The Hudson Valley Writers' Center

Classes and Workshops


Fall 2010 Writing Workshops

Please check back here often for additions & updates.
To register, click here.

 

Workshops for Adults

One and Two Day Workshops

Workshops for Young Writers

 

HVWC and The Friends of The Rockefeller State Preserve Present :


WRITING AT THE ROCKEFELLER


Join us for this special workshop series exploring nature, writing, and the space where the two meet. These are the first collaberations in a new partnership between The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center and The Friends of The Rockefeller State Preserve.


Fall 2010 Writing at the Rockefeller Classes
:

            Reporting Nature's News
                        with Jo Ann Clark

            Nature Poetry Workshop for Adults
                        with Sally Bliumis-Dun

Note: Registration fees for these workshops are waived for all HVWC and RSP members.

Fall 2010 Writing Workshops for Adults

To register, click here.

HOW TO PLAN, WRITE, AND DEVELOP A BOOK
with
Mary Carroll Moore

Session A: 6 MONDAYS, 10am-1pm
Sept 20 - Nov 18 (No class on Oct 11 or 25)
Fee: $355 (Moore returnees $340), Code: MCMf10a

Session B:
6 TUESDAYS, 1:30-4:30pm
Sept 21 - Nov 2 (No class: Oct 26)
Fee: $355 (Moore returnees $340), Code: MCMf10c

Session C: 6 WEDNESDAYS, 10am-1pm
Sept 22 - Nov 3 (No class: Oct 27)

Fee: $355 (Moore returnees $340), Code: MCMf10d

Continuing book class for nonfiction authors, memoirists, or novelists, who have a book in progress. This class will help you get deeper into your book’s ideal structure using a step-by-step plan for chapter organization and book arcs, including timetables, chapter grids, story-boarding, etc. You’ll find holes in your material that need filling, organize research and concepts, and construct strong dilemma, players, and setting. You’ll also learn how to package your book for agents and publishers and gain essential tips on editing and evaluating your book at all stages.

Status:      Session A:                            Sold Out!
Session B:                            Sold Out!
Session C:                            Sold Out!

ORGANICALLY GROWN: A WRITER'S WEEKLY WORKOUT
with
Mary Carroll Moore

6 MONDAYS, 1:30-4:30 pm
Sept 20 - Nov 18 (No class: Oct 11 & 25)


All S
ix Classes: $355 (Moore returnees $340), Code: MCMf10b
Single Sessions: $60 each, Code: See Descriptions

Take these classes one at a time, in a bunch, or take them all! Each is an intensive and fun threehour session with fellow writers, plenty of writing exercises, and great information to put into practice right away. These classes are geared toward writers of any genres or writing experience, but especially useful for memoir and fiction writers. Bring a book project, short story, essay, or other piece of writing you’re working on to use in the exercises--or come ready for a fresh start.

Status: All Six: closed (but call for details if till interested)

THE SINGLE SESSIONS (MONDAYS, 1:30-4:30 pm)


Session 1, Sept 20

The Writing Habit: How to Keep Going and Avoid the Block
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b1

Simple techniques for making room for your writing in your life, avoiding writer’s block, and staying fresh with your creative ideas. Learn how the left and right brain interact with creativity and make writing a sustainable habit.

Status: Single Session 1: closed

Session 2, Sept 27
Storyboards: Visual Maps for Structuring a Writing Project
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b2

This great filmmaker’s tool is perfect for book writers, short-story writers, and essayists for organizing thoughts and scenes. It’s fun, helpful, and easy to do.

Status: Single Session 2: closed

Session 3, Oct 4
Who Are These People? How to Write Great Characters
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b3

Real or imagined, people are the backbone of memorable writing. We’ll explore what makes a person come alive on the page, the difference between characterization and character change, point of view, and more.

Status: Single Session 3: closed

Session 4, Oct 18
Writing Great Dialogue
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b4

Dialogue can be tricky. What’s not said often speaks louder than words. We’ll practice tuning our listening to how real people talk, then learn how to turn spoken lines into literary dialogue.

Status: Single Session 4: closed

Session 5, Nov 1
Raising the Stakes: Writing Tension into Your Story
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b5

Does enough happen in your writing? How can you raise the stakes and increase reader engagement? Dilemma is about “Who fights whom for what,” as screenwriting guru John Truby says. Fun exercises will help you get there fast.

