Paris Writing Workshop

July 12-23, 2021

Join select students and professional writers this July for a two-week creative writing workshop in the artistic heart of Europe.

In addition to taking classes and participating in workshops, students will receive one-on-one consultations with professional writers, attend literary panel presentations, and give readings in Parisian venues. Between classes and tutorials, there will be ample time to experience the city, attend cultural events, visit museums, learn history, take day-trips to the countryside, read books, hang out in cafes, dance by the Seine, and make friends from around the world.

A group of students at the Paris Writing Workshop brainstorm.

Core Classes

Fiction Workshop

This class will offer students an opportunity to write short fiction. Examining the student’s own writing alongside published works, the workshop will present instruction in the essential elements of literary forms while providing each participant a community of readers to respond to his or her work. The fundamentals of publishing will also be addressed along with other aspects of succeeding as a professional writer.

Creative Nonfiction Workshop

This workshop delves into the essence of nonfiction storytelling. Since the Paris setting is ripe for place-based narrative, travel writing will be a central aspect of this workshop — but students will also be encouraged to explore the art of personal essay and memoir. Though this class primarily aims to sharpen and evolve writers’ instincts for constructing narratives, it will also touch on the practical matters of working with agents and editors, and submitting stories for publication.

Paris at dusk

Elective Classes

The Paris Notebook (Journal Writing)

Students will keep a notebook throughout the course, working in a variety of modes of journal writing. This notebook will become a source for more finished pieces — poems, memoir, etc. — in the other courses. Daily journal prompts, and in-class free-writing assignments will dovetail with independent student excursions in and around Paris.

Presentation and Performance

The drama of the spoken word is the focal point of this one-time seminar. Participants will learn how best to achieve the desired effect when reading their written work aloud; how to use and interact with the audience; how to convey meaning in all its nuance. We will also learn how to bring the lessons of reading aloud back to writing and revision, so that our work lands as we intend, and sounds like us, regardless of who’s reading it and where.

Submissions and Publication

This one-time seminar will give students information, insight and strategies for getting their portfolio work published. Topics covered include literary agents, book publishing and periodical markets — as well as online publishing and new-media venues.

A panoramic view of people enjoying the opens spaces of a Paris street

Pricing

The early-bird cost of this program is $2,500 for all enrollments confirmed before April 15, 2021 — a great value, given the unrivaled setting and quality of this intensive writing program. After April 15, 2021 tuition will increase to $3,000. For more information about pricing, housing, and other concerns, see “Common Questions” and the Cancellation Policy.

Common Questions Apply Now