“I will always be grateful for all I gained as a Writing Institute student. The workshops provided essential input that helped me turn my story from a rough draft into an agent-ready manuscript.”
—Barbara Solomon Josselsohn, author of Secrets of the Italian Island
The Writing Institute offers workshops and classes to help you write your book. From generative sessions to get ideas flowing to full manuscript workshops, our workshops are meant to help writers at any stage. We’re always adding new classes to help writers tell their best stories.
Read on for more about our curriculum, with classes offered several times throughout the year, online and on campus. You can also view our current open classes and sign up for our newsletter to make sure you’re notified when we open registration for new classes.
Looking to start writing but not sure where to start?
- Have you ever thought someday I'll write a book? Do you have a story about your life waiting to unfold on the page? In Life Writers: Memoir 101 with Janet Pfeffer, you will discover what it takes to begin.
- Are you looking to generate new work about your past? Consider taking Life Stories: A Writing Workshop for Ages 50+ with Cindy Beer-Fouhy. Students will write new pieces in response to prompts and class discussions. During the workshop, students will have time to recall events and write and share their memories with others in the group.
- If you have a great idea but haven’t put words to the page yet, Ines Rodrigues’ class Start Writing Your Novel Now is the perfect class for you. Ines’s ten-week course is a well-balanced mix of workshop, craft lessons and lots of encouragement.
- Looking to start writing poetry? In Jumpstart Your Poetry Practice: How Poems Are Made with Elaine Sexton students will take a fresh look at how poems are made, devices that are new, and others made fresh under informed review. No matter how many poems students have written or published –– when anyone sits down to write a new poem they are starting from scratch, each time better informed.
- Interested in starting to piece together a memoir? Tyler Mills’ Writing Place, Writing Self will invite students, through specific prompts, to write about places they’ve lived, worked, and traveled. Conversations will be empathetic and dynamic and lead to approaches students can take in revising your work and in writing the next piece. By the end of this course, they will have a set of mini memoirs that they can develop and build into a larger project.
- Not sure what you want to write but know that you have stories to tell? Join Rachel Aydt for Stories That Stick: Writing Your Fiction or Memoir Students are invited to come as they are, ready to roll up their sleeves and write whatever they're pulled to: creative nonfiction essays, memoir, and short stories. The aim is to read stories each week, discuss them, workshop student work, and expand writerly tool boxes with prompts driven by the readings.
Ready to write your novel?
- If you have a great idea but haven’t put words to the page yet, Ines Rodrigues’ class Start Writing Your Novel Now is the perfect class for you. Ines’s ten-week course is a well-balanced mix of workshop, craft lessons and lots of encouragement.
- If you’re working on a YA or Children’s lit novel, try Writing Fiction for Young People. Join award winning children's author Padma Venkatraman for this generative 10-week workshop to unlock your creativity.
- Are you looking to learn about the craft of novel writing from a seasoned big-five editor? Caitlin Alexander’s Novel Writing Master Class is open to students who have a draft of a manuscript or who are just starting out. You’ll receive detailed feedback from the instructor and your fellow writers as you work toward polishing your novel.
- Have a draft but not sure where to go with it next? You’re not quite done, but you know your book—its heart, its plot, and what you think its ending will be. In Intermediate Novel & Memoir with Barbara Josselsohn, you will take a leap forward, finishing the class with an in-depth critique of your book plan and synopsis, as well as feedback on 50 full pages of your book.
- Feel like you’re almost done and looking for feedback on your full manuscript? Advanced Novel & Memoir Workshop with Marcia Bradley is for you! This workshop is for more experienced writers in the process of completing and/or revising a manuscript or first draft of a full book of fiction, linked short stories, nonfiction, or memoir. Limited to six writers, you will have the unique opportunity for your full draft to be read and workshopped by others.
Are you working on a memoir?
- Have you ever thought someday I'll write a book? Do you have a story about your life waiting to unfold on the page? In Life Writers: Memoir 101 with Janet Pfeffer, you will discover what it takes to begin.
