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Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
SATURDAY, May 9th |Use Scrivener but feel like you could be getting more out of the software? This two-hour workshop covers the basics: index cards, labels, and formatting settings as well as lesser-known tools like bookmarks, keywords, and character templates. I’ll cover tools for every phase of the writing process: generative, revision, and submission. Most importantly, I’ll tailor the tools to your specific writing project. Learn how Scrivener can help you take your manuscript to the next level!
Familiarity with Scrivener is strongly suggested.
Hopes and Dreams for a New Iran
A night of readings by Iranian-American writers whose work reflects the complexities and nuance of the diaspora. The pieces read will reflect the writers' hopes and dreams for an Iran moving forward. Featuring Laleh Khedivi, Susanne Pari and Dena Rod and with Sam Moussavi as MC.
MC Bio:
Sam Moussavi is an Iranian-American writer who authored two series of YA novels for EPIC Press, with one title, Texas Fridays: Dallas, winning the South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards for Drama in 2018. Sam is also a screenwriter whose piece, "Golden State: Pilot," placed in the semifinals of the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Contest in 2024. Sam’s writing primarily concerns the connection between California's past and present. Sam teaches Criminology at Sonoma State and San Francisco State and lives in Pacifica, California.
Reader Bios:
Laleh Khadivi was born in Esfahan, Iran. She has worked as a filmmaker and writer and is the author of the Kurdish Trilogy and her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle and LitHub among other publications. Her work has received numerous accolades including a Whiting Award and the Barnes and Noble Discovery Award. She teaches fiction at the University of San Francisco MFA and lives in Oakland California.
Susanne Pari is the author of THE FORTUNE CATCHER, a novel of revolutionary Iran, and of IN THE TIME OF OUR HISTORY, about an Iranian American family grappling with generational clashes and the rebellion of its women. It was an IndieNext pick, Target Book Club pick, 2023 Women’s National Book Association Group Reads Selection, and Hoopla Spotlight Selection. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and PEN America.
Dena Rod is a non-binary poet and essayist whose debut poetry collection Scattered Arils is now in its fifth print run from Milk and Cake Press. You can find their writing in the anthology My Shadow is My Skin: Voices From the Iranian Diaspora, The Rumpus, SF Eater, and Autostraddle. They're currently at work on their first novel. Connect with Dena at their website denarod.com.
Mandana Mofidi is an Iranian-American storyteller whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Apple, CBS News, and Vice Media. When she is not freelancing on projects through her company Story Dots Media, she is lost in the Redwoods with her pup Luna.
Food & drink provided.
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
WEDNESDAYS, June 3rd - July 22nd
You’ve started something — a story, a memoir, a novel, a strange experiment — and it’s asking for more of your attention. The beginning is always exciting, but staying with it is where the real dedication comes in. This class is for writers who want to keep working on an ongoing project in a supportive, structured space. Whether you began the piece in another class with me or on your own, this is your time to return to the page, go deeper, and see where your writing wants to go next.
Classes include dedicated writing time, optional prompts to spark momentum, individualized craft readings and feedback from both me and your classmates. As part of the class, I will offer you a one-on-one session to help with any places you might be feeling stuck in your writing, using either coaching, teaching or hypnosis tools. As a hypnotherapist and coach, I know that there is more to finishing a book than just buckling down and doing it, writing involves creative, emotional and community support.
Asynchronous learning materials for this class will be available online (via the Wet Ink platform). Scheduled class sessions will take place via Zoom. Registered students, please contact the instructor directly for Zoom details. Instructor contact details can be found in the order confirmation email.
Jenny Bitner is a writer, teacher, and certified hypnotherapist whose work explores the imagination, the unconscious mind, and the creative process. She is the author of Here Is a Game We Could Play (Acre Books, 2021). Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Fence, PANK, The Sun, The Fabulist, Mississippi Review, and Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. Her nonfiction has appeared in Utne Reader, San Francisco Bay Guardian, and Men’s Health. Jenny holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Virginia and has taught writing for over twenty years in community and academic settings. Her teaching integrates craft, intuition, and the psychology of creativity—helping writers access deeper layers of imagination and stay connected to the joy of writing.
How does memory become story?
