Neighborhood Classes

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Update:

There have been changes made to the WDTS class schedule. Please read class information carefully and note cancellations and updates.

Han sido cambios en el horario de clases de wdts/autores a la vuelta. Por favor lea los detalles de cada clase con cuidado y note cancelaciones y noticias.

More general updates and information can be found on our COVID-19 Updates Page.

If you would like to opt-in to receive weekly writing prompts and writing exercises (via email or snail mail, your choice!), please fill out this form.

Write Down the Street

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 in partnership with Boston Public Library and offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard. This program is also supported in part by the Mass Cultural Council.

Click on the links below to sign up for a class. 

Types of Classes

Want to get into creative writing, but not sure where to begin? Get inspired with a FREE session at your local library. There are three types of programs offered so far. All classes welcome new and practicing writers!

Drop-in Classes: For about one hour, you’ll meet fellow writers, and learn to tell your story through fun directed exercises in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and sometimes other genres or forms.

Multi-week Classes: These 2-hour classes meet weekly for three to six weeks. These regular meetings allow for more time to share work and give and receive light feedback. Students read and discuss excerpts of works written by new and established authors, and try writing exercises that deepen and expand their own writing.

Ask a Writer: Office Hours – These are open to anyone who wants to ask an instructor a question about a writing project, resources, opportunities, upcoming classes, and tips. Just come to the library and sign up for a 20-minute max time block. Unfortunately, advance reservations are not possible. Office hours time blocks are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public Library

Drop-Ins: 

September 18th: Detangling the Craft of Writing

November 20th: Outlining

December 18th: The Story’s Sledgehammer

Multi-Week:

September 21st - October 26th Deconstructing the Short Story

Egleston Square Branch of the Boston Public Library

Drop-Ins: 

October 15th: Plotting the Timeline in Your Short Stories

October 29th: Foraging for Story

Multi-Week:

October 27th - November 17th POETRY APPEARS: A Bilingual Poetry Workshop (English/Spanish)

Making Your Own Short Film with Zero Budget Series: With Mariona Lloreta

Ask a Writer: Office Hours

These are open to anyone who wants to ask an instructor a question about a writing project, resources, opportunities, upcoming classes, and tips. Just come to the library and sign up for a 20-minute max time block. Office hours time blocks are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Instructors are now offering virtual office hours on the following days:  

Office hours with Quentin Lucas: August 13th, September 17th, November 19th, December 17th

Applying to GrubStreet's Emerging Writer Fellowship: Info Sessions

Applying to fellowships, contests, scholarships and other creative writing opportunities can be intimidating, especially the first time around. Come join us for a question-and-answer session that clarifies the application process for GrubStreet’s Emerging Writer Fellowship as well as many other opportunities. Once you understand the basic elements of an application, you’ll have the building blocks to tackle most applications in the future. 

Meet the Instructors

Vero González is a queer femme-inist writer and translator from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has a MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, where she was a Dean's Graduate Fellow and a BFA from Pratt Institute, where she won the Thesis Prize in Fiction. She has received support from A Room of Her Own Foundation (Touching Lives Fellow, 2015) as well as Hedgebrook and the Rona Jaffe Foundation (Hedgebrook/Rona Jaffe Inaugural Fellow, 2018). She lives in Boston, where she is working on a hybrid book about intergenerational trauma, colonialism, and healing. Vero is GrubStreet's Neighborhood Programs Fellow for Egleston Square.

Quentin Lucas is a Germany-born, Boston-raised bookworm. After meandering through college on his way to a degree in Business Management, he then adventured his way through the US Army and discovered a need to follow his passion for writing. As a freelancer, copywriter, and essayist, Quentin has worked on projects with MIT and Vistaprint, and has written for publications like the Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Blerds Online, and Fourth River Literary Magazine. While awaiting the fall of 2019, when he will begin his MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College, Quentin is crafting the second novel of his fantasy trilogy and is considering a memoir about his military days.

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