Take a Class
Our workshops are geared toward all styles, genres, and experience. All that is required is a love of language and the desire to tell a story. Those who take our workshops are assured a supportive environment, providing a better understanding of the pleasure of creative writing process. All of us are capable of intellectual and imaginative things, and WIM offers a variety of programs to help you to express your creativity.
Click here to Join our Mailing List
Classes
NOTE: A NUMBER OF CLASSES HAVE LIMITED ENROLLMENT, SO EARLY DECISION IS RECOMMENDED.
SHARON ISRAEL'S MONTHLY AMHERST METHOD WORKSHOP IS RETURNING IN MARCH 2027! WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED!
Six Week Short Story-thon
with Jana Martin
September 16 to October 21, 2026
Wednesdays
(six sessions)
6 to 8 pm ET
ONLINE
Craving the support and structure to write short fiction? This workshop focuses on writing short stories — what makes them sing, what they're made of, the tools, elements and alchemy. You'll write every week and explore the visible and invisible: character, time, place, mood, intention, creativity, language. You'll read each other's work and support each other's efforts. Exercises and fun prompts will help you develop as a writer as you develop your stories.
This six-week course combines craft and camaraderie in a workshop setting. Come ready to work: to write, read, discuss, revise, investigate, and write some more. You'll gain more sureness and self-awareness as a writer, and a sense of how much is really packed into the short story form, whether it's 1 page or 12 pages long. And you may wind up with a piece of short fiction you love — ready for further development, to anchor your own collection, or for possible publication. Open to new students as well as those who have already taken the workshop and are looking to continue.
* This class focuses on human creative production and any use of AI is highly discouraged.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
The Strange Cafe
with Nick DiChario
September 30 to November 4, 2026
Wednesdays
(six sessions)
6 to 8 pm ET
Class limited to 8 students
ONLINE
Do you love science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction? This could be the writing workshop you've been waiting for. Whether you fancy hard or soft science fiction, magical realism, slipstream, urban fantasy, fabulism, horror, etc., you'll find kindred spirits here. No matter what your experience level, this workshop will help you sharpen your unique talents in a judgment-free, AI-free zone.
Nick DiChario has written short stories, novelettes, novellas, novels, and plays. He has been a nominee for the Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, and Calvino Prize. Nick has taught creative writing on and off since the 1980s and has more than 40 years of publishing experience to share.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
FLASH! CLASS
for late fall in all its glory
with Elizabeth Koster
October 6 to November 10, 2026
Tuesdays
(6 sessions)
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET
ONLINE
Flash nonfiction is a freeing format that illustrates a single and often pivotal moment with “the extreme abbreviation of poetry, the narrative tension of fiction, and the truth-telling of creative nonfiction” (Beth Ann Fennelly). Through a combination of workshops, generative exercises, and discussion of published work, you will learn self-editing techniques to improve the musicality, specificity, and power of your prose. Polish short pieces (under 500 words, some under 100 words), and submit them for publication.
Warning: If you aren't already, you may become hooked on flash!
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
From Dormancy to Renewal: Writing the Stories of Summer
with Nancy Steinkamp
May 20 to June 10, 2026
Wednesdays
(four sessions)
1 to 3 pm ET
ONLINE
Did you know that dormant seeds will sprout under the right conditions? With a little focused attention and a variety of techniques, a story will grow within a writer's journal. Let's gather to notice the emerging season, hopes that have been waiting to surface, and the little miracles found in unexpected places as a theme to express our stories.
This four-week workshop will use writing prompts and a choice of techniques to stimulate the writer's creativity and expression. With an opportunity to share and receive feedback, participants can grow an existing journal practice or develop a single piece or series.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $115 | REGISTER HERE
Plein Air Writing
with Erwin Karl
Friday, June 12 2026
10 am to 3 pm (lunch break 12 to 1 pm)
Special one-day workshop of nature walking and writing!
