creative writing workshops denver

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12 Best Creative Writing Classes in Denver

Showing 12 courses that match your search.

Advanced Weekend Fiction Intensive: Make It Work with Alexandra Kleeman

Lighthouse Writers Workshop

Every writer has a piece or two lingering in their drawer that they've set aside because it "doesn't work.” In this workshop, we'll center difficult elements from our own pieces and ask what would happen if we were to revise in support of these features rather than against them.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/advanced-weekend-f...

Categories: Book and Fiction

Start date:

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Complicating the Characters

In her seminal piece, “Complicating the Narrative,” the journalist Amanda Ripley urges storytellers to find and include details that don’t fit the narrative—on purpose. In this three-hour workshop, we’ll apply this principle to our own writing.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/complicating-chara...

Categories: Fiction, Book, Memoir, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Finding The Heart of Your Story

This course will help us find that emotional core of our writing. What is that message that you so badly would like to put out into the world? We’ll focus on finding the theme and developing our character's journey to define that message.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/finding-heart-your...

April, 2024

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Your story matters. Unlock your potential with daily video lessons from bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley, and finish your first draft in just 3 months. Learn more →

And Action— Screenwriting and Filmmaking for Ages 11-13

Do you want to bring the written word to life? Transform your imagination into captivating stories and master the art of cinematic storytelling by learning how to develop compelling characters, craft engaging plots, and structure screenplays for maximum impact.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/and-action%E2%80%9...

Categories: Kids and Screenplay

Wild, Weird, and Supernatural: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Camp For Ages 14-18

Let’s see how far our imaginations can take us! This workshop is for writers interested in genres within the speculative fiction umbrella. Genres that ask “what if?” are all welcome including sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, horror, dystopian fiction, and surrealism.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/wild-weird-and-sup...

Categories: Book, Fantasy, Fiction, Kids, and Science Fiction

Poetry Meets Fiction for Ages 11-13

Do you love writing poems and fiction? In this camp, poetry and fiction intertwine to create captivating prose poems and bite-sized flash fiction. We'll examine the works of authors who masterfully blend these genres to weave tales that dance with lyrical beauty and narrative intrigue.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/poetry-meets-ficti...

Categories: Fiction, Kids, and Poetry

Hard Times Writing Workshop

Jefferson County Public Library

This workshop offers a supportive environment for adults to process life experiences through storytelling. It's a free and open weekly writing workshop.

Website: https://jeffcolibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/656ea59208...

Categories: Fiction and Free

Open all year round

Outdoor Adventure Writing with Jamie Siebrase

Denver Writes

Join Denver-based outdoors writer Jamie Siebrase for a three-hour “field” workshop at the Denver Audubon Kingery Nature Center near Chatfield State Park. In addition to reading and analyzing short nature writing samples, students will learn about creative nonfiction techniques such as point of view and concrete detail.

Website: http://www.denverwrites.org/workshops/

Categories: Kids

Nature Writing For Ages 11-13

Meet us at a nearby park and learn to write about our world in a way that is both informative and engaging. We will learn to observe nature closely, choose the right words to describe what you see, and craft essays, poems, and stories that will bring nature to life.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/nature-writing-age...

Categories: Book, Fiction, Kids, Nonfiction, and Poetry

August, 2024

Novel Bootcamp I—Your Story

The "Bootcamp" is a comprehensive series of four-week workshops, divided into four parts, aimed at assisting both aspiring and seasoned writers in navigating the complexities of writing a novel or memoir. It's designed to provide structured guidance throughout the writing process.

Website: https://www.lighthousewriters.org/workshop/4-week-novel-b...

Introduction to Poetry and Storytelling

In this introductory class, you'll learn the core skills essential for crafting compelling podcasts and audio stories. As vital components of modern media, these storytelling forms blend verbal narratives with sound and music. Discover the art behind creating engaging audio stories and conducting dynamic interviews.

Website: https://www.lighthousewriters.org/workshop/4-week-introdu...