Status: Single Session 5: closed


Pacing
Fee: $60, Code: MCMf10b6

Pacing--how fast or slow your story moves--means everything to the reader. Often called the music of writing, it contributes an intangible rhythm. Learn how to create the pacing that best enhances your story.

Status: Single Session 6: closed

AUTUMN POETRY WORKSHOP
with B. K. Fischer

7 Mondays, 7-9pm
Sept 20; Oct 4, 18; Nov 1, 15, 29; Dec 13

Fee: $275 (Fischer returnees $265), Code: BFf10a

Bring your work to fruition this fall. In seven sessions spaced two weeks apart, this workshop will support the process of developing and completing new work-from the inspiration to the envelope. We will begin with strategies for culling fresh material and generating first drafts, then address the revision process and methods for strengthening and intensifying the work. Ongoing discussion will address many aspects of poetic craft, including voice, form, line, image, and musicality, and some exercises will be done in class, but the emphasis will be on gathering momentum for individual projects over the course of the fall. Participants should be comfortable drafting poems and expect to complete a suite of six or more poems in the 14-week period. The workshop will also include coaching for the submission process, offering practical tips, resources, and camaraderie.

Status: Sold Out!

INTRO TO SCREENWRITING
with David Kucher

4 Mondays, 6:30-9:30pm
Oct 25; Nov 8; Dec 6 & 20

Fee: $180, Code: DKf10a

Students have an opportunity to study and analyze screenplay story structure of popular (assigned and previously watched) movies, and then apply the structure to create their own outlines, scenes, and screenplays. Scenes and pages will be read aloud in class and students will learn how to critique one another's work by offering constructive feedback.

Status: closed

POETIC INVIGORATION
with Nathanial "Papahawk" Goldberg

3 MONDAYS, 1-3:30 pm
Dec 6 - 20
Fee: $100, Code: NPGf10a

This class is designed to offer something that is very rare and hard to find: poetic invigoration. This workshop will inspire even the most novice of poets and is perfect for anyone looking to break into the genre. The goal of this class is to bring forth true poetic form and originality within each student. Each participant will write poems on interesting subjects in a relatively quick time period, then members of the group will offer feedback while discussing the good prospects of each piece and pointing in a positive direction. This structure leads to a very open and encouraging environment that allows little room for doubt or insecurity.

Status: open and accepting registrations

NATURE POETRY WORKSHOP FOR ADULTS
with Sally Bliumis-Dunn

8 Tuesdays, 2:30-4:30pm at The Rockefeller State Preserve, 125 Phelps Way Pleasantville, NY 10570
Sept 14 - Nov 2

Fee: $350, Code: SBDf10r1

We will gather at the Rockefeller State Preserve to write from close observation as we experience the wonders of the natural world. How do we communicate the strong feelings that the faun and fauna of the natural world evoke in us without sounding too dramatic or sentimental? A variety of writing prompts will be offered as we read, discuss, and examine examples of successful nature poets including Robert Frost, Louise Gluck, and Stanley Kunitz.

Status: closed

THE ART OF THE ESSAY
with Herbert Hadad

8 Tuesdays, 7-9pm
Sept 14 – Nov 19

Fee: $320 (Hadad returnees $310), Code: HHf10a

More than any other kind of non-fiction writing, the essay offers the opportunity to express, in a short and conversational form, the whole range of thoughts and feelings. This form allows for the most satisfying and polished examination of ideas, beliefs, troubles and pleasures, by writers of all experience levels. Bring a work in progress to the first session.

Status: closed

MEMOIR WRITING
with Susan Hodara

10 Tuesdays, 10:15am-12:15pm
Sept 28 - Dec 7 (No class: Nov 23)

Fee: $395 (Hodara returnees $385), Code: SHf10a

Are you inspired to record the transforming events of your life? Are you drawn to explore the circumstances surrounding your most vivid memories? For those with a work-in-progress and those starting fresh, this class will offer a supportive environment wherein each week you will read aloud and receive constructive feedback. Writers at all levels of accomplishment, and with projects both full-length and short-form, are welcome.

Status: Sold Out!

TEASING THE NARRATIVE
with Terese Svoboda

6 Tuesdays, 1-3pm
Nov 9-Dec 14
Fee: $325, Code: TSf10a

We will analyze published stories, but class sessions will be devoted mainly to participant's work, stories or chapters of novels, which are read and commented on. We will point out strengths as well as weaknesses in plot, viewpoint, character, structure, and dialogue, and make suggestions. Character development--how to create complex, real people within the plot context--will be emphasized. Confidence and ability go hand in hand, and this course endeavors to give students the resources and stamina that they need to mature as writers. For students with writing experience.

