So, What's a Gotham Writers Workshop?

Cathy Pickens

by Cathy Pickens

You have heard, haven’t you, that Sisters in Crime offers a tremendous discount to those who want to enroll in the Gotham Writers Workshop Level 1 Mystery Writing class? 

New classes will begin January 8th and February 12th.  With the Sisters in Crime discount, it costs $109.10 for the entire 10-week session. The workshop includes active work on a novel or short stories and two critique sessions on your work.

Why is Sisters in Crime doing this? Let me count the reasons:

1. Sisters in Crime is committed to promoting professional development among mystery writers.  
2. Not all our members can attend conferences or writing classes in person.
3. All writers can use the support and guidance of mentors on the journey, especially when starting out.  Even published and experienced writers need to refresh, be exposed to new ideas, and stretch their abilities.
4. Gotham has years of experience in delivering first-rate online education for writers.
5. It’s challenging, fun, and worth the investment of time and money. 

I must admit, when I first signed up for a Gotham Writers Workshop (GWW) class to see how it all worked, I was a little nervous, with all those first-time student jitters. But I found a seamless, easy-to-use online interface, a great instructor, motivated fellow students, and a lot to learn.

To really get the most from the experience, set aside time to work on the assignments. I appreciated the email reminders when new course materials were available. That makes it harder to sit back and do nothing. And that’s why you signed up, right? To participate?

GWW is only one of several professional development opportunities Sisters in Crime subsidizes for its members. Others have included:

• Writers Police Academy
• Pre-Bouchercon Mystery Convention workshops with presenters such as award-winning novelist Nancy Pickard, agent Donald Maass, and Marcia Talley’s “Look, Ma, I’ve Been Kindled"
• Annual Publishers Summit Reports updating different aspects of the publishing business
• Our publications Breaking and Entering and Shameless Promotion for Brazen Hussies.

For the coming year, past-president Frankie Bailey is already working on the pre-Bouchercon workshop. So save Wednesday, September 18, on your calendar to meet in Albany! And we have other ideas in the works for writers across all levels of experience.

Click links on the website to investigate these offerings. And check out Gotham Writers Workshop.  You’ll be glad you did.  If you do apply for the Sisters in Crime “scholarships,” we look forward to reading about your experience here on the blog!

Cathy Pickens is a former president of Sisters in Crime and author of the award-winning Southern Fried mystery series (St. Martin’s).