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International Women's Writing Guild

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All IWWG workshops are listed in ET (Eastern Time). If you wish to convert to another timezone, use this link.

Credit & Refund Policy. 

  • At least 30 business days prior to class: you will receive a credit minus 15% administrative fee.

  • 7 business days prior to the workshop or event, you will receive no refund or credit.

If we must cancel a class for any reason, you are entitled to a full refund or, if you choose, a credit in the amount of your payment, to be used for any future IWWG class or event.

Credits are valid for five years from date of issue. They may not be converted into refunds.

Credits, scholarships, and discount codes cannot be applied retroactively to classes that have already been purchased.

If you decide to withdraw from a class and receive partial credit, you may apply that credit to another workshop, only if that workshop has not yet begun.

If you have any issues or questions surrounding withdrawals, credits, or refunds contact us via email at writers@iwwg.org


Once you are registered you will receive a confirmation with  Zoom links or venue details. As noted, all workshop times are listed in ET (Eastern Time). You will receive a reminder 24 hours before the event. If you do not receive a confirmation or reminder, check your spam mail. If you cannot find your Zoom link, please write to writers@iwwg.org with at least 24 hours notice. We cannot send links the day of the event.  Links for free events will be posted on this page the day of the event. 

    • Sunday, May 18, 2025
    • Sunday, June 01, 2025
    • 3 sessions
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Accessing Our Wounds through Words (starting at $99)


    Writing difficult narratives can offer an opening, create awareness, and begin necessary conversations. Often, we seek penning our experiences to help make sense of our wounds, to assign meaning to what is not easily expressed. This three-part workshop-based class offers practical and empowering exploration into the trauma-writing process. Instructor Rebecca Evans has instructed trauma writing to a wide range of students and in a variety of settings. She shares her own curated process that she developed while confronting vulnerability and pain on the page. Through compassionate and gentle exploration, students will learn to re-frame their experiences into craft that feels true and meaningful. Session one includes methods to help establish sacred writing practices, including space for self-care. Students will explore concepts to help manage emotions that might surface during writing sessions. Session two offers a study in forms, crafts and approaches. Students will explore narrative accessibility should they wish to share or publish their work. Session three helps students establish a creative and safe ongoing writing practice. This class is open to writers of all levels.


    Rebecca Evans writes the heart-full guidebooks for survivors. She teaches high school teens in the Juvie system and co-hosts Radio Boise’s Writer to Writer show. She’s a disabled veteran, an avid gardener, and lives with four Newfoundlands and her sons.

    Her poems and essays have appeared in Brevity, Narratively, The Rumpus, Hypertext Magazine, and more. Her books include Tangled by Blood (Moon Tide Press, 2023) and Safe Handling (Moon Tide Press, 2024).

    • Friday, May 23, 2025
    • Friday, May 30, 2025
    • 2 sessions
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Laughter and Poetry (starting at $99)


    In a two-day workshop on “Poetry and Laughter“ we will explore the presence and the healing power of laughter in poetry. We will discuss: "The Laughter of Women" by Mary-Sherman Willis, "Your laughter turns the world to paradise" by Jalal al-Din Rumi, "The Laugh" by Don McKay, and "Poem about your laugh" by Susan Glickman; one week lecture, the other workshop.


    Carmen Bugan, George Orwell Prize Fellow, published her sixth collection of poems, Tristia, earlier this year. She is an award-winning author of 10 books that include memoir, essays, and criticism. Her work has been translated into several languages, gathered international praise, and has been widely anthologized. Carmen's memoir, Burying the Typewriter, was BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and she has been featured on NPR, ABC, PRI and the BBC.

    • Saturday, May 31, 2025
    • 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Building from Scraps: Making Old Things New 
    (starting at $79)


    For this workshop, you will be asked to bring drafts of old poems that aren’t “working” for you. These might be finished poems, or they might be scraps of incomplete poems, sentences or paragraphs. We will use several techniques to infuse new life into them. You will leave the workshop with at least one new draft that surprises you. Writers who are new to poetry, but have old bits of prose to repurpose, are welcome.



    Sherre Vernon is the author of two chapbooks and two full length poetry collections, Flame Nebula, Bright Nova and Translating Blue. Sherre has been nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, and anthologized in several collections including Fat & Queer and Best Small Fictions.


