Craft
School
A transformative year-long journey that is rigorous in craft & expansive in life.
Write for your life.
Write for your life.
Our Story
CRAFT SCHOOL isa vibrant community for writers led by Jeannine Ouellette, Emily Rapp Black, and Gina Frangello—three established writers with extensive teaching experience. CRAFT SCHOOL 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, weekly office hours with core faculty, and more. Through a close study of craft, we identify specific techniques and practice applying those in our own work. At CRAFT SCHOOL, we value attention, curiosity, playfulness, and surprise as a portal to profound revelations and transformations in our writing and our lives. CRAFT SCHOOL offers continual support for discussion, sharing work-in-progress with peers, weekly office hours with faculty, open mics and gatherings, and so much more. We are wildly excited to welcome you into this intentional, self-paced, slow-writing program for dedicated, community-focused, and joyful language-doers who know the power of the word and the value of story—and shared creativity—in our lives.
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.
GUEST FACULTY
CRAFT SCHOOL includes, in addition to monthly Zooms and craft talks plus weekly office hours with core faculty, at least two monthly visits by acclaimed writers, editors, publishing professionals, and interdisciplinary artists eager to share their wisdom, such as… 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, Charles Baxter, Edgar Gomez, Matthew Zapruder, and more.
CORE COMMUNITY
CRAFT SCHOOL’s curriculum operates synergistically as a combination of direct instruction, community interaction on Mighty Networks, and vibrant small groups that offer writers a space to discuss their individual writing projects and to give and receive trusted and skillful, craft-focused feedback.
Within the small group structure, each member also receives an “accountability buddy” writing in the same genre for more support and connection as you read, write, and learn.
Core faculty have helped writers publish:
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16 Big 4 Books
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24 indie books
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6 self-published books
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1000s of essays and stories
Craft School at a glance
Standing Offerings
Weekly office hours with core faculty members for asking and answering questions in an intimate environment where your work is known and cared about.
Twice-weekly co-writes with optional prompts on a rotating schedule.
Weekly CRAFT SCHOOL Mighty Network posts where we 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.
Monthly Events
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.
One yoga nidra /meditation, breathwork session, or informal talk by an artist, musician, or creator in another discipline.
One craft or book talk featuring core or guest faculty discussing how a particular book shaped us and why we’ve read it more than once, or an element of craft we’re excited about.
Pop-up craft talks where faculty respond to whatever is arising for writers in real time, whether that’s dialogue, structure, aboutness, submitting work, or otherwise!
Quarterly Events
One digital campfire event per quarter (core faculty and CRAFT SCHOOL cohort only) because we need to remember we’re human and in it together
One fun and informal open mic reading per quarter (family and friends welcome to attend!)
One seasonally themed postal exchange, because things we can touch and share with our hands still matter, maybe more than ever
General enrollment will open again on April, 8, 2026.
JOIN THE WAITLIST or email us at info@craftschool.net with questions.
Tuition
Tuition for a full year of CRAFT SCHOOL is $1750 non-refundable.
To note, our payment processor, Stripe, does offer payment plans through Klarna.
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. Join the waitlist now for access to early-bird discount.