Categories: Fiction

10-hour Write-A-Thon

Join our 10-hour Write-a-Thon for writers across all genres and levels. A perfect kick-start for your new year's writing projects, this event is all about writing in a communal setting. Bring a snack for the potluck and enjoy uninterrupted writing time, fueled by coffee we provide.

Website: https://www.lighthousewriters.org/workshop/10-hour-write-...

So you’re looking for creative writing classes in Denver

Look no further: it might not feel like it, but creative writing classes in Denver might be closer to you than you think.

This directory of the best writing courses in Denver is meant to help you locate the right one for yourself.  We’ve included filters for price and genre so that you can quickly sort through the writing classes. And before you commit to any one writing class, consider the following questions:

• Who is the instructor?
• What is the price of the writing course?
• How far away is the writing course in Denver? Is there a remote alternative?
• How long could the course last?

Got any questions about finding the right writing class in Denver for you? Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] . Good luck!

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Lighthouse Writers Workshop

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Location & Hours

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3844 York St

Denver, CO 80205

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This is a really great, wonderful organization that really cares about writing and fostering community. If you can swing it, I highly recommend their yearly retreat in Grand Lake, CO as a fun, crunchy respite from the real world.

I decided to go back to the basics for writing, and was pleasantly surprised by the class for introductory writing offered here. My teacher (who I highly recommend) managed to condense everything I've ever been taught, struggled with or read about how to be a writer into four, two-hour sessions. She is extremely talented and offered great insight. The price of the classes are reasonable, even cheaper if you have a membership. They have a variety, such as writing a memoir, learning how to sell a book, writing poetry and also how to write great fiction scenes. I was looking for a great community of writers, and I think I found it. Plus, the Ferril House is very well maintained and a source of inspiration itself.

First-timer checking out this Writer's Workshop but just to volunteer, listen to a few readings, and meet some new like-minded peeps. Found the history behind this venue intriguing.

Helen Thorpe

Tattered Cover brought a couple of her books

I'm in an into to Poetry class at Lighthouse. My instructor Jennifer Denrow is awesome! She has such a lovely kindness to her, and when starting in an intro class it's such a relief to have a friendly instructor who encourages us to create poetry with positivity. She gives us unique and interesting exercises to keep the creative juices flowing throughout the week. It's a win/win for me! I feel seen and heard...and can express my individuality with honesty and no fear of my poetry being ridiculed or picked apart. Thanks so much Jennifer!

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Creative Writing Classes Denver

Tell Your Story! Communication & Writing Classes

Posted by Laura on Mar 19, 2018 in Creativity, Writing, & the Arts

Art Into Words: Using Art as Inspiration for Writing

Creative Classes offer an opportunity to learn from local professional creatives through traditional and experimental approaches. Each 1-day, 4-week, or 6-week class is uniquely designed by a creative educator for an adult audience, with specific connections to Denver Art Museum exhibitions and collections. Classes are taught in a studio art environment meant for exploration of various materials and media. Connect with professional creatives, learn a new skill, and expand your own creative practice.

Class Description

Many writers struggle with the daunting task of staring at a blank page and not knowing how to begin. In the Art Into Words: Using Art as Inspiration for Writing workshop, we will replace the blank page with works of art from the Denver Art Museum and use art in different mediums to inspire freewriting, brainstorming, and creative flow. Using art to look at writing elements such as setting, character, story, dialogue, and description, writers in this class will be inspired to get "unstuck," and let the creative juices flow!

The class will be broken into four segments:

• In the classroom. Writing workshop focusing on skill building and learning the elements of writing (setting, character, story, description, dialogue), with some brief free-write exercises.
• Freewriting in the galleries. Students will be encouraged to wander the galleries, finding one piece of art to use as inspiration for each of the five writing elements.
• Sharing writing exercises.
• Putting it together. We will gather back in the classroom to brainstorm how all of the pieces they worked on today might move forward.

Note: There will be an optional hour of open studio time after the class from 2-3 pm. We strongly encourage participants to wear face masks throughout the class.

