195 Best Fiction Writing Classes in 2026

Free 90-minute midday freewriting class at the Blue Diamond Library, facilitated by author Marijke McCandless. It is generative rather than critique-based - you write to prompts in the room instead of bringing finished pages, and grammar, punctuation and polish are deliberately set aside so drafts come out fast. Open to absolute beginners and working writers in the same room; no booking and no fee.

Free 90-minute evening workshop in the Paul C. Blau Theatre at Clark County Library, led by novelist and artist Brian Gardner as part of the library district's Writers Workshop series. Gardner works through character backstory, building an alien world that holds up, and designing an antagonist who is genuinely hard to beat, using his own SF novel The Banished as the worked example throughout. First come, first served - no booking is taken and seating may be limited.

Free two-hour in-person workshop at the Centennial Hills Library, taught by award-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist Maxwell Alexander Drake. It runs as an ongoing series on the craft of writing a novel readers finish, and Drake teaches the same session twice each month - Sunday afternoon and Monday evening - so you can take whichever slot fits. There is no registration and no waiting list: seating is limited and first come, first served, so arrive early.

Hybrid workshop in Denver, $280 non-member, taught by Jenny Elder-Moke. Four Tuesday evenings from 25 August 2026, 6:30-8:30pm - attend in person at Lighthouse, 3844 York Street, or by Zoom. This teaches ADULTS to write for young readers; it is not a class for children. Looks at what makes children’s and YA books last rather than simply sell.

In-person course in Minneapolis, $222 ($199.80 for Loft Friends), taught by Holly Day. Six Tuesday evenings, 15 September to 20 October 2026, 6:00-8:00pm at The Loft Literary Center. The Loft’s standard entry point to fiction. Note their fee structure: a nonrefundable 15% is built into every registration, and financial assistance is available on application.

In-person course in Philadelphia, $520, at CultureWorks, 1315 Walnut St. Nine Tuesdays, 6 October to 1 December 2026, 6:30-8:30pm. Structured around the 50,000-word November challenge, with the weeks either side used to prepare and then salvage what you produced - so it is a supported run at a fast draft rather than a solo sprint. Financial aid and Afterpay plans available.

In-person workshop in Boston, $415 ($400 for members), taught by Brittany Williams. Six Tuesdays, 15 September to 20 October 2026, 10:30am-1:30pm at GrubStreet’s Seaport centre. For writers with a novel idea but no draft yet - generative rather than critique-led, built to get the opening chapters onto the page. Renewed from the expired ‘Love Me Back: Getting Your Romance Novel Ready for the Market’ listing; GrubStreet is not running that romance course this term, so this is the closest current same-provider novel course. NOTE the topic changed from romance-specific to general novel craft.

In-person workshop in Boston, $725 ($700 for members), taught by Liz Santiago. Ten Tuesdays, 15 September to 17 November 2026, 6:00-9:00pm at GrubStreet’s Seaport centre. The fiction counterpart to Memoir in Progress: bring an existing novel draft and workshop it over a full term. GrubStreet runs several parallel sections of this with different instructors - this is Santiago’s.

In-person single session in Chicago, $65, taught by Cyn Vargas. Monday 24 September 2026, 6:30-8:30pm at StoryStudio’s Chicago studio. Two hours on how a story is put together - where it starts, how it moves, where the weight falls. Renewed from the expired ‘Form & Content: Experimenting with Prose Structures’ listing, which StoryStudio no longer runs; this is the closest current same-provider equivalent on structure. URL moved off the generic /classes page onto the class itself.

In-person single session in Chicago, $65, taught by Dionna Griffin-Irons. Wednesday 30 September 2026, 6:30-8:30pm at StoryStudio’s Chicago studio. Two hours on building character from the writer’s own material rather than invention alone. A one-evening commitment, which makes it a low-risk way to try StoryStudio before booking a multi-week course - most of their catalogue is Zoom, so in-person sessions like this are the exception.

In-person course in Los Angeles, from $820, at UCLA Extension. Eleven weeks from 24 September 2026, 3 units. Built on a single argument: conflict is not something you bolt onto a story, it comes out of who your characters are. Reading- and exercise-based, studying how published writers build characters whose traits generate the trouble. UCLA Extension runs most of its creative writing catalogue online - this is one of only eight sections currently taught in person.

In-person workshop in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, $1150 with a $1050 rate for returning writers, taught by Ted Thompson. Eight Monday evenings from 14 September 2026, 7:00-9:00pm, with no class the week of 21 September. The most selective class Sackett runs - a writing sample is required, and it is aimed at writers polishing work for publication. Taught by their most experienced advanced fiction instructor; alumni have gone on to top MFA programmes and major awards.