Deep Dive into the Lyric Essay - Summer 2022
3 August 2022€295.00
Waiting list availableWriting Young Adult Fiction - Summer 2022
14 August 2022€145.00Memoir Writing Course - Summer 2022
28 August 2022€185.00Level I Amsterdam Monday – Autumn 2022
26 September 2022€395.00
Waiting list availableLevel I Online Wednesday – Autumn 2022
28 September 2022€355.00Level I Online Tuesday – Autumn 2022
4 October 2022€355.00Level I Amsterdam Tuesday – Autumn 2022
11 October 2022€395.00Manuscript Review
31 December 2022€35.00Private Coaching - single session
31 December 2022€195.00
"I would wholeheartedly recommend this course - either the in person workshop or the online. I've put off taking these for years because there was always something more important...which, in my mind, already prevented me from justifying the time and expense. Putting aside that thought and actually doing something which I love to do, something which will help me achieve what I actually enjoy doing has been the best gift I could give myself. I don't even think of it as a gift anymore - this is just what I need."
Kristen Langereis
USI'd say that the best part about the workshops is a) quality of the teachers (ability to explain, give examples, motivate), b) way of teaching - clear explanation, assignments discussed in a (diverse) group of people that all have the same objective - improve their skills, learn from each other and from constructive feedback of teachers, c) the quality of the exercises, and last but not least, it's interesting to meet all these "different" people that have at least one thing in common.
Karin de Hiep
Netherlands"I have been writing since I was seven years old. In a very real way it is my oldest companion, yet though I have tried at different periods of my life, I’ve never managed to give it a steady and credible role in my daily life and for the last decade or more I simply did not write. The workshops have changed all that. I am writing all the time now, and am more and more at ease in feeding my daily experience through the internal wordmill and into my notebook for later."
John Carnegie
Canada"The International Writers Collective is more than just a workshop. It's a community. A group of people of all ages, from all over the world, with different backgrounds and various professional occupations who have one thing in common: we want to write. The course teaches us the craft of writing, techniques that objectively help us improve our writing."
Nadia Schoenzwytt
Belgium"I thought the assignments were very well chosen, as they were so fun and interesting I didn't get a chance to doubt my ideas too much. For me it was very useful to have a couple of elements of craft to use as scaffolding for creative ideas. I liked experimenting with different narrators, and differentiating between tone and mood was quite illuminating, it suddenly made sense how some writers are so compelling."
Dieuwertje de Graaff
Netherlands"The workshops really encouraged me to write – something I’ve been talking about for years but never had the time or confidence to pursue. I’ve absolutely loved it and plan to continue with it, I really think if I am going to make a go of writing these workshops will be what helps me to do that."
Jo Matthews
UK"If you like reading you should absolutely take a workshop. They are insightful into the craft of writing and hugely stimulating. It changed my life in so many good ways..."
Claudia Calori
Italy“Being part of a community of writers has enriched my life beyond the actual workshops—I've made some great friends.”
Mirja Post
Netherlands"I found the quality of the instruction excellent, inspiring, and generally what I needed to get myself writing again. The other participants were also quite good, and I really enjoyed reading and critiquing the pieces each week."
Lauren Danahy
USAs a repeat student I just LOVE this course. The variety of material to study, the exercises to try and the feedback given by both students and teacher alike has been invaluable in giving me a much broader toolset for my writing and the confidence to try new techniques and angles. I've recommended the course to many friends and those who've taken it up have been similarly impressed.
Penny Vegter
UK"I would (and I have already) recommended the workshop to anyone interested in writing, may it be someone too shy to have even dared to try or someone who's already quite far into writing a longer piece. The teaching has always been very satisfactory. I like the fact that the groups are always small, and everybody, both students and teachers, takes the class and the work in it very seriously, while doing it out of sheer pleasure. This gives a very solid ground to the classes, where people go quite far and deep into their own writing and into sharing critiques and...Read more
Marie Medevielle
France"I loved having the weekly chats to discuss each exercise. Even though we couldn't meet in person, I felt that the class was very engaged. As in previous classes, I learned many new skills. And I really feel like with the International Writers' Collective, there is a sense of community, and being part of a writing community that is supportive and constructive really helps one develop as a writer."
Jessica Pena
US"It makes you write and keeps you writing and editing and writing and improving. The feedback is very helpful clear and worthwhile. I would recommend the course to any blocked writers."
Deborah Culhane
Ireland"I would say that if you aspire to be a writer, and an MFA is both financially and time-wise not for you, this is a gentler, but still well-targeted program. You will surround yourself with keen writers, willing to help you get to where to aspire."
Robert Phillips
UK"Besides the constant push to write, what I find most useful about the workshop is writing very different assignments week by week, because it allows you to pick up on your writing strengths and style, really notice where you struggle and receive unbiased opinions/criticism."
Aurora Giordano
Italy"I had a great time. It was a wonderful experience, something that I always wanted to do but never found “time” (= balls haha) to do. I personally liked the exercises very much, the fact that they give you tools and techniques to find your own way and they were very diverse, covering different genres, etc. Because even if you need to “follow” a certain subject or style, the exercises are flexible enough to let you express your own ideas. I thought it was a great way to “find your own voice”, your writing style. It also made me more aware of writing...Read more
Raquel Tessarollo
Brazil"First of all it helped me pick up a pen! And secondly, it provides a huge learning potential to be critiqued by others. There are always blind spots/ ego when you are reviewing your own writing. And also, the structured way of critiquing really helps you to look at someone's texts beyond nice or not nice, or, this is my taste, and this isn't. It can make you a better reader and writer."
