Pitching and writing short personal essays for commercial media means answering Why you? and Why now? right up front! 

for Creative Nonfiction and Personal Essay

Learn the nuts and bolts of the 750- to 1,500-word personal experience essays commonly found in popular, mainstream publications, ranging from the Boston Globe Magazine “Connections,” The New York Times “Modern Love,” HuffPost Personal, and special-topics publications like travel (Yankee, Afar), food (Bon Appétit), parenting (Motherwell), and other niche interests, lifestyles, and hobbies. 

Learn how to craft essays that are straightforward, direct, and to the point; that focus on a poignant personal transformation; that have a strong “I” voice narrator from the start; and that provide the reader with some universal takeaway or lesson. We’ll also make sure your essays answer the “why now? ” question by showing how to make your essays timely, topical, and responsive to newsworthy events, anniversaries, and seasons—which editors love. 

This webinar will NOT focus on experimental, lyrical, or literary essays.

Can’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants.

In this webinar, you will:

• UNDERSTAND the form, structure, and marketplace for mainstream essays.
• AVOID the top mistakes that writers of these essays make.
• DISCOVER how to craft personal experiences into short essays.

This webinar is ideal for writers at any level who:

• want to publish in mainstream outlets
• struggle finding a clear focus and takeaway for their essays
• want to turn their personal experiences into marketable narratives

Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER

ETHAN GILSDORF is a writer, teacher, performer, and the author of the Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Esquire, Wired, Salon, O the Oprah Magazine, Brevity, Electric Literature, Poetry, The Southern Review, among other publications, and named “Notable” by The Best American Essays. He teaches workshops in essay, creative nonfiction and memoir at GrubStreet in Boston, where he leads the Essay Incubator program,  and at LitArts RI. He is also on the faculty of the Solstice MFA Program at Lasell University.

Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

FULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process.

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