Writing students at Barat House workshop

Writers' Hub Workshops

Manhattanville Writers’ Hub Spring Workshops

The Writers’ Hub at Manhattanville University is a literary home for the local Westchester County and Hudson Valley community.

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Writers' Hub Spring 2026 Workshops

Each semester, the Manhattanville University MFA Program develops a series of creative writing workshops that are open to local community members and program alumni as well as to current MFA students. These events are designed to dig deeply into a specific element of the craft of writing and to help participants hone their skills. All events take place at Barat House, home of the Dowd-O'Gorman Creative Writing Center, tucked away on Manhattanville’s vibrant campus. Please see this semester’s offerings below. We look forward to hosting you at Barat House. Come work on your writing craft with us!

Elissa Bassist

Writing Traumedy: Being Sad-Funny in Memoir and Personal Essay

Tragedy plus time equals comedy, and in this seminar on "traumedy" we'll do that math and turn your sob stories into publishable, entertaining writing. To paraphrase Joan Rivers: Your own suffering has the potential to be very funny. And to poorly paraphrase a lot of writers: Art is the opportunity to turn the worst things that have happened to you into the funniest. People listen to a joke when they ignore a sob story or think-piece or rant, so in this class we’ll rework tragedy to trick readers into listening to us, even into understanding us. In two hours, we’ll cover every known device to turn a diary entry into award-deserving writing. This seminar is perfect for writers who work across genres (fiction, nonfiction, humor, serious) or want to learn how. Our ultimate goal will be to make readers laugh while PUNCHING THEM IN THE HEART. Happy endings will be burned.

Saturday, January 31, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
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Registration Fee: $50. FREE for current Manhattanville MFA students