The Weekend Writer: Getting Ready for OUR School Year

September is upon us, the time of year when writers' organizations start running workshops.  During the pandemic years, some organizations ran virtual workshops, and when things became less dire, they moved to hybrid programs, an in-house workshop for the locals and a virtual one for me. 

How I love a virtual writers' workshop.

I've gone on here before about the benefits of virtual workshops: Less expense, less of a time commitment, less travel--none at all, in fact. So let's just take a look at what's being offered this year.

Your Choices Are:

Off Campus Writers' Workshop. The Off Campus Writers Workshop out of the Chicago area is my favorite workshop site. The organization is eighty years old and may be the oldest of its type in the U.S. They offer something every Thursday morning from September into May. That's Central Time, by the way. Is Thursday morning inconvenient for you? OCWW records all workshops and sends registrants a copy that they can access at their leisure for a week. This is your cheapest option, at least, the cheapest I've found. Workshops are $25 each for nonmembers, $10 for members. Membership is only $40 a year, with the year ending in the summer. Membership pays for itself in workshop discounts. I know. I'm a member. Workshop leaders are writers, most with some kind of teaching experience, many with academic teaching experience. I've seen some pretty big name people there. Want to stick to generative workshops, nothing lecture-like? They've got some.  This year's workshop schedule. 

Thurber House. I've also attended a couple of workshops through the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. These workshops are a little more expensive than OCWW's, and the prices vary. They are still a buy, especially when you consider many writers' workshops are through conferences, so you have to pay for a day or more of attendance, even if there's only one workshop you're interested in. This fall's workshop schedule. These are evening workshops at Eastern time

Pioneer Vally Writers' Workshop. The Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop in Northampton, Massachusetts is totally new to me. I only just heard about it. (I already can't remember how, but I think BlueSky had something to do with it.) Their pricing is also higher than OCWW's, though, once again, a good buy. And get this...they offer gift cards. This fall's workshop schedule. Most of these are Saturday workshops at 1:00 PM, but check carefully. I hope to make it to Anna North's Friday evening essay workshop in December. I read her novel, Outlawed, this summer, and liked it a great deal. Again, Eastern Time.

Are There More Virtual Writers' Workshops Out There?

I'm guessing the answer to that question is "Yes." Which is too bad for me, because I have a ridiculously long list of workshops I want to attend this year just from these three organizations.