Classes & Workshops
BY TYPE
BY GENRE
OpenPages WRITING MINDFULLY: Writing & Meditation
Sunday, September 13, 2026
9:30-11:00am
Generative writing prompts will be interspersed with short guided meditations to connect us to Muse and get words down on paper. Bring notebooks and fast writing pens.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.
OlyPages OPEN HOUSE
Friday, September 18
6:00-8:30pm
Come say hello and see OlyPages’ new upstairs studio space where we are offering creative writing education through both free, community events and paid classes/workshops.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Drop by and see us!
StudioPages BETTER TOGETHER: Accountability Workshop / Star Wuerdemann
Five Sessions, September 19 - December 12, 2026
Saturdays, 9:00-10:30am
A group to keep you accountable to your writing goals! Meets every three weeks to set goals, cheer one another on, get input on where we feel blocked, and hopefully, feel less alone on this writing life endeavor.
Open to all writers but especially suited for those working on a long-form project (novel, memoir, collection). Includes a one-on-one feedback/planning session with instructor and a private online discussion group for support.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $225
OpenPages (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Sunday, September 20, 2026
1:00-2:30pm
Join us on the third Sunday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary.
Sunday Edition meetings take place upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
OpenPages ASK AN EDITOR / Kevin Breen
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
6:00-7:00pm
Let’s talk editing! Come ask Editor Kevin Breen all your questions about what it is that editors do, anyway, and whatever you want to know about how to approach revising and editing your own work. Bring your questions!
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required. Suggested donation: $15.
OpenPages WRITING IN THE MARGINS: Curating a Creative Life in Parenthood / Shay Galloway
Saturday, September 26, 2026
9:30-11:00am
A space to connect about the struggles parent-writers face balancing their creative and parenting lives, share tips and encouragement on how one can, in fact, do both.
All who identify as parents, caregivers, or future parents welcome.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.
StudioPages INTRO TO MEMOIR / Nicole Hardy
Sunday, September 27, 2026
10:00am-1:00pm
This focused but casual three-hour session is the perfect starting point for writers curious about the art of memoir, how it differs from autobiography, and where to begin crafting their own true stories. Expect to leave this session with a clear definition of memoir, a helpful list of writing prompts, and answers to your most pressing questions.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $90
StudioPages QUERY BOOTCAMP: A Roadmap to Traditional Publication / Ari Koontz
Three Sessions, September 29 - October 13
Tuesdays, 6:00-7:30pm
Learn all about prepping getting traditionally published as an author. Over the course of three sessions, we will explore what it takes to go from writer to published author, from researching agents to crafting an effective query letter to finding your market niche.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $135
Add-on: query letter critique from instructor Ari Koontz for an additional fee.
StudioPages SHORT STORY WORKSHOP / Kevin Breen
Five Sessions, September 30 - October 28, 2026
Wednesdays, 6:00-8:30pm
A five-week workshop with peer and instructor feedback for writers working on a short story. Limited to 10 participants. Taught by Kevin Breen.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $375
OpenPages FIRST THURSDAY (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Thursday, October 1, 2026
4:00-5:30pm
Join us on the third Sunday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary. First Thursday Edition meetings take place upstairs at Browsers Bookshop.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
Fall Arts Walk: YOU ARE HERE / Paintings by Jimmy Ulvenes
Friday, October 2, 2026
5:00-8:00pm
Saturday, October 3, 2026
12:00-6:00pm
You Are Here: Paintings by Jimmy Ulvenes
On the Friday of Arts Walk, OlyPages Writing Arts Studio is pleased to host a reception upstairs for Jimmy Ulvenes from 5:00-8:00pm. OlyPages Studio will be open to visitors on Saturday 12:00-6:00 for another chance to view the show and to learn about upcoming creative writing offerings.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
StudioPages CORE CRAFT: Elements of Creative Writing for Prose / Star Wuerdemann
Six Sessions, October 10 - November 14, 2026
Saturdays 11:00am-12:30pm
All creative prose writing is based on shared core craft elements that allow writers to put together a compelling narrative for the reader. This class focuses on the fundamental elements of creative writing, as applicable to fiction or creative nonfiction. Through studying published works, discussion, lecture, and generative writing assignments, you’ll learn how to identify these core craft elements and how to apply them to your own writing.
Craft elements covered include
Character development, Dialogue, Interiority
Demystifying & Debunking Show Don’t Tell
Plot, Structure and Story Arc, Time, Pacing
Tension & Stakes, Causality & Conflict
POV, Narrative Distance, Setting, Imagery
Entry & Exit—ways into and out of a story
Appropriate for beginners to creative writing and those wanting a refresher on the fundamentals.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $270
HOW TO SURVIVE AND MAYBE EVEN THRIVE AS A WRITER / Special Guest Author Jim Lynch
Saturday, October 17, 2026
4:00-5:00pm
OlyPages is honored to welcome Local novelist Jim Lynch as our special guest author for our Fall 2026 term! Jim is offering a talk on the joy, obsession and exasperation of trying to write and publish good fiction. He will share his approach to writing discipline as well as his survival tactics for dealing with the daunting work and the capricious business end of it, too. Jim will also share some of the craft advice that has helped him the most when it comes to creating and revising short and long fiction.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Note: Registration required. Suggested donation: $30
Casual reception to follow upstairs at Browsers Bookshop. Read more about our partnership with Browsers.
OpenPages (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Sunday, October 18, 2026
1:00-2:30pm
Join us on the third Sunday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary.
