Writing Programs
Discover or develop the writer inside you.
Our writing faculty and staff are proud of our reputation as the
best resource for writers in the Midwest. We make learning how
to write convenient with many options including: noncredit workshops
(online and on-campus), distance learning via postal mail, retreats,
summer conferences, critique services, credit courses (online and
on-campus) and expert advice anytime. Contact us by calling 608-262-3447
or by e-mail.
Programs include:
- Madison Area Classes: Evening and
weekend workshops are offered in creative writing,
fiction writing, freelance career writing and more. Specific weekend workshops include "A Weekend with Your Novel", a Poetry Weekend and more.
- Critique Service: We help all types
of writers hone their skills and find solutions to roadblocks
on the way to publication, successful freelance writing or writing
for pure enjoyment. Call 608-262-3447 or e-mail cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu for more information.
- Online workshops:
Featuring a variety of formats, from e-mail based, shorter workshops,
to those that use more detailed web site applications and writing
texts. You can start anytime, and there are no deadlines. Instructors
are available anytime for these workshops. Teachers note: 30-hour
online workshops are included, which may help with your relicensure.
- Write-by-the-Lake Retreat: For one week
this summer immerse yourself in
your own creative development, with the help of our professionals
and workshops. Held at the beautiful Pyle Center on Lake Mendota,
University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Graduate credits available.
- School of the Arts at Rhinelander:
Held every summer in Rhinelander, Wisconsin with an extensive
creative writing program. The writing curriculum includes novel
writing, poetry, playwriting and more.
- The Annual Writers' Institute:
This 2-day annual conference for writers covers a variety of topics,
from the basics to the business. Novels, TV and motion picture
scripts, nonfiction books, freelance writing, book sales, a writing
contest and lots of take-home materials are featured. Congratulations
to the winners of our Writers'
Institute 2008 "Poem or a Page"
Writing Contest!
- Creativity Connection:
A 20-page quarterly newsletter for writers
and independent publishers. Each issue includes publication
and book reviews, how-to articles, the scam alert, regular columns,
and lots of letters from the smartest and friendliest writers
in the world. Send for your free copy:
Marshall J. Cook, editor
610 Langdon St. #622
Madison, WI 53703
E-mail your request for a free copy (& mailing address) to
mcook@dcs.wisc.edu
or download then mail in the PDF subscription
form.
- Independent
Learning: Enjoy the flexibility and
convenience of studying at home. Correspondence courses
in creative writing provide an opportunity to learn at your own
pace. Receive detailed professional feedback and your instructor's
undivided attention through mail-in assignments and critiques.
Both credit and noncredit options available.
- The Writing News is a free, e-mailed
newsletter designed to give you news and views from the writing
staff at Liberal Studies and the Arts. It gives you fuller descriptions
of upcoming events and is usually issued 4-5 times a year. We
also tell you about the successes of our participants -- writers
like you -- as we hear about them. This is our programming news
in a handy format with everything you need to know all in one
place. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: join-writing-news@lists.wisc.edu.
- Gift Certificates: Give a wonderful gift to a writer or aspiring writer. Show the writer in your life that you "share their dream." Surprise them on their birthday, at a holiday, or any day of the week.
We can provide a gift certificate for any of our programs. Explore our website for the choices. You'll find top-notch, award-winning writing instructors and programs for all budgets and types of writers, beginning and advanced, and in the fields of fiction (including screenwriting) and nonfiction writing, freelancing, and poetry. If you need advice on appropriate programs for the skill level of the gift recipient, we can help you make the right selection. Contact us anytime. To find out more details or to order a gift certificate, contact Christine DeSmet, UW-Madison Liberal Studies & the Arts, 610 Langdon St., Room 621, Madison, WI 53703; (608) 262-3447; e-mail cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu
Related resources:
- Business writing
workshops: Offered through the UW-Madison Department of Professional
Development and Applied Studies. Noncredit, professional development
workshops in topics such as grammar and punctuation for business
and letter writing, desktop
publishing and grant
writing are found here.
- The Department of Professional
Development and Applied Studies now offers desktop publishing
workshops. Check out the currently upcoming programs in the UW-Madison
Continuing Studies catalog.