In this four-week generative workshop, writers will explore how personal memory becomes narrative across genres including memoir, poetry, creative nonfiction, lyric essay, and autobiographical fiction.
Through close reading of contemporary writers and guided writing exercises, we will examine how memory shifts when it is written. We will explore how writers shape lived experience through voice, image, structure, and reflection.
Participants will experiment with techniques such as writing the self as a character, building narrative from fragments, balancing scene with reflection, and allowing memory to expand into meaning and story.
Each session includes close reading, craft discussion, and generative writing prompts.
By the end of the course students will:
• generate multiple new pieces of writing
• learn techniques for transforming memory into narrative
• practice writing memoir across genres including poetry and prose
• experiment with image, voice, reflection, and structure
• develop strategies for shaping lived experience into compelling story
SATURDAY, June 6th | Dive into the world of flash fiction, where every word matters and every sentence packs a punch. Welcome to the universe of micro fiction, where the power of storytelling meets the art of brevity.
In this class, you will:
Whether you aspire to craft standalone micro-stories or use this form to enrich your longer works, this course will equip you with the skills to create concise, impactful narratives that leave a lasting impression.
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Take some time for your writing this spring with a series of virtual Write-Ins hosted by The Writers Grotto. Led by one the Grotto’s many talented and accomplished writers, each of the sessions below provides 60 minutes of space and guidance in which to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, bring old material up to snuff, and just make contact with the community of writers that is the Grotto, our teachers, and our students.
Write-Ins are held on a variety of days and times to give our students the opportunity to choose a Write-In that works best for their schedule.
Cost: $25/session or $99 for a season pass!
Sessions:
Join us for the Writers Grotto's Literary Salon.
Food & drink provided.
In this one-day intensive, you’ll explore how to make effective use of one of the key elements of craft in all good writing: imagery. Effective imagery goes far beyond flowery description to bring your reader closer to the experience on the page and to evoke thematic resonance. A well-placed image reveals character, mood, context, tone, and setting.
In class, we’ll explore how to draw on intuition and right-brain association to harvest images; we’ll also look at how to choose and shape those images. We’ll look at effective uses of imagery in published pieces, and everyone will have time in class to revise existing work and generate new material. Whether you’re looking to improve a work-in-progress or to start from scratch, this class will give you the tools to make imagery work for you.
Lindsey Crittenden is the author of an award-winning short-fiction collection, The View From Below, and a memoir, The Water Will Hold You (“exquisitely written,” Publishers’ Weekly starred review). Her short stories and essays have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Best American Spiritual Writing, Glimmer Train, Cimarron Review, and other publications. She has taught writing for 30 years.
“Me Myself and I: Understanding Memoir" is a two-hour interactive Zoom seminar for those who want to better understand the genre of memoir, the craft elements required to write it well, and the red flags inherent in writing about real humans. In this course we will: Explore the tensions inherent in being author, narrator, and subject all at once; Unpack the subjectivity of truth; Commit to treat all characters fairly; Learn to report from the body; Realize why writing the story you can’t bear to share is your gateway; and Examine your obligations to the others about whom you will be writing.
Outcomes:
1. Heightened understanding of the genre - both what it is and what it isn't
2. Deep understanding of craft tools that will yield better memoir
3. Greater confidence that you know the red flags and can assess whether and how to proceed
TUESDAY, June 23rd | Use Scrivener but feel like you could be getting more out of the software? This two-hour workshop covers the basics: index cards, labels, and formatting settings as well as lesser-known tools like bookmarks, keywords, and character templates. I’ll cover tools for every phase of the writing process: generative, revision, and submission. Most importantly, I’ll tailor the tools to your specific writing project. Learn how Scrivener can help you take your manuscript to the next level!
Familiarity with Scrivener is strongly suggested.
In a safe, supportive community, learn how to plan a submissions strategy, create a plan of attack for your work, where to locate legitimate markets, and present yourself as a professional author. We'll begin with learning proper submissions etiquette and protocol, avoiding pitfalls that mark you as an amateur and get your submission tossed onto the "No" pile before editors have even read it. This workshop is geared for writers interested in submitting work on a regular basis to literary journals, magazines, funding and residency opportunities, and writing contests. Open to all genres.