Status: closed

BEYOND TRAUMA AND DRAMA:
TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE THROUGH THE POWER OF WRITING

with Gretl Claggett

5 TUESDAYS, 6:30-8:30pm
Nov 9 - Dec 14 (No class: Nov 23)
Fee: $205, Code: GCf10a

This workshop provides a safe and supportive environment for students who have survival and recovery stories to tell. Tools and techniques will be given to pour our stories onto the page, structure and shape them, as well as read or speak about them aloud, so that there’s transformation in the writer and the reader, as well as the audience. Some topics we’ll explore include speaking about difficult memories and emotions, crafting a story with compassion, how to make your story deeply personal and universal at the same time, and, the always critical question, “why this story now?”

Status: closed

BEGINNING THE NOVEL
with Catherine Hiller

5 WEDNESDAYS & 1 THURSDAY, 7-9pm
Sept 15 – Oct 13; Oct 21

Fee: $290 (Hiller returnees 280), Code: CHf10a

Finally start writing your novel! This class will guide and motivate you to begin the novel you may have been thinking about writing for years. Learn to be a better writer by being a better reader with weekly critiques. Topics include: promising subjects, character study and development, point of view, and arresting beginnings.

Status: closed

WRITING AS AN ARTIST
with Frank Boyer

4 WEDNESDAYS, 4-6pm
Sept 15 - Oct 6
Fee: $200, Code: FBf10a

This workshop is for serious visual artists who wish to explore writing as a means of expressing the substance of our work (for example, artist statements). It is not about criticism or “art speak,” but about understanding and articulating the values in our own artwork, reclaiming our personal theory from the critics and historians, and ensuring that our own voice is the one that speaks for us.

Status: closed

THE THREE PORTAL SEMINAR*
with Annegret Wolf Rice

8 WEDNESDAYS, 10am–12:15pm
Oct 20 – Dec 8

Fee: $325; Code: AWRf10a

Throughout these eight sessions you will learn how to create positive changes in body, speech and mind with the help of breath, sound, movement, visualization and journal writing. We will practice special breathing techniques and sound practices as well as energetic movements. These practices will help you identify and overcome the blockages in your “channels.” You will also learn a very effective method of journaling and receive clear instructions that will enable you to write effortlessly in a way you’ve never done before. What you’ll get at the end of this six week program is an amazing transformation which will cut down your stress while increasing your awareness, peace, and joy in your writing and everyday life.

*This workshop will take place at Annegret’s studio – 265 Hunter Avenue, in Sleepy Hollow – jist down the street from the HVWC.

Status: closed

PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP
with Howard Meyer

4 WEDNESDAYS, 7-9pm
Oct 20, 27; Nov 10, 17

Fee: $195, Code: HMf10a

What makes a play dynamic? In this workshop we will focus on the skills that are essential to a successful playwriting craft – creating character-specific dialogue, weaving exposition into the dialogue while keeping the action taut and moving forward, and building the extremely high stakes necessary for a dramatic event. Participants will take part in in-class writing exercises as well as share work done independently. This class is open to writers of all levels, but prior experience with some form of fiction writing is helpful.

*Special play reading event by Meyer on Oct 16 at the HVWC.

Status: closed

WRITING CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND STORIES
with Elizabeth Sachs

4 FRIDAYS, 1-3pm
Sept 24 – Oct 15
Fee: $170 (Sachs returnees $160), Code: ESf10a

Develop a strong narrative voice and distinctive style when writing for middle graders and young adults. In this intensive course, unique writing exercises will help writers, both the inexperienced and the skilled, explore their writing strengths. Each session will focus on a different aspect of writing. Information about being published will also be addressed.

Status: Canceled

INROADS TO THE SOUL
with Elizabeth Sachs

2 WEDNESDAYS, 10am–12pm
Nov 10 & 17

Fee: $100 (Sachs for returnees $90), Code: ESf10b

How do you uncover your true voice or the subjects you care most passionately about as a writer? Years can be spent trying on different voices, moving from one subject to another, finding an area but then losing interest. This course is for the person who wants to explore (through fiction, nonfiction, or poetry) what speaks to his or her soul and will help writers at all levels begin, or enhance, their own process. The group will look at a series of short texts in poetry and prose and discuss them. In-class writing prompts, keyed to the readings, will explore topics like home and childhood and loss and memory. Suggestions for other readings and writing prompts from participants will be included.

