Writers in the Mountains
The Catskills - Upstate New York
Imagination Unbound
Est. 1992
Imagination Unbound
est. 1992
Writers in the Mountains (WIM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the literary arts in the Catskill Mountains (Upstate New York) and beyond. The organization serves a diverse community of writers and readers, from native-born residents to the summer visitors who migrate to the region from all over the world. In addition to offering a variety of creative writing workshops, WIM hosts numerous literary events and partners with other organizations in the community for the enjoyment of the written word.
WRITERS IN THE MOUNTAINS
LITERARY RETREAT
NOV. 15 - 17, 2024
This project is partly funded by
The A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation and
Delaware County Economic Development Advisory Board.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM
To register, email writersinthemountains@gmail.com
Register by August 31 to benefit from the early registration fee.
SPACE IS LIMITED
PAST LITERARY RETREAT READINGS
(Recorded on Nov. 3 - 5, 2023)
This project is partly funded by the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation.
COLLECTED WORKS FROM THE RETREAT
WIM Spotlight on Student Writing is an online literary journal published by Writers in the Mountains. Launched in August 2022 to mark the organization's 30th anniversary, WIM Spotlight showcases excellent student work in a range of genres from poetry to fiction to creative nonfiction and micro-memoir. Our mission is to share superlative examples of previously unpublished writing that has emerged from one of our classes or workshops. WIM Spotlight does not accept direct submissions at this time. Each piece published has been hand-selected by a WIM instructor, pending student consent, then submitted to WIM’s Publications Committee for final consideration. WIM Spotlight holds first publication rights for all submissions chosen for publication. Upon publication, the rights revert to the author. We reserve the right to reprint, both in print and digital forms, in the future. Payment will be two copies of any printed form of the author’s work and a course credit of $25 towards a future WIM class.
Our Story
Writers in the Mountains (WIM) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing.
Founded in 1992 by Shelley A. Barre, the organization serves the entire Catskill region and Hudson Valley area, and offers a variety of creative writing workshops and other events year-round. The quality of our workshops and their affordability attract a wide range of participants from native-born residents to the summer visitors who migrate to the Catskills from all over the world. Our writers come from all backgrounds and levels of experience, and write in various genres and styles. Some are New York Times bestselling authors, and others have never written before.
LISTEN TO THE KAATSCAST LITERARY PODCAST TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT WRITERS IN THE MOUNTAINS
Kaatscast is produced by Silver Hollow Audio and promotes the culture of the Catskills
Hear more in this WIM episode from Kaatscast,
a Catskills podcast from Silver Hollow Audio.
What People Are Saying
Creative Nonfiction Workshop with Anique Taylor
“I’m excited to take this course. Anique provides interesting reading assignments, meditations, writing exercises, and examples that can be applied to your work in progress. The class also offers an opportunity to share your writings and gain valuable feedback from Anique and fellow classmates. It’s a warm and supportive environment. I highly recommend this course.”
- Heather Marsten, Woodstock
Melisse Seleck, Phoenicia
Take A Class
Our workshops are geared toward all styles, genres, and experience. All that is required is a love of language and the desire to tell a story. Those who take our workshops are assured a supportive environment, providing a better understanding of the pleasure of creative writing process. All of us are capable of intellectual and imaginative things, and WIM offers a variety of programs to help you to express your creativity.
In addition to creative writing workshops, WIM hosts the popular Writers Unbound Annual Literary Festival, and the informal Random Context Quarterly Literary Salon, which offers writers in every genre the opportunity to read their work to a welcoming audience in a cozy setting, and network with fellow publishing professionals.
Classes
POETRY FORMS: WHY AND HOW with William Duke
August 20 and 22, 2024
Tuesday and Thursday
(two-day intensive)
7 - 9 pm ET
ONLINE
This workshop is an opportunity to learn about and review the major forms of poetry and includes a discussion of how forms came into being and why they continue to hold an important place in contemporary poetry. Syllabic forms: haiku, tanka, and cinquains are shown as well as the major metric forms: sonnets, villanelles and sestinas. Concrete poems and free verse are also discussed. The end of the workshop is collaborative writing exercise where the group writes its own villanelle. Day Two is an opportunity to share any individual poems worked on after the first session.
Class Fee: $45 | REGISTER HERE
MICRO: THE DIVINE DETAIL
Editing Class with Elizabeth Koster
September 10 -
October 22, 2024
(skipping September 17)
Tuesdays
(six sessions)
11 am - 1 pm ET
ONLINE
Vladimir Nabokov told his students: “Caress the detail, the divine detail." In this class, through a combination of workshop and generative exercises, you will learn self-editing techniques to improve the musicality, specificity, and power of your (short) prose. Learn how to shape your stories, elevate your language, punctuate for emphasis, pare down sentences, and kill those darlings. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you will come away with polished work and a greater sense of how to trust yourself and make your words sing.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
HISTORICAL FICTION with Sheila Myers
September 19 -
October 24, 2024
Thursdays
(six sessions)
6 - 8 pm ET
ONLINE
Do you have some old diaries sitting in the attic longing to be made into a novel? Or maybe you have read about a person or event from the past that you thought would make a good story. You never know what will spark the imagination and become a historical novel. In this workshop we will unleash the stories that are waiting to be told by you, the author. We will discuss the methods of historical research, where to find inspiration, and how to hone the facts into relatable fiction. Bring your ideas, your outlines, and plan on starting the process of un-raveling the past to bring it to a present-day audience. By the end you should have a decent idea of what your novel would be about and the beginning stages of a novel.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
MODERN LOVE I with Elizabeth Koster
October 2 -
November 4, 2024
Wednesdays
(six sessions)
4 - 6 pm ET
ONLINE
In this class, you will have the opportunity to complete an essay that you can submit for consideration in The New York Times Modern Love column. Through prompts and exercises, supportive feedback, a study of published essays, and discussions on tips and pitfalls, you will be able to sculpt and hone the story that you need to tell and the world needs to read.
