2025 Writers Weekend In- person July 18th - June 20th Visit Our Website
Instructors:
 

• Fiction Instructor:  
• Non-Fiction Instructor:  
• Poetry Instructor:  

Fiction Workshop Description:
 This workshop empowers students to explore the elements that constitute great fiction and to integrate these insights into their own writing. Regardless of whether their focus lies in crafting short stories, epic fantasies, historical narratives, or murder mysteries, participants will complete this workshop equipped with the essential tools for honing their craft. Students will
 

• Acquire proficiency in fundamental aspects such as plot construction, dialogue refinement, and character development. 
• Enhance their mastery of sentence-level composition, leveraging techniques such as imagery, precise vocabulary selection, and rhythmic cadence. 
• Cultivate the disciplined practices characteristic of seasoned fiction writers, encompassing the realms of editing, revising, and manuscript submission. 

 Designed for aspiring writers at the outset of their journey or those in the process of establishing themselves, this course caters to individuals who are deeply committed to advancing their skills in the craft of writing. 

Fiction Instructor: Keith F. Miller Jr
 Bio: Keith F. Miller, Jr., is the author of the critically-acclaimed HarperCollins "PRITTY" YA series (Pritty, 2023; Togetha, 2025). In addition to being an award-winning educator, artist, and researcher, he is the founder of Healing By Any Means (HBAM), home of Narrative Systems Design, an emerging academic and professional discipline that powers system transformation through story. Keith is an executive producer of Pritty: The Animation, and he has an MFA in creative writing from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY.

Weekend workshop:
Writing "Home": Crafting Intimacy, Resistance, and Healing in Literature
  This multigenre, healing-centered workshop weaves together the craft of intimacy, memory, and story to help writers tell the stories that ache to be heard. Through the interplay of silence and sensuality, dialect and dysfunction, structure and spirit, we’ll explore how resistance lives in voice, how healing is shaped by form, and how unforgettable stories begin by listening to what—and who—we carry home.

Weeklong workshop:
Mapping the Wound: A Healing-Centered Workshop on (re)Memory, Story, and Structure
  This workshop invites writers to engage emotionally charged, memory-driven work through a healing-centered lens—exploring how to craft scenes of (re)memory, relationships, and return in ways that honor emotional complexity and unlock what makes a story truly unforgettable.


Non-Fiction Workshop Description:  

This course is for writers at all levels. Our instructor Tieshka smith delves into the concept of writing as a journey back to one's origins. Students will be encouraged to engage in writing exercises that examine various facets of their heritage, such as culinary history, family customs, and community connections.  Students will:   

• Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives. 
• Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection. 
• Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes. 

 Non-fiction Instructor: Tieshka Smith
 Bio: Tieshka (pronounced Tish-ka) Smith is a Philadelphia-based photographer, writer, teaching artist, and cultural documentarian. Her work interrogates placemaking, memory, and civic identity through the lenses of race and class. Smith is the author of Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015–2022) and is currently working on her second book, Unscripted Moments: From the Diary of a Restless Lightchaser. Her photographs have been featured online and in galleries, museums, and publications across the U.S. A Chicago native, Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Northwestern University, and a Master of Project Management degree from DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management. Her website is tieshkasmith.com.

Weekend In-person Workshop:  
 From Visual Storytelling to the Page: Crafting Narrative Beyond the Image
 Overview: This workshop is designed for visual artists who are ready to deepen their storytelling practice through writing. Together, we’ll explore how to move beyond simply describing your work and begin crafting a narrative that draws meaning from the themes, patterns, and questions already present in your art.  

What the students will learn (Goals/outcomes): 1. Identify recurring themes in a body of work, and explore how they can anchor a written narrative. 2. Learn strategies for organizing content beyond simple chronology — through emotional arcs, cultural context, or personal transformation. 3. Generate short written reflections that can serve as building blocks for future essays, artist statements, or even book projects.  

Who is the course for: This workshop is for visual artists—especially photographers, documentarians, and mixed-media storytellers—who are curious about expanding their creative practice through writing. No prior writing experience is required, just a body of work and a desire to explore the story beneath the surface.  

Weeklong Virtual Writers Workshop:  

Write Beyond Yourself: Decentered Storytelling Through Your Own Art. 

Overview: This workshop is for visual artists and storytellers who want to engage with their own work in new and surprising ways. Using a photograph or image of a 2D or 3D piece as the starting point, participants will explore what happens when we decenter the obvious subject and instead give voice to something overlooked or unexpected within the composition.  

What the students will learn (Goals/outcomes): 1. Practice writing from perspectives embedded in your 2- or 3-dimensional work that are often ignored, silent, or invisible. 2. Learn how decentering the focal point of a piece can reveal alternative narratives and emotional layers. 3. Develop short written vignettes that challenge assumptions, deepen interpretation, and stretch your creative voice.  

Who This Course Is For: This workshop is designed for visual artists, photographers, and mixed-media storytellers who are curious about using their own artwork as a generative prompt for writing. No formal writing experience is required—just bring a piece of your work and a willingness to listen for the story it wants to tell. 

that challenge assumptions, deepen interpretation, and stretch your creative voice.  

Poetry 

A Poetry Workshop with Miles Hardingwood

Poetry Workshop Description:
Poetry for Today

Poetry is a form often associated with antiquity and irrelevance; most people think it’s old and boring, but in reality, poetry has never been more relevant and vital as a connective force and method of political speech and resistance. What the students will learn: 1) broader understanding and appreciation for contemporary poetry, 2) page vs performance principles, 3) fundamentals of poetic expression. Who is the course for: Writers with little poetry experience

Poetry Instructor
Miles Justice Hardingwood is a poet and creative from Brooklyn, NY. He is a 2023 National Student Poet and a 2022 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador. His poetry has received a Scholastic National Gold Medal and an American Voices Medal, and he has performed at venues such as The White House, The Schomburg Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and Vice President Kamala Harris’s Black History Month Celebration. He attended the Kenyon Young Writers Workshop and the Iowa young Writers’ Studio, and he currently attends Brown University, where he is pursuing a concentration in Literary Arts.

DISCLAIMER: Applicants must not contact instructors directly about the application process or send queries regarding other projects, unless invited by the instructor directly. If these actions occur, applicants will be ineligible to attend our writing workshops.

Deadline & Fees
Application Deadline:
  Rolling admissions until each workshop reaches capacity. Registration will close on July 16th, or once the 10-person cap per workshop is met.
Fees:
  The fee is $450, which covers both the in-person Writers Weekend and the virtual weekend.
 

• No separate application fee 
• Non-refundable 
• Full payment is due by the first day of the workshop 

Workshop Schedule:
 

• Friday: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST 
• Saturday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST 
• Sunday: 9am-12pm
  

A detailed schedule will be provided upon acceptance.

Submission Format:
 Please ensure that your submission aligns with the genre to which you are applying.
For fiction, nonfiction 10 page maximum, using Times New Roman, 12-point type, double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
For poetry applicants: Submit no more than 3 poems for consideration, no less than 2.
All applicants Provide a title page with the author’s name and contact information.
 

• Include a cover letter with information about your writing life and citations of any published work. 
• Applicants may apply to one workshop only. Previous attendees are eligible to apply.