PREVIEW: Spring 2025 Classes
Spring classes will open for registration in early January 2025. Add your email address to the waitlist below and we’ll alert you when registration is live. Expect a mix of in-person and virtual options with financial aid and payment plans available to those who need them.
From Query to Collaboration: How to Get an Agent
Fiction w/ Eshani Surya (90 minutes)
Nonfiction w/ Elizabeth Greenspan (90 minutes)
These 90 minute masterclasses, available for purchase individually or as a pair, will guide students through the process of getting an agent. Separated by genre, students in these standalone sessions will learn how to identify the ideal agent, write a successful query letter and choose comp titles, and manage the query process and communications, as well as what happens after you aquire representation. Participants will get an overview of best practices, the opportunity to ask questions about the publishing industry, and helpful tools to shape their future queries.
Between Language and Music: Black Acoustemologies w/ Hiwot Adilow (Poetry | 3 hours)
Acoustemology, a hybridization of the words “acoustic” and “epistemology,” emphasizes sonic ways of knowing and being in the world. In this three-hour, generative poetry workshop, participants will study the use of sound in Black poetics before applying these lessons to their own work. By playing with musicality and crafting precise lyrics, we'll begin to unveil new ways of knowing and being known through poetry. This single-session workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
The Tipping Point: Writing Choice as Scene w/ Sam Heaps (Fiction | 3 hours)
A moment of decision can be one of the most memorable elements of a story. In this prose-focused 3-hour session, we will analyze two skillfully executed scenes of choice, brainstorm what we as a group think is important to show in a decision, and generate our own empathetic depictions of this critical point. Students of all levels are welcome, and sharing is encouraged, but not required. Those who have a work in progress are welcome to bring these characters to the workshop; all others should be ready to start a new story with a crossroads.
Beyond the Page: Performance Skills for Poets w/ Dimitri Reyes (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Let your voice be heard! In this immersive 3-week workshop, participants will learn strategies for structuring and performing impactful poems by studying the Black Arts, Nuyorican, and Breakbeat movements. Through manipulating pacing, pauses, rhyme, and rhythm, students of all experience levels and poetic genres will generate new material and gain experience performing work that is transformative for writers and audiences alike.
Poetry as Resistance: Crafting Your Revolutionary Voice w/ Saskia Kercy (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Informed by and committed to Black radical tradition, “Poetry as Resistance” is a transformative 3-week workshop that delves deep into the power of revolutionary literature. Participants will explore the works of influential poets and writers who have used their craft to advocate for justice, liberation, and change. Each week, we will focus on a different figure or set of figures, examining their contributions and how their words continue to resonate today. Participants will engage in critical analysis, political discourse, and creative writing exercises designed to inspire their own poetic expressions of resistance. This workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Writing the Wounded Character w/ Emily Jon Tobias (Fiction | 3 weeks)
In this generative 3-week class, students will take a deep dive into narrative structure by way of the wounded character. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we'll learn the foundations of story structure, including character roles (protagonist, antagonist, etc) and how they function, narrative timelines, and character motives and development. We'll also explore how we as writers and individuals can learn from our fictional characters' pain and capacity for change.
Write an Essay Clean as a Bone w/ Nicole Young (Nonfiction | 3 weeks)
Good writing aims to balance economy and embellishment to produce prose that sings, while making the message clear. James Baldwin, one of America's most skilled essayists, once said, “Write a sentence clean as a bone. That is the goal.” Over the course of this 3-week class, we will use this guidance to trim the excess of our story, tighten the muscle of our argument, and strengthen our broader claims. At the end of this course, participants will walk away with a draft of a nonfiction essay as well as the tools needed to continue writing on their own.
The Queer Art of Friendship w/ Kurt David (Cross-genre | 3 weeks)
What is friendship? What isn't it? And isn't it kinda queer? In this 3-week class, we'll think through these questions in the context of our own lives and communities. Taking inspiration from representations of friendship in literature and visual media, students will work across genre to generate new writing.
One and the Same: An Autofiction Workshop w/ Wancy Young Cho (Fiction | 6 weeks)
Autofiction blends elements of autobiography and fiction, blurring the line between truth and fantasy. In this 6-week class, participants will learn how to mine and forage their memories and lives to lay the groundwork for powerful storytelling. Through discussion and experimentation, we'll explore the foundations of autofiction as a genre and generate new or continued works of our own.
Through the Backdoor: Writing the Hybrid Memoir w/ Kristen Martin (Nonfiction | 6 weeks)
When we break away from what’s going on inside our heads, we just might see our own lives in a new light and discover something universal. This is the foundation of a “backdoor memoir”: a work that seems at first to focus on an outside phenomenon—the love letters of a Southern Gothic novelist, or the oil-and-gas industry in the North Sea—but ends up revealing just as much about its author as it does its topic. In this 6-week class, students will read excerpts from memoirs such as Jenn Shapland's My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, experiment with prompts, and then write a final piece that uses research, reporting, and/or criticism to open the door to the self.
