Classes
Explore Zibby Classes
View all classesThe Writers' Table
Choice of two sections. Tuesdays from 11 to 12:30 p.m. EST for 6 weeks. Lead by Zibby Mag and Online Community Host and writing instructor Darcey Gohring, this collaborative writing workshop will offer more experienced writers a chance to share and gain feedback on their current work. Each week, writers will gather around “the writers’ table” to get inspired and stay motivated. This class is recommended for those who have taken beginning writing classes and have work(s) already in progress.
All Things Memoir Writing Group (Hybrid Class)
Starts Thursday, October 5, 2023 - Meets Weekly:
10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/25 After the incredible turnout for “All Things Memoir” in July 2023, we’re launching an ongoing writing group as requested by our wonderful community of writers! Whether you’re in search of inspiration, encouragement, wisdom, or prompts and exercises to keep you focused on your writing, this group welcomes everyone at any level. This will be a hybrid class. It will meet every week, month to month. The first three weeks will be over Zoom, while the fourth meeting of the month will take place in person at Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica. Instructor Reema Zaman brings her experience as a writing teacher, a published author, and her impassioned faith in every writer to this weekly group to create a singular and powerful experience. Join us to be part of the magic.
Writing Personal Essays & Memoir
Starts Thursday, October 5, 2023 12:30 to 2 P.M. EST for 6 weeks. Explore how to write your personal narrative in a way that moves and connects with readers with Zibby Mag Online Community Host Darcey Gohring. Each week, students will learn the fundamentals of how to enrich their writing in a workshop seminar setting. Together, students will examine selected excerpts of narrative writing techniques from books, memoirs, and personal essays to help understand structure, voice, and ways to keep the reader engaged. In a safe, collaborative space, writers will be encouraged to share excerpts from their current work and receive constructive feedback.
Rewriting Your Narrative
Starts Tuesday, October 10, 2023 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (EST) for 3 weeks. In this class, students will learn how to use the art of journaling to reclaim their life story after unexpected losses and challenges. Author Michelle Hord shares the methodology she developed after more than three decades as a writer/producer for shows like America's Most Wanted, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and GMA where she covered national stories of tragedy and triumph as well as lessons culled through her own personal grief journey.
How to Add Humor into Your Personal Essays
Sunday, October 8, 2023 2 to 5 p.m. (EST). Want to make your personal essays funnier? In this three-hour class, author Wendi Aarons will talk about crafting the beginning, middle, and end of a story with just the right amount of humor included. Students will learn how to take a surgical approach to an essay and how to use humor elements to tweak more laughs out of your prose. Wendi will also offer her guidance and advice about turning one humorous essay into a cohesive collection, using her experience writing her best-selling essay collection I’M WEARING TUNICS NOW as an example.
From Rough Draft to Refined Masterpiece: The Art of Manuscript Editing
Starts Monday, October 16, 2023 - Meets Weekly: 10/16, 10/23 - 6 to 7:30 p.m. (EST) for 2 weeks. In this class with six-time author and editor Elizabeth Lyons, you will discover how exciting the editing and revision stage of the book-writing process can be! Elizabeth will teach you simple self-editing techniques and how to make the most of feedback from beta readers. You will also gain an understanding of what to look for in an editor and receive tips on incorporating editorial feedback. Through case studies (both fiction and nonfiction) Elizabeth will demonstrate how she improves her own work and that of others. There will be ample time for questions, and by the end of the class, you will have the knowledge you need to get your manuscript into the best possible shape before moving forward.
Insider’s Guide to Hollywood
IN-PERSON EVENT AT ZIBBY'S BOOKSHOP - November 14, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (PT). Instructor Carol Baum will lift the curtain and share the skills needed to survive and thrive in Hollywood. A movie and TV producer with 34 movies to her credit (including Father of the Bride, Dead Ringers, and The Good Girl), Baum is also a professor in the prestigious Film and Television Production Division at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Based on the material in her book Creative Producing, including behind-the-scenes stories from Baum’s illustrious career, Carol will walk students through a crash course in everything from successful pitching to hit picture.
Personal Autobiography: Should You Try? And Why?
Sunday, October 22, 2023 from 2 to 4 p.m. (EST)/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (PT). We write because we have stories to tell. And some of those stories are about us. Arguably, even fiction writers dig deep into their own experiences for their plots—although they change the details. But what if the details are true-to-life? How can you be comfortable writing a memoir or a personal essay if you are essentially a private person? Or if the story involves someone else? Or if it might make people angry? How can you know if your topic is “important” enough to be relevant to others? All of these questions pertain, but they all have answers that can speed you on your way to effective autobiographical prose. You may be writing to grapple with your own experience, but readers also say that this kind of writing has enormous power in helping them validate their own life challenges. For this two-hour seminar, bring a topic you long to write about but feel might be too risky, and bring all your questions, from creation to publication. Your instructor, Jacquelyn Mitchard, has written personal autobiography for many magazines and anthologies, including Glamour, Newsweek, The New York Times, O The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, and more. She will guide writers on striking that happy balance between cursory and cringeworthy.
Writing From the Margins: How to Get Published Without an MFA
November 12, 2023 from 2 to 4 p.m. (EST)/11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (PT). Join bestselling novelist Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder, The Enchanted and The Butterfly Girl, as she shares her secrets for getting published without a MFA. The survivor of a traumatic background, Rene was homeless as a child and has a 9th grade formal education. She went on to create a successful writing career while working and raising children. In this class Rene will break down the myths that writers need a MFA, and offer many tips for getting published no matter what your background. This class is appropriate for anyone who is trying to become a published writer, including empty nest parents, those with day jobs, and those from marginalized communities.
Writing for Children and Young Adults: Spark to Story
Wednesday October 18, 2023 from 6 to 9 p.m. (EST)/3 to 6 p.m. (PT). Join authors Micol Ostow and Julia DeVillers for a dynamic new, interactive workshop for Zibby Classes featuring the combined talents of two published children’s book authors with decades of experience, leading participants on a journey to create children’s and young adult works. Have an idea for a kid’s book but you’re not quite sure how to bring it to life? Confused or curious about how to transfer ideas to the page? Want to learn what it takes to get your story on bookstore shelves or publish it yourself? Come unleash your inner child (ren’s writer!) and turn that dream idea into a book.
Want to Teach?
Pitches welcome.
We're always open to author pitches for classes. Send your pitch to Darcey Goehring (pictured left!).
