A Stronger Workshop Community: Developing culture and models that meet your writers’ needs

Join the Clarion West Six Week Workshop staff for one or both days of a two-part series on creating or strengthening your own workshop. You’ll learn how to develop an inclusive workshop culture and identify models that empower authors.

Day 1 (required to attend Day 2) covers materials for building community in your workshop and centering the author’s intentions.

Day 2 (optional, but we hope you’ll join us!) puts these ideas into practice with workshopping in small groups. Attendees may volunteer to be workshopped!

This class will benefit writing teachers, anyone trying to build a writers group, or anyone looking to strengthen their workshopping skills.

Attendees will be asked to participate via chat, voice, and/or video. To participate in the Day 2 workshopping practice you must attend Day 1.

Recording Policy: Day 1 will be recorded for attendees and provided 3-5 days after class. Day 2 will no be recorded for privacy. We will not be able to provide a recording between Day 1 and 2.

This class meets online twice. Each sesion is 90 minutes.

Meeting Dates:

November 14-15, 4pm-5:30pm

Advance Readings: Participants will be provided with a link to a packet of materials after registration.

About the Instructors: 

Amy Hirayama is a writer and educator from Seattle. She works as the Events and Residency Coordinator for Clarion West and as a creative writing instructor with Writers in the Schools. She is also the co-founder of Beam Pedagogy, an educator wellness project. Amy loves writing Gothic short stories and poetry about food.

Jae Steinbacher is a writer and the workshop manager for the Clarion West Writers Workshop. Jae holds an MFA from North Carolina State University and is a 2014 graduate of Clarion West. They live on unceded Duwamish lands in the Pacific Northwest, where they long for rain in the summer and sun in the winter. You can find links to read their queer short fiction at JaeSteinbacher.com/publications.

This event will be held in Zoom. By registering for this class, you agree to follow the Clarion West Code of Conduct and Zoom policies. 

Limited Free Seating: 

We offer a percentage of seats in every class to People of the Global Majority (Asian, Black, African, Latina/o/x, Middle Eastern, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, and/or have been racialized as 'ethnic minorities') for free, regardless of financial need. 

Eligible folks should complete this form to enter the lottery for free seats.  If a seat is available, we will email you 7-10 days before the class begins. For more information, see our equity and inclusion policies.

Sliding Scale Pricing:

The Supporting Tuition rate is shown for each class or workshop for folks who can pay it. Paying the Supporting Tuition rate enables us to continue to pay our staff and instructors equitably, as well as support access to classes for others who may be in a different situation. 

The Helping Hands rate is available to folks under more limited economic circumstances, no matter your background.

The Educators rate is available to writing teachers at any level.

For more information, see our financial aid policies.

Our Refund Policy:

Clarion West will refund all class fees if the request is made 30 days before the class date. Refund requests made within 30 days of the class will be honored if we can fill the seat.

Any exceptions are subject to approval by our workshop staff.