Students completing this workshop will:
*know how to format their work for submissions
*understand the do's and dont's of cover letters
*write a new cover letter
*be introduced to a broad number of resources for locating legitimate markets for writers at all levels
*understand how to determine whether a writing competition's entry fees are "worth it."
*be equipped to devise and implement a strategy for success!
Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over thirty literary journals and magazines, most recently in Poets & Writers Magazine. Her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES, & TRUTH: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press) appears on Library Journal’s 2022 Top 10 Best Social Sciences Books list, and was a 2023 Black Women’s Studies Association Selection. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins (Wayne State University Press), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press), and the multi-award-winning The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie). She has been awarded over ten literary grants and fellowships to support her work.
What if you didn’t have to know what the poem was about before you began?
In this generative poetry class, we’ll focus on writing into the unknown and letting the poem take shape through image, rhythm, and attention. Instead of trying to explain or control the work too early, we’ll stay close to what is happening on the page and follow it.
Each session will include short readings, guided prompts, and time to write. We’ll pay attention to how poems begin, how they move, and where they shift. We’ll work with repetition, silence, line, and pressure to see how a poem can hold meaning without needing to spell everything out.
This is not a critique-heavy workshop. Sharing is optional. The focus is on generating new work and building a practice you can return to.
Outcomes
• Write new poems and drafts each week
• Learn ways to begin without getting stuck
• Build momentum and consistency in your writing
• Develop a stronger sense of image, line, and movement
• Gain tools to stay with a poem without overexplaining
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun American writer based in Northern California. Her work has appeared in Anomaly Literary, SWWIM, and Rising Phoenix, and she has been recognized with fellowships from the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and the Brainard Fellowship. She is Director of Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto, a tuition-free writing fellowship supporting emerging writers. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and is currently working on a poetry collection and a novel.
What if form isn’t restrictive, but liberating?
In this four-week poetry class, we’ll explore how formal constraints can actually make poems stronger by forcing precision, distillation, and attention to language. Through forms like the pantoum, sonnet, tanka, and ghazal, we’ll study how repetition, brevity, turn, and refrain create emotional pressure, movement, and surprise.
Each week, we’ll read contemporary and classic poems, paying close attention to how form shapes meaning. We’ll then move into short, generative exercises and prompts that allow you to experiment with these forms in your own voice. This is not about perfection or strict adherence, but about discovering what form can unlock in your writing.
This class is generative, with optional sharing and light feedback. Writers of all levels are welcome.
Outcomes
By the end of this class, students will:
• Gain familiarity with four poetic forms: pantoum, sonnet, tanka, and ghazal
• Understand how constraint can create tension, clarity, and emotional depth
• Write new draft poems each week using formal strategies
• Develop stronger attention to line, repetition, image, and compression
• Leave with multiple new pieces and tools for continued revision
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun American poet, writer, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is Director of Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto, a tuition-free fellowship supporting writers of color. She teaches at The Writers Groto, Litquake's Elder Project and San Diego Writers Ink. Her work explores language, memory, displacement, and the complexities of being “othered” in America, and has appeared in journals such as Anomaly Literary, Rising Phoenix, and iO Literary. She teaches generative, craft-focused classes that center image, compression, and emotional resonance, helping writers deepen their voice and sharpen their work.
SATURDAY, July 11th | How to Write an Irresistible Pitch
In this workshop, we will define a pitch (sometimes called a logline or hook), and discuss where and when you will need it. We will review the necessary ingredients as well as formulas and templates for a successful pitch. As we analyze pitches that sold, you will have the opportunity to write your pitch in class and work through a series of exercises to revise it until it sings.
This workshop is suitable for all writing levels of fiction and memoir.
Option Add-On: Lisa is available for a one-hour private Zoom consultation for registered students. These consultations will be scheduled outside of class sessions, at a time that is mutually convenient for instructor and student. This consultation includes reading a one-page pitch and synopsis and a maximum of a five-page sample of your manuscript. All submissions should be 12 pt font double-spaced. The consultation hour will involve an in-depth conversation regarding the writer's story premise with the aim to understand, clarify, and elevate the writer's unique vision.