Meet at historic Woodchuck Lodge
From the Hudson River School artists to John Burroughs, there are myriad instances of creativity inspired by the natural beauty of the Catskills. Adapting his role as a naturalist and guide, Erwin will introduce the plants, fungi, and animals of the forest, underscore their interconnections, and lead writers to spots marked by sublime beauty for guided and free-form writing exercises. Whether you are pursuing nonfiction, poetry, or creative prose, immersion in the natural environment can lead you in new directions as a writer. The workshop involves low-impact hiking on easy-to-moderate trails.
Erwin Karl has led hikes for Catskill Fungi, the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association, and the Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve, as well as at camps for artists at CycleX Farm in Andes. He has tutored students in writing development and hosted open mics for poets and musicians in Albany, Athens, and Seattle, and published poetry and non-fiction in many publications.
Class Fee: $50 | REGISTER HERE
MODERN LOVE I
with Elizabeth Koster
December 16 2025 to January 27 2026
(skipping December 23)
Tuesdays
(six sessions)
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET
ONLINE
In this class, you will have the opportunity to complete an essay that you can submit for consideration in the New York Times "Modern Love" column. Through prompts and exercises, supportive feedback, a study of published essays, and discussions on tips and pitfalls, you will be able to sculpt and hone the story that you need to tell and the world needs to read.
Students who have taken this class in the past have found this instructor's gentle feedback and encouragement tremendously helpful in their work.
Class limited to 8 students.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
Poetic Treasure Hunt: Your Journey
with Jane Seitel
POSTPONED
New dates coming soon!
ONLINE
In this weekend course, you will engage memory in a multitude of mind-popping ways. Day One you will be writing fragments, prose or mini-poems. We'll start with prompts so see what bubbles up. We’ll use free or automatic writing, word lists, time cues or fill in the blanks. On Day Two, you will be invited to share a short poem grown from the content of the first day. Later in class, each poet can write a new poem based on a short poem from an esteemed poet. To close the class, we will read, delighting in your unique interpretations. You are invited to write with a pen or pencil on a pad, or on your computer. Writing by hand has been found to generate and create different content than typing on a computer, so if you wish, you can explore writing by hand.
Join us for the challenge and deepening that discovering Poetic Treasures can bring.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $100 | REGISTER HERE
THE FIRST AUDIENCE IS YOU: JOURNALING TO CLARITY, CREATIVITY, AND EXPRESSION
with Nancy Steinkamp
January 14 to February 18 2026
Wednesdays
(6 sessions)
1 to 3 p.m. EST
ONLINE
The journal can be a writer’s sketchbook, a container of inquiry and personal history, a roadmap to self-understanding, or a template capturing the joy and pain of living in real-time moments. It is written for your eyes first, and you determine if and when to share pieces of it with a broader audience. We will explore special journaling techniques each week that reveal themes, uncover deep meaning, and identify who would resonate with your unique message if you choose to develop a finished piece. New and experienced writers can benefit from adding or expanding a journal to their writing practice.
Sessions will be two hours and include an introduction to two to three journaling techniques each week to prompt the participant’s writing. After each technique is practiced, participants are invited to share their experience or a piece of writing. Writers can use the exercises to enhance a current piece of work or explore new subjects.
Materials:
* A new or active journal, paper or digital (some techniques may use paper/pen or colored pencils)
* Additional journaling resources will be provided
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
Coming in fall 2026.
STEP UP TO THE MIC
Public Reading Skills with Beth Lisick
Three sessions, with an open mic reading party for the final!
IN-PERSON!!
This four-week workshop is designed for writers who want to bring their work to life in front of an audience. Whether you’re preparing for a book launch, sharing a tale at a storytelling series, reciting a poem at a community/family event or rolling up to an open mic at a cafe, this series will offer practical tools and a supportive environment to develop your public reading skills.
We’ll talk about how to select and edit excerpts that lend themselves to performance, how to pace and shape your delivery, and how to use your voice, with and without a microphone. You’ll learn some basic performance techniques, strategies for calming your nerves, and ways to authentically connect with listeners.
At the end of the four weeks, the group will perform for a live audience in a celebratory public open-mic final session. No experience is required—just a willingness to experiment and share your work aloud. Come ready to transform your writing from page to stage, gain confidence in your voice, and most of all, enjoy yourself with the community we’ll create.
Class Fee: $75 | REGISTER HERE