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The 17 best writing classes in NYC

Harness your inner Zadie Smith at these stellar writing workshops for every type of writer on every type of budget

Whether you want to write the next murder mystery and hope it gets picked up by Hollywood directors, or  you want to ensure that your work emails and reports are concise, grammatically correct and rhetorically sound , these writing classes in NYC will help you put those ideas onto paper. And hopefully into some of the best independent bookstores and NYC libraries (fingers crossed!). The remarkable literary institutions employ authors-cum-teachers to teach courses in everything from personal essays to poetry, so you’re sure to find a discipline that suits you. And if you need inspiration, re-reading the best books about New York should do the trick. Enjoy.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to classes in NYC RECOMMENDED: The best BYOB painting classes in NYC

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NYC writing classes

1.  Advanced Business Writing

Once you have your grasp on the essentials of grammar and writing (like knowing what a semicolon actually does), you’ll want to enroll in a more advanced course to ensure every word you write is chosen with precision. In this course, you’ll learn how to analyze your audience, shape your tone and message for persuasion, education or communication and you’ll work on various strategies for planning your writing and ensuring that you are utilizing rhetorical tools and informative structures properly. At the end of the course, you’ll have sample writing projects that you can add to your job portfolio and you will be ready to use your writing as a tool to further your career.

2.  Effective Business Writing

While creatives may want to learn how to write the next great American novel, there are a lot of professional reasons that one might want to improve their writing skills. Virtually every job will require some form of communication between individuals and departments and the ability to write coherent emails, proposals, memos or updates is an important skill if you want to survive in an office environment. Learning the fine art of grammar and the practical skills needed to communicate cleanly will pay dividends in the long-term.

3.  Creative Writing 101: 6 Weeks

One of the most inviting aspects of creative writing is how diverse of a field it is once you scratch the surface. Whether you are interested in writing poetry, short-fiction, long-form prose or even creative non-fiction or memoirs, you won’t need to look hard to find a vibrant community of fellow writers. In this introductory creative writing course, you can learn fundamental skills that can be applied to almost any genre of writing and you can get hands-on experience working in fictional and non-fictional styles to acclimate yourself to the variety of different styles of writing that you can learn and practice.

4.  Fiction Writing Level 1: 10 Week Workshop

If you are interested in flexing your creative muscles, you can enroll in an introductory fiction and poetry workshop to start looking for your own personal muse. In this course, students will all about the process of writing fiction and poetry. No one writes a world-changing poem on their first go and this class is about learning the art of revising, editing and expanding on your work in order to take the germ of an idea and turn it into a completed piece that expresses your own creative desires. Whether you are looking to write short form poetry or you want to write a 13-book series in your favorite brand of genre fiction, learning these basic techniques will be a vital boon to your work.

5.  Grammar Essentials

English grammar is incredibly (and often needlessly complicated). Did you know that the reason you aren’t supposed to split infinitives is because someone in the 19th century wanted English to sound more like Latin? Well, if the basics of grammar continue to give you problems, you should consider enrolling in a course like this one. Here, you’ll get practical lessons in the art of writing clean sentences that clearly communicate your intended message and ensure that your writing isn’t giving readers the wrong impressions.

6.  Just Write

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that new writers face is that they overthink the preparation work and skimp on the writing work. Like any skill, you learn to write by practicing and the best way to do that is to write. In this regularly-held three-hour seminar, writers are encouraged to do just that: sit around a table and bang out some words while enduring the silent judgment of their peers (who are also using this as a time they are forced to write). While there is time for discussion, critique (and socializing), the outline of this program is simple: Just write.

7.  Business Writing Bootcamp

If you want a complete business writing education, consider enrolling in a business writing bootcamp. This course pairs the grammar lessons and technical writing skills of an introductory course with the rhetorical and persuasive writing training of an advanced writing course. This makes it a one-stop experience for students with minimal writing experience to start to master the important aspects of business writing. Improve your career opportunities and help improve the quality of your persuasive and informative projects with one of these immersive bootcamps.

8.  Personal Essay Writing Intensive

The personal essay has become a rather popular form of writing for mass consumption in recent years, particularly as the barriers to publishing short form content have been lowered (were one truly inclined, social media platforms make it almost effortless). In this class, you’ll learn how to brainstorm ideas and plan out the structure of the personal essay and how to build both pathos and ethos in your experiences and arguments. Similar to memoir writing, personal essay writing is about leveraging your own personal experience as a rhetorical tool and it is practical whether you are trying to persuade an audience, sell yourself to a company or institution or make a profession out of Op-Ed writing.

9.  Stand-up Comedy One Day Intensive

Do you want to perform? Want to make people laugh? Want to tour the country? Well, consider learning stand-up comedy. While professional stand-up comedians make it look off-the-cuff, the process of writing a good stand-up routine involves a lot of fine-tuning and revision, particularly as you workshop jokes and tighten the set. In this intensive course, you’ll get a chance to try out some new material, get feedback and start the process of refining your jokes in front of professional comedy writers. Whether you are hoping to punch up a bit or start your first routine, this intrusive course will help you start refining your comedic voice.

10.  The Editor’s Eye Intensive

Not all aspects of writing are about being creative. Making sure that your work is properly edited, free of errors and written as tightly as you would prefer is an essential step to getting your work published. This course will help students learn the basics of editing so that they can identify things like improper grammar, incorrect word usage, clunky and awkwards sentences and overly verbose writing. This program also aims to help students develop the professional skills needed to work as an editor (since companies hire professional editors and freelance writers who don’t like editing will pay a pretty penny to have someone else handle it).

11.  Screenwriting I: 10-Week Workshop

If you have an idea that you think would be perfect for the big screen, you should consider enrolling in this immersive screenwriting workshop. Writing a screenplay isn’t like writing other forms of long-form fiction, so you’ll want to get focused training on how to write scripts that are cinematic, compelling and, most importantly, marketable. You’ll learn the art of writing dialogue, stage directions and providing actors and directors with the information they need to bring your vision to life. Whether you are interested in arthouse cinema or want to pen the next famous blockbuster, you’ll benefit from taking this course.