Long ago, Lisa Lerner was a professional rubber stamp cutter, children’s party entertainer, and NYC performance artist. Then one day that lasted five years, she wrote a novel called JUST LIKE BEAUTY which became a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and is now in development as a movie shooting in 2026. Lisa has been writing stories for educational publishers such as Scholastic and McGraw Hill for over 25 years, as well as penning short fiction for McSweeney’s, Hobart and other places, and teaching writing workshops to adults and kids. When she is not writing her next adult novel, she is a proud member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, a juror for the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Competition, and a trustee on the board of the Kingston Public Library. Visit www.lisalerner.com for student testimonials and a glimpse into Lisa’s past and present lives.
The lyrical essay has become a highly popular genre in multiple disciplines, from journalism to the personal essay. Authors from Purpura and Forché to Didion and Dillard have written them. But what, exactly, is this form? Poetic essay or essayistic poem? Both – or neither? The form employs a series of images or ideas, rather than chronicle or argument, to sculpt a narrative. Often inconclusive, lyrical essays reach beyond archetypal classical frames to a meditative sense of place and displacement. In this introductory workshop, we'll read and analyze several lyric essay examples, learning what distinguishes a lyric essay from other essay forms. We'll then try our hand at writing a short lyrical draft, incorporating the hallmarks and characteristics we discussed during the morning. The focus of this workshop is on experimentation rather than perfection.
Prior fiction or nonfiction writing experience is required. Students should be comfortable sharing early drafts with others.
Students completing this workshop will:
*be able to identify key components of the form and know how to negotiate its terrain
*understand what the lyric essay borrows from other genres, such as poetry
*have a clear direction about how to undertake crafting a full-fledged lyric essay
*be able to spot a lyric essay when they see one.
Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over thirty literary journals and magazines. Her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES, & TRUTH: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press) appeared on Library Journal’s 2022 Top 10 Best Social Sciences Books list. Her lyric essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Review, Natural Bridge, Pleiades, Maryland Literary Review, Midnight & Indigo, The MacGuffin, and other journals. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins (Wayne State University Press), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press), and the multi-award-winning The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie).
“Me Myself and I: Understanding Memoir" is a two-hour interactive Zoom seminar for those who want to better understand the genre of memoir, the craft elements required to write it well, and the red flags inherent in writing about real humans. In this course we will: Explore the tensions inherent in being author, narrator, and subject all at once; Unpack the subjectivity of truth; Commit to treat all characters fairly; Learn to report from the body; Realize why writing the story you can’t bear to share is your gateway; and Examine your obligations to the others about whom you will be writing.
Outcomes:
1. Heightened understanding of the genre - both what it is and what it isn't
2. Deep understanding of craft tools that will yield better memoir
3. Greater confidence that you know the red flags and can assess whether and how to proceed
TUESDAYS, July 14th - Aug. 4th | Have you been sending good work out to literary journals and contests and racking up nothing but rejections? Your submissions strategy and materials presentation–rather than your work–may be the reason why you're ending up in the rejection pile.
In this month-long workshop, learn how to locate a breadth of suitable markets for your work and incorporate practical tips on formatting submissions that demonstrate polish and serious intent. We'll go beyond journals and consider opportunities such as magazines, call for papers (CFP) lists, and writing contests. This workshop is geared for short story, creative nonfiction, and poetry writers. Novelists who are interested in publishing manuscript excerpts are also welcome.
Join us for the Writers Grotto's Literary Salon.
Food & drink provided.
What makes prose feel alive?
In this four-week class, we’ll focus on writing prose that is vivid, precise, and emotionally resonant. Rather than relying on explanation, we’ll explore how image, detail, voice, and structure can carry meaning.
This class is especially suited for writers who want to move away from over-explaining and toward more powerful, image-driven writing. We’ll look at short fiction and creative nonfiction that uses compression, silence, and strong sensory detail to create impact.
Each week, we’ll study a different craft focus:
• image over explanation
• sentence as movement
• compression and cutting
• voice and emotional restraint
Through close reading, short exercises, and generative prompts, you’ll produce new work and begin to see how to shape prose that feels immediate and necessary.
This is a generative class with optional sharing and light feedback. Writers of fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid forms are all welcome.
