Making Art Out of Orts with Michelle Brafman

An ort is a table scrap, something that you might throw away in the trash. The prompts in this Workshop are designed to help writers hone their powers of observation and exercise their imaginations in order to memorialize the ordinary, yet often noteworthy, moments that can pass by us. The goal is simply to move the pen. No judgment. No pressure. No writing experience necessary. These exercises will help beginners and seasoned writers find their pathways into new and existing projects. Plus, we’ll have fun!

Here at The New Yorker with Margaret Talbot

The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of The New Yorker. In this Workshop we will talk about its style and substance and what makes a New Yorker piece. And just for fun we will try our hands at writing New Yorker cartoon captions.

Writing Book Reviews with Ron Charles

In this Workshop we will explore the art of book reviewing, from selecting the right book and reading with a critical eye to crafting compelling reviews that resonate with readers.

Writing Short with Kim Roberts

In this generative Workshop we will look at flash fiction and prose poems, and discuss the charm and challenge of brevity. How do these “short shorts” stop time, center on a single incident or character, and infer a rich backstory? How do we imply deep emotion as we distill the essentials of a story into a single paragraph? We will read some examples, talk about strategy, and then do some short writing of our own.

Should You Write a Memoir Before You Die? with E. Ethelbert Miller [Sold Out]

SOLD OUT Is a memoir as important as having a will?
What memories about your life do you want to save?
When does writing a memoir become urgent?

Point of View with Susan Coll [Sold Out]

Consideration of point of view in fiction writing is often given short-shrift, yet it is one of the most consequential choices an author can make. In this Workshop we will consider the ways in which the narrative changes when told from a variety of perspectives.