- The Department of English:
Find credit and degree program information here, including an
MFA in Creative Writing. Be sure to check out the Writing
Center and its links pages for sites on grammar, punctuation
and more information of use to any writer. The Department of English
also helps sponsor credit courses for returning adults, such as
the credit attached to our Write-by-the-Lake Writer's Workshop
& Retreat. Also of importance in the Department of English,The
Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, offers six fellowships
of $25,000 for MFA graduates who have not yet published a book.
- The Department of Communication
Arts: You'll find credit classes in film theory and history,
film and video production, scriptwriting and more.
- The School of Journalism
and Mass Communications: Visit here for credit course degree
programs for working in the media.
- The Department of Life Sciences
Communication: Credit courses and degree programs in agricultural
and science writing are offered by this department. You'll find
classes in news and feature writing, ag advertising and more.
- Independent Learning:
Do you want to earn UW credit from home for writing courses in
literature and more? Are you a current degree student on campus
who can't make the schedule work but need to add a writing credit
class? Explore this catalog for a variety of credit courses that
use the Internet and your postal mailbox. It's a convenient way
to earn credits towards a degree program!
- Wisconsin
Union Mini-Courses: Perhaps you just want a short course on
an evening or two about a certain writing topic? Topics and fees
vary. Students, faculty, and the community who are members of
the Wisconsin Union (anybody can join) have a potpourri of fun
writing courses from which to choose each semester. They're usually
held at the student unions and other locations around campus.
Also of interest:
- The
Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, coordinated by UW-Madison
Continuing Studies in Theatre, was created to foster the development
of new works by Wisconsin playwrights. Three playwrights
will receive artist residencies at Edenfred Mansion with workshops
and readings through the University Theatre. One play
will be selected for further development through the Madison
Repertory Theatre's Madison New Play Festival. Submissions
are due in January.
News
Published in fiction the first time! Kris Babe, Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Congratulations, Kris! Trillium Literary Journal will be publishing Kris’s fiction for the first time (a short story), as well as a piece of creative nonfiction. This follows major successes for Kris in nonfiction: a profile of author Benjamin Percy, Nov/Dec 2007 Poets & Writers magazine; an interview with author Shauna Singh Baldwin, December 2007 issue of The Writer’s Chronicle; and an essay in the “My Wisconsin” column, Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Wisconsin Trail’s magazine. Kris has attended Writers’ Institute, A Weekend with Your Novel (offered again this fall), and School of the Arts in Rhinelander. She’s currently in Laurel Yourke’s weekly fiction critique workshop and credits Laurel’s fine teaching for getting her to a publishable level.
Bruce Noble poem accepted
Bruce Noble has just had the poem "Returning To My Hometown" accepted by the prestigious "Fox Cry Review," now in its 33rd year of continuous publication.
Tennessee's Moberg signs with agent
Kurt Moberg, Nashville, Tennessee has signed with agent Kristopher O'Higgins of The Scribe Agency, Madison, WI to represent his science fiction book, We Are Stardust. Interesting backstory: The agent told us he'd originally rejected the manuscript, but the author decided to go ahead with his private pitch meeting at the 2007 "Writers' Institute" conference and use the meeting to brainstorm the revisions. Kris said, "The new beginning is awesome and the rest kicks butt, too."
Teri Woods signs with agent
Teri Woods, Madison, winner of the fiction category of the "Poem or Page Contest" at the recent Writers' Institute, has signed for representation with Victoria Skurnick, Levine/Greenberg Literary Agency. Teri pitched her mainstream novel during a meeting with Victoria at the event. Teri used our critique services and workshops with Christine DeSmet and Laurel Yourke. Congratulations! -May 7, 2008
"What Kindergarten Teachers Know"
A book by Lisa Holewa , Milwaukee, and Joan Rice, Cudahy, Wis., came out May 7, 2008, from Perigree (Penguin Group). Lisa had a pitch meeting with agent Marilyn Allen (Allen O'Shea Literary Agency) at the 2006 Writers' Institute. Congratulations, Lisa and Joan!
Critique Service grad Mary Lindsey signs with literary agent
Congratulations to Mary Lindsey, Houston, Texas, who on May 2, 2008, signed with agent Elizabeth Jote of Objective Entertainment. Mary used our Critique Services to polish her writing. On her website, Mary calls Christine DeSmet of our staff her “critique goddess.” Mary’s written a fine YA book involving time travel, romance, and a true historical event. It’s the start of a series. See Mary’s interview at www.querytracker.net/maryL.php, and more about her writing at her website, www.marylindsey.com.