12.  Memoir Writing Intensive

If the personal essay aims to make an argument, then the memoir aims to tell a story. In this course, you’ll learn the art of transforming your personal experience into a compelling narrative that entices readers and helps make a broader point about how your experiences tell us something about the world. Slightly distinct from creative non-fiction, memoir writing is possibly the most personal style of writing that you can engage in. While memoirs have traditionally been associated with powerful heads of state and significant thinkers, the genre has become more welcoming to the perspective of the everyday, and in  this course, you’ll learn how your own lived experiences can become the thing of memoir greatness.

13.  Songwriting Intensive

Acclaimed songwriter Taylor Swift was recently named Time Magazine ’s Person of the Year, suggesting that writing music can have globe altering implications. If you want to learn the basics of professional songwriting and emulate your favorite music icon, consider enrolling in this songwriting course. This course will teach students how to write popular music, how to craft a perfect tune to go along with the lyrics and how to market the music to studios, producers and labels. This course covers a range of different genres, so whether you want to write R&B, pop, rockabilly, hip-hop or smooth jazz, this course will help you develop your skills and start writing the next great earworm.

14.  Playwriting Intensive

Live theater is one of the oldest forms of creative writing, dating back, at least to the early Grecians (and likely existed in some form even before the development of systematized writing). If you want to flex your inner Shakespeare, Beckett or Tennesse Williams, consider enrolling in this intensive playwriting course. You’ll learn how to transform the empty stage into a real world and you’ll learn how to write your plays to give the actors the tools they need to deliver the best performances possible. Writing for the stage is its own unique challenge and this course will give you the experience you need to start staging your own masterwork. Plus, for any aspiring Hammersteins, the course can also help you begin to write musicals.

15.  Plot 1: Mechanics 3-week Intensive

Hollywood screenplays, like all narrative, rely on structure to scaffold the story and build audience investment. Whether you are working with the traditional three-act structure most common to feature films, the five-act structures of classic stage plays or the one or two act structures common to modernist works, you’ll want to understand why narratives are structured in certain ways and how to use these structures to your advantage when writing a screenplay. This course will teach students the math that goes into writing a structured screenplay and give them hands-on practice scaffolding their story beats.

16.  Social Media Content Marketing: Blogs & Twitter at Noble Desktop

A lot of professional writing for mass audiences is now done online, with blogs and Twitter being important places to communicate and persuade your audience (like this article is doing now and in this class you’ll learn whether or not meta commentary like this helps your content marketing). In this class, you’ll get hands-on experience working with professional content writers to help you set goals, build marketing strategies and create a voice for your company or organization. You will also learn how to create a coherent brand identity for your online content and how to use platforms like Twitter to expand your reach, build a customer base and keep that base engaged with your content.

17.  Character Creation

Characters can really make or break a story. This Character creation class is a compact workshop for character creating and development, to help give you the skills to make your story work. The workshop will focus on areas like principles of characterization, consistency and effects of dialogue, plus more to help with your character-building and storytelling. It's a two-hour session with a teacher, working anywhere that suits you both and 1-2-1 to ensure you have thorough guidance and help. 

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23 Best Creative Writing Classes in New York

Showing 23 courses that match your search.

Over-50 Memoir Workshop (McElwain)

The Writers Studio

This six-week online workshop is open to all writers over the age of 50 who are interested in writing their memoir. Each week we’ll do close readings of memoirs written by writers over 50, spanning a wide range of narrators and narrative approaches.

Website: https://courses.writerstudio.com/courses/online-over-50-m...

Categories: Fiction and Poetry

Start date:

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Advanced Business Writing

Career Centers

This course teaches how to craft complex business documents, focusing on outlining, formatting, and using informative and persuasive techniques. It covers everything from determining the document's purpose and audience to planning and execution. Prior business writing proficiency is required, and the course is beneficial for those looking to enhance their professional writing skills​​​​​​.

Website: https://training-nyc.com/courses/advanced-business-writin...

Categories: Business

Open all year round

Prerequisites: Business writing proficiency equivalent to our Effective Business Writing course is required.

Playwriting Workshop Class

The Acting Studio

This class is an exploration of playwriting and its basic fundamentals. Our work is read aloud as a group, followed by discussion, and inspiring new writing of each other. The core focus of the class is on developing your voice as a writer.

Website: https://www.actingstudio.com/acting-classes/playwrights/b...

Categories: Playwriting

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Explode, Careen, Compress: Approaching the Poetic Line

Brooklyn Poets

For five weeks, we'll discuss the ways in which poets use the line to different effect. We'll read (and write) poems that deal in compression, poems that suspend time and air, poems that seem to careen off the page, and poems that defy all the poetic "rules" of the line.

Website: https://brooklynpoets.org/workshops/all/writing-desire/

Categories: Poetry

April, 2024

Prerequisites: A writing sample of 5 pages of poems is required.

Sports Storytelling

The School of The New York Times

This course delves into journalistic techniques to tell compelling sports stories. It includes writing exercises, class discussions, guest speakers, site visits, and attending sporting events. Students learn basic reporting and storytelling skills, focusing on news judgment, researching, and writing articles. The course also features visits to iconic sports locations in New York and lectures from renowned sports journalists​​​​​​.

Website: https://nytedu.com/courses/pre-college/sports-storytelling/

Categories: Sports

Prerequisites: Open to rising 10-12 students.

15-Week Screenwriting Workshop

New York Film Academy

NYFA’s Screenwriting School provides a range of programs for aspiring screenwriters, including degree programs (AFA, BFA, MFA) and workshops. Courses cover various media, like TV, web series, films, comic books, and playwriting. Students gain practical skills and develop a portfolio, with options for both in-person and online learning. Short-term workshops focus on specific skills like comedy writing, TV writing, and feature screenwriting​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

Website: https://www.nyfa.edu/screenwriting-school/

Categories: Screenplay

Technical Writing Course

Learning Tree International

This course is tailored for individuals seeking to improve their technical writing skills, particularly in technical communication. It covers techniques for planning, writing, and editing technical documents, focusing on audience assessment, document format selection, and effective use of visuals and graphics. The course aims to equip participants with the ability to convey complex subject matter clearly and create informative content for their readers.

