Sackett Street Writers

5,000 creative writers since 2002 in NYC & ONLINE

Online Classes

COVID-19 UPDATE: ALL ONLINE CLASSES DISCOUNTED

Sackett Street is offering all online classes at a *discounted rate* in order to give writers the support, inspiration and creative community (albeit remotely) needed during this unpredictable time.

New classes are added all the time–please scroll down if the class you are interested in is full and/or email sackettworkshop@gmail.com to let us know what kind of class you are looking for.

2021 Online Classes

8-week ONLINE Master Fiction Writing – begins week of 1.4.20

Instructor: Jensen Beach
Dates: Begins week of January 4, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weeknight tbd 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a sample of your writing. 

Our Fiction Workshop is aimed at writers with a regular practice, those who have mastered the essentials and are looking for a community of peers ready to offer insightful, impartial feedback on works in progress. Whether you’re a writer looking to polish work for publication, looking for a fresh perspective, looking to climb the next hurdle, or simply missing the motivation and comradery only workshop can offer, our Fiction Workshop is designed to get you writing. Come geek out with your fellow lit nerds and walk away with a renewed sense of purpose.

APPLY NOW

Jensen Beach is the author of two story collections, the forthcoming SWALLOWED BY THE COLD (Graywolf), and FOR OUT OF THE HEART PROCEED (Dzanc Books 2012, 2nd Edition; 1st Edition: Dark Sky Books). He holds an MFA in fiction from the Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as an MA and BA in English from Stockholm University. He teaches in the BFA program at Johnson State College, where he also is the fiction editor of Green Mountains Review. He’s also a faculty member in the MFA Program in Writing & Publishing at VCFA. His writing has appeared recently in A Public Space, Cincinnati Review, Fifty-Two Stories, Ninth Letter, Sou’wester, Witness, and The New Yorker, and online at Tin House, N+1, Kenyon Review, and American Short Fiction, among others. He’s received scholarships from the Napa and Sewanee Writers’ conferences, and is one of the webeditors at Hobart. He lives in Vermont.

8-week ONLINE Personal Essay & Memoir Writing I/II – begins week of 1.4.21

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction. In-class writing prompts will be used to inspire and motivate students to produce new work.

This workshop is open to writers working on memoir and personal essays, and writers at all levels of skill and experience are welcome to join.

Begins: week of January 4, 2020
Instructor: Anna Qu
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up TUESDAYS 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Anna Qu is a Chinese-American writer. Her nonfiction has appeared in The Threepenny Review, Kartika Review, Kweli Journal, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, XOJane, Jezebel, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Anna currently serves as the Nonfiction Editor at Kweli, and formerly worked in the publishing on the agency side. Her memoir, MADE IN CHINA, will be published in 2021.

8-week ONLINE Creative Writing I/II: Building an Intentional Community for Writers of Color (open to both fiction & nonfiction writers) – begins week of 1.4.21

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info. 

Over the course of this workshop, writers will gain skills in fiction and non-fiction writing while engaging in a community of fellow writers of color. During in-class instruction, writers will gain technical skills in character development, language, and style. The combination of an intentional community coupled with thoughtful writing exercises allows participants to immerse themselves in a unique workshop experience.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of both fiction and creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling story.

This workshop is open to writers of color working on fiction (short stories and novels) and creative nonfiction (memoir, personal essays or in-depth journalism) and writers of all levels of skill and experience are welcome to join.

Instructor: Khaliah Williams
Dates: Begins week of January 4, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up tbd 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Khaliah Williams is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her fiction has been published in Hawaii Women’s Journal, Frontier Psychiatrist, and Day One, and her non-fiction at Buzzfeed, American Short Fiction and Book Country. She is a current fellow at the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and an Instructor and Advisory Board member of Writers in Baltimore School. Originally from Philadelphia, she lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  She is at work on a novel and collection of short stories.

8-week ONLINE Creative Writing II/III: Building an Intentional Community for Writers of Color (open to both fiction & nonfiction writers) – begins week of 1.11.21

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a sample of your writing. 

Over the course of this workshop, writers will gain skills in fiction and non-fiction writing while engaging in a community of fellow writers of color. During in-class instruction, writers will gain technical skills in character development, language, and style. The combination of an intentional community coupled with thoughtful writing exercises allows participants to immerse themselves in a unique workshop experience.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of both fiction and creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling story.

