Writing And Reading

Classes from people we admire.

Upcoming classes from people we admire

Learn more about each upcoming session, and view each authors’ personal class introduction. Then, get a ticket and join us live and online!

Michael Ruhlman

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing, By Writing about Food

Live: Sunday, April 13, 5:00pm pacific / 8:00pm eastern

Join Michael Ruhlman – best-selling writer of more than 30 books of non-fiction, fiction, memoir and cookbooks – in this live two-hour class and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about writing and living well – while writing about food, cooking, and life in a kitchen.

Michael Ruhlman

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing, By Writing about Food

Join Michael Ruhlman – best-selling writer of more than 30 books of non-fiction, fiction, memoir and cookbooks – in this live two-hour class and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about writing and living well – while writing about food, cooking, and life in a kitchen.

Jane Hirshfield

Five Things I've Learned About

Poems as Fields of Discovery

Live: Sunday, April 27, 5:00pm pacific / 8:00pm eastern

Join award-winning poet, essayist, and translator Jane Hirshfield in this live, two-hour class and discover the ways that poems’ original seeing can be invited, recognized, and worked with to open new depth, openness, and possibility – in words and in lives.

Presented in partnership with the Conscious Writers Collective

Jane Hirshfield

Five Things I've Learned About

Poems as Fields of Discovery

Join award-winning poet, essayist, and translator Jane Hirshfield in this live, two-hour class and discover the ways that poems’ original seeing can be invited, recognized, and worked with to open new depth, openness, and possibility – in words and in lives.

Presented in partnership with the Conscious Writers Collective

Ann Hood

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Memoir

Live: Sunday, May 4, 5:00pm pacific / 8:00pm eastern

Join award-winning author and teacher Ann Hood, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about how to bring focus to a singular slice of your life in ways that produce the story that you want to read – and write.

Ann Hood

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Memoir

Join award-winning author and teacher Ann Hood, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about how to bring focus to a singular slice of your life in ways that produce the story that you want to read – and write.

Recent classes

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Rebecca Makkai

Five Things I've Learned About

Grasping Point of View – on the Page and in the World

Join celebrated writer and teacher Rebecca Makkai in this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the issue she’s found most connected to almost early every problem on the page – and...

Joe Randazzo

Five Things I've Learned About

Getting to the Best Idea, from My Time Leading The Onion

Join writer, editor and performer Joe Randazzo in this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about cultivating creativity and collaboration – and about all it takes to consistently turn...

Matthew Specktor

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing the Self in Memoir and Fiction

Join novelist, memoirist, cultural critic, and screenwriter Matthew Specktor this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the powerful ways that the imagination can operate in nonfiction...

Danté Stewart

Five Things I've Learned About

The Power of Narrative

Join writer, poet, and minister Danté Stewart in this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about storytelling’s power and magic, and all that happens when readers encounter stories that...

Brooke Warner

Five Things I've Learned About

How Threshold Moments Shape Our Stories

Join editor, writer, and publisher Brooke Warner in this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways in which our intimate responses to change can positively drive our most powerful...

Matthew Zapruder

Five Things I've Learned About

Maintaining a Creative Practice in the Chaos

Join celebrated poet, writer, and professor Matthew Zapruder in this live, two-hour class, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the practical and spiritual techniques that have helped him to keep the...

On demand classes

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Kim Addonizio

Five Things I've Learned About

The Poem’s Progress

View the archive of this two-hour class from acclaimed poet, fiction writer, and essayist Kim Addonizio, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the way that great poems work to surprise us, transcend...

Kim Addonizio

Five Things I've Learned About

Shaping the Personal Essay

View the archive of this two hour class from poet, fiction writer, and essayist Kim Addonizio, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the opportunities that personal writing offers writers and readers –...

Isabel Allende

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Fiction

View the archive of this 90-minute class from Isabel Allende, one of the most widely read and acclaimed authors in the world, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about writing fiction, discovering your...

Steve Almond

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing, Failing, and Trying Again

View the archive of this two-hour class from bestselling writer and teacher Steve Almond, and discover Five Things He’s Learned about failure’s essential role in success – and about the necessity of reframing our...

Steve Almond

Five Things I've Learned About

Where Stories Come From

View the archive of this two-hour class from bestselling writer and teacher Steve Almond, and discover the Five Things he’s Learned about the powerful emotions that serve as the engines of our storytelling – and...

Cara Black

Five Things I've Learned About

Crafting a Sense of Place

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cara Black, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways that a strong sense of place anchors readers and...