    • Friday, June 06, 2025
    • Friday, June 13, 2025
    • 2 sessions
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Dwelling in Poetry (starting at $99)


    In his book "The Poetics of Space" Bachelard says that "Sometimes we find ourselves in the presence of a form that guides and encloses our earliest dreams." (p. 239) That form becomes a space where the poet's imagination dwells. In this workshop we will explore the sense of "dwelling" in relation to "place" through Heidegger, the "poetics of space" through Bachelard and then we'll reflect on concrete poetry. We will think about the poem's actual space on the page, the shape it occupies in order to express it visually: poems as trees, poems as vases, poems as tears. Two-part workshop, two hours per session: first part will be lecture, discussion, and generative exercises; second part will be feedback/workshop on poems that participants bring to class. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a few concrete poems and an appreciation of the intersection between philosophy, psychology, and poetry.


    Dr. Carmen Bugan, George Orwell Prize Fellow, published her sixth collection of poems, Tristia, earlier this year. She is an award-winning author of 10 books that include memoir, essays, and criticism. Her work has been translated into several languages, gathered international praise, and has been widely anthologized. Carmen's memoir, Burying the Typewriter, was BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and she has been featured on NPR, ABC, PRI and the BBC.

    • Saturday, June 07, 2025
    • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
    • via Zoom
    Register

    To Question or Not Question - a factual fiction freewrite workshop 

    In this 90 minute workshop, we will dive into ways of asking questions, of making assumptions ... asking questions about question asking as such! We will touch upon theories re direct and indirect communication, a factual facekeeping that will prompt us to freewrite to poems by Sarah Uribe & Hagar Peeters, to lyrics by Annie Lennox. At the end of the workshop you will receive a document with more facts & fiction to muse on. To ask or assume … let’s read and write beyond conjecture!


    Kate Copeland’s love for languages led her to teaching; her love for art & water to poetry. She is curator-editor for The Ekphrastic Review & runs linguistic-poetry workshops for TER and IWWG. Find her poems @TER, WildfireWords, Gleam, Hedgehog Press [a.o.] and https://www.instagram.com/kate.copeland.poems/ Kate was born @harbour city, and adores housesitting @the world.

    • Sunday, June 08, 2025
    • 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Matwaala South Asian poets' Collective:
    From OTHER to CENTER
     
    (starting at $45)


    Usha Akella moderates a panel of four poets - Kirun Kapur, Sara Garg, Anita Nahal & Meher Manda to delve into the notion of immigration as a spectrum of unfoldment. More than a static dot in time, immigration is a wave giving birth to endless surges of the notion of identity enacting within the larger canvas of country, belonging and borders. The poets will read poems that explore an evolutionary journey to reflect changing themes, concerns, and poetic expression. What does a poet write about upon arrival? What does the poet grapple with in successive years? What does an American born poet with immigrant parents write about? From ‘other’ to ‘center’, is there indeed a definite destination of belonging?


    Moderator, Usha Akella: Usha Akella has authored ten books that include poetry, and two musical dramas with noted publishers. She earned an MSt. in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge, UK. She is the founder of Matwaala (www.matwaala.com), launched to increase the visibility of South Asian poets, and www.the-pov.com, a website of curated interviews.

    Panel: Kirun Kapur, Sara Garg, Anita Nahal & Meher Manda

    • Thursday, June 26, 2025
    • 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
    • ONLINE
    Register

    Join Us for a Reading from our 2025 Write Forward Anthology

    Readers will feature those who participated in the anthology. All are welcome to join to listen and hear about our next anthology.

    Our soon to be released anthology efforts aligned with the 69th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). This event is a call to action, reminding us of the power of storytelling to illuminate the 12 critical areas of concern outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action—from education and health to climate justice and human rights. The 2025 IWWG Anthology, supported by The de Groot Foundation, brings together voices from around the world to reflect on these themes.  The anthology previewed on March 8, International Women’s Day, at the United Nations in New York City, as part of our statement at CSW69. 

    We will also host an in person reading at our Summer Retreat where the printed version will be available. We look forward to sharing it with our community.

    • Sunday, July 13, 2025
    • 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
    • via Zoom
    Register

    Writing poems that surprise (starting at $45)


    Will go over various techniques for writing poems that surprise the writer, will read sample poems and talk about how the techniques have been used. Participants will be given time to write and to share their poems.


    Brenda Wildrick, poet and visual artist, member of Columbine Poets of Colorado, the Arizona State Poetry Society, Colorado Poet’s Center, and IWWG, has published poems in several anthologies. Her book, On the Train for Somewhere Else, and her coloring book with haiku were published in 2023 by Wild Rising Press.

    • Monday, August 11, 2025
    • 3:00 PM
    • Friday, August 15, 2025
    • 10:00 AM
    Register


    IWWG Writing & Wellness Retreat
    -----

    August 11-15, 2025

    Stepping Stone Retreat Center 

    320 Sawkill Road Kingston NY 12401


    Room block link:

    International Women’s Writing Guild

    The link will expire in May 31st.  A new block will open in June if needed. 