This workshop is open to writers of color working on fiction (short stories and novels) and creative nonfiction (memoir, personal essays or in-depth journalism) and students should have writing and writing class experience.

Instructor: Khaliah Williams
Dates: Begins week of January 11, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up tbd 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Khaliah Williams is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her fiction has been published in Hawaii Women’s Journal, Frontier Psychiatrist, and Day One, and her non-fiction at Buzzfeed, American Short Fiction and Book Country. She is a current fellow at the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and an Instructor and Advisory Board member of Writers in Baltimore School. Originally from Philadelphia, she lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  She is at work on a novel and collection of short stories.


8-week ONLINE Writing Sprints: A Generative Class (open to fiction & nonfiction writers at all levels) – begins week of 1.4.21

Begins: Week of January 4, 2021
Instructor: Jeanne Thornton
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weekday tbd)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info. 

Writing Sprints is an exercise-intensive course designed to “unstick” writers struggling to start or continue new projects, boosting writing productivity.  The course relies heavily on writing exercises (for both fiction & nonfiction writers).  Students will produce a ton of new work in this class, and receive feedback on that work from the instructor and his or her classmates. This class is for writers of all levels looking for inspiration and motivation.

This workshop is open to writers working in all genres, and writers at all levels of skill and experience are welcome to join.

Apply Now

Jeanne Thornton is the author of The Dream of Doctor Bantam (a Lambda Literary Award finalist) and The Black Emerald. She is the copublisher of Instar Books and creator of the web comics The Man Who Hates Fun and Bad Mother. She lives in Brooklyn.

8-week ONLINE Master Fiction Writing – begins 1.5.21

Instructor: Austin Ratner
Dates: Begins January 5, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up TUESDAYS 6-8pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a sample of your writing. 

Our Fiction Workshop is aimed at writers with a regular practice, those who have mastered the essentials and are looking for a community of peers ready to offer insightful, impartial feedback on works in progress. Whether you’re a writer looking to polish work for publication, looking for a fresh perspective, looking to climb the next hurdle, or simply missing the motivation and comradery only workshop can offer, our Fiction Workshop is designed to get you writing. Come geek out with your fellow lit nerds and walk away with a renewed sense of purpose.

APPLY NOW

Austin Ratner is the author of the novels In the Land of the Living and The Jump Artist, winner of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. His non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times Magazine andThe Wall Street Journal and his short fiction has been honored with the Missouri Review Editors’ Prize. He attended the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is co-author of the textbook Concepts in Medical Physiology.

  8-week ONLINE Advanced Personal Essay & Memoir Writing – begins wk of 1.4.21

Begins: Week of January 4, 2020
Instructor: Michele Filgate
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Tuesday nights)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info. 

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction.

This workshop is open to writers working on memoir, personal essays or in-depth journalism, and students should have writing and writing class experience.

Apply Now

Michele Filgate is a contributing editor at Literary Hub. Her work has appeared in Longreads, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Refinery29, Slice, The Paris Review Daily, Tin House, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, Salon, Interview Magazine, Buzzfeed, The Barnes & Noble Review, Poets & Writers, CNN.com, Fine Books & Collections Magazine, DAME Magazine, The Brooklyn Quarterly, Time Out New York, People, The Daily Beast, O, The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Journal, Vulture, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Star Tribune, The Quarterly Conversation, The Brooklyn Rail, and other publications. She is the founder of the Red Ink series. In 2016, Brooklyn Magazine named her one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture.” Michele is the editor of the anthology What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About published by Simon & Schuster in 2019.

8-week ONLINE Fiction Writing I/II – begins week of 1.11.21

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this course.

Please fill out an application with name, contact info, and writing/writing class experience.

In this workshop, writers will learn how to manipulate the tools of fiction-writing (point-of-view, plot, characterizing detail, tone, etc.) to craft complete and unique stories that engage the reader. In-class critiques and exercises, as well as lectures and feedback from the instructor, are used to help students further develop their writing. This course is intended for writers with some writing experience who are looking to learn more about what makes a story, “a story.”

Begins: week of January 11, 2021
Instructor: tbd
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up on Wednesdays 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

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Courtney Mauk was born in Rolla, Missouri, and grew up in Copley, Ohio. She studied creative writing at Oberlin College before moving to New York City, where she received an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. She is the author of three novels: The Special Power of Restoring Lost Things (Little A, 2016), Orion’s Daughters (Engine Books, 2014) and Spark (Engine Books, 2012). Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Literary Review, PANK, Wigleaf, Five Chapters, Juked, and Front Porch, among other venues.