⸻
Outcomes
By the end of this class, students will:
• Write new prose pieces each week
• Learn how to replace abstraction with image
• Develop stronger, more intentional sentences
• Practice compression and cutting for clarity and impact
• Build confidence in voice-driven, image-based storytelling
• Leave with multiple drafts that can be revised or expanded
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun American poet, writer, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is Director of Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto, a tuition-free fellowship supporting writers of color. She teaches at The Writers Grotto, Litquake’s Elder Project, and San Diego Writers Ink. Her work explores language, memory, displacement, and the complexities of being “othered” in America, and has appeared in journals such as Anomaly Literary, Rising Phoenix, and iO Literary. She teaches generative, craft-focused classes that center image, compression, and emotional resonance, helping writers deepen their voice and sharpen their work.
Ever feel like your life has a million stories waiting to be told, but you aren't sure where to start?
Join us for Write Your Heart Out, a soulful 90 minute workshop designed to help you pause, reflect, and put pen to paper. Whether you want to craft "mini-stories" from your favorite memories or simply use journaling to make sense of the beautiful chaos of daily life, this session is your safe space to explore.
What to Expect:
Guided Prompts: We’ll move past "dear diary" with creative triggers that spark vivid memories and deep insights.
The Art of the Mini-Story: Learn how to capture a life lesson or a fleeting moment in just a few paragraphs.
Clarity & Connection: Use writing as a tool to de-clutter your mind and find the "why" behind your experiences.
Low Pressure, High Expression: No "writer" credentials required—just you, a notebook, and an open heart.
Workshop Details:
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." – Maya Angelou
Whether you’re looking for a new creative outlet or a way to process your journey, come discover how powerful your own narrative can be. Leave with a clearer mind, a fuller heart, and at least one story that’s uniquely yours.
Britta Stromeyer is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her writing appears in The Common, World Literature Today, Tupelo Quarterly, Beyond Words Magazine, Necessary Fiction, On the Seawall, Flash Fiction Magazine, Bending Genres Journal, Marin Independent Journal, and other publications. Britta has authored award-winning children's books and holds an MFA from Dominican University, CA, an M.A. from American University, and a Certificate in Novel Writing from Stanford University.
SATURDAY, August 15th |*Registration closes at 5pm on 8/14
A good sentence can insinuate languidly or chop like a machete. Whether taut and short or long and languorous, a sentence exists to convey information. But how? With so many ways of saying something, how do we as creative writers find the words and structure best suited to our story, our characters, our deeper meaning?
In this 3-hour session, in-class prompts and up-close analysis will show techniques to make your sentences work for you. We’ll play with syntax, rhythm, and figures of speech such as epanados and anaphora (two kinds of repetition). We’ll examine a variety of sentences by published writers, with an eye to how we can “steal” from the masters while staying true to our own voice. We’ll look at the power of verbs and of nouns in conveying tone and mood as well as content. We’ll practice quick and effective ways to revise and polish sentences – whether standing on their own or combined with others. And, always, we’ll celebrate the irresistible allure of well-crafted language.
Students are asked to bring ½ page of a current work-in-progress to class (prose only, please). Working on Zoom will allow us to screen-share as we revise these samples together. Students will leave class with a revision and a solid grasp of techniques to put to use on their own.
Lindsey Crittenden is the author of The Water Will Hold You, a memoir (which Publishers Weekly called “exquisitely written”), and an award-winning collection of stories, The View from Below. Her short fiction, essays, and articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Best American Spiritual Writing, Glimmer Train, Cimarron Review, and elsewhere. She loves arranging and re-arranging sentences and has taught writing for more than 30 years.
“Me Myself and I: Understanding Memoir" is a two-hour interactive Zoom seminar for those who want to better understand the genre of memoir, the craft elements required to write it well, and the red flags inherent in writing about real humans. In this course we will: Explore the tensions inherent in being author, narrator, and subject all at once; Unpack the subjectivity of truth; Commit to treat all characters fairly; Learn to report from the body; Realize why writing the story you can’t bear to share is your gateway; and Examine your obligations to the others about whom you will be writing.
Outcomes:
1. Heightened understanding of the genre - both what it is and what it isn't
2. Deep understanding of craft tools that will yield better memoir
3. Greater confidence that you know the red flags and can assess whether and how to proceed
Join us for the Writers Grotto's Literary Salon.
