Class Description
You know your craft. Now, you’re looking for a creative circle and fresh eyes to bring your essay to the next level.
In this advanced course, experienced writers will bring essay(s)-in-progress to class and participate in craft discussions as well as group and instructor feedback. Each week, we’ll warm up with a brief writing prompt to flex our craft muscles and “keep the clock wound” followed by an open discussion of a published essay and high-level elements of craft we notice therein. Then, we’ll jump into workshopping. In the course of ten weeks, we’ll experiment with and push the boundaries of form, technique, voice, and structure while sharpening the tools that feel most helpful to your personal revision process. Students are encouraged to help shape the direction of each class and craft discussion by being forthcoming with questions, hang-ups, thoughts and curiosities. Authors we read may include, but are not limited to: Jeanette Walls, Michelle Dowd, Roxane Gay, Scott Chaskey, Joan Didion, Sarah Ruhl, Jo Ann Beard, Anne Carson, Adriana Gonzalez, and Vaclav Havel.
By the end of the course, you’ll have submitted work to the class twice for revision, and will have gained supportive feedback, generative writing prompts, fresh perspectives on voice and craft and a vision for the future of your work. I know sharing writing can be a vulnerable experience, and I am committed to maintaining a safe, supportive classroom where we all respect each other’s time, experiences and intellectual property.
Space is limited to 9 students to foster a close-knit, rigorous learning experience. Only experienced essay writers who have taken previous essay or narrative nonfiction workshops at GrubStreet or elsewhere should apply.
Important dates: The application deadline for this class is Monday, May 26th, at 11:59PM (ET). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed and will not receive a response. The payment deadline for admitted students is Wednesday, June 4th.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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 detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.