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Class Catalog

The Writing Life

SLIDING SCALE: Using Strange Words to Inspire Unusual Writing

Instructor: Kimberly Lee. In this generative writing class, we’ll engage with lost and unusual words, using them to take our writing in new and unexpected directions. Leave with several writing starts and fresh approaches to your creative projects.

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Level: Introductory
Length: 1 session
Start: December 7, 2024 , 10:00 am PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

PLAYlab 12/12

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

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Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Length: 1 session
Start: December 12, 2024 , 5:00pm PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Writing for Performance

Reading the Female Gaze II

Instructor: Christie Valentin-Bati. We'll focus on ideas of selfhood: how others see us, how we see ourselves, how we construct or lose ourselves. Featuring: Clarice Lispector, Virginia Woolf, Jamaica Kincaid. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 13, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Memoir, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Essay, Writing for Performance

Writing for Procrastinators

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. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 13, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Writing for Performance

A Little Bit of Everything: Adventures in Genre & Form

Instructor: Mayur Chauhan. Push past the same old, stretch your creative muscles, and get back to the best part of writing: pure play. Experiment with a variety of genres and forms and leave with several drafts of fresh, playful writing.

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 14, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: Online
The Writing Life

Technical Writing for Software Engineering

Instructor: Quetzalli Writes. Does technology excite you? Curious about technical writing? Learn to research, develop, edit, and collaborate on various types of software documentation in this 10-week class. Leave with a portfolio of work.  

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Level: Introductory, Intermediate
Length: 10 sessions
Start: January 14, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

Genre Journeys: Music Criticism

Instructor: Joel Heng Hartse. Love a band or artist so much you’ve gotta write about it? Learn various genres of music writing, from album reviews to profiles and thinkpieces. We’ll end the course with a zine-style publication we make together. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 6 sessions
Start: January 14, 2025 , 7:10pm PT
Format: Online
The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

Film Club

Instructor: Andrew Bell. What can film teach us about writing? Each week we'll read a script, then come together to watch the film and have a lively discussion. We'll look at what makes our favorite films special, and set aside time to share work of our own. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 10 sessions
Start: January 14, 2025 , 6:00pm PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Memoir, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Essay, Writing for Performance

How to Create an Unforgettable Character

Instructor: Steve Almond. Why do some characters leap off the page while others just sit there, collecting dust? Study the character works of masters like Joyce Carol Oates, Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison and learn to make your own characters POP! 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 1 session
Start: January 15, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

PLAYlab 1/16

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

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Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Length: 1 session
Start: January 16, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Memoir, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Essay, Writing for Performance

Establishing a Writing Practice

Instructor: Rachel Sobel. Struggling to write? Learn to plan and finish projects, cultivate a regular writing habit, and improve your writing in a way that works for you! Leave with a sustainable weekly writing practice and tools to get unstuck. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 16, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Short Story, Writing for Performance

Prose for Poets: Franz Kafka and Rachel Karyo

Instructor: Deborah Woodard. Confront the grotesque and bizarre preoccupations found in our everyday lives. We’ll study the work of Franz Kafka and Rachel Karyo, then find new ways to explore the weird and uncanny in our own writing.

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 6 sessions
Start: January 18, 2025 , 1:10pm PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Writing for Performance

Reading and Writing the Body

Instructor: Meghan Lamb. Explore bodily interventions—including often-taboo subjects of sex, aging, illness, bodily change, and bodily difference—through reading, discussion, and generative writing. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 6 sessions
Start: January 18, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Writing for Performance

Workshop for Weird Stories

Instructor: Carolyn Abram. Come one, come all! This workshop is a haven for writers whose work doesn’t fit neatly into “traditional” literary molds. Get feedback on your strangest, most surreal stories in this supportive workshop environment. 

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Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 22, 2025 , 7:10pm PT
Format: In Person
The Writing Life

Image, Instinct, and Imagination: Reawakening Your Inner Artist

Instructor: Sarah Dalton. Practice writing, drawing, and creative collaboration techniques developed by Lynda Barry to explore what she calls the Unthinkable Mind or Image World. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 25, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Writing for Performance

Genre Journeys: Surreal Magical Curiosities

Instructor: Jasmine Griffin. Perfect for genre-curious writers, this class invites you to experiment with the multitude of genres under the spec fic umbrella: paranormal, horror, magical realism, fabulism, surrealism, absurdism, and more. 

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Level: Intermediate, Introductory
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 25, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Young Adult/Children's Lit, Novel, Short Story, Writing for Performance

Autofiction Workshop Intensive

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.

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 16 sessions
Start: January 27, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Writing for Performance

I Don’t Get It: Reading Poetry Together

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! 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 4 sessions
Start: January 27, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Writing for Performance

Poetry Intensive

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. 

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Level: Introductory
Length: 16 sessions
Start: January 28, 2025 , 7:10pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Memoir, Essay, Writing for Performance

Writing the Wild: Myth, Science, and the Soul of the Forest

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.

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 8 sessions
Start: January 28, 2025 , 7:10pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

Start Building Your Author Platform

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. 

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 1 session
Start: January 28, 2025 , 1:10pm PT
Format: Online
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Novel, Short Story, Writing for Performance

Speculative Fiction Intensive

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!

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Level: Open to all levels
Length: 16 sessions
Start: January 29, 2025 , 5:00pm PT
Format: Online
The Writing Life, Writing for Performance

Character and Conflict: Raising the Stakes!

Instructor: Andrew Bell. Learn the importance character and conflict have in any scene– whether you're writing film, TV, theatre, or prose. We'll study great characters, work on characters of our own, and write and workshop scenes at the end of the day. 

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Level: Introductory, Intermediate
Length: 1 session
Start: February 1, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: In Person
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, The Writing Life, Reading, Novel, Writing for Performance

Kickass Character Arcs

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.

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Level: Intermediate
Length: 4 sessions
Start: February 5, 2025 , 10:00am PT
Format: Online