Spring classes will open for registration in early January 2025. Add your email address to the waitlist below and we’ll alert you when registration is live. Expect a mix of in-person and virtual options with financial aid and payment plans available to those who need them.
From Query to Collaboration: How to Get an Agent
Fiction w/ Eshani Surya (90 minutes)
Nonfiction w/ Elizabeth Greenspan (90 minutes)
These 90 minute masterclasses, available for purchase individually or as a pair, will guide students through the process of getting an agent. Separated by genre, students in these standalone sessions will learn how to identify the ideal agent, write a successful query letter and choose comp titles, and manage the query process and communications, as well as what happens after you aquire representation. Participants will get an overview of best practices, the opportunity to ask questions about the publishing industry, and helpful tools to shape their future queries.
Between Language and Music: Black Acoustemologies w/ Hiwot Adilow (Poetry | 3 hours)
Acoustemology, a hybridization of the words “acoustic” and “epistemology,” emphasizes sonic ways of knowing and being in the world. In this three-hour, generative poetry workshop, participants will study the use of sound in Black poetics before applying these lessons to their own work. By playing with musicality and crafting precise lyrics, we'll begin to unveil new ways of knowing and being known through poetry. This single-session workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
The Tipping Point: Writing Choice as Scene w/ Sam Heaps (Fiction | 3 hours)
A moment of decision can be one of the most memorable elements of a story. In this prose-focused 3-hour session, we will analyze two skillfully executed scenes of choice, brainstorm what we as a group think is important to show in a decision, and generate our own empathetic depictions of this critical point. Students of all levels are welcome, and sharing is encouraged, but not required. Those who have a work in progress are welcome to bring these characters to the workshop; all others should be ready to start a new story with a crossroads.
Beyond the Page: Performance Skills for Poets w/ Dimitri Reyes (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Let your voice be heard! In this immersive 3-week workshop, participants will learn strategies for structuring and performing impactful poems by studying the Black Arts, Nuyorican, and Breakbeat movements. Through manipulating pacing, pauses, rhyme, and rhythm, students of all experience levels and poetic genres will generate new material and gain experience performing work that is transformative for writers and audiences alike.
Poetry as Resistance: Crafting Your Revolutionary Voice w/ Saskia Kercy (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Informed by and committed to Black radical tradition, “Poetry as Resistance” is a transformative 3-week workshop that delves deep into the power of revolutionary literature. Participants will explore the works of influential poets and writers who have used their craft to advocate for justice, liberation, and change. Each week, we will focus on a different figure or set of figures, examining their contributions and how their words continue to resonate today. Participants will engage in critical analysis, political discourse, and creative writing exercises designed to inspire their own poetic expressions of resistance. This workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Writing the Wounded Character w/ Emily Jon Tobias (Fiction | 3 weeks)
In this generative 3-week class, students will take a deep dive into narrative structure by way of the wounded character. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we'll learn the foundations of story structure, including character roles (protagonist, antagonist, etc) and how they function, narrative timelines, and character motives and development. We'll also explore how we as writers and individuals can learn from our fictional characters' pain and capacity for change.
Write an Essay Clean as a Bone w/ Nicole Young (Nonfiction | 3 weeks)
Good writing aims to balance economy and embellishment to produce prose that sings, while making the message clear. James Baldwin, one of America's most skilled essayists, once said, “Write a sentence clean as a bone. That is the goal.” Over the course of this 3-week class, we will use this guidance to trim the excess of our story, tighten the muscle of our argument, and strengthen our broader claims. At the end of this course, participants will walk away with a draft of a nonfiction essay as well as the tools needed to continue writing on their own.
The Queer Art of Friendship w/ Kurt David (Cross-genre | 3 weeks)
What is friendship? What isn't it? And isn't it kinda queer? In this 3-week class, we'll think through these questions in the context of our own lives and communities. Taking inspiration from representations of friendship in literature and visual media, students will work across genre to generate new writing.
One and the Same: An Autofiction Workshop w/ Wancy Young Cho (Fiction | 6 weeks)
Autofiction blends elements of autobiography and fiction, blurring the line between truth and fantasy. In this 6-week class, participants will learn how to mine and forage their memories and lives to lay the groundwork for powerful storytelling. Through discussion and experimentation, we'll explore the foundations of autofiction as a genre and generate new or continued works of our own.
Through the Backdoor: Writing the Hybrid Memoir w/ Kristen Martin (Nonfiction | 6 weeks)
When we break away from what’s going on inside our heads, we just might see our own lives in a new light and discover something universal. This is the foundation of a “backdoor memoir”: a work that seems at first to focus on an outside phenomenon—the love letters of a Southern Gothic novelist, or the oil-and-gas industry in the North Sea—but ends up revealing just as much about its author as it does its topic. In this 6-week class, students will read excerpts from memoirs such as Jenn Shapland's My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, experiment with prompts, and then write a final piece that uses research, reporting, and/or criticism to open the door to the self.