Status: Canceled

HOW TO WRITE PAGE-TURNING FICTION
with Joanne Dobson

Session A: 4 THURSDAYS, 7-9pm
Sept 16 – Oct 7

Fee: $160 (Dobson returnees $150), Code: JDf10a

Session B: 4 THURSDAYS, 7-9pm
Oct 28 – Nov 18
Fee: $160 (Dobson returnees $150), Code: JDf10b

If you’ve ever stayed up ‘til three with a compelling novel, you’ve probably wondered, “How do they do that?” Study the literary techniques of popular genres, and learn how to create compelling plots in a unique voice, harnessing the conflict and tension between sympathetic protagonists and disquieting antagonists. Whether your characters inhabit the extreme world of detection and intrigue, or the everyday life of private agonies and personal satisfactions, your writing can benefit from that special “can’t-put-it-down” magic.

Status: Session A: closed
Session B: closed

ONLY NARRATIVE
with Peter Bricklebank

8 THURSDAYS, 10:30am-12:30pm
Sept 30 – Nov 18
Fee: $315 (Bricklebank returnees $300), Code: PBf10a

E.L. Doctorow has written, “I am led to the proposition that there is no fiction or nonfiction as we commonly understand the distinction; there is only narrative.” As writers, what matters is how we tell our stories: how we find a structure to engage our readers, a voice in which to tell our tales, a language that can handle our idea. In this workshop for writers of both fiction and non-fiction, we’ll examine what drives our narratives and what will make them better. Using elements associated with fiction but equally respected by any nonfiction writer, we’ll investigate the question, “Where is the border between fiction and nonfiction?” And when we find that border, we’ll cross it.

Status: closed

CREATIVE NONFICTION: THE MIND AT PLAY
with Mindy Lewis

4 FRIDAYS, 12:30-2:30pm
Oct 22 - Nov 12

Fee: $180 (Lewis returnees $170), Code: MLf10a

Explore the realm of narrative possibility at the juncture of observed reality, memory, and imagination. Drawing on techniques of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, students write and share short pieces in an atmosphere of lively, supportive discussion. Writing prompts and handouts by contemporary and historic masters provide inspiration to hone the tools of strong writing: distinctive voice, precise language, resonant imagery, vivid sensory description, dramatic scene and dialogue, and inventive form.

Status: closed

STRATEGIES FOR MEMOIR & NONFICTION
with Mindy Lewis

4 FRIDAYS, 12:30-2:30pm
Nov 19; Dec 3 - 17 (No class: Nov 26)
Fee: $180 (Lewis returnees $170), Code: MLf10b

Whether you have a slew of pages or just a great idea this intensive, hands-on workshop/seminar will help you clarify the subject and scope of your project, identify thematic threads, hone in on voice and point of view, explore possibilities of form and structure, and pinpoint publishing possibilities. Exercises that serve as the basis for elements of the book proposal, agent queries, and editorial pitches, in tandem with discussion of the work itself, will both focus the writing and help the piece gain momentum toward publication.

Status: Sold Out!

CRAFTING POPULAR FICTION
with Jane Cleland

3 FRIDAYS, 7-9 pm
Oct 22 – Nov 5

Fee: $150, Code: JCLf10a

SciFi, horror, fantasy, mystery and romance stories all share certain elements that make them so popular and successful. All successful genre fiction has contains these elements: an engaging plot, believable characters, and a flowing narrative that draws the reader into the story. This 3-part workshop will provide an overview of the craft of writing commercially viable fiction and we will work with your own ideas and writings to include those key elements of popular fiction.

Status: closed

POETRY WRITING AND READING
with Jo Ann Clark

6 FRIDAYS, 9:30-11:30am
Nov 5 – Dec 17 (No class: Nov 26)
Fee: $240 (Clark returnees $230), Code: JCf10a

Why do poems we like please or move us? How do they take hold in our memory? In this class we will read poems that are provocative, elegiac, ravishing, and just plain fun. Participants will also write poems. Writers at all levels of experience are welcome. Students should bring two poems to the first class - one written by a favorite author, the other by the participant.

