Sackett Street Writers

8,000+ creative writers since 2002 in NYC & ONLINE

Online Writing Classes

We are offering ONLINE CLASSES at a discounted rate in order to give writers the support, inspiration and creative community (albeit remotely) needed during this unpredictable time.

8-week workshops are limited to 9-10 writers (8-wk classes) and 8 writers (6-wk classes), and generative classes (Writing Sprints and Manuscript Generator) have no more than 12-15 writers. All workshops include opportunities to share work in class and receive feedback from both the instructor and classmates. To register, please complete an application and, if required, include a sample of work (1500-2000 words).

6-week ONLINE *Fiction* Sprints: A Generative Class (open to fiction writers at all levels) – begins 10.4.21 *1 spot available*

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Begins: Monday, October 4, 2021
Instructor: Libby Flores
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Mondays 7-9pm EST)
Fee: $400 (usually $550)

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 fiction writing exercises.  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 interested in working on fiction, and writers at all levels of skill and experience are welcome to join.

APPLY NOW

Libby Flores is a 2008 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow. Her short fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, Post Road Magazine, Tin House The Open Bar, The Guardian, The Rattling Wall, Paper Darts, Bridge Eight, FLASH: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She is the former Director of Literary Programs at PEN Center USA . In 2018 she directed the second annual Believer Festival. She is currently the Director of Audience Engagement and Digital Projects at BOMB magazine and the NYC Director of the Freya Project. Libby holds an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. She lives in Brooklyn, but will always be a Texan.

8-week ONLINE Creative Writing II/III: Building an Intentional Community for Writers of Color (open to both fiction & nonfiction writers) – begins 10.19.21 – taught by Khaliah Williams

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Instructor: Khaliah Williams
Dates: Begins October 19, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Tuesdays 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $550 (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.

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.

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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 (fiction & nonfiction) – begins 10.12.21 – taught by Rachel Lyon

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Begins: October 12, 2021
Instructor: Rachel Lyon
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm EST)
Fee: $550 (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.

Rachel Lyon is the author of SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BOY (Scribner 2018), which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Dublin International Literary Award. Her shorter work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in One Story, Longreads, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, and other publications. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Epiphany and a cofounder of the reading series Ditmas Lit.

8-week Fiction Writing II – begins 10.20.21 – taught by Heidi Diehl *2 spots available*

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Instructor: Heidi Diehl
Begins: October 20, 2021
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up WEDNESDAYS 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

A writing sample is recommended 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 looking to create a regular practice, master the essentials, and join 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

Heidi Diehl’s debut novel, Lifelines, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in June 2019. Her short fiction has appeared in Crazyhorse, Indiana Review, Mississippi Review, StoryQuarterly, Witness,and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Marble House Project, Norton Island/Eastern Frontier Foundation, Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center; she holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. Since 2010, she has taught expository and creative writing at Brooklyn College, where she is also the assistant director of the freshman writing program.

8-week ONLINE Advanced Personal Essay & Memoir Writing – begins 10.25.21 – taught by Michele Filgate

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Begins: October 25, 2021
Instructor: Michele Filgate
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Mondays 7-8pm ET)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application.

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 Writing for Young Adult and Middle-Grade Workshop – begins week of 10.27.21

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Begins: October 27, 2021
Instructor: Anna Hecker
Location: Online (weekly video Wed 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

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

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 opportunities to workshop writing 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.

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Anna Hecker holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from The New School. She is the author of When the Beat Drops (Sky Pony Press, May 2018) as well as several young adult ghostwriting projects for Penguin/Razorbill, Alloy Entertainment and HarperTeen. Her articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Gawker, DailyCandy, Refinery29, and VICE Broadly.

8-week Writing Speculative and Fantastical Fiction – begins 10.28.21 – taught by Marissa Levien

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Begins: October 28, 2021 (no class on Thanksgiving)
Instructor: Marissa Levien
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Thursdays 7-9pm EST)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

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 speculative and fantastical fiction. We will focus on some of the classic sticking points of writing in this genre: effective worldbuilding, balancing character against plot, maintaining consistent story logic, and making sure all elements of the writing serve the story. This class seeks to dispel the myths of the so-called differences between “genre” fiction and literary fiction: every story one writes, whether it’s a realistic family drama or a saga set on a spaceship, should be built upon good prose, complex characters, empathy and specificity. Fantasy, sci-fi, speculative fiction, or whatever label you choose can and should be well-written literary work, and in this class we will seek to give you the tools do just that.