Food & drink provided.
TUESDAYs, Sept. 8th - Nov. 10th* | Ever wonder how your favorite films seem to connect the perfect image with the perfect words? In Visuals in Screenwriting, we'll explore the connection between what's on the screen and what's on the page in classic screenplays, and through writing exercises. We'll discuss how screenwriters form meaning on the page through the use of images and objects. By the end of this course, you'll understand the interplay between a screenwriter's choice of imagery and their choice of words, allowing you to unlock the potential in your own screenplay in-progress!
This course will be a hybrid seminar/workshop where students will read parts of screenplays (TBD) from the films we love, analyzing them for the screenwriter's use imagery, objects, and visual cues, and also generate scenes based on writing exercises and writing prompts. Lastly, there will be a workshop element to the course, where students will be able to workshop a portion of their screenplay in-progress.
*No class on Sept. 29th & Oct. 27th
Sam Moussavi is a writer and educator who's lived in California for the better part of the past 20 years. After completing an MFA in Long Fiction at the University of San Francisco in 2014, Sam published two series of YA novels for EPIC Press (2015-2018) as well as written several screenplays, with one, "Golden State: Pilot", placing fourth in the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Contest in 2024. One title of Sam’s YA titles, Texas Fridays: Dallas, won the South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Drama) in 2018. In addition, Sam is a professor of English Literature and Criminology at CCSF, San Francisco State University, and Sonoma State University, respectively. In addition to teaching and writing, Sam’s writing primarily concerns the connection between California's past and present.
THURSDAYS, Sept. 10th - Nov. 12th* | Micro-Tensions in the Novel: Ever wonder how your favorite writers create and sustain conflict throughout an entire novel? Well this course is for you. In Micro-Tensions in the Novel, we'll explore how writers create moments of tension-moments big, small, and everything in between-and how writers sustain that tension, chapter by chapter, page by page. By the end of this course, you'll understand how writers manipulate these inflection points of tension, and be ready to ramp up the conflict in your own writing!
This course will be a hybrid seminar/workshop where students will read pieces of literature (TBD), analyzing them the author's use of micro-tensions, and also generate content based on writing exercises and writing prompts. Lastly, there will be a workshop element to the course, where students will be able to workshop a portion of their novel-in progress.
*No class on Oct. 1st & 29th
Sam Moussavi is a writer and educator who's lived in California for the better part of the past 20 years. After completing an MFA in Long Fiction at the University of San Francisco in 2014, Sam published two series of YA novels for EPIC Press (2015-2018) as well as written several screenplays, with one, "Golden State: Pilot", placing fourth in the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Contest in 2024. One title of Sam’s YA titles, Texas Fridays: Dallas, won the South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Drama) in 2018. In addition, Sam is a professor of English Literature and Criminology at CCSF, San Francisco State University, and Sonoma State University, respectively. In addition to teaching and writing, Sam’s writing primarily concerns the connection between California's past and present.
Join us for the Writers Grotto's Literary Salon.
Food & drink provided.
Join us for the Writers Grotto's Literary Salon.
Food & drink provided.
Members of The Writers Grotto are invited to meet committee reps and explore volunteering opportunities to deepen their engagement with the orgnaization. We'll have pizza!
An Afternoon with Laura Dave, in conversation with Pia Chatterjee
Saturday April 25, 2026. Noon to 1:30 PM PT
Telegraph Hill Books, 1501 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
Litquake, the Writers Grotto, and Telegraph Hill Arts and Literature present an afternoon with Laura Dave, in conversation with Grotto Member Pia Chatterjee to celebrate her newest book, The First Time I Saw Him.
Laura Dave captured readers’ hearts and set their pulses racing with her #1 New York Times bestseller The Last Thing He Told Me, a novel that heralded Dave as the queen of “genuinely moving” (The New York Times) suspense featuring characters with whom readers can't help but fall in love. In The First Time I Saw Him readers learn what happens to Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey.
About the Book:
The riveting and deeply moving sequel picks up right where The Last Thing He Told Me ends —with Hannah catching a glimpse of her missing husband, Owen— propelling readers back into a thrilling drama. As Hannah and Bailey uncover why Owen has reappeared, they are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up to them. Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and to find the one way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.