Website: https://www.learningtree.com/courses/technical-writing-co...

Categories: Technical

Upright Citizens Brigade

UCB's Improv 101 course offers an introduction to the fundamentals of improv and comedy. It's ideal for those seeking to enhance their performance skills, public speaking, or just have fun. The course includes eight 3-hour sessions, a class show, and free access to UCB shows​​​​​​​​​​.

Website: https://ucbcomedy.com/courses/?eventtemplate=42-improv-10...

Categories: Comedy

Travel Writing

Gotham Writers

Ideal for beginners, this 10-week workshop delves into travel writing. Participants will engage in lectures, exercises, and student project critiques, gaining a solid foundation in the essential skills and techniques for effective travel writing.

Website: https://wp.writingclasses.com/courses/travel-writing/

Categories: Travel

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing I

Tailored for aspiring writers of science fiction and fantasy, this 10-week workshop covers the basics of the genre. It includes lectures, exercises, and critiques, making it a great starting point for beginners or a refresher for those already familiar with the basics.

Website: https://wp.writingclasses.com/courses/science-fiction-fan...

Categories: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Playwriting I

A 10-week introductory course in playwriting, suitable for beginners. The workshop includes a series of lectures, practical writing exercises, and critiques of student projects, focusing on the fundamental techniques of playwriting.

Website: https://wp.writingclasses.com/courses/playwriting-i/

Memoir Writing I

This 10-week workshop is designed for beginners or those seeking to revisit the basics of memoir writing. It offers a blend of lectures, exercises, and student project critiques, providing a comprehensive introduction to memoir writing.

Website: https://wp.writingclasses.com/courses/memoir-writing-i/

Categories: Memoir and Nonfiction

So you’re looking for creative writing classes in New York

New York is a literary town. From the lauded Nobel Prize winners to the titanic authors that have emerged from New York City, there’s no denying its storied (pun intended) literary history, or the towering role that this city that never sleeps has played in shaping the landscape of our imagination. So there may be no better way to learn the craft of writing than by taking a creative writing class in New York.

This directory of the best writing courses in New York 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 New York? Is there a remote alternative?
• How long could the course last?

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

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The Writers Studio

The Original School of Creative Writing and Thinking, est. 1987

Students of all levels welcome

Our original method sets us apart.

Our students have won Pushcarts, a Pulitzer, Emmys, admission to top MFA programs, and too many book and magazine publications to list. Become one of our students!

The Writers Studio was founded by Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, in 1987

Ways to learn, online and local communities, san francisco, hudson river towns, craft class, view all available classes, hear it from the writers, about the writers studio.

For over three decades The Writers Studio has been helping students become stronger, more resourceful writers — with more craft at their disposal, more knowledge of what makes a piece of creative writing satisfying to a reader, and more access to the full range of their emotions and imagination.

We have developed our own teaching method, which gives students the opportunity to “try on” many different narrative approaches. In the process of studying and trying out the techniques found in a wide array of published work, students end up discovering their own material and voice. They also find a supportive community of like-minded classmates. The school is flexible enough to meet the needs of students at all levels of experience and commitment. Students can take a single six-or eight-week workshop, or proceed through a series of increasingly challenging classes.

Learn more about us

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– The New York Times

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Philip Schultz Reads at the 2024 Robert Lowell Memorial Poetry Reading [Video]

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• The Art of Storytelling

What our students are saying

“ One of the top three creative writing classes I have ever taken—and the other two were full semesters’ worth. I’d definitely take any creative writing class or workshop by Jay. His class could easily turn into a TED Talk. He’s a great teacher because his delivery is flawless. He engages the entire class and remembers everyone’s name… devil is in the details. Rob Luciano

“ This class was a revelation. Jay led us through the intricacies and nuances of good storytelling and gave us concrete, actionable ways to work on our own writing. A well-structured curriculum and excellent leadership. Eric Pan

“ Jay was extremely well-versed and presented the class in a fun way. He definitely met my expectations about what I wanted to get out of the course, which was how to write a good story and find a way to engage readers. Jay was very encouraging and understanding of the goals of everyone involved and made it an inclusive atmosphere. Matthew Marin

“ Jay was very personable, curious, and engaged with all the members. He asked great questions, was funny and inspiring at the same time. I highly recommend the class. Patricia Hunter

“ Great use of visuals, audio, and questions to help folks learn about what makes a good story. Engaging with folks in the crowd to help make the lessons more tangible. He has a done a great job distilling what makes good storytelling. Hiren Patel

“ This class was very well-prepared, the presentation delivered with humor and insight. I enjoyed thinking about story (across genres) in a new way, and walked away with several revelations which apply to my writing life, as well as to life in general. Loved the conversational style. I highly recommend Jay's workshop! Jeanine Nicole

“ This workshop was absolutely fantastic. Jay was extremely knowledgable of the components of good storytelling, and along with great media usage he helped connect his students to what truly pulls a reader into a story. Highly recommended! Daniel Ali

“ Jay's class is the perfect place to workshop an essay, short story, screenplay, or anything in between. You can't leave this class without learning at least one new thing about writing, regardless of your writing background or how long you've been pushing the pen. Jay pulls in lessons from movies, novels, and poems. I came out of Jay's class with a creative energy that is rare in my day-to-day. I highly recommend Jay's class for aspiring storytellers of all types! Erica Swallow

Learn How To:

• Find your voice.
• Tell the stories of your life.
• Make your characters relatable.
• Express yourself authentically.
• Get inspired and get started writing.

“A revelation.”

Are you ready to meet your audience, we’ll teach you:.

• how to tap into your truth, find your voice, and tell your story
• the importance of giving your characters desire —even if the character is you and you’re just writing your bio or giving a presentation
• how to create drama, tension, and conflict
• how to build a plot using the principles of story structure
• how to use suspense, surprise, and humor  to hook your readers or audience
• how to express yourself and your personality in an honest, authentic way that will connect with your audience

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Proud supporter of:.

