9 Best Writing Classes in Toronto

Full-day in-person writing retreat at St Matthew's Clubhouse in Toronto's east end, Sunday 6 December, 10am to 5pm, facilitated by Kim and Asifa. Open only to people who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of colour. Fee $285 CAD plus tax with instalment payment available, and two places are held at half price on a first-come basis. The day moves from short creativity-waking exercises into long stretches of quiet writing time, closing with sharing and a look at what comes next.

Full-day in-person beginners' workshop in Toronto, Sunday 27 September, 10am to 4.30pm, led by Firefly's Kim. Fee $250 CAD plus tax, payable in four monthly instalments of $62.50 at no extra cost. It runs at an historic lawn bowling club on the edge of Riverdale Park rather than a classroom - short warm-up exercises in the morning, longer writes in the afternoon, across autobiography, lists and poetry. Deposits are non-refundable and the full fee is non-refundable a week out, so book only once you are sure of the date.

Eight-week in-class screenwriting course on the St. George campus in Toronto, Tuesdays 6.30-9pm from 6 October, taught by Dan Sacco. Fee $699 CAD. It is the only in-class section the school runs this autumn, so the daytime alternative that exists for their fiction courses is not available here. Counts towards the SCS Certificate in Creative Writing.

Eight-week in-class novel course on the St. George campus in Toronto, Tuesdays 12.30-3pm from 6 October, with Janika Oza, author of A History of Burning. Fee $699 CAD. This is the daytime section, which matters if evening classes do not work for you - the other autumn in-class section runs Tuesday evenings. Aimed at writers who want to write a novel but have not started one. Counts towards the SCS Certificate in Creative Writing.

Eight-week in-class creative non-fiction course on the St. George campus in Toronto, Mondays 6.30-9pm from 19 October, taught by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Down to This and Hungover. Fee $699 CAD. It covers memoir, personal essay and literary journalism - telling factual stories with the techniques of fiction. Counts towards the SCS Certificate in Creative Writing.

Eight-week in-class short story course on the St. George campus in Toronto, Tuesdays 6.30-9pm from 20 October, with Toronto writer Derek Mascarenhas. Fee $699 CAD. The autumn term runs two in-class sections and this is the later one, which suits anyone who cannot start in September. Counts towards the SCS Certificate in Creative Writing.

Nine-week in-class course on the St. George campus in downtown Toronto, Mondays 6.30-9pm from 28 September, taught by Patricia Westerhof. Fee $649 CAD. Each session splits in half: one part workshop, where your pages get constructive feedback from the group, one part craft discussion on character, setting, plot, point of view, structure or revision. Designed for writers who have not settled on a genre yet, so you sample several. Counts towards the SCS Certificate in Creative Writing.

The course teaches the basics of writing for the stage, including story structure, character development, and dialogue, in a supportive workshop environment. Students will complete a short one-act play and engage with a community of writers.

The course combines food appreciation and writing, teaching principles of compelling food writing, recipe development, and techniques for various formats including articles, blogs, and cookbooks.