A gripping, fast paced, and emotionally resonant novel about the power of forgiveness, THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM is an exhilarating sequel to Dave’s global blockbuster that provides readers the answers and reunions that they’ve been eagerly awaiting.
About Laura Dave:
Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me and its sequel, The First Time I Saw Him, which was recently released by Scribner. Laura's novels have sold more than six million copies and have been translated into over twenty languages. The Last Thing He Told Me is now a series on Apple TV+, and two of her other novels are set to be feature films at Netflix. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their son.
About Pia Chatterjee:
Pia Chatterjee is a writer, essayist and a board member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto. Pia's upmarket suspense, All the Happy Families, is a semifinalist for Avid Reader Press 2025 Books Like Us contest. She has won the Ledge prize for fiction and was a finalist for the BreadLoaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation award. Pia's work has appeared in Zyzzyva, CNN, San Francisco Chronicle, 7X7, Hyphen Magazine, and others. Pia, who has a B.A. from Oxford University and an MFA from UC Riverside, lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.
An in-depth editorial review for poets ready to elevate a small body of work. Submit up to four poems (seven pages total) and receive annotated feedback before a 30-minute discussion focused on craft, image cohesion, and sequencing. We’ll talk through how each poem functions individually (imagery, language, craft, etc) and as part of a packet, thematic threads. You’ll leave with a revision plan and submission strategy tailored to your goals. Flat fee: $50. Feedback provided prior to the session. 30-minute consultation via Zoom.
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun-American Muslim writer and poet based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-directs Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto and leads writing initiatives for BIPOC writers. Her work has appears in SWWIM, Rising Pheonix, Taboos & Transgressions, and others. A semifinalist for the Philip Levine Prize and University of Wisconsin's poetry contest, she teaches at LitQuake and The Writers Grotto. She's currently working on a poetry collection, A New Vocabulary, and a novel, The Poppy Flower.
A short, high-impact consultation for poets who want specific feedback on a single piece.Send one poem (up to two pages) and receive detailed notes prior to a 15-minute meeting. We’ll focus on imagery, sound, emotional center, and revision strategy—clarifying what’s working and where to cut or expand. You’ll leave with actionable next steps, not abstract notes. erfect for poets of all levels. Flat fee: $25. Feedback provided in advance. Session via Zoom.
Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a Pashtun-American Muslim writer and poet based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-directs Rooted & Written at The Writers Grotto and leads writing initiatives for BIPOC writers. Her work has appears in SWWIM, Rising Pheonix, Taboos & Transgressions, and others. A semifinalist for the Philip Levine Prize and University of Wisconsin's poetry contest, she teaches at LitQuake and The Writers Grotto. She's currently working on a poetry collection, A New Vocabulary, and a novel, The Poppy Flower.
Editing on consultation on nonfiction book manuscripts.
A dramaturgical script consultant can function in several ways. Depending on the project we function as a literary, historical, or artistic advisor as you are developing your script for the stage or screen.
Consultations can look multiple ways. For example, perhaps you just need 1-2 script meetings to discuss story evolution, character development or consistency in theme. Or perhaps you need someone to comment on what is working, what feels like it is missing, and a list of questions to support development. Or perhaps you want 4 -6 session of coaching, homework, and suggestions for how to strengthen, tighten, clarify in the service of moving your script forward.
Consultation fees are developed in conversation about the project (bespoke), and begin around 150.00- 200.00 an hour.
Doug Henderson offers two levels of developmental editing:
Full Developmental Edit for $12/page. This level provides writers with a comprehensive road map that will help them hone their manuscripts for publication. This includes:
-An initial conversation about the project (via Zoom).
-Extensive page notes, including editing suggestions, margin comments and questions.
-A thorough editorial letter discussing craft and structure elements — such as theme, tension, narrative and character arcs — as well as thoughtful suggestions to strengthen your story.
-A second conversation to discuss next steps.
Read-Through Evaluation for $8/page. This level is good for writers who want broader feedback, including new writers who want early advice, or more experienced writers who seek general input, but don’t need or want detailed editing. This includes:
-An initial conversation about the project.
-Light page notes.
