 2023 novel The Laughter, won the 2024 Washington Book Award and the AutHer Award, was long-listed for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and was named one of the Best Books of 2023 by the New Yorker, NPR, and others. Her memoir, How to Raise a Feminist Son (2021) has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and German. Her debut novel, Foreign (2013) will be published for the first time in the U.S. in Fall 2026. In India, it was a finalist for the Shakti Bhatt Prize and the Hindu Prize and was long listed for the DSC Prize. Formerly a journalist in India and Singapore, Sonora holds a Ph.D. in Political Communication from Louisiana State University and is a Loyola Endowed Professor at Seattle University. She has been teaching and mentoring writers for over a decade.
