Classes

Amy Paturel

I have contributed essays to Good Housekeeping, Parents, The New York Times, Health, Women’s Health, O, Wine Enthusiast, Spirituality & Health, YourTango.com, The Los Angeles Times and more. Two of my pieces have been featured in Newsweek’s “My Turn” column, and I garnered two “honorable mention” awards in ASJA’s personal essay category (2009 and 2011).

Writing the Personal Essay Workshop

Next workshop date: January 22, 2024

Do you have ideas stuck in your head instead of on the page, or dozens of unfinished essays hibernating on your hard drive? It’s time to unearth those gems and get them published! With this 6-week intensive workshop, you get all of the benefits of the self-guided course, plus feedback from me on prompt responses and assignments. You’ll participate in an online platform where you’ll engage with other students and receive valuable essay-writing insights. Finally, each student will have the opportunity to workshop one essay in real time and receive a detailed critique on one completed draft.

DURATION: 6 weeks

COST: $475 for the Premium version with six weeks of e-mail support and critique of one essay.

Writing the Personal Essay Workshop

Next workshop date: January 22, 2024

Do you have ideas stuck in your head instead of on the page, or dozens of unfinished essays hibernating on your hard drive? It’s time to unearth those gems and get them published! With this 6-week intensive workshop, you get all of the benefits of the self-guided course, plus feedback from me on prompt responses and assignments. You’ll participate in an online platform where you’ll engage with other students and receive valuable essay-writing insights. Finally, each student will have the opportunity to workshop one essay in real time and receive a detailed critique on one completed draft.

DURATION: 6 weeks

COST: $475 for the Premium version with six weeks of e-mail support and critique of one essay.

Private 2-Friday Reported Essay Writing Workshop

Next Workshop Dates: April 19 and April 26, 2024

During this intimate two-Friday workshop, I’ll break down the reported essay and you’ll have the opportunity to analyze effective reported essays and share your own work.

The first Friday we’ll focus on three things:

1. Dissecting three reported essays
2. Crafting a reported essay pitch
3. Brainstorming essay ideas in a low-stakes environment.

The second Friday we’ll workshop your pitches live.

Attendees are limited to 6. Please send me a sample of your published or unpublished work to reserve your spot.

COST: $299

Writing the Personal Essay Self-Guided Class

Do you work best when you can progress at your own pace? My six-week online course will guide you through every step, from essay idea to salable piece. You’ll learn how to:

  • Grab readers (and editors!)
  • Journal your way to essay ideas
  • Identify the critical elements of a salable essay
  • Critique your own essays and incorporate feedback from others
  • Pitch and submit essays to target publications

When you’ve completed your coursework, you will receive a spreadsheet with more than 130 relevant markets, including editor contacts. Former students have landed essays in Parents, Marie Claire, The New York Times, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and AARP among others.

COST: $325

Advanced: Writing the Personal Essay Alumni Class

September 11, 2023

Completed the basic class and want more? More interaction with classmates? More critiques? More insight on structuring, polishing and publishing essays? If so, I invite you to participate in a 4-week intensive workshop to delve more deeply into the essay genre to help you find your story, tell it, and sell it!

DURATION: 4 weeks

COST: $375 with full support and critique of one essay.

Interested in a more personalized approach?

I work with select students one-on-one to hone their craft. Coaching arrangements can range from single essay critiques to 6-8-week intensives with unlimited phone and email support.

I’m a professional journalist, but when it came to writing personal essays, I wasn’t sure where to start. This course was a perfect jumping-off point. Amy’s lessons were inspiring and fun. The class covered all the bases, from sparking ideas to writing, revising, and selling your essays. Amy’s comments and suggestions really helped me take my writing to the next level. I’d definitely recommend her course.

Kirsten Weir

Amy Paturel’s essay class is sensational. She paces the lectures perfectly and her essay advice and guidance is both practical and insightful. And when it comes to critiques, Amy is a master. Her edits are direct, yet gentle, and she has a knack for asking just the right questions to help you go deeper. Most important, she helps you find the heart of your story so it sells!

Amy Pengra Button
I signed up for Amy’s class because I wanted to focus on essay writing but I wasn’t sure what made a good salable story idea and if I had those stories within me. Through well-organized lesson and assignments, Amy lays out everything I needed to know about generating story ides, writing, editing, pitching and submitting essays. And Amy’s critiques, coupled with the interaction and feedback from other class participants, was invaluable in helping me improve my writing. I walked away with a number of essay ideas and the belief that I had stories to tell. It gave me the jumpstart I needed and since taking the class, I’ve sold essays to The Washington Post, Scary Mommy and Runner’s World (Zelle).
Christine Yu

Amy’s class is fantastic. As an editor, I know how much time and energy it takes to respond the way she does to students’ work. The lesson plans are chock full of practical advice and great examples of writing. Her class taught me more about writing than most of the graduate school courses I took.

Michael Smolinsky

I have been writing for many years in several different forms but had never tried writing essays. Amy’s instruction was clear, well thought out and organized. Her lesson plans and assignments were easy to follow and she also supplied us with excellent essay examples and directed us where we could find more on our own. Her critiques of my work and the other students’ work seemed to be spot on and were delivered honestly but always in a tone that was encouraging. Most importantly, she inspired me to get off my behind and WRITE – the best sign of a good teacher! I would recommend this course to new writers as well as seasoned writers who are looking to sharpen their skills, and especially to anyone with a desire to write but needs a kick start!

Mark Nassief

I’ve been writing essays for a while, but had little idea how to make them salable or where to submit them. Not only did Amy’s guidance help improve my essay drafts, but she taught the class valuable techniques for writing and editing our work to create effective essays that will sell. I’m looking forward to seeing my essays in print!

Ami Spencer