Materials: Students will purchase their own materials for this course.

• Museum Friends, $50
• Members, $60
• Students, $60
• Non-Members, $70

DAM members and Museum Friends receive discounts and priority registration for programs, lectures, and classes all year long. Not yet a member? Join today .

About the Educator

Jenny Stafford is an award-winning book writer, lyricist, playwright, and essayist whose works have been heard on Broadway, regionally, and internationally. The bulk of Stafford's work focuses on three areas: 1) women’s stories/issues, 2) history, and 3) underrepresented populations. She is interested in telling stories that are funny, until they aren’t. She is interested in telling stories that make you look at the person next to you in a different, more compassionate light—stories of empathy.

Creative Classes

Connect with professional creatives, learn a new skill, and expand your own creative practice in 1-day, 4-week, and 6-week creative classes at the Denver Art Museum. These classes are taught by practicing artists in a studio art environment in the Creative Hub, located on level 1 of the Martin Building.

• Testimonials
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• Resources by State
• Beta Reading, Critique & Workshops
• Publication Assistance
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Colorado Resources for Writers

Here you’ll find a collection of resources for writers in Colorado, from conferences to local critique groups to literary magazines. If you’re looking for writing groups near you, writing workshops near you, creative writing classes near you, or simply a place to hang out with writers or submit your work, these are some Colorado writing organizations you might want to check out:

WriteByNight

For more than a decade, WriteByNight has helped writers in Colorado and beyond achieve their literary goals. And we want you to be next! Claim your free consultation to learn about WBN’s customizable one-on-one writers’ services , including:

Book Coaching :  If you’re writing a book and want some help along the way.

Manuscript Critique : If you’ve written a book and want a beta read, critique, or writing workshop.

Editing/Proofreading : If you’ve written a book and want someone to polish it for you.

Publication Assistance : If you’ve written a book and want help finding an agent or publisher.

Aspen Words

A cutting edge poetry conference and literary magazine, Aspen Words is one of the nation’s leading literary centers and a stage for the world’s most prominent authors.

AuthorU, based in the Denver area (Aurora), is a nonprofit membership of authors, writers and publishers. Offering seminars, webinars, writing workshops and more.

Brink Literacy Project

Devoted to fostering a love of literature, inceasing literacy rates, and using storytelling to empower underserved communities, this Denver-based nonprofit also published a literary journal,  F(r)iction.

Castle Rock Writers

Offers monthly workshops, writing groups, and training events, as well as an annual conference that includes agent pitches, breakout sessions, and tailored tracks for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s/middle-grade.

Colorado Authors’ League

The CAL’s objectives are to foster the art and craft of authorship, to promote the interests of Colorado writers, to advance the esteem and recognition of its members, and to keep members informed of important publishing trends, changes and events.

Colorado Poets Center

A directory of writers who have published poetry and who live and work in Colorado or have strong ties to the state. This site contains Colorado poets’ biographical and bibliographical material, selections from published work, and availability for readings and/or working in schools.

Colorado Springs Fiction Writer’s Group

A nonprofit that welcomes writers of all levels to improve their skills through writing groups, lectures, seminars and retreats in a supportive setting in Colorado Springs.

Denver Writes

A nonprofit that creates writing spaces for kids aged 7 to 17 in and around Denver. Offers monthly themed writing workshops, summer writing camps, afternoon writing clubs, and more.

Fiction Foundry

A writing group for writers of all genres, meeting regularly in Colorado Springs for community and feedback.

Lighthouse Writers Workshop

Lighthouse Writers Workshop is the largest nonprofit literary center in Colorado and the Mountain West. It offers high-quality writing instruction in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting and many other genres.

Naropa University Summer Writing Program

A four-week-long summer convocation of students, poets, fiction writers, editors and others working in small press publishing. Programming includes writing workshops, lectures, panels, readings, special events and more.