Students who have taken this class in the past have found this instructor's gentle feedback and encouragement tremendously helpful in their work.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
TRAVEL WRITING 101 with Rachel Dickinson
October 16 -
November 20, 2024
Wednesdays
(six sessions)
6 - 8 pm ET
ONLINE
Have you ever met a travel writer and thought "I wish I could do that?" Well, you can. In this course we'll read a variety of travel pieces, and talk about what makes them good (or not so good). We will look at different kinds of travel writing - roundups, essays, hotel/spa reviews. Then we will write a couple of travel pieces - one that features something where you live (you don't have to travel to do good travel writing) and another about some place you have visited. These pieces will be critiqued by the class.
Class limited to ten students.
Class Fee: $160 | REGISTER HERE
ANNOUNCEMENT
Beginning July 1, you will be seeing a slight increase in our class fee.
To support our programs, please consider making a donation to:
Writers In The Mountains, PO Box 474, Roxbury, NY 12474.
You may also opt to make a donation when you register for classes and pay online.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
THE JOURNAL CIRCLE WITH ANIQUE SARA TAYLOR
ONLINE WEEKLY CLASS
THURSDAYS, 6 – 8 PM ET
September 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2024
Writers in the Mountains (WIM) presents The Journal Circle with Anique Sara Taylor, a weekly online class held Thursdays from 6 to 8 pm ET, throughout the month of September 2024, open to writers and non-writers.
No matter what your purpose –– to strengthen your craft of writing, deepen memoir and goals, or carve out new developments in areas that matter in your life, journals can open doors. Through free writing, exercises, lists, prompts, questions, we’ll examine exciting techniques to hone your practice. We’ll study methods for exploration and self-enrichment, accountability and support. We’ll learn to use journals to organize, dream, pursue creative excellence. Join us in a group in order to enhance your time writing alone. Drop in weekly, monthly, whenever you wish, or commit to longer periods of time. Join us in the magical space of journal work. Connect with the powerful tool a journal workshop can be. You can write with pen and paper, phone, tablet, typewriter or your computer.
Class fee is $15 per session or $50 per month. Registration deadline is the Tuesday before the class starts.
The Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) Method
A Generative Workshop with Poet Sharon Israel
The Last Friday of the Month
3 - 5 pm ET
Roxbury Library
53742 State Hwy 30, Roxbury, NY
“Always make room for that singing thing inside you”
-- Sharon Israel, Voice Lesson
Never written before? Know you have a writer’s soul but haven’t yet been able to put words to paper and reach your creative core? Are you already a writer but need to access your authentic voice and develop your style?
Poet Sharon Israel will conduct ongoing generative workshops using the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) Method that will help you dive deep through exciting visual, musical and tactile prompts as well as compelling word-based prompts and exercises. Be in the moment, find the space between thought and feeling, access what may be just below the surface… Your voice will reveal itself and your craft will grow in an environment where you can nourish what you unleash. Receive and give positive commentary on newly created work. Once you revise, bring your work in for further review and discussion, again in a safe and supportive environment. This workshop will make you want to write more and more, not less and less.
The next session will be held on September 27. Class Fee is $12.
PREVIOUS CLASSES
MINI-ESSAY AND SHORT STORIES with Jane Seitel
OPENING THE POET's TOOLBOX with Jane Seitel
MODERN LOVE I with Elizabeth Koster
MODERN LOVE II with Elizabeth Koster
MICRO: THE DIVINE DETAIL with Elizabeth Koster
MICRO-MEMOIR with Linda Lowen
AMPLIFY AND MAGNIFY - BRAIDED ESSAY with Melissa Holbrook Pierson
THE ZEN OF REVISION with Melissa Holbrook Pierson
PUBLICATION NUTS AND BOLTS with Melissa Holbrook Pierson
FICTION WRITING with Thaddeus Rutkowski
HISTORICAL FICTION WRITING with Sheila Myers
PUBLISHING AND THE WRITER’S LIFE with Anique Sara Taylor
CREATIVE NONFICTION with Anique Sara Taylor
POETRY with Lynn Domina
POETRY FORMS with William Duke
WHEN SPACE SPEAKS with Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
JAZZ-POETRY AND PICTURE POEMS with Stephanie Nikolopoulos
EKPHRASTIC POETRY with Sharon Ruetenik
SPEECHWRITING AND STORYTELLING with Felicity H. Barber
JUST HIT SEND: SUBMITTING TO LITERARY JOURNALS with Sally Simon
TRAVEL WRITING 101 with Rachel Dickinson
For WIM Instructors and Students:
If you have a new book release, a new article published, a reading or a literary event you'd like to share, please contact us and we will do our best to spread the word.
Write To Us
Thanks for Writing!