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Class Catalog
Heroine Course Catalog

Building a Career as a Writer of Color

with Lyzette Wanzer

A comprehensive course on the business side of being a writer, designed for writers of color with a consistent practice and body of work writing in any genres. Leave with an author bio, CV, and submitted work.

cohort, professional development

6 Sessions
April 28 - June 2, 2026
5:00-7:30 pm PT Online Fiction Advanced

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Finish With Confidence

with Paulette Perhach

Struggling to finish? Learn a compassionate, approachable system to break projects into doable steps, let go of perfectionism, build momentum, and finally bring your work to completion. For writers at any stage of the journey.

craft, creative practice, professional development

1 Session
April 29 - April 29, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Weird Ways to Start Writing

with Elise McHugh

Has your work or approach gotten stale and predictable? We’ll focus on unconventional ways to generate new work and explore your interests from fresh angles, inviting spontaneity and surprise back into your writing.

generative, cohort, creative practice

5 Sessions
April 29 - June 3, 2026
7:10-9:10 pm PT In Person Fiction

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The Art of the Personal Essay

with Kate Carmody

In this 6-week class, explore how personal narratives take shape through voice, memory, and emotional resonance. We’ll study master works and write our own. 

generative, craft

6 Sessions
April 29 - June 3, 2026
5:00-7:30 pm PT Online Nonfiction Intermediate

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The Poetics of Songwriting

with Noah Zanella

Great songs are poetry set to music. For writers of all genres who love music and are curious about the craft of lyric writing. We’ll study notable songwriters alongside poets and draw inspiration from our favorite songs for our own writing.

generative, craft

6 Sessions
April 30 - June 4, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Poetry

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At Ease in a Troubled World: Writing Emotional Landscapes

with Esther Lin

We’ll explore how poetry can hold multiple emotional currents at once: ecstasy beside grief, thrill alongside uncertainty. You’ll draft new poems and build your skill in writing the complexity of your lived experience.

generative, craft, workshop

6 Sessions
April 30 - June 4, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT In Person Poetry

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Movies that Move Us: The Art of the Film Review

with Jon Lanthier

This is a class for people with opinions about movies. You’ll read great film reviews and write your own, grounded in how you felt when you watched it. Whether you loved it or hated it, this is the place to let it rip!

generative, close reading

6 Sessions
May 2 - June 13, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT In Person Fiction

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Publishing Fundamentals III: Book Contract Basics

with Elise McHugh

Know what you’re signing. We’ll break down key clauses, negotiable terms, and common pitfalls so you can read agreements critically and navigate your book contracts with greater confidence.

cohort, professional development, publishing

5 Sessions
May 4 - June 8, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Becoming the Creature: Speculative Poetry

with Jasmine Griffin

Turn your ex into a dusty old vampire who prefers lurking to conversing. You’ll write poetry that explores the personal through myth, monsters, and imaginative speculative fiction frameworks.

generative, close reading

6 Sessions
May 5 - June 9, 2026
7:10-9:10 pm PT Online Poetry

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Start Writing Right Now

with Tina Tocco

For anyone struggling to write. You’ll get prompts and constraints to curb overthinking and get you going, and accountability, structured writing time, and optional homework assignments to keep you going.

generative

6 Sessions
May 5 - June 9, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Reading Like A Writer

with Radhika Sharma

Read well to write well. In this class, we’ll explore reading as an extension of your creative practice. You’ll practice reading outside familiar territory and learn to read like a writer, with an eye for craft.

craft, close reading

6 Sessions
May 6 - June 10, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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The Art of Oral Storytelling

with Joanna Demarest

From a strong opening to stage presence, learn to deliver stories that captivate your audience, whether you’re at a mic, a pitch meeting, or the dinner table. This class culminates in a student showcase on stage.