Pikes Peak Writers

Offers an annual three-day flagship conference for fiction writers, as well as classes, readings, and other events throughout the year.

Poetry Society of Colorado

A Lakewood organization offering monthly poetry writing workshops and discussions, as well as several annual contests.

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

RMFW is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to supporting, encouraging, and educating writers seeking publication in commercial fiction.

“A bite-size experimental” journal out of Denver publishing work of less than 1,000 words and offering workshops, readings, a residency, and more.

Western Colorado Writers’ Forum

A nonprofit in Grand Junction and serving the Western Slope. Offers monthly writer’s nights, workshops, open mic events, poetry slams, and publication opportunities. All writers, all genres.

Writers Studio at Arapahoe Community College

A literary community open to writers of all experience levels, offering classes, writing workshops, contests, readings, open mics and more.

Writing Heights

Regular meetings, retreats, classes, and an annual conference for writers in and around Northern Colorado.

Help us add to this list, Coloradans! Do you know of writing groups near you, writing workshops near you, creative writing classes near you, or a Colorado literary journal we should be aware of? Let us know here

WBN helped me sculpt my story in the best of possible ways, and for that I am eternally grateful. June Day Austin, Texas

Client Credits

WBN has helped writers publish with:

Simon & Schuster Little, Brown & Co. St. Martin’s Press Amazon Slate Threepenny Review Huffington Post

WriteByNight, LLC 235 West End Avenue, 6H New York, New York 10023

646.374.8174 [email protected]

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Think Creatively

Creative writing.

This course of study offered by the Department of English is designed to develop a student’s ability to read literature responsibly and imaginatively, to foster an understanding and appreciation of our literary inheritance, and to provide the historical perspective from which to evaluate contemporary writing and to produce it.

Program Learning Goals

English Major Creative Writing Requirements

General Requirements:   Students majoring in English must complete a minimum of 39 hours in English. A minimum of 27 hours must be earned in upper-division courses.  None of the required 39 hours may be taken Pass/Fail.  Only courses completed with a grade of C- (1.7) or better may be counted toward the major.  Students must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the major GPA.  A minimum of 15 upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours of work in the English Major must be taken with the CU Denver English faculty. Core composition courses ENGL 1010, 1020, and 2030 do not count toward the English Major. 

NOTE :  Double majors in English and English Writing must complete 63 hours total for both majors.

Advanced Standing:   CLEP and AP credit will not count toward the English Major or the English Writing Major.  Such credit may apply toward the College writing requirement (ENGL 1020 and 2030) or be counted as general electives. Check with CLAS Advising for details.

Minors: The English Department also offers minors in Literature, Film Studies, and English Writing, Rhetoric and Technology.  Courses counted in a minor cannot be counted toward the major. 

Honors Program:   Latin Honors may be earned by participating in the department’s Honors Program.  You are encouraged to begin the program in your junior year.  The program requires additional coursework and affords you the opportunity to work individually with the professor of your choice.  Speak to a professor or click on this link ( https://clas.ucdenver.edu/english/latin-honors ) for more information on honors in the English Department.

Internships: Internships are also available to students who have completed over 60 credit hours; for information, contact The Experiential Learning Center at 303-315-7258 in the Tivoli, Suite 260.  Internships count as upper-division electives.

I.  Required Courses (15 credit hours)

• ENGL 2450 Introduction to Literature
• ENGL 3020 Poetry Workshop
• ENGL 3050 Fiction Workshop
• ENGL 4025 Advanced Poetry Workshop
• ENGL 4055 Advanced Fiction Workshop

II. Area Requirements (9 hours) Choose 1 track:

A. fiction or b. poetry, a.  fiction.

• ENGL 4610 Narrative: Form & Theory 
• ENGL 4850 Senior Fiction Workshop  

Choose 1 course

• ENGL 4200 Survey of the English Novel to 1900 
• ENGL 4220 African-American Literature 
• ENGL 4230 The American Novel 
• ENGL 4236 The American Short Story 
• ENGL 4802 Special Topics in Creative Writing (Emphasis in Fiction) 

B.  Poetry 

• ENGL 4160 Poetics  
• ENGL 4820 Senior Poetry Workshop 

Choose 1 course. 

