WHEN 8 weeks, January 27 - March 24 Online chats Tuesdays, 9-10 pm ET WHERE Online. Click here for more information. LEVEL Advanced PRICE $499 ($475 for ) more info

Course Details

Readers and editors seem to love the personal essay -- so why is writing them sometimes such a challenge? How can we expand on the personal aspects to achieve something with a more universal meaning? And what can we do when the well seems to have run dry?

By the end of the course, you will have:
Five short pieces with notes on how to expand them into essays and at least one complete and salable personal essay

Students who have taken this class have been published in:
The New York Times, Modern Love, Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Self, Runner's World, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more

Admission Requirements
Please submit a letter of interest (including a brief work history) and a writing sample (less than 2,000 words).

• Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
• Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
• Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend.
• Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

Personal Essay Writing: Advanced (PDF) View a sample syllabus for this class here

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Instructor Bio

Ken Foster's Courses

Ken Foster is the editor of two anthologies, including Dog Culture. His collection of short stories, The Kind I'm Likely to Get, was a New York Times Notable Book. His work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, The Bark, The New Orleans Times-Picayune and The Believer. His latest book is a memoir, The Dogs Who Found Me. He has taught at The New School, Florida State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. He lives in New Orleans, with at least three dogs.

Testimonials

Ken is a gifted instructor and his talent for engaging students shines through the course structure. -- Kerry Rubinstein

"Taking Ken's class was the single best thing I have ever done to improve my writing. I felt my technical skills and my ability to select subject matter improve on a weekly basis." -- Dave Adamshick

"Ken is remarkably patient and very human, bringing out the best in his students, both as writers and critics. At the end of the class every one us wanted to continue studying with him." -- Linda Berris

"Ken is a thoughtful, engaged instructor who reads work with an eye towards not only quality but what you as a writer want to say. Assignments are well designed and structured and the feedback is always helpful and detailed." -- Joseph Childers

"Ken taught me how to analyze and edit my work so I can produce powerful, polished pieces." -- Joanna Kadish