749 Best Writing Classes in 2026

A Saturday morning session with novelist Eva Langston at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $60 ($50 for members), on sharpening a novel's premise and learning to pitch it briefly to agents, editors and readers. Two hours on 26 September, 10am to noon - useful at the point where a draft exists but you cannot yet say what the book is in a sentence.

A single two-hour evening workshop with María Fernanda at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $60 ($50 for members), on how poems work visually - line, shape, white space and the techniques poets use to make an image land. One session on Thursday 17 September, 6pm to 8pm, which makes it an easy first workshop if you have not taken one before.

Three Wednesday evening sessions with poet Karren Alenier at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, $150 ($135 for members), reading Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons closely and writing response poems from it. This is a workshop built on one difficult book rather than a general poetry survey, so it suits writers who already have a practice and want to be pushed by Stein's word play. Runs 16 to 30 September, 7pm to 8.30pm.

A ten-month in-person course at the Writers Studio's Bronte studio in Sydney, built to get a complete first draft of a novel or screenplay finished by people who work full time. Fee is $4,495 AUD including GST, or $965 registration plus nine monthly payments of $400. You meet one Saturday a month, 10am to 6pm, plus one full weekend intensive, with founders Roland and Kathleen teaching and further tutors supporting between sessions. The structure breaks the draft into weekly tasks rather than leaving you to pace it yourself.

Weekly writing workshops that facilitate creative exploration in various genres, including literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Participants can attend the first session at no cost as a guest. The workshops use the Amherst Writers & Artists method to encourage artistic growth.

In-person poetry course in Cincinnati, $110, at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. Four Sunday evenings, 4 to 25 October 2026, 6:00-8:00pm, ages 18+. Worth knowing before you book: this class is Fair Share Pricing eligible, meaning CCAC lets you pay the rate that fits your circumstances rather than a fixed fee, and need-based scholarships of up to $100 are available on a short application each trimester.

In-person retreat mornings in Cincinnati, $100, at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. Four standalone Saturday dates - 19 September, 10 October, 14 November and 5 December 2026 - each running 10:00am-12:30pm, ages 18+. Each date is a self-contained half-day retreat rather than a sequence, so you can book a single morning without committing to a term. Need-based scholarships of up to $100 are available for any CCAC class via a short application.

A two-year residential MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus, run through the George Polk School of Communications, covering poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting and translation. Worth knowing before you apply: LIU offers the same degree fully online as well, so check you are applying to the Brooklyn residential track if being in the room is the point. The publishing half of the title is meant literally - the programme pairs craft workshops with editorial and industry work.

A two-year MFA taught on the Mount Saint Mary's campus in central Los Angeles, not online. The cohort meets every other weekend, six times a semester, which is what makes it one of the few LA degrees realistically open to people holding down a job alongside it. Workshops cover fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry, and the alternate-weekend rhythm means you are writing between residencies rather than only during them.

Chatham offers a two-year residential MFA in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and nature and place-based writing in Pittsburgh. Teaching assistantships are available to full-time first-year students. Listed price is annual tuition.

Hollins University offers a two-year MFA in poetry, short fiction, novels, and creative nonfiction. Listed price is annual tuition. Teaching assistantships with tuition waivers and stipends are available.

Randolph College offers a two-year low-residency MFA in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Listed tuition covers the full program. Students who demonstrate financial need through FAFSA may be eligible for significant financial aid.