• ENGL 4166 History of American Poetry 
• ENGL 4801 Special Topics in Creative Writing (Emphasis in Poetry) 

III. Required Electives (15 hours) Choose 5 courses.  

The first seven courses below are strongly recommended. However, any upper division ENGL course not  already completed for another major requirement can be applied as an elective. *Courses with an asterisk may be taken more than once, if the topic/titles differ. 

• ENGL 3001 Critical Writing   
• ENGL 3106 Writing for Print Media 
• ENGL 3416 Magazine Writing 
• ENGL 4800 Special Topics in Creative Writing* 
• ENGL 4801 Special Topics in Creative Writing: Poetry*
• ENGL 4802 Special Topics in Creative Writing: Fiction* 
• ENGL 4810 Literary Editing Practicum 
• ENGL _______ Any 3000 or 4000 level 

To complete this major: 39 Credit Hours

• Major - Creative Writing
• Major - English Film Studies
• Major - English Writing, Rhetoric and Technology
• Major - Literature
• Minor - Creative Writing
• Minor - English Writing, Rhetoric, and Technology
• Minor - Film Studies
• Minor - Literature
• Certificate - Proposal and Grant Writing (PGW)
• Certificate - Technical and Professional Writing Certificate (TPW)
• Certificate - Undergraduate Certificate in Teaching English Language Learners (CTELL)

Don't miss the Creative Writing Reading Series! Past guest readers for the annual Jake Adam Yorke Memorial Reading have included: 

• Alexander Chee
• Tarfia Faizullah
• Manuel Muñoz
• Natalie Diaz
• Danielle Evans
• Eduardo Corral  
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English and Literary Arts - Creative Writing

College: AHSS

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• Learn more about the English & Literary Arts Department

As one of the top creative writing doctoral programs in the country, we offer motivated poetry and fiction writers the chance to refine their creative work while building a portfolio of literary criticism and scholarly writing. Our workshops integrate contemporary literature with creative exploration. In addition to poetry and fiction, we offer workshops and literature courses in areas such as nonfiction, travel writing, oral literature and narratology.

Our PhD is a theoretical doctorate: an experience that builds creative thinking alongside critical reading and research. Writers go on to publish novels, poetry collections and critical literary works. They hold tenure track positions at notable universities, edit long-standing journals and are represented by major presses. 

Learn more about the program .

Our Program Offers:

A small community of engaged writers selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. We accept six or seven writers per year, totaling about 20 writers in the program at a time.

Creative dissertation options that allow writers to spend time working toward a book-length manuscript of publishable quality as part of their time in the program.

Teaching opportunities in creative writing workshops and literature courses as part of the Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Sequence.

Editing opportunities with the Denver Quarterly , a premier journal for American and international poetry, fiction, reviews, essays and cross-genre works.

A core group of actively publishing creative writing faculty, as well as a dedicated group of literary faculty who specialize in areas such as African American literature, Latin@/x literature, Native American literature and Digital Humanities.

Explore contemporary and historical literatures while refining your own creative voice.

Are you ready to learn more about the Creative Writing concentration at DU?

Request Information

Degree Requirements

• Students in the Creative Writing concentration will complete 90 graduate-level quarter hours. 
• 48 of these hours will be in formal classes (excluding tutorials, independent study and independent research courses).
• Non-coursework includes comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal and prospectus, a dissertation of publishable quality that makes a significant contribution to its field, and an oral defense.

See the DU Graduate Bulletin  for full requirements. 

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We accept both the Common App and our own Pioneer App. The Common App is a universal application that can be sent to many schools, while the Pioneer App is only used by the University of Denver.

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Go to the graduate admission application to submit your information. For information on admission requirements, visit the graduate academic programs page and locate your program of interest.