-A thorough editorial letter discussing craft and structure elements — such as theme, tension, narrative and character arcs — as well as thoughtful suggestions to strengthen your story.
-A second conversation to discuss next steps.
Let’s chat about how your ideas fit into a basic story structure that will lead to an engaging narrative. Send me up to 2000 words of idea or story summary prior to meeting consult. Session will take place via Zoom.
Polish your writing with Carly Stern, an award-winning independent journalist. Carly offers one-on-one consultations on all forms of narrative non-fiction, with an emphasis on writing about the self. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Guardian US and The Washington Post.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Polish your prose with New York Times best-selling author Julia Scheeres.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee.
Are you struggling to finalize a piece of science writing, whether it's an academic manuscript, article, or marketing blog? Need editorial help to make sure your message is clear and concise without losing accuracy? Jenny can help you improve your scientific content, using her unique combination of scientific and creative expertise.
Jenny Qi has a PhD in Cancer Biology from UC San Francisco and over a decade of experience in science communication spanning a range of industries, including biopharma, tech, and journalism.
This listing is for a 20-minute consultation to determine the scope of the project.
As an award-winning journalist, author, and consultant with decades of experience, I offer expert editorial consulting services at competitive rates. I write reports, policy briefs, articles, op-eds, blogs, and other materials for major national institutions and individual clients. As a veteran reporter, I also help writers develop and tell their stories for articles and book projects. First, we discuss your project and needs and how I can meet them, then I provide you with an estimate and we move forward with a simple straightforward contract. I look forward to talking with you, learning more about your project, and working together. Estimates are based on $100/hour fee. You can check out my work at www.christopherdcook.com.
Industry veteran writer-director-producer provides consulting for documentary and narrative film projects of any length and at any stage, from concept to pitch deck to rough cut to screenplay draft. Production services also available through Bay Area-based The Unscripted Company.
We will build your fictional work in a collaborative process for as long as it takes to create a whole and satisfying story. Thaisa Frank, a Pushcart Fellow, has published a novel and three collection of short stories. Her original approach, developed through teaching, addresses fiction from all cultures.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Laird Harrison, author of the novel Fallen Lake, provides editing and consultation services on all aspects of novel writing.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Laird Harrison will work with you one-on-one to improve your written communication. Laird has experience with both creative and business writing and can assist with all levels of writing.
Full-length poetry collections (45-80 pages in length).
Individual Poems up to 2 pages in length.
Folios consultation, up to 7 pages in length, with no more than 5 poems.
Chapbooks consultation (16-40 pages in length).
Got an idea for a children’s book? As the brilliant Madeleine L'Engle said, "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grownups, then you write it for children.” In this 30-minute private Zoom consult, Lisa will give feedback on your idea to help you realize your vision and elevate your story to reach multiple audiences in today’s market. And if you don’t know what “multiple audiences” means in the kid-lit genre, that’s okay; she will tell you! Lisa’s YA crossover novel JUST LIKE BEAUTY was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and is in pre-production as a movie. She has decades of experience writing children’s books for major publishers and regularly teaches workshops to kids and adults who want to write for kids. In her free time, she enjoys petting rabbits and eating cake. Curious cats can find out more at www.lisalerner.com
In this three-session package of Creativity Hypnosis, experienced hypnotherapist and writing coach Jenny Bitner will help you delve into the depths of your subconscious mind to awaken your imagination and overcome creative blocks. This can be customized to deal with whatever issues around writing you are experiencing. Start this journey today!
Unleash your writing potential with Jenny Bitner. As a trained hypnotherapist, coach, and writing teacher, she'll help you overcome fear and tap into your creativity. Experience a transformative hypnotic session to release barriers and claim your full potential as a writer. Take the first step today.
Initial bespoke services consultation by email to determine the fee. Katia will draw on her expertise as an award-winning longform journalist to provide written feedback on magazine pitches. Katia has written for The New Yorker, Forbes, Mother Jones, Marie Claire, The Atavist Magazine and many other publications.
Initial bespoke services consultation to determine the fee. Maw is a writing coach and editor for poets. Maw has many years of experience as an educator, author, and editor. She teaches in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco and is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA. You can learn more about her at mawsheinwin.com.