Ellen teaches fiction writing classes in the San Francisco Bay area and several international locations. Check here regularly for updated schedules, class openings, and registration information.
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Ellen also works one-on-one with writers. If you're looking for a book doctor or a writing coach, or if you'd like a critical evaluation of your manuscript, contact her by email.
Writing Retreat in Tuscany with Ellen Sussman
Oct 26 - Nov 2
at the extraordinary Ca di Pesa Villa in Tuscany!
Spend a week with New York Times bestselling author Ellen Sussman and seven fellow writers in a magnificent and luxurious villa in Tuscany.
Every day the group will meet with Ellen for a three hour workshop. The classes will be a combination of critique workshop and generative exercises, focusing on aspects of the craft that will take your writing to the next level. Each student will also meet with Ellen for a one hour private session. We’ll end the week with a celebration and student readings.
When you’re not in class, you’ll have the opportunity to write, relax and explore the region. There's a gorgeous pool at the villa and hiking trails nearby. We can set up an optional afternoon visit to nearby villages. Delightful Italian meals are included. All rooms are singles!
Cost: $5,800 - $6,800, depending on your room choice. The more expensive rooms are suites. The two less expensive rooms are singles but you'll share a bath.
To register: email ellen@ellensussman.com and say YES! She'll give you the info for sending your deposit.
Writing Retreat with Ellen Sussman
June 2 - 8, 2024 SOLD OUT.
Grasse, Provence-Côte d’Azur, France
Spend a week with New York Times bestselling author Ellen Sussman and six fellow writers in a magnificent “Belle Epoque” mansion in Grasse, the world’s perfume capital, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France.
Every day the group will meet with Ellen for a three hour workshop. The classes will be a combination of critique workshop and generative exercises, focusing on aspects of the craft that will take your writing to the next level. Each student will also meet with Ellen for a one hour private session. We’ll end the week with a celebration and student readings.
When you’re not in class, you’ll have the opportunity to write, relax and explore the region. The saline pool will be heated for your arrival, and from the mansion, a 1km walk to the cobblestone streets leads to the local farmer’s markets. A scheduled perfume tour with an atelier workshop, where you can create a personalized scent, will immerse you in the history of this famed locale. Delightful French meals are included, as well as local transport, scheduled activities, and preferred single accommodations.
This is a rare opportunity to study with Ellen in France (the setting for two of her novels) with such a small and intimate group.
Ellen teaches a one day seminar each semester through Stanford Continuing Studies.
For information and registration: https://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/
Private Classes
NOVEL/MEMOIR IN A YEAR 2024
Make 2024 the year you write your novel or memoir!
This class, Novel/Memoir in a Year, will offer you guidance, support, craft lessons, deadlines, butt-kicking and a full critique of your novel/memoir at the end of the year. And it all takes place on zoom.
Here's how it works:
We'll meet on zoom over 5 weekends during the year. For the first weekend, we'll have class on Saturday morning and on Sunday morning. For the other weekends, we'll have class on Saturday morning and "office hours" on Sunday morning, all on zoom.
You begin this class with a vague notion of a novel or a memoir that you'd like to write. In our classes, I talk about each aspect of the process: pre-writing, developing characters, plot, voice and point of view, the problematic middle of a novel, endings, and rewriting. I don't read anything until you hand in your novel or memoir at the end of the year. This class is NOT a workshop -- you don't read other students' work and they don't read yours. This is a year for you to write a novel or memoir, to have a teacher and coach to guide you along the way, and to receive a thorough critique at the end of the year. I give you deadlines and I'm available to help you through the rough spots. I do a lot of cheering from the sidelines. And sometimes I pick up the whip as well.
In addition to the classes, we gather on zoom once a week for a "check-in" -- it's a half hour optional session to talk about your project and any struggles along the way. It's been a wonderful way to build community and to keep up the conversation about process and craft. And to be held accountable!
The cost for this class is high. I do a line-by-line read of your manuscript at the end of the year and hand back a critique that is usually a 4 - 6 page single spaced document. You'll also meet with me for a private one-hour consultation after you receive my critique. I will also offer my help with query letters when you're ready to find an agent, even if that's years after our class has ended.
So: the cost. It's $5,750. You can pay on a three-part installment plan.
Class dates:
Jan 20/21
Mar 16/17
May 4/5
July 20/21
Oct 26/27
If you are not available for any of the dates, you'll receive a video of each class. I'm available for consultation at any time, through email or phone calls. If you have questions about this, please shoot me an email and let me know your concerns. I can also give you student testimonials -- I have plenty of those. Email me at ellen@ellensussman.com.
BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORY Seminars
The BASS Seminars In this four-part class, we read the Best American Short Stories from the latest edition and discuss them in terms of craft. What can we writers learn from these masters? You can sign up for one, two, three or all four classes. We'll meet on zoomon four Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM (Pacific time) until noon.
“I was an English major and have an MFA in creative writing and after years of workshops, Ellen remains one of my all-time favorite teachers. She has a natural talent for motivating students to write, handling the group critique dynamic, and helping you shape and push a story forward. I always left her classes with a spark of inspiration.” — Lolly Winston, NY Times Bestsellers Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately
“Why take one of Ellen Sussman's classes? Inspiration. Not enough? How about the kind of criticism that will enable you to find your own voice and move your writing from the pedestrian to the distinctive? You want still another reason? Well, then there's this: with the class comes membership in a writing fellowship that brings both shared excitement and terror. Go for it!” — Keith Raffel, Dot.Dead
“Ellen is a perfect combination of tough coach and head cheerleader. She teaches with deep understanding how a writer stuggles. While creating a warm and welcoming environment, she challenges you to find depth in your work you never knew you could achieve.” — Shelly King, author of The Moment of Everything