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• Support Denver Writes

Monthly writing Workshops for kids 7 - 17

Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday!

Camps coming early 2024!

Your donations help us continue to grow!

We get kids to write!

Our mission is to provide young writers in the Denver area with a supportive community and creative opportunities to express themselves through writing. We achieve this by offering monthly workshops, intensive and expeditionary summer camps, and after school programs.

Summer Camps 2024!

Our full summer schedule is here! Including our first camps with The Bookies bookstore! Sign up today! JUNE June 10th – 14th Write Your Destiny: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story Expedition 10 am – 2 pm, with a reading last day of camp from 2 – 3 pm. Ages 7 – 12 Second Star to the Right …

Colorado Gives Day is December 5th!

Hello Denver Writers!  I want to send a thank you to everyone who has donated to Denver Writes over the last month for our Colorado Gives Fundraiser, and certainly over the past fifteen years. There’s one more day to go, as tomorrow December 5th, is Colorado Gives Day. Every donation made through the end of …

Colorado Gives Day!

Colorado Gives Day! This year Denver Writes is part of Colorado Gives Day, which is Tuesday, December 5th. Colorado Gives Day is the biggest 24-hour giving movement in the state and one of the most successful giving days in the nation. Being part of Colorado Gives Day allows Denver Writes to have access to additional …

Scary Stories 2023

Here’s a selection of Scary stories read by our participants!

Untitled – Arden

“She already moved,” she says. I clutch the letter in my hand, and  it crumples a bit. “Thank you, sorry.” I glance into the house, a husband prepares dinner, scooping rice out of a cooker onto glossy white plates. His wife stands in the doorway, waiting for someone who clearly doesn’t work for postal services …

Volunteer Profile: Ratty Boi Bio by Unknown Denver Writes Participant, Aged 13

One of our most treasured volunteers is of course, Ratty boy, or as we call him “Real Muscular Rat”. He came to our program when we found him drinking curdled milk in a ditch a few years ago. While his fur was matted, and his eyes were bloodshot, he fit right in with our kids …

Icarus – Chris, 17

Last night I dreamed of Icarus   As he fell from the sky   After making headway   With wax wings to fly.   Last night I dreamed of freedom   In every shape and form   Because freedom   Is something given not born.   Last night I dreamed of fear   And the …

Scary Stories 2022

We had an incredible time reuniting with our friends at the Denver Museum of Miniatures Dolls & Toys!                                   Here’s our incredible writers reading their terrifying and sometimes silly stories: Ava: Tavo: Adelle: Max: Rachel: Noah: Jack and Rae: …

Denver Writes Merchandise is now avaliable!

Denver Writes Merchandise! Denver Writes has Partnered with Bonfire to offer high quality shirts and hoodies with more options on the way. All proceeds go directly to Denver Writes. CHECK OUT OUR BONFIRE STORE HERE!  

Scary Stories 2021!

  SCARY STORIES COLLECTION 2022 Ella, 9 Avery, 10 Charlie, 12 Sammy, 13 Audrey, 12 Elliot, 10 Lilly, 13 Marion, 12 Marion Bonus Outtake:    

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To learn more about Hard Times workshops, click on the links below:

• Lighthouse Executive Director Mike Henry on  why Hard Times was launched . 
• Hard Times participant Patricialyn Veal on  transferring trauma to the page . 
• Hard Times volunteer S.E. Fleenor on the community that  arises from shared experiences .
• Urban Life Wash Park's   look into the program  and its participants.

Find a Workshop

In partnership with local libraries, Hard Times Writing Workshops provide community and a creative outlet for people who have recently experienced or are currently experiencing poverty, addiction, homelessness, and other hard situations.

Support Hard Times

As a nonprofit organization, Lighthouse depends on your support to continue serving writers and readers of all levels and backgrounds. Your contribution allows us to expand our community and bring Hard Times workshops to more writers throughout the Denver metro region and beyond.