Sari Botton

Five Things I've Learned About

What Aging Means to Oldsters

View the archive of this two-hour class from bestselling author, editor, and teacher Sari Botton, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about getting older by inviting people to share their own personal...

Judith Curr

Five Things I've Learned About

How Publishing Works

View the archive of this two-hour class from celebrated President and Publisher of the HarperOne Group, Judith Curr, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the power of storytelling and the joys of...

Andre Dubus III

Five Things I've Learned About

The Nature of Memory and Memoir

View the archive of this two-hour class from award-winning writer and teacher Andre Dubus III, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the fluid, subjective nature of memory – and about the ways writers...

Andre Dubus III

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing as Dreaming

View the archive of this two-hour class from award-winning writer and teacher Andre Dubus III, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about why writing happens best when we summon the faith and the nerve to get...

Camille Dungy

Five Things I've Learned About

Tending the Gardens of Creativity and Motherhood

View the archive of this 90-minute class from celebrated poet, writer, editor, and scholar Camille Dungy, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways that creativity arises from the soil of our most...

Joseph Fasano

Five Things I've Learned About

The Craft and Magic of Poetry

View the archive of this two-hour class from poet, novelist, songwriter, and teacher Joseph Fasano and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about how poetry works – and how poetry helps us all become better...

Grant Faulkner

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing With Vulnerability

View the archive of this two-hour class from writer, podcaster, and producer Grant Faulkner, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about what happens when writers share the most difficult parts of their story...

Grant Faulkner

Five Things I've Learned About

The Art of Brevity

View the archive of this two-hour class from writer and Executive Director of National Writing Month Grant Faulkner, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about what happens when you apply the principles and...

Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner

Five Things I've Learned About

What It Takes to Finish a Book

View the archive of this 90-minute class from Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and Brooke Warner, Publisher of She Writes Press, and discover the Five Things They’ve...

Sarah Fay

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Illness

View the archive of this two-hour class from writer, editor, and educator Sarah Fay, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about what it means to write our stories of illness, injury, and recovery.

Elizabeth George

Five Things I've Learned About

Editing My Own Work

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George, and discover how the Five Things She’s Learned about self-editing can help you to recognize what works in your own...

Don George

Five Things I've Learned About

How to be a Travel Writer

View the archive of this two-hour class from the author of How to Be a Travel Writer, Lonely Planet’s best-selling guide to travel writing, Don George, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about what makes...

Janine di Giovanni

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Narrative Non-Fiction

View the archive of this two-hour class from multi-award winning journalist and author Janine di Giovanni, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about writing — and appreciating — narrative non-fiction and...

Ann Hood

Five Things I've Learned About

Finding the Story Growing in Your Heart

View the archive of this two-hour class from award-winning author and teacher Ann Hood, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about how to bring the characters, conflicts, and plot points that keep you up at...

Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro

Five Things I've Learned About

The Art of the Interview

View the archive of this 90-minute class from acclaimed writers and interviewers Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro, and discover the Five Things They’ve Learned from experience about the Art of the Interview.

Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro

Five Things I've Learned About

Deepening the Creative Flow

View the archive of this two-hour class from acclaimed writers and interviewers Pico Iyer and Michael Shapiro, and discover the Five Things They’ve Learned from their own experience — and from the experience of...

Steven Johnson

Five Things I've Learned About

Where Creativity Comes From

View the archive of this two-hour class from best-selling author Steven Johnson, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the critical tools innovative thinkers use to nurture their creative practice – and...

Catherine Grace Katz

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing the History We Think We Know

View the archive of this 90-minute class from acclaimed historian and writer Catherine Grace Katz, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about how to uncover and share the stories that challenge our ideas of...

Laurie R. King

Five Things I've Learned About

What Makes Mysteries Great

View the archive of this two-hour class from best-selling writer Laurie R. King, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the essential elements of a great mystery, and the rewards they make possible for...

Laurie R. King

Five Things I've Learned About

How Characters Come to Life

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about creating memorable characters who come to life for her readers.

Phil Klay

Five Things I've Learned About

Thinking and Writing about Citizenship

View the archive of this two-hour class from U.S. Marine Corps veteran, writer, and teacher Phil Klay and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about American citizenship – what it means, the obligations it places...

Stephanie Land

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing, From the Margins of America

View the archive of this two-hour class from writer and speaker Stephanie Land, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about writing that breaks down walls and encourages empathy toward others – and about how...