The New York Writers’ Intensive is proud to donate a portion of all proceeds to our two favorite literary nonprofits, The Moth and The New York Public Library.

Sign up for our writing classes and start writing today.

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The Best New York City Writing Classes and Workshops

You don’t need a single class, workshop, or degree to become a writer. Deciding whether you want to pursue your writing career in the trenches of the publishing industry, develop on your own, or enroll in an MFA course is one of the big decisions every writer gets to make for themselves. But everybody needs a little help now and then, which is why it’s good that there’s all kinds of no-pressure writing classes and workshops in New York . These can provide a sounding board for works in progress, introduce you to experienced novelists, or offer exposure to the life of a professional writer. Below are a few of the best writing classes you can join in New York.

Catapult has acquired a sterling reputation in recent years as an independent book publisher and is dedicated to launching writing that’s off the beaten track, unique, and reader /writer-friendly. An affordable alternative to high-price university programs, Catapult’s repertoire of classes offer award-winning workshops given by writers such as Michele Filgate (currently teaching “Building a Writing Career on the Internet”) and Rebecca Schiff (“Making Each Sentence Count”), all given at the publisher’s New York City offices for a flat fee, with small classes ranging in size from just five to eight students.

Sackett Street

One of New York’s most famous workshops is still the best. In the last 14 years, the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop has launched some 3,500 writers and their alumni have published more than 85 books. Available in-person or online, Sackett Street is the one of the best substitutes to an MFA in the city.

The Center For Fiction

As one of the central arteries of NY literary culture, The Center For Fiction knows that a fledgling writer can feel intimidated by the challenges of writing or overwhelmed by the numerous opportunities that confront them. That’s why they offer intimate classes with award-winning authors in their sky-lit Writers’ Studio, as well as access to their stunning 85,000-volume library for all students.

Gotham Writers’ Workshop

You’ve probably seen flyers for the Gotham Writers Workshop before. There’s a good reason that they’re so well-known, too. They specialize in reading, responding to, and promoting the work of writers at every stage in their evolution, with new classes opening all the time. Consummately affordable and offering everything from fiction and nonfiction to comedy writing and screenwriting, Gotham is the city’s premiere writing workshop.

The Writers’ Studio New York

Poets in particular might want to consider The Writers’ Studio , founded in 1987 by Philip Schultz, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet. Informal classes in Brooklyn and Manhattan work to establish trust between students, giving them an immediate community with which to work throughout their careers. Unlike some courses, The Writers’ Studio begins with a Level I class that establishes a common foundation before moving on to other levels of skill, making it a readymade progression that admits amateurs and releases them as professionals.

Cooper Union

The Cooper Union Summer Writing Program takes a unique approach to writing, offering students a three-week course between high school and college that promises to instill essential essay-writing and textual-analysis skills that bridge the gap between entry-level and university-level argument-driven writing. Classes are offered in July for a current fee of $2,500, with an online option for $1,400.

92nd Street Y

The 92nd Street Y is a cultural landmark and they offer open-enrollment courses (with scholarships) for memoirists, critics, poets, and fiction-writers. Offered through the Unterberg Poetry Center, these classes offer the fundamentals of writing both for teens and for advanced students year-round.

Feeling a sense of loss is central to the writing experience no matter what your background, and Lost Lit , based in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill, combines questions of identity and place with the passionate pursuit of literature. Founded by Lynne Connor, they emphasize work by writers who feel left out of the current literary environment and work to nurture their sense of voice through intensive, informal workshops that offer specialty classes in writing from grief and “adoption”, meaning those who write to reclaim their identity in unfamiliar surroundings.

Culture Trips launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes places and communities so special.

Our immersive trips , led by Local Insiders, are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and an invitation to travel the world with like-minded explorers. Our Travel Experts are on hand to help you make perfect memories. All our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.?>

All our travel guides are curated by the Culture Trip team working in tandem with local experts. From unique experiences to essential tips on how to make the most of your future travels, we’ve got you covered.

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Creative Writing Workshops & Camps

Writopia Lab is a national community of teen and young writers and thinkers.

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Because we love authentic writing, thoughtful conversations, stunning prose, and silly madness.

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In addition to running workshops at our labs, we work with community-based organizations, the NY Public Library, Homes for the Homeless, and public and private schools across the country.

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"Writopia was Abey's first inclusion experience. He was embraced by the community and encouraged to submit his writing for publications and awards. Abey was very happy at Writopia and it gave us the confidence to transition from a private special education school to a NYC public high school. His highest compliment is 'This is just like Writopia.'" Michelle Noris

"Writopia online has been a miracle during the pandemic. The workshops have always been the bright spot in Hugh's week and even more so during this past year. Thank you for continuing to provide a top notch creative outlet!" Jessica Manser

Thursday is Willem’s favorite day of the week! He and several others from their D & D game just chatted with each other on roll20 the other day— love the way this group has bonded. I’m amazed and grateful to know that making friends virtually during a pandemic is totally a thing. Jennifer Robinson

"My daughter loves her class. This is huge - for years, I've been digging for her passion, her fire, and I think we just rubbed two sticks together and got some." A Proud Dad

"I just glanced at Shaylem's essay and was really happy with what you all have helped facilitate for him. I really appreciate the feedback, all of your hard work, and the organization as a whole." Liz Lawler

"Thank you all. One thing I have learned from Covid is what people and activities are really the most meaningful for my child and Writopia is top of the list. Thank you all for creating such an amazing supportive community!!!" L.P.