    View Property - https://lumen5.com/user/bestwestern/33195-bw-plus-kings-0y7lb/

    Monday, August 11 – Arrival Day

    • Evening Welcome Reception at the hotel restaurant/bar – casual meet and greet.

    Tuesday, August 12 – Thursday, August 14

    Daily Schedule

    8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

    • Linda Leedy Schneider – The Wonder of Words: Writing for Your Life
    • Lynne Barrett – Fiction: Building Narrative Through Structure


    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

    • Maureen Murdock – Mythmaking and the Art of Memoir
    • Linda Bergman – So You Think Your Life’s a Movie?
    • June Gould – Poetry: Our Lives in Brackets


      1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

      • Myra Shapiro – Poetry Workshop
      • Dorothy Randall Gray – Ancestor Spirit: The Well of Wellness


        3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

        • Judith Prest – SoulCollage®: Visual Poetry for Writers
        • Kelly DuMar – Creative Writing from Your Photo Stream (2 days)
        • Kelly DuMar – Putting Our Grandmothers on the Page (1 day)


          also from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

          • Genre-based writing sessions & group critiques
          • Yoga, Meditation, Guided Walks, Massage


            Evenings

            • Open Mic Readings, Community Sharing
            • Optional informal gatherings at hotel bar/restaurant

              Friday, August 15 – Departure Day

              • Farewell breakfast

              • Hotel check-out and shuttles to station/airport as needed

              Meals & Shuttle Info

              • Complimentary Breakfast – at hotel each morning

              • Lunch (Tues–Thurs) – provided at retreat center

              • Dinner (Tues & Thurs) – group dinners at retreat center

              • Shuttle Service – Daily shuttle between hotel and retreat center (1 mile). Participants may also drive.



                Workshop Descriptions

                Ancestor Spirit: The Well of Wellness - Dorothy Randall Gray

                Dive into the ocean of the power and presence of those who came before you. Explore African, Native, Asian & planetary inspirations. Music, meditation, heart-centered handouts and sharing circles. Write in all genres. Your Soul is calling - pick up the phone!


                The Wonder of Words: Writing for Your Life - Linda Leedy Schneider

                Come, let go of control and find your creative flow.   Be part of  a supportive community and write in response to poetry and prompts with opportunities to read your work.  Leave this workshop with lots of fresh writing, stronger in your craft, inspired, and eager to continue!  All writers welcome!

                Mythmaking and the Art of Memoir - Maureen Murdock

                Explore memoir as a journey into personal mythic themes, with readings and writing prompts from authors like Joan Didion and Natasha Trethewey.

                Putting Our Grandmothers on the Page: Poetry, Prose, Persona & Memoir - Kelly DuMar

                This workshop explores the theme of grandmothers—whether ancestors, ourselves, or figures from literature—using prompts from photos, objects, and memory. Writers will create poetry, prose, persona, and memoir to express complex influences and explore revision and craft. Open to all levels.

                How Pictures Heal: Creative Writing from Your Photo Stream - Kelly DuMar
                Using personal photos, this workshop helps writers explore emotions, memories, and meaning through creative writing. Participants will craft stories and poems that capture the beauty, loss, and deeper connections within their images, with all levels welcome.

                Linda Bergman: So You Think Your Life’s a Movie? is Linda Bergman’s screenplay class where you learn how to get to good story fast, learn the nuts and bolts of a script and see an Oscar winning film to prove what works and what doesn’t. 

                June Gould: Poetry - Our Lives in Brackets

                Poetry with Myra Shapiro

                Fiction Workshop, Lynne Barrett - Too much plot? None at all? Characters who want their stories told, but how? The use of place, conflict, and change tests characters and builds stories from flash to novel-length. We'll explore scenic structure, character connections,complications, reversals, and narrative design, including point of view and options for the presentation of time. Bring your ideas, notes, drafts, the manuscript that’s been trying to get published, or a blank notebook waiting to be filled.

                Afternoon Soul Collage - Judith Prest: Recharge your writing brain! Make SoulCollage (R) cards in the afternoon. Working with images will lead you to discover deep aspects of your story. SoulCollage is like "awake dreamwork", and collage-making is visual poetry. I believe that visual art enriches our writing!

                -----

                Please note registration is for retreat, workshops, and meals only. Rooms will be booked separately under an IWWG block below. Rooms must be booked by May 31 for early bird rate of $129 per night for a room with two queens. You can share, but you must decide on your roommate and book together. IWWG is not handling hotel reservations. Nearby Kingston retreat center for workshops with shuttle services.

                ROOM BLOCK LINK:

                International Women’s Writing Guild

                 To help you with your guest accommodations needs, we have created a customized reservation link for your room discount. Please test the link so you understand how it works. Guests can adjust the dates to the night or nights they need.  

