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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:
Pride month's Reading & Meeting's theme is love and features Celeste Chan, Jenny Bitner, Dominic Lim, Chino Lee Chung, June Martin, Jessica Martinez and emceed by Sezin Devi Khoeler.
Chino Lee Chung is a queer Chinese Mexican personal essay writer, grassroots activist, and is currently working on a collection of essays that integrate his social activism with his intersectional identities. He's a recipient of the 2024-2025 San Jose State Steinbeck Fellowship and holds an MFA from the California College of Arts. His work appears in Invitation to Joy – Writer’s Creating in Community, Gender Queer: voices from beyond the sexual binary, Our Family Coalition Newsletter, and is an Assistant Fiction Editor at 14 Hills Literary Magazine.
June Martin is the author of LOVE/AGGRESSION, a half-surreal novel about trans animosity and surreal houses. She's had short fiction appear in X-R-A-Y, BULL, JAKE, and other publications, she's the fiction editor of New Session, and she was a Lambda Literary fellow in 2024.
Jessica Martinez makes the "Get Over It, Go Out With Somebody Else" zine series which celebrates breakups using quotes from Wayne’s World. She has written and staged plays in L.A. and San Francisco, published children’s books through Khan Academy Kids, and is currently writing screenplays and a young adult novel based on her experiences growing up as a queer Latinx daydreamer in the San Gabriel Valley.
Jenny Bitner is a writer, hypnotherapist, and teacher. Her novel Here Is a Game We Could Play, published by Acre Books, is a bisexual love story with poisoning and librarians. A former staff member of the groundbreaking bisexual publication Anything That Moves, her work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, The Sun, PANK, and The Fabulist. She is currently querying a novel about motherhood, kink, and anxiety that ponders the eternal riddle: can you have hot sex and secure, committed love at the same time?
Dominic Lim’s debut, All the Right Notes, was named a best book of 2023 by over fifteen publications, including USA Today, Goodreads, Library Journal, and Entertainment Weekly. His follow-up, , is a 2024 Amazon Editor’s Pick. Dominic is a member of the Writers Grotto and co-hosts the long-running Babylon Salon reading series in San Francisco. He holds a Master of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is an alum of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, and is a proud Actors’ Equity Association member. He lives in Oakland with his loving husband, Peter, and their whiny cat, Phoebe.
Queer Rebels co-founder, Sister Spit performer, MIX NYC guest curator, Celeste Chan is an Artist in Residence at San Francisco Public Library. She served on Foglifter Journal's board. A Periplus mentee, Celeste facilitated Queer Ancestors Project youth writing workshops, received Bread Loaf's Rona Jaffe scholarship, and served as Catapult's inaugural Queer/Trans Teaching Fellow. She's published in AWAY, Alta, cream city review, and The Rumpus. She's writing a queer book and a family memoir.
SUNDAYS, June 22nd & 29th |In this intensive workshop, you’ll explore how to make imagery work for you in your own short stories, personal essays, or memoir. 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 can reveal character, mood, context, tone, or setting. Whatever your subject matter, imagery brings it to life through concrete detail.
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, giving you specific guidelines for what to apply to your own work.
Each student will have the opportunity to generate and revise new work through short written exercises and shared feedback. This class is suitable for writers looking to improve a work-in-progress or to start something new.
WEDNESDAY, July 9th - Aug. 13th | Maybe you have an idea you have had for years or a vague story starting to form. You keep thinking you want to start a novel, memoir or creative non-fiction book, but something stops you; still, there is a little flame of something that wants to come alive, something inside you that wants to be written. In this workshop, we will help you fan the flames of your little ember. You will start by developing your story idea and then write an outline. A messy outline, probably one that will change, but a starting point! And then write a very messy first chapter and get feedback in a supportive group. Come with your idea and an urge to go deep. Lean into your obsessions, your weirdness, and your passions.
We welcome you to an evening of readings by members of The Writers Grotto. Refreshments will be provided.