"I never thought I would say this, but i am soooooo happy that your classes are on Zoom so Robbie can continue to take your classes when we move!!! Thank you so much...I cannot express enough how wonderful Writopia has been for my son..." Shari

"...thanks so much for granting Amira with her first sleepaway camp experience last summer at WriCampia. Amira had an amazing time and wants to attend again this summer... She still talks about her experience at WriCampia to date and keeps in touch with the friends she met. I myself really enjoyed viewing all of the photos, her short story video and fun memories captured! Thanks so much again!" Tanisha, Writopia Parent (Winter 2019)

I absolutely recommend this class. Discussions and readings changed my thinking about how to teach writing... The classes were fun especially the writing games and exercises. I felt like a kid again. NYC DOE educator's evaluation of Writopia Lab's Training Institute

Writopia was really beneficial for students who already see themselves as writers, as it gives them the creative outlet. But it is also great for reluctant writers; they flourish in this type of environment. Teacher, PS 276 in New York City

Politics and Pens

Write legislation, arguments, and speeches for a fictional scenario, participate in a mock session of congress, and meet real elected officials!

Monday July 15th to Friday July 19th, 2024

Connecting Across Cultures Book

A Collection of Writing by Ten Jewish and Muslim American Teens.

The culminating anthology of pieces written in our Connecting Across Cultures program.

Workshops for Kids 4-6

Language Play is an innovative program designed to inspire and enhance your 4- to 6-year-old's imagination and language usage in a fun, interactive environment.

Workshops offered this summer at our Upper West Side lab.

"Loved Your Essay" Second Edition

We've added nine new essays to our collection of the most fiercely individualistic college essays, available on Amazon!

Playwriting & Performance Summer Camp

In the morning, playwrights develop new plays or musicals. In the afternoons, they dive into the world of performance; culminating in a live showcase of their one-act plays.

Upper West Side

Monday, July 29th to Friday, August 2nd, 2024

Sports Writing

New Summer Program: Sports Writing! Explore every form of sports writing from reviews, to features, to op-eds and personal essays.

Teen Open Mics in NYC

Teen writers are welcome to share their poetry, songs, or short prose on stage within a supportive environment of Writopia educators and peers.

Saturday, June 29th, 2024

Writopia Debate Teams

Debaters work with a set team and explore a variety of topics and stances through the use of sparring and gameplay. Novice and Experienced workshops available. Plus, our new "Rhetoric Rookie" workshops are open to 7-9 year olds!

Enrollment for Summer is Open!

Register now for a week-long, half-day workshop or full-day camp this Summer!

Middle School Advanced Writing Exploration (AWE)

This application-only program invites 7th and 8th-grade writers to be part of a community of dedicated, focused writers looking to explore, expand, and deepen their literary passions. 

Mission Statement

NY Writers Coalition Inc. (NYWC) empowers and enriches the lives of New Yorkers of all backgrounds and experiences through the art of creative writing.

Participants in our free and low-cost writing workshops in New York City become part of a community of peers, present their work publicly through NYWC’s readings and publications, and connect with broader audiences. Our workshops are particularly targeted toward underserved people, including youth, seniors, women, LGBT communities, people with disabilities, people who are incarcerated or have been incarcerated, and others from traditionally silenced groups.

Writing and sharing their work with others in a safe atmosphere of respect and acceptance, NYWC’s writers discover the power of their own stories, gain confidence and a stronger sense of self, and become part of a creative and socially conscious community. We encourage creative writing as a long-term practice in the lives of our constituents, developing an audience and recognition of individuals’ artistic and personal value. We believe that everyone has a voice and a story and that the world is a better place when we respect, deeply listen to, and honor all of its citizens.

NY Writers Coalition’s Workshop Method

Click here to read NYWC’s tribute to Pat.

What happens during an NYWC workshop?

Each week, a NYWC-certified workshop leader supplies writing prompts to the writing group, but workshop members are free to ignore the given prompt and write on their own.

All standard NYWC writing workshops run for two hours. Workshop participants write together during the time allotted and are then encouraged, but not mandated, to share. Those who choose to share receive positive, supportive feedback from their writing group; w e do not critique brand new writing because the writer has not yet had a chance to read or revise it. In addition, it is assumed that all writing done in the workshop is fictional.

Workshop leaders also write as part of the group, providing a model for taking risks and showing vulnerability in a group setting. These guidelines ensure that participants feel safe to write and read aloud even the riskiest material.

NYWC workshops provide structure for writers to produce new work on a regular basis. Writers are given the freedom to find and strengthen their individual and unique voices and are encouraged to experiment with form, style, and new genres. Workshop members become part of a creative community, easing some of the isolation that they and those in marginalized groups often encounter.

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Creative Writing Program

The New School invites you to join a community of diverse writers, become part of New York City’s publishing world, and build a network of support on campus and beyond. Our prestigious MFA Creative Writing program is designed to help you develop your writing in supportive workshops and literature seminars led by an internationally recognized faculty and renowned authors.

books published annually by alumni and faculty

annual writing events, including the National Book Awards Finalist Reading

of admitted MFA students awarded merit-based university scholarships (2020–2021)

MFA in Creative Writing

As an MFA student at The New School, you can choose your concentration—in Arts Writing, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Writing for Children and Young Adults—and receive personalized faculty mentorship and faculty and peer critiques. Innovative courses in publishing and multimedia storytelling engage you in the development of literature. Popular graduate minors include Impact Entrepreneurship and Transmedia and Digital Storytelling . Or you can apply to WriteOn NYC! , a New School–funded fellowship program providing MFA students with high-quality teaching experience in area middle schools and high schools. All students benefit from evening classes and events, which enable them to work or attend responsibilities during the day while enrolled in a  full-time program.

Related Programs

In addition to the renowned MFA in Creative Writing, The New School offers other programs and opportunities for writing students. These include noncredit courses and summer intensives, as well as an undergraduate major in the Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students, the Writing and Democracy Honors Program, and undergraduate minors in related fields. Summer Writing Intensive Continuing Education Courses Writing & Democracy Honors Program BA in Creative Writing Undergraduate Creative Writing Courses

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The Writer’s Life in NYC

Creative Writing students come to The New School from across the United States and around the world to live the writer's life in New York City. Evenings with agents and editors, offered exclusively for MFA students, provide informal opportunities to meet publishing professionals.

The New School Bookshelf

We are proud to feature books recently published by The New School's Creative Writing community.

Sigrid Nunez, Faculty

Hurricane Child

Kacen callender, mfa '14.