Spring classes will open for registration in early January 2025. Add your email address to the waitlist below and we’ll alert you when registration is live. Expect a mix of in-person and virtual options with financial aid and payment plans available to those who need them.
From Query to Collaboration: How to Get an Agent
Fiction w/ Eshani Surya (90 minutes)
Nonfiction w/ Elizabeth Greenspan (90 minutes)
These 90 minute masterclasses, available for purchase individually or as a pair, will guide students through the process of getting an agent. Separated by genre, students in these standalone sessions will learn how to identify the ideal agent, write a successful query letter and choose comp titles, and manage the query process and communications, as well as what happens after you aquire representation. Participants will get an overview of best practices, the opportunity to ask questions about the publishing industry, and helpful tools to shape their future queries.
Between Language and Music: Black Acoustemologies w/ Hiwot Adilow (Poetry | 3 hours)
Acoustemology, a hybridization of the words “acoustic” and “epistemology,” emphasizes sonic ways of knowing and being in the world. In this three-hour, generative poetry workshop, participants will study the use of sound in Black poetics before applying these lessons to their own work. By playing with musicality and crafting precise lyrics, we'll begin to unveil new ways of knowing and being known through poetry. This single-session workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
The Tipping Point: Writing Choice as Scene w/ Sam Heaps (Fiction | 3 hours)
A moment of decision can be one of the most memorable elements of a story. In this prose-focused 3-hour session, we will analyze two skillfully executed scenes of choice, brainstorm what we as a group think is important to show in a decision, and generate our own empathetic depictions of this critical point. Students of all levels are welcome, and sharing is encouraged, but not required. Those who have a work in progress are welcome to bring these characters to the workshop; all others should be ready to start a new story with a crossroads.
Beyond the Page: Performance Skills for Poets w/ Dimitri Reyes (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Let your voice be heard! In this immersive 3-week workshop, participants will learn strategies for structuring and performing impactful poems by studying the Black Arts, Nuyorican, and Breakbeat movements. Through manipulating pacing, pauses, rhyme, and rhythm, students of all experience levels and poetic genres will generate new material and gain experience performing work that is transformative for writers and audiences alike.
Poetry as Resistance: Crafting Your Revolutionary Voice w/ Saskia Kercy (Poetry | 3 weeks)
Informed by and committed to Black radical tradition, “Poetry as Resistance” is a transformative 3-week workshop that delves deep into the power of revolutionary literature. Participants will explore the works of influential poets and writers who have used their craft to advocate for justice, liberation, and change. Each week, we will focus on a different figure or set of figures, examining their contributions and how their words continue to resonate today. Participants will engage in critical analysis, political discourse, and creative writing exercises designed to inspire their own poetic expressions of resistance. This workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Writing the Wounded Character w/ Emily Jon Tobias (Fiction | 3 weeks)
In this generative 3-week class, students will take a deep dive into narrative structure by way of the wounded character. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we'll learn the foundations of story structure, including character roles (protagonist, antagonist, etc) and how they function, narrative timelines, and character motives and development. We'll also explore how we as writers and individuals can learn from our fictional characters' pain and capacity for change.
Write an Essay Clean as a Bone w/ Nicole Young (Nonfiction | 3 weeks)
Good writing aims to balance economy and embellishment to produce prose that sings, while making the message clear. James Baldwin, one of America's most skilled essayists, once said, “Write a sentence clean as a bone. That is the goal.” Over the course of this 3-week class, we will use this guidance to trim the excess of our story, tighten the muscle of our argument, and strengthen our broader claims. At the end of this course, participants will walk away with a draft of a nonfiction essay as well as the tools needed to continue writing on their own.
The Queer Art of Friendship w/ Kurt David (Cross-genre | 3 weeks)
What is friendship? What isn't it? And isn't it kinda queer? In this 3-week class, we'll think through these questions in the context of our own lives and communities. Taking inspiration from representations of friendship in literature and visual media, students will work across genre to generate new writing.
One and the Same: An Autofiction Workshop w/ Wancy Young Cho (Fiction | 6 weeks)
Autofiction blends elements of autobiography and fiction, blurring the line between truth and fantasy. In this 6-week class, participants will learn how to mine and forage their memories and lives to lay the groundwork for powerful storytelling. Through discussion and experimentation, we'll explore the foundations of autofiction as a genre and generate new or continued works of our own.
Through the Backdoor: Writing the Hybrid Memoir w/ Kristen Martin (Nonfiction | 6 weeks)
When we break away from what’s going on inside our heads, we just might see our own lives in a new light and discover something universal. This is the foundation of a “backdoor memoir”: a work that seems at first to focus on an outside phenomenon—the love letters of a Southern Gothic novelist, or the oil-and-gas industry in the North Sea—but ends up revealing just as much about its author as it does its topic. In this 6-week class, students will read excerpts from memoirs such as Jenn Shapland's My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, experiment with prompts, and then write a final piece that uses research, reporting, and/or criticism to open the door to the self.