We have so much to tell you about what is happening at the Westport Writers' Workshop in 2013!  Lots of changes, lots of growth, expansion into new genres, and a host of new workshops and time slots.  Read on ...

• Introducing: Business Writing  In response to many requests from the public, for the first time we are taking a detour from our usual creative mode by introducing a new Business Writing arm of WWW. Starting with the half day Effective Business Writing (P200 and P201), we'll now offer short, focused workshops for anyone who wants to boost their career advantage by sharpening their business writing skills.   Follow up workshops will cover topics such as writing effective e-mails, reports, executive summaries, and grant writing.

• Introductory Level Workshops:  For those wishing to give creative writing their very first try but may have been intimidated to join a workshop filled with accomplished writers, we'll now offer beginner level workshops.  Novices will be in good hands as they acquire basic tools of craft in Introduction to Fiction Writing (F101) with Matt Debenham, and Beginning Memoir Writing (M101) with Marcelle Soviero.  Also coming this spring is the especially kind and gentle Introduction to Creative Writing with Valerie Ann Leff.

• The Healing Art of Writing  Can writing about illness or loss be not only therapeutic, but publication-worthy writing that will appeal to readers? Published author and psychotherapist Fran Dorf will take on this challenge in our first Saturday workshop of the winter session, The Healing Art of Writing (S700) on January 19. 

• Nonfiction Book Writing Say you have a nonfiction book project in mind - a family history, perhaps, or a professional work - but haven't the slightest idea how to begin.  Or perhaps you already have a project underway but need the structure and motivation of a workshop to get you to the finish line.  Our new workshop leader Cathryn J. Prince, journalist and former adjunct journalism professor with three published nonfiction books to her credit, has come onboard to lead Narrative Nonfiction (N310).

• Good-bye Newsletter, Hello Word-for-Words Blog  Don't have time to read a long newsletter each month?  Now instead you can receive occasional short punchy news of our writers, announcements, articles "In Case You Missed," and general writing wisdom and encouragement by subscribing to our new Word-for-Words Blog. Stand by for our debut.  (Also, don't forget to Follow us on Facebook, where we sometimes offer last-minute discounts, announcements and breaking news.)

• Playwriting is Back Writing the Short Form Play (F310) will guide writers into the increasingly popular genre of the short form (or 10-minute) play.  Experienced playwrights can hone their craft, and novices learn from the ground up, in this tight and challenging form of drama. 

• Lots more that's new! Ina Chadwick and C. William Bosch of Ina Chadwick's acclaimed MouseMuse Productions will show how to make your written work come alive in a voiced story in From Page to Stage (S410) ... Novelist and workshop leader Sandra Rodriguez Barron's Fiction Writing: Structuring Your Novel  (F310) workshop will now focus specifically on issues surrounding the challenge of structure...  Suzanne Hoover's Fiction Writing: Crafting Your Novel (F410 and F411) is now geared only to the most experienced writers, subject to  instructor approval ... Marcelle Soviero will offer the new Mother Writer: Finding Your Voice (S110 and S111) ... Our most inspirational hour of the week, Monday's Creativity Jumpstart Brown Bag (B100) is now included at no additional charge in a Westport Writers Workshop Membership ... and so much more. 

Many of our winter session workshops have already filled or nearly filled.  So if you're thinking of signing up for a workshop, please act quickly. We don't want you to miss out.

Jessica Bram 

Founder/ Director