Past News
Judith Jones' memoir published
Congratulations go to a past keynote speaker at our annual conference, Judith Jones, on her new memoir, The Tenth Muse/My Life in Food, from Alfred A. Knopf.
Judith was the editor of Julia Child, James Beard, and many other powerhouses in the food world, as well as fine fiction writers including Anne Tyler and John Updike. Judith was the keynote speaker for our 1999 (10th edition) Writers' Institute in Madison.
Screenwriting student wins award from BBC
Martin McSweeney, Cork, Ireland, a graduate of our UW online course in screenwriting, won a writing award from the BBC on Oct. 31, 2007, for a TV script based on his novel, Two Weeks In June. Martin now gets into BBC workshops and gets a chance at a commissioned script. Congratulations!
Writer Lisa Holewa finds agent and a sale at Writers' Institute
Lisa Holewa had a pitch meeting with agent Marilyn Allen (Allen O'Shea Literary Agency) at the 2006 Writers' Institute. That turned into a sale for Lisa's and Joan Rice's book, Elephant Ears and Marshmallow Feet, a guide for parents that takes tricks and activities developed by teachers and translates them into techniques parents can use at home to get their children organized, listening, and cooperating. The book sold to Maria Gagliano at Perigee (Penguin Group). Congratulations, Lisa!
Critique Service Writer gets published
Prayas Abhinav's short story, "The Secret Life of Superheroes," has been published in the literary magazine, Muse India. Prayas polished the story through our UW critique services and with Christine DeSmet as his writing mentor. Prayas retains the rights to the story and is re-submitting it to other magazines. The story takes on the theme of whether each of us could be a superhero and might actually have the strength to fly to save others when caught in the middle of horrific events. Prayas lives in Bagalore, India, and grew up in Ahmedabad. Congratulations, Prayas!
Screenwriting and short story news from Christine DeSmet
Christine DeSmet has learned that a romantic comedy she wrote with writing partner, Peggy Williams, made the top ten percent semi-finals in the annual Austin Film Festival contest. Called "Anyone Can," the story is about four slacker guys who think they can get rich quick by writing a romance novel but instead end up in the crosshairs of a real romance writer out to destroy them. Christine teaches the UW's online screenwriting course, and welcomes new writers anytime.
Christine DeSmet has two new short stories published this fall, including her first ghost story, "When the Dead People Brought a Dish-to-Pass," in the book, Shadows in the Heart/A Jewels of the Quill Halloween Anthology, published by Whiskey Creek Press. The light-hearted romantic mystery is about what happens for a troubled young woman when her dead relatives from centuries before decide to cheer her up by giving her a Halloween party and bringing food from each of their eras, as well as a possible suitor. The story takes place in fictional Moonstone, Wisconsin, on the south shore of Lake Superior.
Christine's other story takes place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. "Stolen Pleasures," is in The Object of Romance Anthology, from new publisher, Beacon Books Publishing. In that romantic mystery, an art shop owner's bad luck with dating gets worse when the most recent guy turns up dead after eating her maraschino cherry cake.
Excerpts of Christine's stories are at www.JewelsoftheQuill.com
Online screenwriting course grad tops in two contests, options script
Mike Mason, Norwich, England, has finished in the top ten in the 2007 Scriptapalooza contest with his script, "LA Coincidental," a comedy send-up of film noir detective movies. He optioned the script to Hero Pictures. Mike wrote the script in our UW online course, "Write Your First Draft Fast," with Christine DeSmet, http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/online. An interview with Mike is online at the Scriptapalooza website. Mike also won first place in the Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum contest, where second place went to another of Christine's students, Pat Fitzgerald. Her script is "Kid," the true story of Billy the Kid.
Writing programs contact information:
Independent Learning, Madison area classes & workshops: Laurel
Yourke, 608-265-3972 e-mail: lyourke@dcs.wisc.edu
Creativity Connection Newsletter, online courses: Marshall J. Cook
608-262-4911 e-mail: mcook@dcs.wisc.edu
Critique service, traveling workshops and Annual Writers' Institute:
Christine DeSmet, 608-262-3447 e-mail: cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu
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