Class Catalog

Instructor: Holly Day. During this session, students will be walked through the process of finding old books and textbooks that have been archived online, and the proper way to credit them, if needed, in a bibliography.

Instructor: Liza Birnbaum. How can we delve deeper into texts that feel mysterious, thorny, or complex? In this class, we’ll experiment with hands-on practices—annotation, structural mapping, and more—that open up new understandings of what’s on the page and what might come next.

Instructor: Kimberly Lee. This exploratory workshop is designed to help writers determine their personal thematic by distinguishing which topics resonate most. We’ll engage with imaginative prompts, including an exercise in which participants will analyze their film favorites.

Instructor: Michele L. Simms-Burton. Avoid the pitfalls of stereotypes by practicing seeing diverse people in their full humanity. Examine examples of writing that successfully present unique, fully drawn, non-stereotypical characters.

Through guided and practical exercises, this course will give you the confidence to turn your art into a long-term, successful business.

This asynchronous course features online workbooks, including ten essential templates in Word and Excel to kickstart your writing life, and resources professional writers use to get published.

Instructors: Allison Ellis, Amy Bowers. Delve deep into the lore and canon of witches, examining themes such as feminism, domesticity, power, and social change. Students can expect to craft their own witchy narratives and generate new stories, essays, or longer scenes.

Instructor: Sabra Boyd. In this hybrid course, students will workshop a draft, craft pitches for publication, and strategize finding an editor. We will also discuss the politics and ethics of food writing.

Instructor: Theo Nestor. Students will read and discuss example columns with a focus on structure, with writing prompts to begin their own Modern Love essays.

Instructor: Piper Lane. Students will workshop successful personal statements, from grad school to residency applications, with attention to audience and authenticity.

Instructors: Yasmine Ameli & Saba Keramati. In this interactive, generative poetry workshop all about tea, we will consider poems at the intersections of ritual and sensory experience and engage in writing prompts to explore image, memory, culture, and narrative.

Instructor: Gracie Bialecki. This course is designed for writers new to submissions who want to familiarize themselves with the process while learning from, and sharing experiences with, their peers.

Instructor: Molly Schaeffer. This class will examine elements of attention, drawing from various media: writing, film, music, and the natural world, and experiment with generative exercises, freewriting, and discussion.

Instructor: Katherine Standefer. In this 6-hour intensive, writers will identify potential "centers of gravity" in their material, and pinpoint their work's central questions, considering narrative arc, repetition, and more.

Instructor: Meghan Lamb. This course will examine the methodology of writing about bodily experiences and explore the merits of engaging deeply and precisely with sex, aging, illness, and more.

Instructor: Holly Day. Learn how to compile a bibliography from sources including online and physical collections of newspaper archives, library special collections, photo banks, and more, with info on tracing source material and tips for staying organized.

Instructor: Anca Szilagyi. This workshop will explore the creative process and examine the relationship between writing and visual art.

Instructor: Sabra Boyd. Whether you're working toward your first byline, or you want to improve your acceptance rate, this class will help you develop strong pitches, build relationships with editors, and negotiate contracts. 

Registration dates:

December 5: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)

December 6: Member registration opens

December 13: General registration opens

Instructor: Liza Birnbaum. This generative workshop will explore the power of detail and description in prose.

Instructor: Paulette Perhach. Prep for AWP with a guide to networking, using the AWP app, and developing a personalized a game plan to enjoy the programming.

Instructor: Melanie Figg. With a mix of writing exercises, small groups, lecture, and discussion/Q&A, learn practical ways to build a sustainable writing practice that works for you.

Instructor: Sabra Boyd. Review tools and resources to develop strategies that preserve your privacy and develop self-care tools for writing and building a network for community care.

Instructor: Dilruba Ahmed. This class will discuss cover letters, simultaneous submissions, and where to submit, while also exploring strategies for reaching a broader audience.

Instructor: Peter Mountford. This full-day class featuring guests from small and large presses offers an introductory overview of the literary fiction and nonfiction publishing business. Students will pitch their books to one another and offer feedback, as well as receive an extensive packet with resources.