Elizabeth Lesser

Five Things I've Learned About

How the Hero’s Journey Changes When Women are the Storytellers

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times bestselling author and Omega Institute co-founder Elizabeth Lesser, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about what happens when women trust their...

Phillip Lopate

Five Things I've Learned About

Reading and Writing the Essay

View the archive of this two-hour class from acclaimed author and editor Phillip Lopate — the celebrated central figure in the revival of the American essay —, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about...

Allison Moorer

Five Things I've Learned About

What Memoir Demands. And All it Makes Possible.

View the archive of this two-hour class from singer/songwriter, producer, and author Allison Moorer, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about sharing her family’s stories in prose and in song – and...

Susan Orlean

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing a Memoir

View this two-hour class from acclaimed journalist and author Susan Orlean, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned while writing her forthcoming memoir, and about the approaches sure to be of help as you share...

Susan Orlean

Five Things I've Learned About

Finding the Perfect Story

View the archive of this two-hour class from award-winning author Susan Orlean, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways that writers and readers can look at the world – and at stories – in new...

Peter Orner

Five Things I've Learned About

The Art of Re-Reading (and Re-Re-Reading)

View the archive of this two-hour class from Peter Orner and Yvette Benavides, and discover the Five Things They’ve Learned about the joys of returning to their favorite stories and short-story writers. They look at...

Peter Orner

Five Things I've Learned About

Prose Momentum – in Five Great Paragraphs

View the archive of this two-hour class from celebrated novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and professor Peter Orner, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about how great writers create remarkable movement...

Peter Orner

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing (by Not Writing)

View the archive of this two-hour class from celebrated novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and professor Peter Orner and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about how worrying less, chilling out, and...

Richard Panek

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing What You Don’t Know

View the archive of this two-hour class from best-selling writer and teacher Richard Panek, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the spirit of discovery and exploration – and the process by which great...

Holly Lynn Payne

Five Things I've Learned About

The Power of Page One

View the archive of this two-hour class from novelist and host of “The Page One Podcast” Holly Payne, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about a book’s critical first page – and about how you can ensure...

Maya C. Popa

Five Things I've Learned About

Poetic Form

View the archive of this two-hour class from writer, editor, and teacher Maya C. Popa and discover the Five Things I’ve Learned about the ways that poetic form both organizes and conveys our essential emotions and...

Russell Shorto

Five Things I've Learned About

Writing Family History

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times bestselling writer Russell Shorto, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about diving into your past and bringing the story you find there to life.

Claire Bidwell Smith

Five Things I've Learned About

Living and Writing After Loss

View the archive of this two-hour class from grief expert and author Claire Bidwell Smith, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about reconciling the anxiety and loss that accompanies grief – and about the...

Laurie Stone and Richard Toon

Five Things I've Learned About

How to Write a Seductive Sentence

View the archive of this two-hour class from writers and teachers Laurie Stone and Richard Toon and discover the Five Things They’ve Learned about the ways that great writing delivers genuine pleasure for the reader...

Matt Strain

Five Things I've Learned About

The Ways A.I. is Revolutionizing the Writing Process

View the archive of this two-hour class from Adobe Research Lab veteran Matt Strain, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about the ways artificial intelligence is helping writers find new ways to develop...

Cheryl Strayed

Five Things I've Learned About

Nurturing Your Artistic Life (While Keeping the Almighty List)

View the archive of this two-hour class from New York Times best-selling author Cheryl Strayed, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about how to honor your desire to create and see your projects through –...

James Surowiecki

Five Things I've Learned About

How to Write about Ideas

View the archive of this two-hour class from journalist and author James Surowiecki and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about how to write about ideas – how to take complicated concepts and make them...

Brooke Warner

Five Things I've Learned About

How Creative Women Thrive

View the archive of this two-hour class from editor and publisher Brooke Warner, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned about the ways that women can move past the self-limiting assumptions, conditioning, and...

Brooke Warner

Five Things I've Learned About

How Women Writers Thrive

View the archive of this two-hour class from editor and publisher Brooke Warner, and discover the Five Things She’s Learned during her nearly two decades of leading and championing women-only publishing about the...

Simon Winchester

Five Things I've Learned About

The Joy of Dictionaries

View the archive of this 90-minute class from celebrated writer and raconteur Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, and...

Matthew Zapruder

Five Things I've Learned About

Honoring Family as a Source of Creativity

View the archive of this 90-minute class from celebrated poet, writer, and professor Matthew Zapruder, and discover the Five Things He’s Learned about honoring family as a source of creative inspiration – about...

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