generative, craft, workshop

5 Sessions
May 7 - June 4, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT In Person Nonfiction

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Writing About Nature

with Gail Folkins

Every place has a story to tell, shaped by history, culture, memory, and change. Explore the art of place-based writing, weaving together narrative, research, and observation to create compelling essays that bring the natural world to life. 

generative, craft, workshop

6 Sessions
May 7 - June 11, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Nonfiction

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Write Your Story: Writing to Heal

with Ingrid Ricks

Tap into the healing power of personal narrative and write the emotionally-charged story you need to tell. You’ll shape memory into scene, find structure in lived experience, and explore how craft can transform pain into powerful story.

generative, cohort, personal growth

5 Sessions
May 9 - June 13, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Nonfiction

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What We Really Mean to Say: Using Poetic Techniques in Prose

with Joe Wilkins

Give your prose its music by borrowing from poetry. We’ll explore rhythm, tone, and sonic texture—and learn concrete techniques to make your sentences not only look good, but sound incredible on the page.

generative, craft, close reading

1 Session
May 9 - May 9, 2026
1:10-4:10 pm PT Online Fiction Advanced

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Leaps & Swerves: Creating Surprise in Poetry

with Dilruba Ahmed

Are your poems feeling too safe and predictable? We’ll explore craft techniques that create surprise—associative leaps, tonal shifts, and disrupted language—to make your poems more astonishing, dazzling, and alive.

generative, close reading

1 Session
May 9 - May 9, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT Online Poetry

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Fully Alive in the Moment: Writing with The Four Agreements

with Naa Akua

For those seeking a healing creative outlet. Writing will be our vehicle for self reflection, personal discovery, and processing lived experiences. We’ll write poems grounded in principles for living a life of integrity.

cohort, personal growth

4 Sessions
May 13 - June 3, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Worldbuilding for All Genres

with Andrea Karin Nelson

Learn to build richer story worlds on the page, whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. We’ll explore setting, culture, history, and environment and discover how deeply-realized worlds enhance everything that happens inside them.

craft

1 Session
May 16 - May 16, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT In Person Fiction

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Intro to Travel Writing

with Rachel Werner

This crash course will take you through the creative and business aspects of professional travel writing. We’ll cover research, the art of communicating a sense of place, pitching, and viable paths in the field. Leave with one or two draft pitches.

generative, workshop, professional development

2 Sessions
May 16 - May 30, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Nonfiction Intermediate

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Sleight of Hand for Writers

with Kimberly Lee

Explore the seven principles of sleight of hand, then apply it to your writing! Perfect for new writers wanting to subvert, surprise, and delight their readers, and for writers looking to make writing feel like magic again.

generative, craft

2 Sessions
May 16 - May 23, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Fiction Intermediate

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Writing the Body

with Steve Almond

Write from that which holds all our stories: the body. We’ll delve into personal history, identity, and the truths our flesh carries. You’ll read and study master writers exploring this topic and generate some writing of our own.

generative, craft, close reading

1 Session
May 30 - May 30, 2026
1:10-4:10 pm PT Online Fiction

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Spellbound: Poetry as Alchemy

with Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Your strong emotions carry potent creative force. In this generative poetry workshop, you’ll explore language as invocation and spellwork, crafting charged work that channels rage, grief, longing, and more into powerful form.

generative, personal growth

1 Session
May 30 - May 30, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT Online Poetry

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In Answer to Another: Writing the “After” Poem

with Anne Marie Wells

Respond to the poems that move you with poems of your own. We’ll read and analyze a dozen contemporary examples of the form. And you’ll gain tools for transforming homage, argument, and influence into original work.

craft, close reading

1 Session
June 6 - June 6, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT Online Poetry

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Creative Cataloging: Your Life in Lists

with Sarah Campbell

A list is always more than just a list. We’ll explore what a list says about the list-maker, explore lists throughout history, and write our own. You’ll leave with new approaches to list-making as a tool for journaling and fueling creativity.

generative, personal growth

2 Sessions
June 6 - June 13, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Nonfiction

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