8-week ONLINE Personal Essay & Memoir Writing I/II – begins week of 1.11.21

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction. In-class writing prompts will be used to inspire and motivate students to produce new work.

This workshop is open to writers working on memoir and personal essays, and writers at all levels of skill and experience are welcome to join.

Begins: week of January 11, 2021
Instructor: Lisa Levy
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Wednesdays 7-9pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Lisa Levy is  a writer, essayist, and critic. Her work has appeared in many publications, including the New Republic, the LARB, the Believer, the Millions, the Rumpus, TLS, the CBC, and Lit Hub, where she is a contributing editor. She is also a columnist and contributing editor to Crime Reads. She is working on an essay collection. She moved to Toronto from Brooklyn in summer 2019 and is very much an amateur Canadian.

8-week ONLINE Personal Essay & Memoir Writing II – begins week of 1.11.21

A writing sample is recommended to apply for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a brief writing sample.

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction. In-class writing prompts will be used to inspire and motivate students to produce new work.

This workshop is open to writers working on memoir and personal essays.

Begins: week of January 11, 2021
Instructor: Sarah Perry
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Thursdays 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Sarah Perry is the author of the memoir After the Eclipse, which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a Poets & Writers Notable Nonfiction Debut, and a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Perry is the recipient of the 2018 Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award and a fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation. Her work has appeared in Elle magazine, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She holds an M.F.A. in nonfiction from Columbia University and is the 2019 McGee Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Davidson College. She lives in Brooklyn.

8-week ONLINE Writing for Young Adults & Middle Grade – begins week of 1.18.21

A writing sample is not required (but welcome) for this course.

Start, finish, or polish your YA or MG novel in this supportive, proactive workshop. Brief lectures, tailored to students’ needs and interests, cover topics such as character development, voice and tone, plot, world-building, dialogue, romance, pacing, scene structure, querying agents, the business of publishing, and time management for writers. Students will have multiple opportunities to share her or his work with the class and receive written feedback from the instructor and fellow students. This course is intended for students with some writing experience. All YA or MG genres are welcome.

A private conference with the instructor is included.

Begins: Week of January 18, 2021
Instructor: Anna Godbersen
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weeknight tbd 7:30-9:30pm)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

APPLY NOW

Anna Godbersen is the author of numerous books for young adults, including The New York Times Bestselling series THE LUXE and the BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS series. THE BLONDE was her first book for the adult market. She has worked in the literary department of ESQUIRE, where she vetted short story submissions and wrote weekly book reviews for the magazine’s website. Her most recent book is WHEN WE CAUGHT FIRE, a young adult novel set during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, published by HarperTeen in 2019.

8-week ONLINE Advanced Personal Essay & Memoir Writing – begins wk of 1.18.21

Begins: Week of January 18, 2020
Instructor: Michele Filgate
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Monday nights)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info. 

Through group discussion of student work, plus that of published authors, writers in this workshop will examine the art and craft of creative nonfiction. The focus will be on learning to understand and use a full range of literary techniques in order to tell a truly compelling nonfiction story. Topics such as the use of dialogue, the creation of scene, attention to style and how to craft structure from true events will be discussed. Participants will also spend time talking about the particular responsibilities that come with writing creative nonfiction.

This workshop is open to writers working on memoir, personal essays or in-depth journalism, and students should have writing and writing class experience.

Apply Now

Michele Filgate is a contributing editor at Literary Hub. Her work has appeared in Longreads, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Refinery29, Slice, The Paris Review Daily, Tin House, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, Salon, Interview Magazine, Buzzfeed, The Barnes & Noble Review, Poets & Writers, CNN.com, Fine Books & Collections Magazine, DAME Magazine, The Brooklyn Quarterly, Time Out New York, People, The Daily Beast, O, The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Journal, Vulture, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Star Tribune, The Quarterly Conversation, The Brooklyn Rail, and other publications. She is the founder of the Red Ink series. In 2016, Brooklyn Magazine named her one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture.” Michele is the editor of the anthology What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About published by Simon & Schuster in 2019.