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Marissa Levien received her MFA from Stony Brook University, where she also helped run the Southampton Writers Conference. Her debut novel The World Gives Way was released by Hachette in 2021, earning praise from The New York Times, Vulture, Literary Hub, Publishers Weekly, and a selection as an IndieNext Pick. Her work has been published in Writer’s Digest, Literary Hub, Publisher’s Weekly, Saint Ann’s Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books, among others. She has previously taught workshops for Stony Brook University, John Jermain Workshops, and Harlem Educational Activities Fund.

8-week ONLINE Master Fiction Writing – begins 10.28.21 – taught by Austin Ratner

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Instructor: Austin Ratner
Dates: Begins October 28, 2021 *no class on Thanksgiving*
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Thursdays 6-8pm EST)
Fee: $550 (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 Personal Essay & Memoir I/II – begins 11.3.21 – taught by Anna Qu

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Begins: November 3, 2021
Instructor: Anna Qu
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Wednesdays 6-8pm EST)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

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.

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, was published in August 2021.

6-week ONLINE Personal Essay & Memoir I/II – begins 11.9.21 – taught by Xeni Fragakis

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Begins: November 9, 2021
Instructor: Xeni Fragakis
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Tuesdays 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $400 (usually $550)

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.

APPLY NOW

Xeni Fragakis received her BA in English from Yale University and her MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa. At Iowa, she was awarded an Iowa Arts Fellowship and taught Creative Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Salon, and she is a winner of the Moth GrandSLAM Championship.

12-wk VIRTUAL Manuscript Generator I* : a generative class open to novelists, memoirists, and writers working on story and essay collections – begins week of 12.1.21 (this is a virtual class & video meetings are held every other week)

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Begins: December 1, 2021
Instructor: Heather Aimee O’Neill
Location: Meetings via video every other Wednesday 7-9pm EST
Fee: $875.00

A private conference with the instructor is included.

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

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

Every other week you will submit up to 5,000 words of your manuscript to the instructor and she will provide you with written feedback. You’ll also have the opportunity to receive feedback from your fellow writers on your project synopsis or outline, scene exercises, and your manuscript’s opening paragraphs. The two-hour bi-weekly meetings will be the chance for you to discuss your projects and engage with writing prompts in shared group writing time. The instructor also offers a 30-minute one-on-one consultation at the end of the course to discuss your manuscript in depth.

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.

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 Master Fiction Writing – begins 1.6.22 – taught by Austin Ratner

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Instructor: Austin Ratner
Dates: Begins January 6, 2022
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Thursdays 6-8pm EST)
Fee: $550 (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 Writing Sprints: A Generative Class (fiction & nonfiction) – begins 1.6.22 – taught by Elizabeth Weiss

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Begins: January 6, 2022
Instructor: Elizabeth Weiss
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up Thursdays 7:30-9:30pm EST)
Fee: $550 (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

Elizabeth Weiss‘s debut novel, The Sisters Sweet, will be published by The Dial Press in November 2021. She earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. Her nonfiction has been published in The New Yorker online. She has taught for the University of Iowa, the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, and the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop, and is a mentor for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She lives in Minneapolis with her spouse, daughter, and dog.

8-week Online Fiction Writing I/II – begins week of 1.6.22

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8-week ONLINE Fiction Writing I/II
Begins: week of January 6, 2022
Instructor: tbd
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weeknight tbd 7:30-9:30pm ET)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

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.”

8-week ONLINE Advanced Personal Essay & Memoir Writing – begins week of 1.10.21 – taught by Michele Filgate

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Begins: week of January 10, 2022
Instructor: Michele Filgate
Location: Online (weekly video meet-up weeknight tbd 7-8pm ET)
Fee: $550 (usually $625)

A writing sample is required for this class. Please fill out an application.

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.