88 Best Nonfiction Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Each writer completing the four-day intensive will come away with a captivating hook, a serviceable proposal, a deeper understanding of publishing houses, editors and agents; a template for navigating the submission manuscript process; and connections to a broader writing community.

As writers and readers we all bring something different to the page and have our own lens with which we view not only the world, but the media we consume. Learn how to leverage your unique perspective and expertise into a well crafted essay on your favorite media.

For this course, you’re encouraged to bring drafts that have stymied your best efforts. Together, we’ll examine strategies for revision and discuss first and final drafts by a range of poets. You’ll learn valuable approaches to revision that will inform your writing choices beyond the classroom.

Do you have a pile of abandoned story drafts or poems? One quarter of a memoir or novel manuscript that you're still not sure what to do with? In this generative class, we'll act as gardeners, using those old drafts as compost to create fertile ground for new pieces.

In this 2-hour session, gain valuable insights into the entire journey a manuscript takes from the author's desk to the reader's hands. Guided by an experienced industry professional, explore the key stages of the publishing process, starting with manuscript submission and the critical role of editing in refining your work.

Join literary agent and author Eric Smith for this 3-hour workshop on writing query letters, the first step toward getting your manuscript published. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, this three-hour workshop will cover all the basics and dig into complex questions.

A 2-hour session dedicated to processing and reckoning with the notion of "giving up" on a story, on a project, on a dream. What does "giving up" really look like in practice—what does it mean? And when might it actually be the right thing for us to do?

Through a series of engaging writing exercises, we will mine our experiences and imagination for material and bring what we find to life on the page, constructing characters and settings, shaping vivid dialogue, creating imagery, and exploring the nuances of voice.

Why do some poems make your heart skip while others leave you cold? In this class, we’ll explore some of the key building blocks of good poetry, including voice, metaphor, imagery, and the line.

Take a crack at a sestina or learn how to write a better one. This poetic form can build your literary muscles with repetition, diction, description, and more. We’ll brainstorm ideas, go over the "rules" and study how a few good sestinas work.

Have you ever felt stuck for inspiration? This two-hour experience will guide you through an ancient tactic that poets have long relied on for inspiration: ekphrasis.

In this 2-hour generative writing workshop, we’ll revisit coming of age milestones that our adult-selves can now see with compassion. We’ll read multi-genre excerpts as examples, discuss how writers examine those awkward teen years in literature, and write with guided prompts inspired by the pieces.