Programs

Workshops

With hundreds of sessions to choose from every year, Grub workshops cater to a wide range of writing genres and are open to anyone eighteen or older. Courses are offered at a variety of levels and formats, including three-hour seminars, six-hour weekend workshops, or multi-week courses. Whether you’re a writing newbie or a workshop veteran, you’ll find something here to help you meet your writing goals.

Online Courses

Wherever you happen to be in the world, our online courses bring the Grub classroom experience to you. Workshops are tailored to the needs of the online student: flexibility in scheduling, ease of interaction with fellow students and instructors, and meaningful and timely feedback on manuscripts (plus, you can show up for class in your pajamas). Multi-week classes are available in the essay, novel writing, fiction, the memoir, screenwriting, and more.

Neighborhood Classes

GrubStreet and the Boston Public Library are working in partnership to provide free creative writing classes to Boston neighborhood libraries in the Egleston Square, Mattapan, and East Boston branches. Participants have the option of attending low commitment drop-in classes and more focused 6-week courses. These classes are always FREE and open to the community. Write Down the Street has a special focus on making the creative writing workshop more accessible to those who face challenges due to cost, language skills, lack of access to transportation, and other barriers. We believe that all voices must be spotlighted with the range and fullness they deserve.

These programs are offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard.

Intensives

If you’re an advanced writer looking for something more immersive, one of our intensive programs might be for you. With programs ranging from six months to a year in the novel, memoir, and short fiction, these courses offer an intense exploration of craft as you develop or revise your manuscript, and an introduction to the publishing world.

Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP)

If you're a high school student who likes to write, we've got all sorts of programs for you. YAWP students are aged 13-18 and come from high schools all over the greater Boston area. Grub has three types of programs for teens: Free Saturday Sessions once a month during the school year, week-long Teen Writing Classes, and an annual three-week Summer Fellowship Program. (Bonus: The Boston Globe recognizes YAWP as the go-to spot for teens who like to write. We think so too!)

Consulting

Like personal trainers for your writing life, our manuscript consultants work one-on-one with writers to help them finish drafts, set writing goals, or revise their work. Whether you want to polish your manuscript before an agent sees it, get one-on-one feedback on a story, or seek advice on furthering your writing career, our consultants cover all genres, including the short story, creative nonfiction, memoir, and the novel, and offer rigorous, energizing feedback, to help take your manuscript to the next level.

Other Programs

Since our inception in 1997, GrubStreet has developed many successful programs to support local writers, the wider Boston communities, and nationally recognized authors. Click here to learn more about the Memoir Project, The GrubStreet National Book Prize, Publish it Forward, and Grub’s other programs.