Studio: Writing the Personal Essay

Want to sell a personal essay, but don’t have a clue where to start? This 4-week personal essay writing intensive will guide you through every step, from essay idea to salable piece. You’ll learn how to:

• Grab readers (and editors!)
• Journal your way to essay ideas
• Identify the critical elements of a salable essay
• Critique your own essays and incorporate feedback from others
• Pitch and submit essays

A parting gift: a loaded spreadsheet with more than 140 relevant markets, including editor contacts. Amy’s students have landed essays in such publications as the The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Oprah Magazine, Parents, Marie Claire, AARP and Huffington Post, among other heavy hitters.

This class is four weeks of asynchronous learning, Sunday, October 24 - Saturday, November 20, 2021, with two optional Zoom sessions on Tuesday, October 26 and November 15 at 7:00 p.m. Non-member registration includes a one-year Charlotte Lit General Membership.

About the Instructor: Amy Paturel has been crafting essays for more than two decades and teaching personal essay writing for more than 15 years. Her personal and reported essays frequently appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Discover, Good Housekeeping, Parents, and more. Two of her pieces were featured in Newsweek’s “My Turn” column, and she garnered two “honorable mention” awards in ASJA’s personal essay category (2009 and 2011).