Status: closed

THE FORMS OF FICTION: NEW SHAPES FOR NEW STORIES
with David Surface

6 Saturdays, 10:30am-12:30pm
Oct 16 – Nov 20
Fee: $270 (Surface returnees $260), Code: DSf10a

“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end---but not necessarily in that order.”
                                                                                                                - Jean Luc-Godard

In this course for experienced and beginning writers, we’ll look at “form” and “structure” in fiction-writing in a new light. While poets are blessed with a wide repertoire of poetic “forms” (sonnets, sestinas, haiku, etc.), fiction writers are too often saddled with a one-size-fits-all approach to structure featuring the same tired terms (“rising action”, “climax”, etc.). But there is an alternate approach to form in fiction writing, one that recognizes the vast and varied number of potential structures a story can take. In this workshop, we’ll analyze and experiment with many of those forms of fiction to help you start fresh work and gain new insights into your writing projects.

Status: closed

Songwriting Workshop*
with Kinny Landrum

7 Wednesdays & a Special Class Concert, 7–9pm
Oct 6 - Dec 8 (No class: Oct 27, Nov 10, 24) with a special class concert
on Wednesday, Dec 15
Fee: $250 Code: KLf10a

This workshop will discuss the history and techniques of songwriting, both lyrics and music, while analyzing songs from all genres and eras. Through these classes the students will foster an appreciation and respect for all genres of music and songwriting. The class is oriented towards both the beginning songwriter as well as those who wish to improve or broaden their talents and is most appropriate for students 16 and older. Instrumental expertise is not required, but the willingness to have one’s songs performed, or to perform it oneself, and to have it heard and discussed will be paramount.


*This class will take place at the JCC on the Hudson located just minutes from the Writers' Center at 371 South Broadway in Tarrytown. Registration for this class will be waived for all JCC on Hudson members.

Status: closed

Fall 2010 One and Two Day Workshops

To register, click here.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO YOU: WRITING ABOUT TRAVEL

with Susan Farewell

Saturday, Oct 9
10:00am-1:00pm
Fee: $100, Code: SFf10a

Do you love to travel? Do you find yourself flipping through travel magazines thinking about where you want to go next? Do you ever think that you could have written one of those travel articles? Chances are, you could have. This workshop is for writers (new or established) who are interested in writing and selling articles about travel to both traditional and new media outlets. It includes a wealth of nuts and bolts information, guidance for developing individual travel writer styles, and practical and inspirational techniques for making it all happen.

Status: closed

BLOGGING AND NEW MEDIA WRITING
with Susan Farewel
l

1 Saturday, Dec 4,
10:00am-1:00pm

Fee: $100, Code: SFf10b

The internet has a bigger than ever appetite for content and there are countless new ways in which a writer can promote his/her work. In this workshop, I will provide many hands-on ideas for how writers can use new media to launch or continue a writing career. I will provide valuable tips on how to not only survive, but thrive-whether it's writing your own blog, overseeing the content for an online magazine or simply contributing to other websites. I will also discuss the opportunities social media presents and how one can use them most effectively.

Status: open and accepting registrations

How to Self-Publish
with Shelley Gilbert

Saturday, Dec 11
11-1pm
Fee: $75 (Gilbert returnees $65), Code: SGf10a

This is an intensive, one-day interactive learning session where the concentration is on answering your questions about the techniques of self-publish and developing your book from start to finish. Among other topics, we will discuss how to decide who to hire to create, publish, market and sell your book, online digital publishing, creating an internet presence, and instilling confidence and perseverance.

Status: open and accepting registrations

HOW TO WRITE AN IRRESISTIBLE NONFICTION BOOK PROPOSAL
with Lucy Hedrick

MONDAY, Sept 27
6:30 - 9:30 pm
Fee: $150, Code: LHf10a

To secure an agent and publish a nonfiction book (including a memoir), an author must first submit a well-written, compelling, polished book proposal. Learn the industry standards for a professional book proposal - the sections, the contents, the page length - plus the art of the query letter and how to find an agent. Each critical section of the book proposal will be discussed in detail. Participants will leave with a proposal outline, a sample agents' submission log, and online resources every writer must know. Space is limited so that each writer's book concept can be discussed in detail.

Status: closed

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Fall 2010 Workshops for Young Writers

To register, click here.

