Class Catalog

Instructor: Wancy Cho. In this 16-week workshop, we’ll look back on our own extraordinary experiences and practice bringing them to the page. This class includes short weekly readings and discussions but will primarily focus on workshopping.

Instructor: Sally Ashton. Let’s read through the 2024 edition of Best American Poetry together! We’ll discuss our faves and the parts we don’t get. We'll also have optional writing prompts. Readers of all levels welcome – bring a curious mind! 

Instructor: Beth Slattery. Learn to navigate your flavor of procrastination. We’ll learn the whys behind procrastination, write together, and practice strategies to stay on track. Leave with a completed draft of a project you’ve been avoiding. 

Instructor: Ruth Joffre. Calling all sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and/or the beautifully weird in-between writers: Ready to buckle down on your WIP? This intensive cohort will give you the structure, support, and community you’ll need to get writing!

Instructor: Anastacia-Reneé. Perfect for new and emerging poets, this intensive will introduce you to the poetry genre. Through close reading and workshopping, you’ll learn poetry fundamentals in a supportive cohort environment. 

Instructor: Shankar Narayan. Dive into the rich space of writings about the forest—from scientific papers to ancient poetry, from global mythology to spells—to inspire our own creative practices. Leave with new pieces, ideas, and community.

Instructor: Theo Nestor. Need to market your book but unsure of how to build your audience? Learn easy and manageable ways to approach email lists, social media, and websites. You'll leave with concrete skills to put into practice right away. 

Instructor: Elizabeth Villamán. Take your character from flat and forced to complex, authentic, and unforgettable in this craft-focused class. We’ll explore the emotional and psychological transformations that drive our characters—and our narrative.

Instructor: Kaelie Giffel. This class introduces students to recent feminist memoir and life-writing. You'll learn the basics of memoir’s generic conventions, how feminists have used the genre, and its political value. 

Instructor: Carolyne Wright. Explore the relationship between public events and personal transformations: over six weeks, we’ll study works that bear witness to social and political change, then reflect on urgent social contexts of our own.  

Instructor: Olivia Cheng. Explore the role of disgust in contemporary short fiction and how it can be used to reveal deeper truths about life. Leave with new techniques to incorporate the icky, unsettling, and grotesque into your own work.

Instructor: Kate Carmody. Follow your curiosities and learn to excavate the self in through personal essay reading and writing. Leave with a solid first draft of your own personal essay and a toolkit for many more.  

Instructor: Monika Sengul-Jones. Pack your memories, memorabilia, journal entries, library cards, and beloved dreams. We’ll spend six weeks dissecting various structures of travel essays while writing our own. 

Instructor: Miriam BC Tobin. An ongoing playwriting group for writers who want to share work, learn craft, and connect with other writers.

Instructor: Cara Stoddard. Cultivate a habit of turning their attention to the changing of the seasons by keeping a phenology journal. Expect to come away with two new essay starts and a toolbox of fresh techniques. 

Instructor: Kristi Coulter. Whether you’re untangling office dynamics, celebrating ambition, or finding humor in workplace chaos, this class will help you transform your work-life experiences into memorable, impactful stories. 

Instructor: Monika Sengul-Jones. Finally get your writer newsletter up and running! Learn strategies for engaging your readers, meeting goals, and marketing yourself and your work. Leave with your newsletter set up and an actionable plan for next steps. 

Instructor: Christine Kwon. How are today's poets writing? We'll look at the fresh, innovative writing of poets working today and write based off our readings. This class is open to all, including those new to reading and writing poetry. 

Instructor: Jessica Gigot. What happens when the intimacy and imagery of poetry influence prose? We'll read poets who've crossed over into memoir and practice and write, moving between the two forms. Leave with increased lyricism in your prose.

Instructor: Elise McHugh. Planning to publish a book? Learn the essentials: crafting an elevator pitch, writing effective query letters, and building a strong, cohesive book proposal. Ideal for writers with a completed or in-progress book-length project. 

Instructor: Nicole Hardy. Every writer of memoir stresses out about the gaps in their memories; we’ll see how authors handle this problem in their work and apply the techniques to our works-in-progress.

Instructor: Shankar Narayan. Explore the enchanting world of the ghazal, a lyrical South Asian poetic form celebrated for its elegant lyricism, sharp wit, and heartrending emotion, through close reading and generative writing. 

Instructor: Steve Almond. Friendships form the most significant relationships in our lives, saving and sometimes sinking us. We’ll look at the work of masters such as Margaret Atwood and Ann Patchett, then put what we’ve learned into practice.

Instructor: Miriam BC Tobin. An ongoing playwriting group for writers who want to share work, learn craft, and connect with other writers.