The Impeachers

Brenda wineapple, faculty.

The January Children

Safia elhillo, mfa '15.

Mira Jacob, Faculty and MFA '01

Events & news.

• The Vera List Center for Art and Politics Presents New School New Books Event Series
• Adrian Madlener, History of Design and Curatorial Studies ’18, Explores Design Through Writing and Research
• The Vera List Center for Art and Politics Hosts Reading Room Featuring Faculty Books
• Richard Barone, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music Faculty Member, Debuts New Book about Music Scene in 1960’s Greenwich Village
• New Faculty Achievements from Across The New School Include Fellowships, Grants, and More
• Alexandra Kleeman, SPE Assistant Professor of Writing, Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction

Take The Next Step

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Undergraduates.

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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Live the writer's life this summer.

Please sign up here to receive updates about Writers in New York 2024.

Writers in New York (May 28–June 21, 2024) offers students of poetry, fiction , and creative nonfiction an opportunity to develop their craft while living the writer's life in Greenwich Village. Daily workshops and craft seminars are supplemented by readings and lectures by New York-based writers and publishing professionals. Field trips, cultural activities, readings, and guest lectures constitute an integral component of the program. 

Most classes and readings are held in the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House , home of the NYU Creative Writing Program. Located on one of the most beautiful blocks in Greenwich Village, this historic townhouse has been a gathering spot for artists and intellectuals since the 1870s.

Classes meet in the afternoons (2 pm–4:30 pm), Monday through Thursday. Evenings (6 pm–8 pm) after class feature readings, lectures, panel discussions, and special events. The schedule includes time for writing, reading, and exploring New York. The program culminates in a celebratory reading showcasing student work. This is a four-week program carrying eight points of undergraduate credit . Enrollment in the entire program is required. NOTE TO NYU STUDENTS: The eight credits earned by this intensive program constitutes half of our  Minor in Creative Writing . Participation in two summer intensives (Writers in Paris, Writers in Florence, Writers in New York) fulfills the entire Minor. For NYU English Majors in the Creative Writing Track, Writers in New York fulfills the Creative Writing requirement for two successive Creative Writing workshops.

From recent students:

“Writers in New York was a really great step forward for my writing.” 

"The Writers in New York program was the perfect introduction to the literary past and present of New York City. With the help of two supportive instructors and many guest speakers, I developed a more confident voice in my writing and fell in love with the stories—factual and fictional—that make this city so compelling."

“I'm very glad I participated in the program this summer and wish I'd done it sooner!”

“This class helped me as a writer immensely, gave me excellent insight into how to read as a writer.”

“Incredibly inspiring.”

“The evening events really differentiate this program from other writing programs. Having the opportunity to hear from authors, poets, and publishers, and for them to share their processes was incredibly useful.“

“I made a lot of friends who really truly care about the craft of writing. At summer programs, that tends to be a difficult thing to cultivate. I could always count on my classmates and the teacher to give me genuine, honest feedback on my work.”

VISITING WRITERS & EDITORS

All students attend a nightly series of readings, lectures, panel discussions, publishing forums, literary walking tours, and special events. Recent visiting writers and editors include Emily Barton, Thomas Beller, Marie-Helene Bertino, Julie Buntin, Tina Chang, Alexander Chee, Leopoldine Core, Eduardo C. Corral, Lydia Davis, Geoff Dyer, Ashley C. Ford, Emily Gould, Matthea Harvey, Adam Haslett, Amy Hempel, Major Jackson, Mitchell S. Jackson, Naomi Jackson, Mira Jacob, Tyehimba Jess, Saeed Jones, Etgar Keret, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Wayne Koestenbaum, Sam Lipsyte, Airea D. Matthews, Joyce Maynard, Eileen Myles, Angel Nafis, Daniel José Older, Helen Oyeyemi, Ed Park, Tommy Pico, Camille Rankine, Patrick Rosal, Brando Skyhorse, Amanda Stern, Lynne Tillman, Wendy Xu, John Yau, and more, including editors from Akashic Books, Archipelago Books, The Believer, Catapult, Conjunctions, Electric Literature, Fence, Guernica, Harvard Review, A Public Space, One Story, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and Tin House.

Summer 2024 Faculty:

Cris Beam  (Creative Nonfiction Workshop) is an author and professor in New York City. Her most recent book,  I Feel You: The Surprising Power of Extreme Empathy,  was published by Houghton Mifflin-Harcourt in March 2018. Her prior work,  To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care (H oughton Mifflin-Harcourt, 2013), was named a 2013  New York Times  Notable Book, was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Award, shortlisted for the William Saroyan Prize and was a best book on several year-end lists including NPR,  New York Magazine and The Boston Globe . She is also the author of  Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers  (Harcourt 2007), which won a Lambda Literary Award and was a Stonewall Honor book. Her young adult novel,  I am J , was released by Little, Brown in 2011 and was named a Kirkus Best Book and Library Guild Selection, and is the first book with a transgender character to land on the state of California's recommended reading list for public high schools. Her short memoir,  Mother, Stranger,  was published by The Atavist in 2012 and quickly reached the top ten on Kindle Singles. Cris' work has also been featured in the  New York Times,   The Awl, The Huffington Post, The Guardian  and on  This American Life.  She's an Assistant Professor of English at William Paterson University. 

Thomas Beller (Fiction Craft Seminar)  is the author of two works of fiction,  Seduction Theory  and  The Sleep-Over Artist;  a collection of personal essays,  How to Be A Man;  a biography,  J.D. Salinger: The Escape Artist,  which won the New York City Book Award; and, most recently,  Lost in the Game: A Book about Basketball . His short fiction has appeared in  The New Yorker  and  Best American Short Stories  as well as numerous anthologies.  He was a co-founder and editor of the literary magazine and press Open City from 1990-2010, and publishes the website  mrbellersneighborhood.com , focused on nonfiction set in New York City. He is a frequent contributor of essays and reportage to  The New Yorker  and  The New York Times .

