82 Best Nonfiction Writing Classes in 2026

In-person workshop in Boston, $445 ($430 for members), taught by Ethan Gilsdorf. Six Tuesdays, 15 September to 20 October 2026, 10:30am-1:30pm at GrubStreet’s Seaport centre. The structure is the point: one finished essay a week for six weeks, so it produces a body of work rather than fragments. Daytime slot.

In-person workshop in Boston, $750 ($725 for members), taught by Frankie Concepcion. Ten Mondays, 14 September to 23 November 2026, 6:00-9:00pm at GrubStreet’s Seaport centre. For writers already working on a memoir manuscript rather than deciding whether to start one - ten weeks of sustained workshop on work in progress. Three-hour sessions, so more workshop time per week than the six-week courses.

In-person workshop in Boston, $595 ($575 for members), taught by Phoebe Hyde. Eight Thursdays, 10 September to 29 October 2026, 10:30am-1:30pm at GrubStreet’s Seaport centre. Written for people starting a memoir later in life and beginning with origin stories rather than the whole arc. Daytime scheduling suits anyone not working a standard week - most GrubStreet in-person workshops run evenings.

In-person workshop in Los Angeles at UCLA Extension, over two Saturdays from 7 November 2026. A weekend-shaped alternative to the term-length courses: memoir and personal essay craft compressed into two full days rather than eleven weeks, which suits writers who cannot commit to a weekly evening. Latest-starting in-person option in the current catalogue.

In-person course in Manhattan, $370 plus a $25 once-per-term registration fee, taught by Mo Krochmal. Six Thursday evenings from 1 October 2026, 6:30-9:30pm at 555 8th Avenue. Introduction to writing true stories with the techniques of fiction - memoir, essay and literary journalism. Capped at 14 students, and the latest-starting Gotham in-person section this term.

In-person monthly meeting in Atlanta, free for first-time attendees and covered by membership thereafter. Saturday 21 November 2026, 1:30-4:00pm with a mixer from 12:45, at GSU-Perimeter College Dunwoody Campus, Bldg. NC. Mark Warren on nature writing for writers, followed by the club’s Member Moment slot in which members present their own work. The Member Moment format means this meeting doubles as a low-stakes place to read aloud.

In-person monthly meeting in Atlanta, free for first-time attendees and covered by membership thereafter. Saturday 17 October 2026, 1:30-4:00pm with a mixer from 12:45, at GSU-Perimeter College Dunwoody Campus, Bldg. NC. Alan Grostephan on finding a form in creative nonfiction, then Jill Tew on writing kidlit - middle grade, YA, and the ground between them. Note this is instruction for adults writing for younger readers, not a class for children.

In-person series in Cincinnati, $110 ($85 for CAC members or students), at the Contemporary Arts Center. Four Saturday mornings, 3 to 24 October 2026, 10:00am-12:00pm, sold as a series rather than single sessions. Each series is taught by a rotating group of local and published writers and moves across poetry, nonfiction and prose rather than sticking to one form. Class size is capped for individual attention, and a notebook of guided prompts is included. Winter (Feb) and spring (Apr) 2027 series dates are already published.

In-person single session in Houston, $135, taught by Hank Roubicek, Ph.D. Wednesday 2 September 2026, 10:00am-12:00pm at the Women’s Institute of Houston. A two-hour orientation to memoir as a form rather than a writing course: what separates a memoir from an autobiography, how to choose the slice of life or theme worth building a book around, and where to start. Suits someone deciding whether they have a memoir in them.

In-person workshop in Houston, $475, taught by Emily Fox Gordon. Ten Tuesday evenings from 8 September 2026, 6:00-9:00pm at Inprint House, 1520 West Main. The longest-running nonfiction option in the city catalogue this term - a full ten-week arc rather than a weekend intensive, which suits an essay or memoir project you want to develop over a season. No prior workshop experience required.

In-person course in Seattle, $490 (early-bird $441), taught by Nicole Hardy. Eight Saturday sessions, 26 September to 21 November 2026 at Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave (no class 10 October). Personal essay specifically rather than general creative nonfiction, and open to introductory and intermediate writers in the same room.

In-person course in San Francisco, $450 (early-bird $405 before 5 September), taught by Joanne Furio. Five Saturday mornings, 12 September to 10 October 2026, 10:00am-12:00pm at the Grotto, 1663 Mission St. Works across three hybrid forms - the lyric essay, the prose poem and flash creative nonfiction - for writers who find straight genre categories constraining.