Learning to See: Creative Writing for Teens Age 14+
with Brenda Connor-Bey

8 Saturdays, 3-5pm
Sept 25 - Dec 11 (No class: Oct 2 & 9, Nov 13 & 27)
Fee: $325 (Connor-Bey returnees $310), Code: BCBf10a

Young writers will be encouraged to find their own voices and develop their visions. Participants will be challenged to use all of their personal resources to dig beneath the surface, and to express in words what their imaginations have created. The sounds of words and the images they create will be celebrated. Connor-Bey promises, "It's not like school," and a small-group format will nurture maximum individualization.

For children ages 14 and up.

Status: Sold Out!

Creative Writing for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Graders
with Kate Gallagher

10 Thursdays, 4-5:30pm
Sept 23 - Dec 2 (No class: Nov 25)

Fee: $280 (Gallagher returnees $265), Code: KGf10a

Every day you notice the world: a fly perched on a leaf, the smell of sauce on the stove, the sound of traffic outside your window. How do you learn to use your imagination to express what your senses and your emotions teach you? Come learn different writing techniques and share your ideas in a comfortable atmosphere.

For children in grades 3through 6.

Status: closed

Reporting Nature's News
with Jo Ann Clark

4 Saturdays, 10-12pm at The Rockefeller State Preserve, 125 Phelps Way Pleasantville, NY 10570
Oct 23-Nov 13
Fee: $160, Code: JCf10r1

Be a Cub Reporter at Rockefeller State Park! The Preserve is full of breaking news but the birds, plants, animals and fish need some daring young forest investigators to spread it. We'll explore the woods together and ask good questions about all that we discover there. With what we dig up, we can break the big stories of the wilderness to the rest of the world.

For children ages 8 through 12.

Status: closed

Writing Your World - Children's Creative Writing
with Deborah Kilmer

5 Wednesdays, 4-5:30pm
Oct 13-Nov 17 (No class: Oct 20)
Fee: $190, Code:DMKf10a

Language and words can evoke powerful thoughts. They provide images to your mind and are the goosebumps of your imagination. Using visualization techniques, humor, and the world around us, we will create snapshots with words, memories with language, and landscapes with thoughts. (For children in 2nd-5th grade.)

For children in grades 2 through 5.

Status: closed

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Please note that there is a nonrefundable $25 administrative fee per workshop for students
who are NOT members of the Writers' Center (HVWC).
($15 for youths, seniors, and our shorter one and two-day workshops)

For workshops at Pelham Art Center (PAC), administrative fees are also waived for PAC members.

For further information on any of our workshop offerings, call the HVWC at (914) 332-5953 or email us at info@writerscenter.org.

Due to Metro North’s ongoing Hudson Line station rehabilitation project at our Philipse Manor station home,
our daytime workshops are currently being held at 57 River Street in Sleepy Hollow.


Past workshop schedules:

Summer 2010
Spring 2010
Winter 2010
Fall 2009
Summer 2009
Spring 2009
Winter 2009

Fall 2008
Summer 2008

Spring 2008
Winter 2008

Fall 2007
Summer 2007

Spring 2007
Late Fall 2006/Early Winter 2007
Fall 2006

Summer 2006
Spring 2006
Winter 2006
Fall 2005
Summer 2005
Spring 2005
Winter 2005


Notes:

HVWC: The Hudson Valley Writers' Center, 300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow, NY. Classes and worshops are held in the restored Philipse Manor railroad station unless otherwise indicated. For travel directions, visit our Directions page or see train schedules at Metro-North's Hudson River Line.


Weather-related closings:
As a general rule, if bad weather causes the Tarrytown schools to close, it is likely that classes at the Writers’ Center will be cancelled. We will record a message on the office answering machine (914-332-5953) by 8 am if the decision is made to cancel morning classes. We will attempt to contact students with cancellations that happen later in the day. If in doubt, please call the office.


Refund policy:
For classes dropped at least 24 business hours (Monday - Friday excluding major holidays) prior to the first class, 100% of the class fee will be refunded. For classes dropped at least 48 hours (Monday - Friday excluding major holidays) before the second class, 75% of the class fee will be refunded. After that time, a partial refund will only be issued if your space in the class can be filled. For classes cancelled by the Writers’ Center, 100% of the class fee will be refunded. Class registration fees are non-refundable unless the class is cancelled by the Writers’ Center. Notification of a dropped class must be made to the HVWC office (telling the instructor is not considered official notification.)

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