Craft

School

A transformative year-long journey that is rigorous in craft & expansive in life.

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Write for your life.

Write for your life.

Our Story

WRITING IN THE DARK and CIRCE CONSULTING present “CRAFT SCHOOL,” a vibrant new community for writers. This creative collaboration between Jeannine Ouellette, Emily Rapp Black, and Gina Frangello—three established writers with extensive teaching experience—is for prose writers of all levels who want to deepen and accelerate their craft through dedicated effort with close reading of acclaimed published work, an array of live (virtual) cross-disciplinary instruction, visiting writers and editors, generative writing rooms, publishing talks, small work groups, and more. Through our close reading and study of craft, we will identify specific elements of craft to apply in our own work within a cohesive, supportive cohort of writers doing the same. CRAFT SCHOOL is a place to practice attention, curiosity, playfulness, and surprise as a portal to profound revelations and transformations in our writing and our lives. With live Zooms monthly (all sessions recorded), and weekly posts on Mighty Networks, CRAFT SCHOOL offers continual support for discussion, extended close readings, sharing work-in-progress with peers, and more. We are wildly excited to see what will emerge in this intentional, self-paced, slow-writing program for dedicated, community-focused, and joyful language-doers. We know the power of story changes lives and can’t wait to share this deeply important and impactful work with you. 

TEACHING MATTERS

Notably, CRAFT SCHOOL is founded and directed by three multi-genre writers who love teaching and have earned reputations for being good at it (see bios here). This creates a safe space to stretch, take risks, and truly grow and evolve as writers. Our curriculum and program  is designed to both challenge and support writers by effectively balancing deep work with genuine encouragement and inspiration. When a community is both safe and rigorous, writers and their work flourish.

VISTING WRITERS & PUBLISHING PROS

CRAFT SCHOOL will include regular visits by acclaimed writers, editors, and other publishing professionals eager to share their wisdom, including Natashia Deon, Martha Bayne, Rob Roberge, Bret Anthony Johnston, Stephen Graham Jones, Molly McCully Brown, Edgar Gomez, Matthew Zapruder, Alison McGhee, Julie Schumacher, Tia Levings, Athena Dixon, and Charles Baxter. More guests will be announced throughout the year as time permits; some cross-disciplinary artists will appear outside the usual monthly Zooms.

SMALL WORK GROUPS & ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS

We’re very excited about CRAFT SCHOOL’s small work groups! Adjacent to but separate from CRAFT SCHOOL, small groups will operate synergistically with our curriculum to amplify the overall writing and learning experience while dramatically deepening the community and the friendships that will grow within it. Also, because CRAFT SCHOOL is not a “workshop model,” small groups will give all participants who are interested in doing so a space to discuss their individual writing and to offer trusted and skillful, craft-focused feedback to others. Within the small group structure, you will also each receive an “accountability buddy” who is writing in the same genre for more support and connection as you read, write, and learn.

Core faculty have edited, coached, or otherwise shepherded writers toward publication of:

  • 16 Big 4 Books

  • 24 indie books

  • 6 self-published books

  • 1000s of essays and stories

Craft School

at a glance

    • Weekly CRAFT SCHOOL Mighty Network posts where we'll continue our close reading of longer works introduced in the monthly Zoom, respond to additional writing exercises, and engage in close reading of each other's work. 

    • Small groups for taking the work deeper, swapping pages with peers, meeting on Zoom, additional close reading, etc.

    • An engaged community with members who come to know and invest in each other’s projects and goals deeply enough to be genuinely helpful to one another.

    • One 2-hour Zoom close read focused on craft with a generative writing exercise led by core faculty and a guest talk/Q & A/visit from a writer, editor, or publisher. All monthly Zooms will take place the last Wednesday of the month 6-8 PM Central and will be recorded for registered participants.

    • Four co-writes with optional prompts on a rotating schedule 

    • One yoga nidra /meditation, breathwork session, or informal talk by an artist, musician, or creator in another discipline.  

    • One book talk featuring core faculty discussing how a particular book shaped us and why we’ve read it more than once, or a book we’ve read recently that bowled us over. Or we might have an informal conversation with a writer whose book we love, or some other book topic we can’t wait to share.

    • One digital campfire event per quarter (core faculty and CRAFT SCHOOL cohort only)

    • One open mic reading per quarter (family and friends welcome to attend!)

    • One seasonally themed postal exchange

Enrollment opens soon! For early access and a limited-time 10% discount on tuition, join the waitlist now!

Or email us at info@craftschool.net with questions.

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Tuition

Tuition for a full year of CRAFT SCHOOL is $1750 non-refundable.

Scholarships

CRAFT SCHOOL will offer 10 half-price scholarships to BIPOC and trans writers by application only. Please note that identifying as BIPOC or trans does not, unfortunately, mean you receive an automatic scholarship, and a variety of factors will help determine our half-scholarships. Please email us at info@craftschool.net to begin your application. 

How to Register

There is no application process for CRAFT SCHOOL! All levels are welcome. Enrollment opens soon. For early access and a limited-time 10% discount on tuition, join the waitlist now.