- Are you looking to generate new work about your past? Consider taking Life Stories: A Writing Workshop for Ages 50+ with Cindy Beer-Fouhy. Students will write new pieces in response to prompts and class discussions. During the workshop, students will have time to recall events and write and share their memories with others in the group.
- Selfhood and motherhood are two halves that make up the whole of many women. In Motherhood in Memoir with Terri Linton, students will examine works by writers that center motherhood as they explore our own motherhood journeys. Through generative writing prompts and workshopping of segments of works in progress, the class will offer feedback on ways in which writers can begin or further develop drafts.
- Kathy Curto’s Memoir Intensive offers a chance to share and receive feedback on up to fifty double-spaced pages of memoir material. This could be a collection of micro-memoirs, chapters from a manuscript-in-progress or vignettes that have yet to be shaped. There are designated class times for generative writing from prompts and craft discussions, too.
- Have a draft but not sure where to go with it next? You’re not quite done, but you know your book—its heart, its plot, and what you think its ending will be. In Intermediate Novel & Memoir with Barbara Josselsohn, you will take a leap forward, finishing the class with an in-depth critique of your book plan and synopsis, as well as feedback on 50 full pages of your book.
- Feel like you’re almost done and looking for feedback on your full manuscript? Advanced Novel & Memoir Workshop with Marcia Bradley is for you! This workshop is for more experienced writers in the process of completing and/or revising a manuscript or first draft of a full book of fiction, linked short stories, nonfiction, or memoir. Limited to six writers, you will have the unique opportunity for your full draft to be read and workshopped by others.
Success Stories
From novels to poetry, memoir to children’s literature, students of The Writing Institute often tell us they found their voice within our workshops. But, it may be more true that in our classes students become empowered to share words often long kept secret or locked away. Our teachers believe in every individual who attends The Writing Institute and sincerely appreciate the chance to help bring words to paper, paper to print, and stories to others. You can find our students published in journals and newspapers like Salon.com, Glimmer Train, Drift Magazine, and Poets & Writers. Many have gone on to publish books as well. We are proud of all our students and are delighted to display here just some of the books which began or grew from a galvanizing moment within our workshops.
Elf Ahearn
"If I was going to try my hand at this writing gig, I needed to learn from the best. Ergo, I looked up Sarah Lawrence College, found an adult education class that was reasonably priced, and signed on the dotted line. Just so you know, I was a dreadful student in school, plagued with dyslexia during that golden time when the word hadn’t been invented yet, so learning was a colossal drag. [At The Writing Institute], for the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed going to school. Sarah Lawrence, bless its higher-education heart, was a life-changing experience, and I am externally grateful."
Margaret G. Benedict
“Working with [instructors] in the writing workshops changed the way I think. They were always brilliant, good natured, and delightful to work with. Their positive approach to novel writing gave me the courage to find my voice. I will always be grateful.”
Marion Brown
"At The Writing Institute, my instructors encouraged me to experiment with forms I would not have tried, and helped me collect a group of poems to form my first chapbook."
Carla Carlson
“On a whim, I took a writing course... within minutes, I knew I had found something I needed to go forth. Suddenly, my stored experiences and hidden feelings had new meaning, and possibility, which was life-changing.”
Liane Carter
"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."
Linda Hillman Chayes
“I owe a great deal of my growth and development as a poet to my amazing teachers [at the Writing Institute].”
Holly Hodder Eger
“My instructors at the Writing Institute gave me the discipline, deadlines, and feedback I craved, and their thoughtful prompts and required free writes became actual scenes in my book.”
Jacqueline Goldstein
"I retired from many years of teaching high school English and thought, 'what next?' An ad in the New Yorker introduced me to the Writing Institute. I had to overcome a little hesitation, as a senior citizen, at the prospect of sharing my work with strangers, some of them many years my junior. But I took a chance, and found that the classes were safe, respectful places, where creativity could flourish. I was encouraged and nurtured. What a luxury, to become a learner again under the guidance of wonderful teachers and with the support of a terrific writing community. To my delight, an excerpt from what would become my first novel, Ms. Murphy's Makeover, was published in the Westchester Review. It is the story of a teacher, betrayed at home and at work, whose students give her a life-changing makeover. At this point I was lucky enough to become part of a peer critique group. With their help and the help of many skillful teachers, Ms. Murphy's Makeover became a novel. One of my classmates at Sarah Lawrence, Rebecca Marks, was instrumental in connecting me with my publisher. The launching of Ms. Murphy's Makeover at Sarah Lawrence was a highlight of my life. I encourage anyone who enjoys writing to join others who love to write at the Writing Institute of Sarah Lawrence College."