Jen Levitt (Poetry Workshop) is the author of two poetry collections,  So Long  (2023) and  The Off-Season  (2016), both from Four Way Books. Her poems have appeared in  The Adroit Journal ,  Boston Review ,  Tin House ,  The Yale Review  and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.

Julie Orringer is the author of three award-winning books:  The Invisible Bridge , a  New York Times  bestselling novel;  How to Breathe Underwater , a collection of stories; and  The Flight Portfolio , a novel about Varian Fry, the New York journalist who went to Marseille in 1940 to save writers and artists blacklisted by the Gestapo.  The Flight Portfolio  is the inspiration for the Netflix series  Transatlantic,  which airs April 7, 2023. All of Orringer’s work has been published by Alfred A. Knopf, and her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including The  Granta Book of the American Short Story  and  The Scribner Anthology of American Short Fiction . She is the winner of the Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cullman Center at the New York Public Library, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, the MacDowell Colony, and Yaddo. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and children, and is at work on a new novel.

Eliza Minot (Fiction Workshop) is the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Tiny One, The Brambles , and In the Orchard published by Knopf/Vintage.

Her work has appeared in a variety of magazines, a couple of anthologies, and her books have been named to various lists, including The New York Times Notable, Booksense 76, Nancy Pearl’s, and Oprah’s Top Ten Summer Picks. She went to Barnard College (’91) and received her MFA from Rutgers-Newark, where she was a Presidential Fellow, in 2017. She has taught at Rutgers-Newark, Barnard College, and NYU. She is a recipient of a New Jersey State Artist Fellowship and was on the shortlist for the £20,000 Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize. She received the Maplewood Library Literary Award in 2023. She grew up the youngest of seven children in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. She lives in Maplewood, NJ, with her family.

Matthew Rohrer (Poetry Craft Seminar) is the author of A Hummock in the Malookas, Satellite, A Green Light, Rise Up, A Plate of Chicken, and Destroyer and Preserver. With Joshua Beckman he wrote Nice Hat. Thanks. and recorded the audio CD Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty. Octopus Books published his action/adventure chapbook-length poem They All Seemed Asleep in 2008. His poems have been widely anthologized and have appeared in many journals. He’s received the Hopwood Award for poetry and a Pushcart prize, was selected as a National Poetry Series winner, and was shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize.

Saïd Sayrafiezadeh ’s (Creative Nonfiction Craft Seminar) latest collection of short stories,  American Estrangement , was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize. He is the author of a memoir,  When Skateboards Will Be Free , selected as one of the ten best books of the year by Dwight Garner of The New York Times, and the story collection,  Brief Encounters With the Enemy , a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Fiction Prize. His writing has appeared in  The New Yorker ,  The Paris Review ,  The Best American Short Stories ,  The Atlantic ,  Granta ,  McSweeney’s , and  The New York Times , among other publications. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award for nonfiction and a Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers’ fiction fellowship. He is a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities and teaches creative writing at New York University, where he received an Outstanding Teaching Award.

Maria Venegas  (Fiction Craft Seminar) was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when she was four years old. Venegas’s short stories have appeared in  Ploughshares  and  Huizache . She has taught creative writing at Hunter College and currently works as a mentor at Still Waters in a Storm, a reading and writing sanctuary for children in Brooklyn. She lives in New York City.

Joanna Yas (Director) was the Editor of Open City Magazine & Books for over a decade. She is Editor-in-Chief of  Washington Square Review and   Literary Editor of Stranger's Guide , Executive Editor of  West 10th.  She previously held positions at  Ploughshares ,  Grand Street , and  Zoetrope: All-Story . She is a co-founder of Editrixie, an editorial services company, and co-editor of the anthology  They're at It Again: Twenty Years of Open City . Joanna is Readings & Special Programs Manager at the NYU Creative Writing Program, where she teaches, co-curates the reading series, and directs Writers in New York.

Rachel Zucker  (Poetry Workshop) is the author of ten books, including  SoundMachine  (Wave Books, 2019). Her other books include a memoir,  MOTHERs , and a double collection of prose and poetry,  The Pedestrians . Her book  Museum of Accidents  was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell Colony and the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Zucker teaches poetry at New York University. Zucker is the founder and host of the podcast  Commonplace: Conversations with Poets (and Other People) . She is currently working on an immersive audio project (also called  SoundMachine ). In 2016, Zucker wrote and delivered a series of lectures on the intersection of poetry, confession, ethics and disobedience as part of the  Bagley Wright Lecture Series . These lectures will be published in a collection called The Poetics of Wrongness .

Writers in New York Photo Gallery

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Using the Tools of Creative Writing, Memoir, Art, Photography, Storytelling and Mindfulness

The Creativity Workshop in New York

June 6-9 July 26-29 October 4-7 10 AM to 1 PM each day

The Creativity Workshop in New York City will help you become more creative in your personal and professional life. We use many techniques in creative writing, memoir, art, photography, storytelling, mapmaking, mindfulness and guided visualization to help you explore your inner creativity.

What Will You Learn?

The Creativity Workshop is an experiential course of doing and experimenting. Our exercises and instructors’ talks focus on helping you learn practical techniques to stimulate your imagination and innovative thinking. More

• Explore the process of creativity, rather than simply focusing on the product.
• Discover how to find inspiration in the world around you.
• Get over creative blocks and the fear of failure.
• Work with many different mediums to develop your creativity in your chosen field.
• Use your memories to trigger your imagination.
• Engage your curiosity every day and make it work for you.
• Establish a 15 minute a day creativity practice to accomplish your goals after the Workshop ends.

Why New York City?

Famous for its museums, cultural life, shopping, and restaurants, New York City is a great place to recharge your batteries and find inspiration. More

• Whether you want to visit art galleries, go to a dance performance, see a Broadway show, browse through one-of-a-kind shops, explore different neighborhoods, or simply people-watch and soak in the city’s unique energy, New York has something for everyone.
• While the techniques we explore in our workshops will sharpen your appreciation of New York, the sounds and sights of this exhilarating city will also fuel your creativity in class.