                Reservations can  also be made by calling the hotel directly 845 338 0400 and ask for the group by name.

                Please make your reservations early. Individual reservations can be cancelled up to 24 hours prior to arrival. A new block will open in June if needed. 

                View Property - https://lumen5.com/user/bestwestern/33195-bw-plus-kings-0y7lb/

                  • Wednesday, August 13, 2025
                  • Wednesday, September 17, 2025
                  • 6 sessions
                  • via Zoom
                  Register

                  Gateway to Memoir III (starting at $199)



                  In this 6-week workshop we will build on the foundation and skills developed during Gateway to Memoir I & II. You do not have to have participated in I & II to enroll in III, but you should have completed at least two full essays/chapters of your project for this workshop to be most beneficial to you.
                  Week 1 - Real-time Revisions
                  Week 2 - Sharpening Your Writing Voice
                  Week 3 - Book Proposal Basics

                  Weeks 4-6 will be reserved for workshopping.





                  Minda Honey’s essays have appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Oxford American, Teen Vogue, and Longreads.

                  Her debut memoir, THE HEARTBREAK YEARS is a hilarious and intimate portrait of a Black woman finding who she is and who she wants to be, one bad date at a time.

                  • Sunday, September 21, 2025
                  • Sunday, September 28, 2025
                  • 2 sessions
                  • via Zoom
                  Register

                  Embodied Editing (starting at $79)



                  Embodied Editing pushes the revision practice beyond the norm of academics, highlighting the connection between the body and art. This approach helps surpass traditional boundaries of language, acting as an invitation to explore story and narrative in relationship to the body’s visceral response, creating a deep conversation between work and heart.

                  We’ll explore editing in two sessions. Please bring work that you wish to revise, along with highlighters and/or markers to the event. Dress in comfortable clothing to allow yourself to move freely as part of the revision process.


                  Rebecca Evans writes the heart-full guidebooks for survivors. She teaches high school teens in the Juvie system and co-hosts Radio Boise’s Writer to Writer show. She’s a disabled veteran, an avid gardener, and lives with four Newfoundlands and her sons.

                  Her poems and essays have appeared in Brevity, Narratively, The Rumpus, Hypertext Magazine, and more. Her books include Tangled by Blood (Moon Tide Press, 2023) and Safe Handling (Moon Tide Press, 2024).

                  • Tuesday, October 14, 2025
                  • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
                  • via Zoom
                  Register

                  Inside the Edit: Navigating Process, Partnerships, and Publishing Routes


                  In the world of writing, editing is an essential step that transforms initial drafts into polished, compelling narratives. This presentation explores the critical role of editing in the publishing journey, highlighting importance in enhancing clarity, coherence, and impact. Attendees will only learn about the various types of editing, but the dynamics of the editor-writer relationship and how timelines and expectations vary depending on your chosen publishing route.


                  Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Debbie Anderson joined the FriesenPress publishing team in 2012 after a career in the financial services industry. As a Publishing Consultant, she has helped hundreds of authors start their publishing journey and fully realize their literary aspirations.

                  • Thursday, January 01, 2026
                  • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
                  • via Zoom

                  World Building for Any Novel (starting at $129)


                  A character’s world greatly impacts how that character responds to the obstacles they face and ultimately shapes who that character becomes. This mini-course will discuss the techniques necessary to create and/or strengthen works with complicated and layered worlds and timelines. This course is for any project with large worlds, whether that be science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, intergenerational novels, or a mystery novel, or if you simply want to understand how to incorporate diverse characters and perspectives. We will explore how to keep your readers engaged in such layered storylines. Considering writers such as Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, and Margaret Atwood, we will be inspired to write stories that immerse readers in worlds that illuminate today’s conversations. We will spend four weeks learning world-building techniques, developing the character of multiple protagonists, incorporating diverse characters and world settings, and keeping track of your world’s details/rules. The final two weeks will be spent generating materials or making plans for revisions using your new tools. Start a novel, strengthen one already begun, or even finish a short story during our exploration of world-building techniques.



                  Melissa Michal is of Seneca, Welsh, and English descent and is a fiction writer and essayist. Melissa has work appearing in the SFRA and other spaces. Her story collection, Living Along the Borderlines, was a finalist for the Louise Meriwether first book prize and she writes Indigenous futurism novels.








                Contact Us!

                Email (quickest response):
                writers@iwwg.org

                Mailing Address:

                IWWG

                att: Michelle Miller

                22 Parsonage St #293

                Providence, RI 02903

                telephone: (518) 290-1636 


                NYC Address:

                888 8th Avenue, #537
                New York, NY 10019


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