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Shin Yu Pai

Time: - - - PT
Capacity: seat
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General Price: $0.00

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Shin Yu Pai is the creator, host, and writer behind Ten Thousand Things, an award-winning podcast that she made for three seasons with KUOW Public Radio/NPR and now makes independently with Acast Studios (Wonder Media Network). The show has won two Golden Crane awards from the Asian American Podcasters Association, Bronze and Silver Signal Awards, and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, in addition to funding support from 4Culture, The Common Counsel Foundation, and an NEA Hope Corps grant from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture.

Mashable named Ten Thousand Things as one of the best podcasts of the year in 2023. In 2025, Shin Yu organized and curated an exhibition on Ten Thousand Things at The Wing Luke Museum (a Smithsonian Institution affiliate) which will be on display through January 2027. A book on Ten Thousand Things is forthcoming from the University of Washington Press in 2027.

As a public radio personality, Shin Yu has guest hosted and reported on arts and culture for KUOW’s Soundside podcast. Prior to working with KUOW, Shin Yu hosted the Lyric World podcast for Town Hall Seattle, a live event series and podcast focused on contemporary poetry, which was supported by The Satterberg Foundation. As an essayist, her stories have appeared in NYTimes, Tricycle Magazine, YES! Magazine, Off Assignment, Zocalo Public Square, Seattle Times, Seattle Magazine, and more. She is the co-author of Small Doses of Awareness (Chronicle Books, 2024), a book on psychedelic microdosing.

In addition to her work as a non-fiction writer and audio storyteller, Shin Yu has published 11 books of poetry. In 2020, Entre Rios Books published Ensō, a 20-year survey and retrospective her work across creative disciplines. Shin Yu served as the Civic Poet for The City of Seattle from 2023 to 2024 and received a Poet Laureates Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets for her work with community. Her poetry films have been shown at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin and around the world. In 2024, she received the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America which is given for poetic genius.

She is a three-time fellow of MacDowell and has been a writer in residence at the Seattle Art Museum, Taipei Artist Village, Centrum Foundation, and Pacific Science Center. Shin Yu received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was a Hiro Yamagata Fellow at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. She also holds an MA in Museology from the University of Washington with a focus on oral history and community-based museums. She received a BA from Boston University in English, with minors in Eastern Religion and Spanish.

Named in 2024 as one of Seattle’s Most Influential people and a Trailblazing Woman by Seattle Magazine, Shin Yu’s literary archives were acquired by Yale University’s Beinecke Library in 2025.

Each class description includes a breakdown of what you can expect in terms of in-class activity, feedback, and homework (if any). 

Generative means you’ll be generating new writing, either in class or at home between classes.

Workshop means you’ll be sharing work to be read and critiqued by your instructor and classmates and that you will also be critiquing the work of your peers. 

Reading means you’ll be doing close reading of a work with an eye toward craft. 

Craft discussion means you’ll be looking at the tools writers use to do that thing they do so well and then trying it out yourself.

Class levels are designed for various stages of the writing journey. Simply self-select the level that sounds best for where you’re at. 

Introductory: This is your first creative writing workshop, first writing class since high school, or first foray into a new genre or form. You’re looking to try something new, kickstart your writing, and/or establish yourself in the fundamentals.

Intermediate: You have a strong understanding of writing fundamentals and are eager to deep dive into craft. You’re honing your writerly identity and voice through independent projects. In workshop, you look for constructive feedback and are ready to do writing and reading outside of class.

Advanced: You’ve written a significant body of work and have taken it through several stages of revision. You’re getting ready to publish or are in the early stage of publishing, and you’re interested in refining the skills that will take you to the next level in the literary industry.

All Levels: You are any of the above and are looking to play with new possibilities.

Zoom information for both classes and events are now available in your account.

  1. Login to your account.
  2. Go to “My Account.”
  3. Select either the “Classes” or “Events” tab.
  4. Click on your upcoming class or event to view the Zoom details.

You’ll also receive an email including Zoom information three days before the first day of class.

If you have any questions please contact us at welcome@hugohouse.org  

Write With Hugo House is our free monthly write-in program that takes place online via Zoom.  

We also have payment plans available for most of our classes. These payment plans are available to all students. Additionally, we offer partial scholarships (covering up to 40% of class tuition) for students who meet our income guidelines.  

Lastly, we announce flash sales, early bird periods, and special deals through our e-newsletter; sign up at the bottom of this page. 

 

Our payment plan policy: 

Payment plans are available for all classes and can be purchased through our website. To register for a payment plan, select “Pay in installments” on the class details page, select your preferred option, and proceed to add to cart usual. The following policy applies to all payment plans:

  • We charge a 5% nonrefundable administrative fee for all payment plans.
  • The administrative fee is calculated based on the general class price. Discounts through memberships, coupons, scholarships, gift cards, or other promotions do not affect the administrative fee.
  • Extended payment plans up to 8 monthly installments and 16 semi-monthly installments are available upon request.
  • We are unable to hold seats for prospective payment plan students. Students will be enrolled once their first installment has been paid.
  • If you need to cancel, Hugo House will issue refunds according to its cancellation and transfer policies. Your 5% nonrefundable admin fee will not be refunded.
  • If you withdraw from a class after it begins, you will not receive a refund and are still responsible for paying the full course tuition.

Asynchronous classes are perfect for students that need flexibility!

During an asynchronous class, instructors release new lessons once per week. Students then have one week to complete that lesson and any accompanying coursework. You’ll learn as much as you would in a traditional class but with the flexibility to work at the best times for your schedule!

While there are no live sessions, asynchronous classes are still a lively and rigorous experience. Async classes are not static lessons but an adaptable and energetic community space. Be ready to work in a collaborative environment, giving and receiving feedback on your writing, participating in discussions, and growing your writing practice in a way that works best for you.

Asynchronous classes take place through the website Wet Ink. Students receive an invitation to the class and to set up a Wet Ink account on the start date of the class. Each week of the class, a new lesson will be available through the Wet Ink portal. Classes close two weeks after the end date, and students receive an email containing their content from the class when it closes.

Hugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.

To request a refund for class credit, please note such in the message section of your refund request.

In general, we do not record classes. However, an exception can be made with instructor approval if a student has specific access needs.

We encourage students to only sign up for classes that fit with their schedule.   

We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.

If Hugo House needs to cancel a class for any reason, you’ll receive a full refund.

You can apply for a scholarship by clicking the red “Request a Scholarship” text on class pages. The scholarship request text is located at the top of each class page, underneath the “add to cart” button.

Scholarship application dates can be found in our Academic Calendar. 

Due to the limited number of scholarships, please only request up to two scholarships for two different classes per quarter if you truly meet the financial need requirements.

Hugo House members get to register early for classes – a full week before they open to the general public!, receive a 10% discount on events and classes, and more. See the full list of membership benefits here!

Donations of all sizes allow us to provide access to quality writing classes, events, and experiences for all. Please consider making a donation to Hugo House today. 

If you’re interested in contributing your skills, Hugo House accepts volunteer applications for a variety of roles, including event support, administrative tasks, and more. Learn more on our Volunteer page. 

Finally, becoming a member is an excellent way to support Hugo House and our mission. 

Make a Donation

Donations made throughout the year help fund our programs and operations.