The Virginia G. Piper
Center for Creative Writing

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The Piper Writers Studio

Serving writers of all backgrounds, genres, and levels of experience

Beyond our annual creative writing conference, the Piper Writers Studio is the educational arm of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University, offering creative writing classes, workshops, and other educational opportunities in in-person and online formats for writers of all backgrounds, genres, and levels of experience.

All classes are non-credit, and are intended for and open to the public. You do not need to be an ASU student to attend.

Each student who completes a class receives an electronic certificate. Students also have the opportunity to read at our annual Piper Writers Studio Showcase.  

To learn more about the Piper Writers Studio, you can visit the about page or view upcoming classes below. You can also meet our instructors, view past classes, or even teach a class yourself.

For other educational opportunites, you can learn about our Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference.

For for-credit classes, you can contact the Creative Writing Program at Arizona State University. 

Find Upcoming Classes and Workshops

Teen Intensive: Memorizing Ourselves — The Poems of Our Memories
Raquel Denis
Date: Saturdays, March 9, 2019, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Type: Generative Workshop, Workshop
Genre: Poetry
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The course is designed for youth (ages 14-18) beginning to write poetry for the first time, or who have been introduced to poetry and want to learn more. Students will participate in a two-week course of three-hour workshops. A theme will extend through the two weeks of Memorizing Ourselves - The Poems of Our Memories. Over the course of the two weeks, students will learn about key elements of poetry, various poetic techniques, read various poets and their writings, and discuss the crucial role of memory in writing their own poems.

Publishing Opportunities for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers
Beth Staples
Date: April 15 - May 27, 2018
Type: Online Class
Genre: Agents, Business of Writing, Creative Nonfiction, Editing, Fiction, Publishing
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The goal of this course is to give you a basic understanding of the publishing industry: how it is structured, how to navigate it, and how to make the best choices for your writing life and the life of your books. You are a writer, an artist—the most important thing you can do is focus on your work. But when the time comes to bring your writing to an audience, a host of other skills and knowledge come into play. While it’s true that the publishing world exists to support and promote art, it is also a business; agents, editors, and publishers must be mindful of the market and of money.

Revising Your Novel
Date: May 1 - Jun 5, 2019
Type: Online Class
Genre: Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Genre Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mixed Genre, Novels, Science Fiction, Young Adult Literature
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Through video lectures, activities, discussions, video conferences, peer reviews, and direct feedback from your instructor, you will learn new tools and methods for tackling a deep and intensive revision, gain knowledge on how to work with edit letters from publishing professionals, leave this course with revised pages from your own novel, and create a solid plan for moving forward to complete a full revision.