Whether this is your first writing class or you’re finishing your next book, The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College helps writers grow and connect with a community of passionate writers. Join us on campus in Bronxville, New York or online. Questions about which class is best for you? Email The Writing Institute at writinginstitute@sarahlawrence.edu. We're here to help.
Featured Classes
How Do They Do It? Reading Workshop for Writers
In this new workshop series, we’ll do a deep dive into a popular novel that made it big—and look for the “secret sauce” that made it work so well. For the summer session, we’ll be delving into Bonnie Garmus's wildly successful debut novel LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY.
July 9 to July 30, 2024
Tuesdays, 12pm to 2pm EST, On Campus
Speculative, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Workshop
Storytelling originated in hyperbole, nonrealism, other worlds, and mythology. Tales of death-defying feats that elicit horror, fear, hope, triumph, or romance is the bedrock of fiction. In this workshop we will learn how to use techniques across the genre-spectrum to inform our conception of what "storytelling" can be.
July 8 to August 12, 2024
Mondays, 6pm to 8pm EST on Zoom
Poem Like You Mean It: A Generative Poetry Class
What makes a poem? While everyone’s answer might be different, in this workshop, we’ll explore what makes a poem good. What gives it fire? What gives it meaning?
July 22 to August 19, 2024
Mondays, 6pm to 8pm EST on Zoom
“On a whim, I took a writing course… within minutes, I knew I had found something I needed to go forth with. Suddenly, my stored experiences and hidden feelings had new meaning, and possibility, which was life-changing.”
—Carla Carlson, author of Love and Oranges
Summer Session 1: May & June
- Windows, Doors, and Floors: Writing an Essay with Tyler Mills (Five Weeks)
May 21 to June 18, 2024
Tuesdays, 11:00am to 1:00pm EST, on Zoom - Life Stories: A Writing Workshop for Ages 50+ with Cindy Beer-Fouhy (Six Weeks)
May 22 to June 26, 2024
Wednesdays, 12:00pm-3:00pm EST, on Zoom - Writing Home with Samantha Steiner (Five Weeks)
May 28 to June 25th, 2024
Tuesdays, 10:00am to 12:00pm EST, on Zoom - Fiction Workshop: Novel Writing Master Class with Caitlin Alexander (Ten Weeks)
May 29 to July 31, 2024
Wednesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm EST, on Zoom - Intermediate 2.0: Novel and Memoir Workshop with Barbara Josselsohn (Ten Weeks)
May 30 to August 1, 2024
Thursdays, 10:00am to 12:00pm EST, On Zoom - Motherhood in Memoir with Terri Linton (Ten Weeks)
May 30 to August 8th, 2024
Thursdays, 6:00pm to 8:00pm EST, On Zoom - Start Writing Your Novel Now with Ines Rodrigues (Five Weeks)
June 3 to July 1, 2024
Mondays 1:00pm to 3:00pm EST on Zoom - Travel Writing: The Places We Go with Ines Rodrigues (One Day)
Saturday, June 11, 2024
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, On Campus - Poetry as Prayer: Generative Poetry Workshop with Brittnay Deininger (Five Weeks)
June 11th - July 16th, 2024
Tuesdays, 10:00am - 12:00pm EST, On Campus - Advanced Novel & Memoir: A Full Manuscript Workshop with Marcia Bradley (Six Weeks)
June 12 to July 31, 2024
Wednesdays, 1pm to 3pm EST, On Zoom - In My Body: Writing Disability, Chronic Illness and Pain with Kuhu Joshi (One Day)
Thursday, June 13th, 2024
6 pm to 8:30 pm EST on Zoom - Learn to Link Your Short Stories or Memoirs into a Collection with Tessa Smith McGovern (One Day)
Saturday, June 15th 2024
10:00am to 2:00pm, On Zoom
Summer Session 2: July & August
- Speculative, Science Fiction, and Horror Workshop with Molly McGhee (Six Weeks)
July 8 to August 12, 2024
Mondays, 6pm to 8pm EST on Zoom - How Do They Do It? Reading Workshop for Writers with Barbara Josselsohn (Four Weeks)
July 9 to July 30, 2024
Tuesdays, 12pm to 2pm EST, On Campus - Playing with Point of View with Rachel Aydt (Five Weeks)
July 11th to August 8th, 2024
Thursdays 6:00 to 8:00pm, on Zoom - Submitting to Literary Magazines with Samantha Steiner (One Day)
Wednesday, July 17th
6:00 - 8:30pm EST, On Zoom - Life Stories: A Writing Workshop of Ages 50+ with Cindy Beer-Fouhy (Five Weeks)
July 18 to June 26, 2024
Thursdays, 6:00pm-9:00pm EST, on Zoom - Poem Like You Mean It: A Generative Poetry Class with Arriel Vinson (Five Weeks)
July 22 to August 19, 2024
Mondays, 6pm to 8pm EST on Zoom - Winning at the Finish Line with Ben Purkurt (One Day)
Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024
6 pm to 8:30 pm EST on Zoom
"Writing by its very nature is solitary, but every writer reaches a point when it becomes critically important to share one’s work. [The Writing Institute] gave me exactly the structure, close reading, and support I needed to see my book through to completion."
—Liane Carter, author of Ketchup is My Favorite Vegetable: A Family Grows Up With Autism