Master Nonfiction

In this advanced course, experienced students who are working a variety of nonfiction projects in (almost) any genre—personal essay, book-length memoir, literary journalism, creative nonfiction — will receive support, guidance, and feedback. We'll discuss elements of craft at a high level; try new forms, techniques, voices, and structures; and develop strategies for revision. Prompts, exercises, readings by exemplary authors, and discussion, will all help you see your own work with fresh eyes. By the end of the course, you’ll have submitted work (complete essays/pieces, or excerpts from longer works) to the class for critique between three and four times; at least one piece must be a revision of a previously workshopped work. 

This course offers a model for workshopping your manuscripts in which, instead of remaining silent, you will be an active participant in the conversation about your piece, with a focus on concrete revision options. Classmates will be encouraged to incorporate content-based criticism (e.g. “what are the socio-cultural implications in this piece?”) with craft-based criticism (e.g. “how is the structure working in this draft?”) This approach aims to give the writer a stronger voice in their own critique, for readers to thoughtfully examine and learn from their initial feedback during the workshop, and for everyone to leave class with a clearer revision strategy for their work. Space is limited to 9 students to foster a closer and more rigorous learning experience. Only experienced writers who have taken previous nonfiction workshops at GrubStreet or elsewhere should apply.

Important dates:

The Master Nonfiction application is now closed. Applications submitted after January 2nd will not be reviewed.

The payment deadline for admitted students is January 7th.

To apply, please click the red "SEE DIRECTIONS TO APPLY" button in the top right corner of this page. This application will ask you to detail your workshop experience. In addition to listing workshop experience, applicants should mention their writing goals, and their reason for applying to this class. It will also ask you to upload a 5-10 page writing sample. Please make sure this writing sample is in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. For tracking purposes, your name should appear in the file name (e.g. Smith. Story Title.Submission). Decisions will be emailed to applicants approx. 1 week after the deadline. You can also track the status of your application in your Grubstreet profile. Please make sure your application is complete before you finally click "APPLY." If you have any technical difficulties filling out this application, please email [email protected]. You will receive a confirmation email once our system has received your submission.

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.