20-week VIRTUAL Manuscript Generator I* : a generative class open to novelists, memoirists, and writers working on story and essay collections – begins week of 1.27.21 (*this is a virtual class & video meetings are held every other week*)

In this generative workshop, students have the opportunity to hand in chapters (up to 5000 words pages) every other week, and receive feedback from the instructor on these pages. The workshop is open to writers who have completed one or more chapters of a novel or memoir, as well as writers working on short story and/or essay collections. Writers participating in this course will learn how to recognize the successful techniques in their writing – what engages the reader, and how that success is achieved. Carefully planned lessons and online discussions will focus on analyzing the many choices (point-of-view, tone, characterizing details, pacing, etc.) a writer must make concerning structure, character and language. This course is intended for writers who have some experience writing and workshopping.

A writing sample is not required but recommended for this class.

*This section of Manuscript Generator is intended for writers who have not participated in a previous MG class.

Begins: Week of January 25th, 2021
Instructor: Heather Aimee O’Neill
Location: Meetings via video every other Wednesday 7-9pm EST
Fee: $1250.00 (usually $1450)

Apply Now

Heather Aimee O’Neill has worked with hundreds of writers in Sackett Street’s popular Manuscript Intensive Workshop (online and in Brooklyn). Her most recent collection of poetry, Obliterations, was co-authored with Jessica Piazza and published by Red Hen Press. A recent Lambda Literary Poetry Fellow, her poetry chapbook, Memory Future, won the University of Southern California’s Gold Line Press Award, chosen by judge Carol Muske-Dukes. She is a freelance writer for publications such as Time Out New York, Parents Magazine and Salon.com.

8-week ONLINE Master Fiction Writing – begins week of 2.1.21

Instructor: Maisy Card
Dates: Begins week of February 1, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weeknight tbd 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $495 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application with your contact info and a sample of your writing. 

Our Fiction Workshop is aimed at writers with a regular practice, those who have mastered the essentials and are looking for a community of peers ready to offer insightful, impartial feedback on works in progress. Whether you’re a writer looking to polish work for publication, looking for a fresh perspective, looking to climb the next hurdle, or simply missing the motivation and comradery only workshop can offer, our Fiction Workshop is designed to get you writing. Come geek out with your fellow lit nerds and walk away with a renewed sense of purpose.

APPLY NOW

Maisy Card is the author of the debut novel These Ghosts are Family which was published by Simon & Schuster in March 2020 and has been nominated for the Center for Fiction First Novel Award. Her writing has appeared in Lenny Letter, School Library Journal, Agni, Sycamore Review, Liars’ League NYC, and Ampersand Review. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Maisy was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, but was raised in Queens, New York. She earned an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College, an MLIS from Rutgers University and a BA in English and American Studies from Wesleyan University. She currently lives in Newark, NJ where she works as a public librarian.

20-week VIRTUAL Manuscript Generator II* : a generative class open to novelists, memoirists, and writers working on story and essay collections – begins week of 3.1.21 (*this is a virtual class & video meetings are held every other week*)

In this generative workshop, students have the opportunity to hand in chapters (up to 5000 words pages) every other week, and receive feedback from the instructor on these pages. The workshop is open to writers who have completed one or more chapters of a novel or memoir, as well as writers working on short story and/or essay collections. Writers participating in this course will learn how to recognize the successful techniques in their writing – what engages the reader, and how that success is achieved. Carefully planned lessons and online discussions will focus on analyzing the many choices (point-of-view, tone, characterizing details, pacing, etc.) a writer must make concerning structure, character and language. This course is intended for writers who have some experience writing and workshopping.

A writing sample is not required but recommended for this class.

*This section of Manuscript Generator is intended for writers who have participated in a previous MG class.

Begins: Week of March 1, 2021
Instructor: Heather Aimee O’Neill
Location: Meetings via video every other Wednesday 7-9pm EST
Fee: $1250.00 (usually $1450)

Apply Now

Heather Aimee O’Neill has worked with hundreds of writers in Sackett Street’s popular Manuscript Intensive Workshop (online and in Brooklyn). Her most recent collection of poetry, Obliterations, was co-authored with Jessica Piazza and published by Red Hen Press. A recent Lambda Literary Poetry Fellow, her poetry chapbook, Memory Future, won the University of Southern California’s Gold Line Press Award, chosen by judge Carol Muske-Dukes. She is a freelance writer for publications such as Time Out New York, Parents Magazine and Salon.com.