Georgette Gouveia
"My new novel The Penalty for Holding—about a gay, biracial quarterback's search for identity in the NFL—was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, and, I must say, I don't think this would've happened without The Writing Institute. It was there that I first pitched the idea and learned how to refine my pitch, which ultimately led to a contract with Less Than Three Press. The Writing Institute has also been invaluable in the pitching and development of the novel I'm working on now. It has my deepest appreciation."
Lucia Greenhouse
"Without the Art of Memoir class, fathermothergod would still be on the back burner. The Writing Institute provided the structure, the caring and insightful talent of a remarkable teacher and fellow writers, and a safe setting to probe difficult questions and find the right words."
Caroline Holme
“I got serious about writing when I started at the Writing Institute in 2004. The instruction and example inspired and stimulated me.”
Barbara Solomon Josselsohn
“I will always be grateful for all I gained as a Writing Institute student. The workshops provided essential input that helped me turn my story from a rough draft into an agent-ready manuscript.”
Lynda Cohen Loigman
"I could not have written my novel without the guidance and support of my teacher and classmates at The Writing Institute."
Rebecca Marks
"I have been working with Writing Institute instructors for more than five years. Their guidance, support, and constructive criticism have been instrumental in my success at selling five novels, and I am forever grateful to them for helping me fulfill the dream of a lifetime!"
Victoria Rivera McKinley
"I had the passion and commitment to write, but needed to build a foundation of knowledge, skills, and confidence to take off and move from dreaming to creation. Discovering The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence catapulted me into becoming the writer I wanted to be. Thank you so much to the wonderful staff that makes The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence possible.”
Ginger McKnight-Chavers
“[My Writing Institute instructors] lit a fire under me to produce work, move my story forward, complete my first draft… All in an encouraging, inspiring environment with other wonderful writers.”
Annabel Monaghan
"I came to the Novel Writing class at The Writing Institute with a lumpy first draft of a novel. The writing techniques and feedback that I got from my teachers and classmates turned it into a significantly less lumpy, published novel.”
Eileen Palma
“I came to The Writing Institute in search of a writing community while improving my craft. My debut novel Worth the Weight was born at The Writing Institute and workshopped extensively in the Novel Workshop followed by the Advanced Novel Workshop…Not only did I improve my writing enough to get it to the professional level, I became part of a tight-knit community that has supported me every step of the way.”
Ines Rodrigues
“I always tell my friends that The Writing Institute changed my life. Before I moved to New York, I worked for many years as a journalist in Brazil, writing nonfiction in my native Portuguese, and dreaming of becoming a fiction writer. Who could imagine that my first novel would be published in English?
In the fall of 2010, I decided to click the register button and join a Novel Writing Class at The Writing Institute. I had a story in my head and many insecurities about writing in my second language. I found support, mentors, and true friends. I understood that my accent and my style should work on my side. Seven years later I published my novel, Days of Bossa Nova.
What I've learned at The Writing Institute is much more than techniques. I became part of a community of writers, I learned how to search for publication—dealing with the inevitable rejections—and how to discipline myself to keep writing.”
Barbara Santarelli
“After years of informally writing essays and journaling, I decided to venture into a formal writing course at Sarah Lawrence. "Get Over Yourself," a memoir writing course given by Sarah Saffian, gave me the basic tools, skills, and motivation to launch me to the next steps. I am so proud to be a published author. Thank you to my two "Sarah's."”
Tina Traster
"Participating in memoir writing classes at The Writing Institute played a significant role in helping me germinate the idea for my book, Rescuing Julia Twice, and it gave me a forum to keep on track and stay motivated."
Muriel Harris Weinstein
“The Writing Institute enriched my life… My time here has been fantastic. My time here has given me the courage to continue to write my books.”