749 Best Writing Classes in 2026

An eight-week in-person foundation course at the StoryStudio Chicago Studio with Kathryn Kruse, $585, covering the elements common to fiction, non-fiction and poetry rather than specialising early. Starts 21 October. The genre-spanning approach makes it a sensible first course if you have not settled on a form yet, and eight weeks is long enough to build a habit rather than just sample one.

Four in-person sessions at the StoryStudio Chicago Studio with Paul Lisicky, $250, approaching memoir through sound, the body and form rather than through chronology or event. Starts 14 October. Lisicky is a widely published memoirist, and the angle here is craft-technical - useful if you have the material but the prose is going flat. Most of StoryStudio's catalogue runs on Zoom, so in-person sessions like this are the exception.

A two-day in-person weekend at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, 7 and 8 November, built around writing of the West - nature writing, western settings and western sensibilities. Open to fiction and nonfiction writers. One of the few Lighthouse offerings taught in the room rather than on Zoom. Pricing is announced with registration.

A two-day in-person weekend retreat for LGBTQIA+ writers at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, 10 and 11 October. Lighthouse runs most of its adult catalogue on Zoom, so the weekend fests are where its in-person teaching actually happens - worth knowing if being in the room matters to you. Pricing is announced with registration rather than listed in advance.

A free monthly writing session at the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library, 5148 Market St, on the second Saturday of the month. Same format as the other Room to Write sessions - protected time and a table, open to any genre and any level. Worth knowing this one sits in southeastern San Diego rather than downtown or the northern suburbs, which is where the rest of the city's provision clusters.

A weekly writing practice group at Lestat's Hillcrest, 1045 University Ave, Thursdays 5.30pm to 6.30pm, $7. Led by Judy Reeves and Steve Montgomery and sponsored by San Diego Writers, Ink. Reeves is a long-established writing-practice teacher, so this is a facilitated session rather than a leaderless meetup, and the coffee-house setting keeps it informal.

A free monthly writing session at Mira Mesa Library, 8405 New Salem Street, on the third Saturday of each month, 3pm to 5.45pm, hosted by Sharon S.Y. Lee. Writers in any genre and at any experience level are welcome. The near-three-hour block is longer than most drop-in sessions, which suits work that needs a run-up rather than a sprint.

A weekly drop-in writing room at San Diego Writers, Ink, 2730 Historic Decatur Rd #204, Fridays 1pm to 3pm, hosted by Inktern Hailey. Free to members; non-members are asked for a $5 contribution at the door. This is dedicated time and space rather than instruction - you bring your own project and write alongside other people, which is the point when the kitchen table is not working.

A free weekly fiction group at Pacific Highlands Ranch Library, 12911 Pacific Pl, running Tuesdays 5.30pm to 7.30pm with Crissy Simon. Open to fiction writers at any stage, working either to prompts or on their own project. The first half hour is given over to settling and community before the writing starts, which makes it easier to walk into cold than most groups.

Two Saturday sessions with Caroline Bock at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $100 ($85 for members), drafting a series of micro stories of 300 words or less that stand alone but can also link into something larger. 17 and 24 October, 10am to 12.30pm. The linked-sequence angle is the useful part - most flash workshops treat each piece as a one-off.

Two Saturday morning sessions with food historian Dr Kelly A. Spring at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $100 ($85 for members), on writing your own food history. Week one covers what food history is and the forms it takes; week two puts it into practice. 17 and 24 October, 10am to noon. Explicitly a beginner course, and the historian's angle makes it more research-led than most food-writing workshops.

Three Thursday evening sessions with Beth Kanter and Anna Kahoe at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $150 ($135 for members), aimed at writers of any level trying to find the story that is currently nagging at them and get it onto the page. Runs 8 to 22 October, 6.30pm to 9.30pm. Two instructors on a class this size is unusual and means more individual attention than a single-tutor workshop.