Sunday Edition meetings take place upstairs at OlyPages Writing Arts Studio.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
OpenPages GENERATIVE POETRY HOUR / Claire Nakagawara
Monday, October 19, 2026
6:00-7:00pm
Join us for a generative writing session focused on poetry writing. A prompt will be presented to the group as a jumping off point, with opportunity for sharing to follow. Bring paper and pen!
No writing or poetry experience necessary.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.
StudioPages MEMOIR WORKSHOP / Neva Knott
Five Sessions, October 21 - November 18
Wednesdays 1:30-4:00pm
A five-week workshop with peer and instructor feedback for writers working on a memoir. Memoir is the true story of one specific aspect of the writer’s life and is often written as a way to understand the power and place held in one’s life. Explore the structure and craft of memoir while actively developing a memoir draft. Limited to 10 participants. Taught by Neva Knott.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $375
StudioPages ELEGIES, OBITS, AND HONORING LIFE IN WRITING: A CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF LOVES & LOSS/ Dr. Sarah A. Chavez
Sunday, November 2, 2026
10:30am-1:00pm
This writing workshop we’ll take the heart of the elegy—a traditional literary form expressing emotions around loss—and combine it with more contemporary play on obituaries and eulogies. We will frame, reframe, and place ourselves in the current context of loss in which we find ourselves (from an obituary for the loss of a job or relationship, a formal-toned eulogy for the death of a concept, or a traditional elegy mourning the loss of a loved one), while hopefully building greater capacity for healing and joy.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $75
StudioPages POETRY WORKSHOP / Claire Nakagawara
Five Sessions, November 2 - December 7, 2026
Mondays, 6:00-7:30pm
The focus of the workshop will be to provide in-depth and thoughtful feedback and critique to one unpolished poem of each member with the goal to ready the piece for publication, submission or getting closer to a “final draft.”
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $225
OpenPages FIRST THURSDAY (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Thursday, November 5, 2026
4:00-5:30pm
Join us on the first Thursday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary. First Thursday Edition meetings take place upstairs at Browsers Bookshop.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
OpenPages IMAGINED FUTURES: Queer Generative Writing Session / Kate and Kathryn Walton-Elliott of Antithesis Press
Sunday, November 8, 2026
2:00-3:30pm
It is often said that to build a better world we have to be able to imagine that world. Stories are one of the best ways we have to create and share our dreams for what could be. This will be a space to start (or continue) writing out the futures in which we might want to live.
Lead by Kate and Kathryn Walton-Elliott of Antithesis Press, this workshop is genre-fluid – you can participate through fiction, essay, poetry, or anything else that can be constructed with the written word.
All who identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ and/or queer community are welcome.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.
OpenPages UNLIKELY STORIES: Tales from the Natural World and How to Find Them / Maria M. Ruth
Saturday, November 14, 2026
4:00-5:15pm
The natural world is brimming with stories to tell. How do you find the ones you want to tell? This class offers friendly, real-world guidance for writers on finding your stories, which often turns out to be exactly where you are not looking.
Maria M. Ruth didn’t set out to be a naturalist or write narrative non-fiction books, but Nature had other plans. Come hear Maria speak about her decades-long/surprising journey in writing natural history books, and discover the stories calling to you to be told.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.
StudioPages THE ART OF SELF-EDITING / Jenny Bartoy
Sunday, November 15, 2026
10:00am-12:00pm
Let's dive into the art of self-editing! We will discuss how to polish our work for readers and potential publication. The content will apply to poets and prose writers. Students will leave the class inspired by the myriad ways we can play with language to improve our writing and empowered with tools to do so.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $60
OpenPages (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Sunday, November 15
1:00-2:30pm
Join us on the third Sunday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary. Sunday Edition meetings take place upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
StudioPages LEARNING THE LYRIC ESSAY / Ari Koontz
Two Sessions, December 1 & 8
Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00pm
What does it mean to go beyond chronological memoir, and what other nonfiction possibilities are out there? Over two generative and interactive sessions, we will explore and practice the lyric essay, a hybrid genre that mixes elements of essayistic and poetic forms.
Location: upstairs OlyPages Studio.
Cost: $120
OpenPages (N)SWC ANNUAL HOLIDAY SALON
Thursday, December 3, 2026
6:00-8:00pm
Join us for the second annual (Nearly) Silent Writing Club’s Holiday Salon!
An opportunity for NSWC participants to gather and read their work! Let’s come together for some camaraderie and sharing—food and words. Anyone is welcome to attend as an audience member, and anyone who has attended a writing club session is welcome to share their work.
Bring a snack or drink to share, and your words! We’ll mix and mingle, eat, and allow for up to an hour of reading.
Salon takes place upstairs at OlyPages Writing Arts Studio.
OpenPages (NEARLY) SILENT WRITING CLUB
Sunday, December 6
1:00-2:30pm
Note: December (N)SWC only meets once, out of our normal rhythm to accommodate for our Holiday Salon and for the holidays in general.
Join us on the third Sunday of the month for (Nearly) Silent Writing Club for a brief discussion about writing followed by an hour of writing together in silence. No feedback or critique.
Open to all levels. No writing or experience necessary.
Sunday Edition meetings take place upstairs at OlyPages Writing Arts Studio.
No fee required; donations gratefully accepted.
OpenPages WRITING MINDFULLY: Writing & Meditation
Sunday, December 13, 2026
9:30-11:00am
December respite! Generative writing prompts will be interspersed with short guided meditations to connect us to Muse and get words down on paper. Bring notebooks and fast writing pens.
No experience in meditation or writing necessary. All genres welcome.
Location: upstairs at OlyPages Studio.
No fee required; suggested donation of $25.