Daily Schedule

Some exercises are done individually while others are collaborative. Classes will take place between 10 AM and 1 PM each day and the rest of the time is for you to explore the city. Here is a day by day schedule: More

Introduction to the hows and whys of The Creativity Workshop.

Relaxation: Relaxation techniques to help your imagination flow.

Guided Visualization: Calling forth the vocabulary of your imagination using the myth of the hero’s journey as a framework.

Automatic Drawing: Finding our hidden imagery.

Show and Tell: Retrieving and sharing childhood memories to spark new ideas. This exercise will sharpen your storytelling skills.

Instructors’ talk: How some famous writers, scientists, and artists found their inspiration, and how you can use some of their methods to find yours.

Relaxation.

Mapmaking: Mapmaking as a way to find, chart, and communicate your creative process and projects.

Automatic Writing: How automatic writing (also known as “free writing”) can help you create in new and surprising ways. How you can use automatic writing to outrun your inner judge, get over creative blocks, and discover new ways of developing and editing written work. How alternating between writing and drawing can help you develop creative flexibility and mental dexterity.

The Interview: Listening to and experiencing a life outside your own. How listening is as important as doing in creative work.

Writing in Cafes: an exercise that will continue to take place over the next 2 days.

Instructors’ talks may include:

• How to do ongoing creative work in short modules of time.
• How to use luck and coincidence to jump-start creative projects.

Letter Writing: Letter writing as a way to express voice, character, and audience.

Miniature Worlds: Storytelling with found objects.

Writing in Groups: How writing and/or drawing with others can stimulate your imagination and expand your point of view.

• The importance of play in creative work.
• Valuing creative process over product.

The Myth of the Other: Imagining yourself living a parallel life. What would you do that you aren’t doing now?

The Sand Mandala: Making an Illuminated Manuscript.

Final Group Exercise.

• The Gift of the Amateur.
• Creativity is a Muscle: Use it or Lose it.
• Making your home and work environments inspiring.
• How to stay creative after The Creativity Workshop ends.

The workshops will take place at The Creativity Workshop Studio on Roosevelt Island (10 minutes from Midtown Manhattan).

June 6-9 July 26-29 October 4-7 Classes will take place between 10 AM and 1 PM each day and the rest of the time is for you to explore the city.

Registration

Tuition: $1,095

$150 at time of registration and the balance 90 days before the workshop begins. Class size is very limited. Reserve your space well in advance.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Young Adult Creative Writing

This event will take place in person at 53rd St.

Get ready for some creative writing! Share your writing, bounce ideas off of other writers, and unleash some creative energy! Each week will have a different theme/challenge for aspiring writers to try their hand at. Feel free to share your work at the very end if you'd like!

This program is for young adults, and will take place in the teen zone.

• Audience: Teens/Young Adults (13-18 years), Young Adults/Pre GED (16-24 years)

Writing Workshops: Creative Writing: Blogging Basics

Come learn blogging basics and how creative writing can be used on social media & blogs. Create your own account and meet others who are learning creative writing forms.

• Audience: Adults

Writing Workshops: Bronx Week Creative Writing Meetup

Are you looking for a friendly atmosphere to write in, people to bounce ideas off of, or just looking for some feedback? Then this is the place for you!

If you like to write and meet people who like writing, bring your creativity and personality to our creative writing meetups. All writers of all styles are welcome to join!

This event will take place in person at The Soundview Library

• Audience: Adults

Informal Creative Writing for Adults

This is an informal  creative writing workshop for adults . Writing prompts will be provided at the beginning of the 1 hour program to help your ideas to flow. But you may start writing with your own prompt or own creative idea(s). This will be a space for all writing levels to come together to peacefully write and share ideas, ask for feedback, etc. Writing materials will be provided. Please be aware this is not an instructional program. Please view flyer for more information. Thank you.

• Audience: Adults, 50+

Creative Writing Workshops

Adult workshops.

Whether you are just curious about writing poems or stories, or are an experienced writer seeking serious critique, the Writers Voice and Downtown Writers Center has programs for you. Each year, we offer over 70 workshops and courses for writers of all experience levels: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama, screenwriting, songwriting, and more. And if you're a YMCA of Central New York member, you can take a class for free each season! All courses are taught by professional writers who are ready lead you on your creative journey.

TESTIMONIALS

"They say writing is a solitary pursuit—and yet I shudder to imagine attempting it without the essential support of my friends and mentors at the DWC. It is there that I find the necessary criticism to do it better and the generous encouragement to do it again."

-- Michael Petrosillo, DWC PRO fiction student and published fiction author

"When I joined the Y several years ago, I was happy to discover all of the other activities available besides a workout, like walking clubs, field trips, and picnics. Then a friend suggested taking classes at the DWC. At the beginning I took fiction classes, and now I take poetry classes. I have taken a class every session since I started. It has been a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, expand my interests, and broaden my writing skills. One of the best parts is there is no pressure. If you want to publish, you will receive more support than you can possibly imagine from others who are already published. Or you can take the classes for fun. Every instructor has been amazing, and I've learned different things from each of them."

-- Debbie Panebianco

"At the beginning every time we workshopped my work, after hearing all those beautiful pieces, I wished the ground would swallow me up. Instead, I decided to buckle up, and take the embarrassment as an integral part of the learning process. Boy was it worth it. I still feel I need to catch up with my language skills. Nevertheless, I still manage, somehow, to keep myself in the game, coming up with new ideas, and enjoying every minute of it!"

-- Benedetta Pallante

"Being part of the DWC community has changed my life. It has provided me a purpose for each day. Writing turned out to be a blessing for me. Without it I would be lost."

-- Morris Torres

"I have been a student since 2002 and have found every instructor I've encountered to be knowledgeable, professional, and motivating. I moved to Seattle in 2018 and thought I had to leave the Center behind. The silver lining amid all the COVID concerns is the shift to offer DWC courses online. What a gift. I can now take classes remotely and enjoy this wonderful community again. Whether you are a writer of fiction, poetry, or non-fiction this is the place to hone your skills."

-- Susan Burgess

Register Online

For more information, please contact: Tim Carter Arts Branch Program Director