Nathalie Spaans
Netherlands"Very positive experience, it was great to get me started again, learn more about the techniques/theories behind it, and to surprise myself (and be surprised by others) by the wonderful stories that we produced each week. Real treat!"
Charley Fiedeldij Dop
Netherlands"It was a great start to serious writing for me. I learnt a lot about tone, mood and narrators and discovered new writers en poems. The deadline of delivering a piece once a week is a great one. Getting feedback on your piece and reading it together with the group was a great way of critiquing."
Basma Djemni
Netherlands"Interaction between fellow writers was a huge support. Teacher was supportive and promoted the right atmosphere. I learnt that writing is “only” 10% inspiration; the rest can be learnt!"
Emanuele Bartolini
Italy
Summertime Publishing Opportunities
August 01,2022 / Publishing / 5 CommentsMost literary journals take a break in the summertime, which means that in August the submission opportunities are few and far between. But if you have written a poem or flash or short story that’s too hot to keep in...
Student Writer Finds a Killer First Line and a Novel Is Born
August 01,2022 / Student profile / 0 CommentsMackenzie Cool started writing as a child. Then life happened and writing got away from her. After university, she rediscovered her love of reading and became inspired to write again. Originally from Boston, Mackenzie...
Journey to Publishing - Liz Prieto's master class
August 01,2022 / Publishing / 0 CommentsIn June 2022, the International Writers' Collective held our first post-lockdown event, a master class celebrating the fiction debut of one of our very own IWC students, Liz Prieto. We discussed Liz’s inspiration for...
How to use gender-neutral pronouns in your writing
July 07,2022 / Writing tips / 0 CommentsJuly 14 is International Non-Binary People’s Day, the perfect time to talk about the correct use of gender-neutral pronouns. First off, we’re talking about personal pronouns (they/them/their). By correct, we mean...
Australian magazines that publish international writers
July 04,2022 / Publishing / 0 CommentsThese Australian magazines and journals accept fiction, CNF and poetry from writers around the world - most don't charge fees and some pay contributors.
From boardroom to classroom
July 03,2022 / Teacher profile / 0 CommentsKaren Kao began teaching at the Collective in 2018. Her debut novel, The Dancing Girl and the Turtle, had just been published the year before, and she was eager to become part of an active writing community. In a...
Where to publish your novella
June 09,2022 / Publishing / 1 CommentsThe novella (generally defined as between 20,000 to 40,000 words give or take) is a tricky beast. Most commercial publishers won't touch them unless they're by already famous authors. If you aren't up for...
Calls and contests with April and May deadlines
April 14,2022 / Publishing Contests / 0 CommentsA number of editors and contest organisers have reached out to us over the past couple of months for help getting the word out to our community and we added a few more we thought would be of interest. Note: We are a...
Psychologist learns a new take on tone and mood
April 14,2022 / Student profile / 0 CommentsWhat do you want to be when you grow up? It's a question we all get asked as children. Laura de Loos always answered "a writer!" But gradually that dream was overtaken by other ambitions and she became a...
Where to submit microfiction
March 11,2022 / Publishing / 1 CommentsBefore we get into where to submit microfiction, maybe we should first explain what we mean by the term. Microfiction is a subset of flash fiction. There's no real agreement on just how short a story needs to be to...
UK litmags great for new writers
February 10,2022 / Publishing / 0 CommentsThe UK is home to some great literary magazines and online journals. For this month's list, we looked for publications that welcome new and unpublished writers from around the world, that are not restricted to a...
Writing with soul
February 10,2022 / Student profile / 2 CommentsJoy Florentine has always wanted to be a writer and has written for as long as she can remember. Her parents instilled a love of storytelling early – bedtime stories were interactive events where Joy was encouraged to...
About Us
Our mission is to provide people with the skills, inspiration and community they need to be great writers. Write well and joyfully—that’s the goal.
Events & Podcast Highlights
At the moment we’re covering very few events but feel free to check the Events Page
In this master class, award-winning poet Megin Jiménez and Sarah Carriger discuss stocking the well of inspiration, finding the right place to submit your work, keeping writing fun and much more. read more
In this master class with Rebecca O’Connor, novelist, poet and editor of the literary magazine ‘The Moth’, we talked about her novel ‘He Is Mine and I Have No Other’ and the importance of setting, the challenges of capturing a teenage voice, the charms of the epistolary novel, the value of a good beta reader, some tips for those who’d like to see their work published in ‘The Moth’, and much more. read more
In this master class with Kristen Roupenian, we discussed her viral short story ‘Cat Person’ and a few others from her debut collection ‘You Know You Want This’. Some of the specific topics covered included using horror and fantastical elements in your writing, learning when to stop revising, and dealing with the negative voice in your head. read more
American author A.M. Homes gave a special Craft Talk for the students of the International Writers’ Collective.Homes is the author of seven novels, two short story collections and a memoir and she was a writer and producer on the Showtime series The L Word. read more
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Our Core workshops meet once a week for 8 weeks, usually from 18:30 – 20:30.
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We think so, based on our own experience and that of our students. And science backs us up: exercising your imagination, connecting with like-minded people, and learning new things are all activities that have been shown to improve well-being.