SUNDAYS, July 27th - Sept. 21st* |Writing memoir draws upon all of us. We are the writer, the narrator, and the character living the events recounted. But which events, and how recounted? Many of us start with a specific period of time or relationship in mind; others memoirists travel over decades in pursuit of a thematic connection. The hardest part is deciding how to organize it all. Our stories rarely leap fully-formed to the page, however well we think we remember all the pieces.
This class will provide concrete help through exploration and practice of such craft elements as narrative distance, scene and summary, and the handling of time. We'll explore the challenges of writing about real people and our own lived experience, of placing our narrative in a wider context, and of examining our own motivations, perceptions, and insights.
Memoir-writing is not for the faint of heart. If you're committed to finding your story, and telling it as only you can tell it, please join us for 8 weeks of intensive exploration. There will be regular reading assignments and written homework, as well as in-class exercises and sharing of work in a supportive atmosphere. Students will finish the course with a portfolio of work designed to provide both structure and content for moving toward a complete memoir.
There is a required textbook for this class: Writing the Memoir by Judith Barrington. Please have your copy on hand when class starts.
*no class Sept. 7th
FRIDAYS, Aug. 1st - 22nd | Poetry in the Flesh is a four-week generative workshop that invites writers to root their poetry in the physical, the immediate, and the emotionally resonant. Through voice, imagery, rhythm, and symbolic layering, we’ll explore how a poem breathes and moves—how it pulses with life.
This class is designed for poets who want to deepen their craft and connect more fully to the voice within their bodies and stories. We’ll focus on poems that ground feeling in sensation, speak across time and memory, and reveal layers of meaning through deliberate structure and voice.
We’ll read and discuss the work of poets including June Jordan, Ross Gay, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Gwendolyn Brooks, Natalie Diaz, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Carolyn Forché, among others. Through discussion, close reading, and hands-on writing exercises, each week will offer an opportunity to produce new work, experiment with form, and connect with a vibrant community of writers.
What Participants Will Gain:
Saturday, August 2nd | Many writers don’t really understand what a publisher wants. That’s because writing and storytelling are not the same. Writing gorgeous sentences is one thing. Telling a story with suspense and stakes is another. Great writers do both–and you can too. In this workshop you’ll examine and revise the beginning of your novel to help you blend beautiful prose and tight, consequential plot to create pages that draw your readers in.
We’ll examine short excerpts of great novels, stories, children’s books and more to level up your writing with relatable characterization, deep emotion, conflict, tension, and big themes. This is a generative revision workshop with a lot of writing to prompts, and you will learn some concrete strategies to whip your novel’s beginning into shape.
Bring the first 5 pages of your novel in progress either in hard copy or on your computer. If you want to work from hard copy, please have sticky notes and three colors of highlighters or colored pencils. This class is for all levels and genres.
Optional add-on: After the workshop, students have 10 days to send their revised first 5 pages to receive written feedback for an additional $40. Feedback will be given within two weeks of submission.
Thursdays, Aug. 7th - Sept. 11th | In a safe, supportive community, learn how to plan a successful submissions strategy that increases your chances of getting published. In this workshop you will:
It's time to set aside the bevy of excuses about why you're not sending your work out to creative writing journals, magazines, and contests. Take this workshop and get results! Students will complete weekly assignments.
We welcome you to an evening of readings by members of The Writers Grotto. Refreshments will be provided.
Saturdays, Sept. 13th - Oct. 18th | Have you thought about enrolling in a Creative Writing MFA program, but feel intimidated by the application process? Do you fret about how to make your application rise to the top in a stack of fierce competitors? How can you avoid the most common pitfalls?
You know how competitive these programs are and how exacting the admissions requirements can be. Learn how to curate a polished, professional, impactful application package that's designed to impress admission committees. In this workshop learn:
Though this class is geared for people thinking about or planning to apply to an MFA program in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, playwrights and screenwriters are also welcome.
We welcome you to an evening of readings by members of The Writers Grotto. Refreshments will be provided.
We welcome you to an evening of readings by members of The Writers Grotto. Refreshments will be provided.
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.