Whether you’ve just returned from Paris or Sacramento or you’re dreaming of a trip, this class will help you transform your observations into vivid and lasting images. Katharine will provide tips on how to carefully observe and record your impressions of new places and cultures

“Often we have to make nonsense before we make sense,” says instructor Heather June Gibbons. “When we allow ourselves to not know, to play and romp and even run amok, to release instead of control, to write fast and get messy, not only do we have fun and surprise ourselves, we find our true material

“Anne Lamott may have coined the phrase ‘Bird by Bird,’ but I like to think of writing stories as similar to building a house,” says instructor Rob Williams. “You don’t build it in a day, you build it Brick by Brick

The goal of this intimate 8-session class is for each person to finish a handful of new poems for potential publication. We’ll be drafting or revising a poem in between each class meeting; plan to complete 4-8 new works by the end of the class in October. Along the way we’ll share constructive feedback

The focus of the workshop is to encourage and guide experienced writers in creating, revising, and potentially publishing short, stand-alone works of memoir

You had the impulse, you wrote the first draft in a rush of raw creativity, and maybe you even worked on a second (or third) draft, but you know it’s not finished. What next

Big things can come in small packages—their own perfect beauty tied to their size. The short short story is literary proof that great fiction can come in a small package

“Each of us has a story to tell, but finding the words and voice for that story is an art and craft specific to each individual,” says instructor Kathy Garlick. “This class is designed for writers who may be uncovering and sharing that story for the first time

“We all have our favorite writing rules—rules that have come about sometimes as simple pet peeves but more often for valid reasons," says instructor Lori Ostlund. In this class, we will practice breaking those rules

“What makes a story compelling?” asks instructor Andy Touhy. “More importantly, what are the ways to make it compelling? In this workshop, we’ll begin to really think about how to tell a good tale (short story or novel)

“What drives many of us to write is the simple human need to express ourselves,” says instructor David Jacobson. “There may be no better way to meet that need than by presenting a point of view

"Poets in every stage of their career, and often on a regular basis, struggle with where and how to start a poem,” says instructor Brian Tierney. “I’ve found that creating boundaries for the writing process is a good way to spark inspiration and creativity

“Do you have the urge to write, but no clues about how to start? Or maybe you’ve been working on a piece of writing, but suddenly you’re stuck? Well, this one-day workshop is all about getting started

This class—which will be capped at just 9 participants—will offer advanced fiction writers the opportunity to submit two new pieces of fiction and one revision and to receive rigorous, supportive, and constructive feedback on all three

Love. Loss. Transformation. These themes are so integral to the human experience that writers have returned to them again and again for centuries. In this workshop we’ll explore a different theme each week

“By writing memoir and personal essays, we give form to our histories and make something of meaning and beauty that is uniquely ours,” says instructor Katharine Harer. "I love this genre because you can be yourself, complete with your idiosyncrasies, strong opinions, flashes of wisdom and crazy moments

In this class, you'll develop concrete skills and narrative techniques through fun writing exercises designed to help you master your craft. At the end of five weeks, you'll have a better grip on how to use these techniques (for developing character, setting, and plot) as tools for building your story

"All humans are sexual beings and writing about sexuality is simply writing about life,” says instructor Jennifer Lewis. This 5-week class will be a safe space to explore intimacy, desire, obsession, and trauma through writing

Write what you know? Instructor Steve Mitchel asks, “Where’s the fun in that?" In this one-day workshop, you’ll practice writing what you don’t know

The focus of the workshop is to encourage and guide experienced writers in creating, revising, and potentially publishing short, stand-alone works of memoir

“Reading and writing poetry have long been occasions for self-exploration,” says instructor Brian Tierney. “Poems uncover and recover; they engage memory and personal history, bringing them back to life with new meanings and new understandings

“The best way to learn anything is to DO it,” says instructor Kate Montgomery. “In this daylong boot camp, you’ll get the chance to throw yourself into the mix, to pick up screenwriting basics and apply them right away

“Since brevity is the soul of wit,” join us for a day of reading and writing flash memoir. A close cousin to flash fiction, this genre zeroes in on brief-but-significant moments from our real lives and requires lean, precise language

Don’t have the time to commit to a multi-week class but want to develop essential creative writing skills in one inspiring and productive session? This is the class for you. This one-day intensive boot camp will help you sharpen your writing skills in a fun and encouraging environment

In this class we’ll focus on finding and shaping evocative stories from our own lives, stories that build from our specific and unique life events and move toward resonant, universal themes

“Have you wanted to test the waters of creative writing but don’t know where to begin, or how?" asks instructor Kathy Garlick. “Have you waded into those waters before, but it’s been a while?” In this class, you will be guided surely and safely into the writing experience

"If you’re craving some constructive, insightful feedback from a supportive group of fellow writers, it’s time to dip your toe into the workshop," says instructor Steve Mitchel

This 5-week workshop will guide you through the intricacies of change, whether you want to explore a story from your past, such as a coming of age moment, or focus on something from your present, perhaps a career change, retirement or relocation, divorce or breakup, or aging