Learn from Today's Most Influential Writers
GrubStreet’s Contemporary Craft Series brings you low-cost opportunities to learn directly from some of the most influential voices in contemporary literature. Each live, online seminar focuses on a unique craft topic, includes Q&A, and offers fresh insights you can apply to your writing right away. Recent teaching authors have included Kaveh Akbar, Jennifer Haigh, Tony Tulathimutte, and Jonathan Escoffery.
These special sessions are not recorded, so each is truly a one-time opportunity. Whether you’re brand new to GrubStreet or have been writing with us for years, these 90-minute seminars will fuel your creative inspiration and deepen your craft.
New sessions are added throughout the year — keep reading to see our currently scheduled Contemporary Craft seminars.
Upcoming Seminars
Date: April 4, 2026, 2:30pm–4:00pm | $35 for Non-Members, $25 for Members
To write a novel is to make a million decisions, large and small, emotional and logical, aesthetic and practical. What tools, practices, tricks, or habits might a writer keep at their disposal in order to survive the wilderness between inspiration and completion? In this hybrid workshop and craft talk, we will look at a group of tools that could benefit fiction writers as they work. We will closely examine a few excerpts, and do a few in-class exercises during our time together. This class is appropriate for writers of all levels, but may be the best fit for writers serious about writing their first (or second or third) novel.
Instructor:
Catherine Lacey is author of The Möbius Book, a hybrid work of fiction and memoir, as well as four novels: Biography of X, Pew, Nobody Is Ever Missing, and The Answers; and one story collection, Certain American States. Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, a fellowship from The Cullman Center, the Young Lions Fiction Award, an O. Henry, and the Brooklyn Public Library Book Award.
Past Teaching Authors
Be the First to Know About New Craft Series Seminars
More seminars in the Contemporary Craft Series will become available throughout the year. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive announcements about:
- New Contemporary Craft seminars
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About GrubStreet
Want writing to be a bigger part of your life? GrubStreet, the nation’s leading creative writing center, helps you stay inspired, motivated, and connected. We offer classes, events, and community for writers of all backgrounds, both in person and online, and we’re on a mission to make creative writing accessible to people across all genres, backgrounds, and career stages.
Explore our upcoming workshops and learn more about becoming a member of our supportive writing community.