Workshop Descriptions
Your Workshop Experience
Over the course of five workshop sessions, you’ll dive deep into your writing practice generating new stories, poems and essays while in New Haven. Writers will learn new techniques and connect with other creative writers who share your passion for storytelling. Writers will be assigned required reading to complete for the start of the program.
Here’s what to expect:
- Lively group workshops where you’ll share your work, give and receive feedback, and celebrate each other’s writing.
- Helpful lessons in giving constructive feedback—you’ll learn how to offer thoughtful critique and use feedback to strengthen your own writing.
- Experiential Learning—writers will explore Yale’s world-class museums in an ekphrasis writing adventure—because sometimes inspiration begins off the page.
- Tips and techniques from your instructor on revision, style, and the writing process—plus insider advice on how writers grow their craft and share their work with readers.
- A creative, supportive community where everyone’s voice matters and encouragement is at the heart of every session.
The Welcome Orientation will take place on Sunday, June 21st, followed by a campus tour and dinner in Yale’s Dining Hall. Workshops kick off the next morning—so come ready to write, connect, and be inspired!
For more details on workshops, instructors, and guest writers, check the full workshop schedule.
On-campus Workshops
Fiction
Coming soon! Taught by Kristin Bair
Stories They Can’t Stop Reading
To write compelling stories that readers can’t put down, a writer must, well, write—and study the craft of fiction. In this workshop, we’ll journal, read published work, and try out lively generative exercises to spark fresh ideas and expand your writing toolbox. These skills will support writers in high school, college, and beyond. Together we’ll build a supportive community and help one another make discoveries on the page. All writers welcome! Taught by Jotham Burrello
Tell It True
In this creative nonfiction workshop, young writers will learn how to shape real-life experiences into vivid, compelling stories. Through engaging prompts, close reading of published work, and supportive discussion, students will explore voice, memory, scene, and reflection. Writers will experiment with personal narrative, lyric nonfiction, and hybrid forms while building confidence and craft. This class welcomes all experience levels and offers a warm, encouraging space to tell meaningful true stories. Taught by Lara Ehrlich
Deconstructing the Muse
For too long, creativity has been seen as a gift from a mysterious “muse' linked to beauty, gender, and power. In this workshop, we’ll dispel that myth. Inspiration isn’t passive; it’s built through curiosity, persistence, and dialogue. We'll see how poetry can reclaim agency, amplify genuine voices, and challenge old stories. This space is for writers to learn that creativity is active, communal, and human. Bring your ideas, questions, and voice. Let’s create our own path. Taught by Summer Tate
Uncover the "Truth Inside the Lie”
Coming soon! Taught by Sarah Darer Littman
Online Workshops
Graphic Storytelling (aka Thinking in Words & Pictures)
Storytelling exists in multiple worlds simultaneously, plotting a story, creating characters, and world-building, while also relying on images and visual description to move narratives forward. We’ll spend some time working with each of these elements while shaping our ideas into stories. Our workshop will begin with an idea and end with a plan. In between, we'll combine in-class exercises of varying length along with conversation about tools and techniques. Taught by Anne Thalheimer
Writing About Yourself and Your World
This workshop is a chance to express your ideas, share your experiences, and explore the world around you through literary non-fiction writing. Using readings as our guides, we will ask ourselves how authors tell fascinating stories and make compelling points. Through discussions, creative exercises, and in-class workshops of your writing, you will have a chance to develop your own voice and style and to play with the many possibilities of the non-fiction form. Taught by Pamela Newton
Poetry
Coming soon! Taught by Emily Skillings
Fiction
Coming soon! Taught in Jaqueline Feldman