New Voices Fellowship

The New Voices Fellowship was created to support the writing journey of individuals participating in the Hard Times program. Judges look for writers who show strong execution of craft and voice, and a high potential for overall growth in their writing skills.

Applications for the 2024 fellowship are closed.

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We launched the New Voices Fellowship in 2022. Read about the recipients here.

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From Chaos to Creativity: One Teacher’s Path to a Writing Degree

Heather hein.

Senior Editor

Former high school teacher and lifelong writer Ellie Moran finds her perfect fit in the Professional Creative Nonfiction Writing program at University College.

Ellie Moran will never forget the day she decided to go to graduate school.

It was the fall of 2021, and she was in her classroom at Denver’s East High School, where she taught English. Suddenly, the school was placed on lockdown, and Ellie was stuck with her rowdiest class of seniors, waiting for two hours while a dozen police officers, a SWAT team and bomb-sniffing dogs went through the building.

“And I said to myself, that’s it, I’ve got to go to grad school. That was quite literally the moment I decided. I went home that day and applied to DU,” she says.

Ellie had been teaching at East, her alma mater, for five years—an experience she calls both “delightful” and “tumultuous.” She loved her students, her colleagues and the field of education, but the pressures of being a teacher were too much—and not just because of lockdowns.

“I was only in my fifth year, and I felt like I was drowning, like I didn’t have the brain space or capacity to learn or be creative,” she says. The curriculum she taught had started to feel monotonous, and she wanted to spend more time writing.

As an undergraduate, she double majored in creative writing and secondary education at the University of Colorado Boulder. A couple years into her job at East, she decided to get a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction but, just before she was set to start the program, she had an “aha” moment.

“I was walking to a coffee shop and, I don’t know why, but I just asked myself, ‘Why are you going to grad school?’ And the only answer I had was to make more money. And I was like, ‘What?’ I can’t do something I’m not passionate about,” Ellie says. That afternoon, she says, she deferred her enrollment and removed herself from the pool completely about a week later.

'I have to write every day'

She realized that writing was what she wanted to do. “It’s like survival to me. I don’t know how to navigate the world without it,” Ellie says. “I have to write every day. I observe so many things in a day, there’s so many things in [my head], that I have to expel them.”

In the fall of 2022, Ellie enrolled in University College’s Professional Creative Nonfiction Writing program, which she says is a perfect fit for the memoir style of writing she enjoys most. “I have the memory of an elephant. I remember everything and enjoy writing about the things I remember,” she explains. “I don’t necessarily enjoy writing about things that haven’t happened.”

The creativity comes in, she says, by embedding her nonfiction with poetry and figurative language or adding images and “kind of just visually playing around” on the page.

“It feels like weaving, weaving creativity into the truth. It’s essentially making your personal story universal, taking the stories I see in my everyday life and pulling out the universal truths,” she says.

Now working as an enrichment coordinator for a Montessori academy in Denver, Ellie says her long-term goal is to get into publishing. The University College program, she says, was an easy choice because of its flexible schedule and virtual option.

“There are times where I’ve been wildly overwhelmed—because it’s grad school—but for the most part, it’s been really accessible, which I’m so thankful for,” she says.

That accessibility has allowed her to zero in on her writing. “I know how to write, but I wanted to get better. I wanted professors to look at my work and say, ‘That’s terrible’ or ‘That makes no sense.’ I wanted to learn how to structure my writing better, to work on the process.”  

One of her main writing outlets is a SubStack she started last year called Mis(s) Education . She writes narrative nonfiction essays on the state of education, including topics like school shootings (including one at East High School in 2023), teacher burnout and the “epidemic of ego” in educational leadership.

She plans to continue combining her love of writing and her love of education when she moves to New York City in the fall. She has applied to several publishing houses but is also applying to some schools and community colleges for non-classroom positions in areas like student engagement and community event planning.

“The biggest thing that I've learned is that you can’t change a system while you're in it. Teachers are too tired to write about their experiences. I want to have the time to, on their behalf, talk to them, take their words, write them down and get them out there.”

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