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NY Times Worthy Personal Essay

Online Mar 25, Apr 1, Apr 8, Apr 15, Apr 22 (5 Tuesday Afternoons)5:30pm - 8:30pm Pacific$425Limited Spots

11 Spots Left

Getting an essay in the New York Times is the crown jewel of personal essays in terms of bragging rights and future book deals. In this 5 week NY Times worthy personal essay class, Laura Cathcart Robbins (Real Simple & Elle Best Book, Modern Love) will share her insight into securing this prestigious but elusive prize. Through fun, in class exercises, an informative craft talk, and in-class feedback, you will learn Laura’s secret techniques for approaching this essay, including the unspoken expectations of the format, a compelling romantic hook and a crystal clear theme. By the end of the class you will have everything you need to craft your own New York Times Essay, and send it off to the Big Apple!

stash-memoir-book-coverIn this class you’ll write an essay worthy of the NY Times Modern Love or other essay columns. We’ll workshop one of your essays until it’s perfect. By the end of class, you’ll have a kick-ass essay that is ready to be submitted for publication and a plan of where to submit it. Your goal will be to sell your essay within a couple of weeks after the class ends! You’ll be well on your way to joining the ranks of the 860 Writing Pad Alums (51 of whom got into the NY Times) who have sold essays and articles with Writing Pad’s help!

You can read some of the essays here: New York Times Modern Love #1,New York Times Modern Love #2, New York Times Modern Love #3,New York Times Modern Love #4, New York Times Modern Love #5, New York Times Modern Love #6, NY Times Well # 1, NY Times Well # 2,  New York Times Well #3, New York Times Well #4, New York Times Well #5, New York Times Well #6, New York Times Well #7, New York Times Well #8, New York Times Well #9, New York Times Well #10, New York Times Well #11, New York Times Well #12, New York Times Well #13, NY Times Style, Los Angeles Magazine, New York Magazine, Bon Appetit, Boston Globe, Brain, Child, Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan, DAME, Elle #1, Elle #2, Elle #3, 5280,Huffington Post #1,Huffington Post #2, Huffington Post #3,LA Times #1, LA Times #2, LA Times #3, LA Times #4, LA Times #5, LA Times #6, LA Times #7, LA Times #8,The Lily #1 (Washington Post), The Lily #2 (Washington Post), Marie Claire #1, Marie Claire #2, Men's Journal, Morning News #1, Morning News #2, Narratively, Nerve, Role Reboot, Salon #1, Salon #2, Salon #3, Salon #4, Salon #5, Salon #6, Salon #7, Salon #8, Salon #9, Salon #10, Salon #11, Salon #12, Salon #13, Salon #14, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Self #1, Self #2, Teen Vogue,  The Beauty Bean, Shine, The Date Report, The Smart Set, Vice, Vogue #1, Vogue #2, Vogue #3, Washington Post #1, Washington Post #2, Washington Post #3, Washington Post #4, Washington Post #5, Washington Post #6, Washington Post #7, Whole Life, Wired.        .

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Laura Cathcart Robbins

Memoir (Simon & Schuster), The Only One In The Room Podcast, Good Housekeeping, HuffPo

Laura Cathcart Robbins is the host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room, and author of the Atria/Simon & Schuster memoir, STASH My Life In Hiding, published March 2023. Her recent articles in Good Housekeeping, HuffPo, The Temper on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a Moth StorySlam winner and a 2022 TEDx Speaker. Her podcast, The Only One In The Room, was chosen by Bustle Magazine twice as a top podcast alongside This American Life and Slow Burn as well as Reader’s Digest and Screen Rant. Laura was originally a Writing Pad student. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. MORE

“Laura is great at making the classroom feel safe, making all students feel equal, and giving helpful workshopping feedback. Each student felt heard and understood, and advice was tailored to everyone's individual writing level.”
“Laura is one of the most phenomenal teachers at Writing Pad! She is the most invested and engaged teacher I've ever had. She was so generous with giving us ALL the tools we need to start a podcast. She gave us a wealth of resources and shared her experiences. She obviously cares about her students and the class, and it showed through her teaching! She's smart, honest, vulnerable, and hard-working, and her beautiful energy framed our experience.”
“Laura was welcoming to all and very positive and constructive when reviewing our weekly 1,200 words. She really listened to each student and was very specific in her comments on everyone’s writing. The class was super informative and inspiring.”
“She broke story building into a formula and took time to listen to each story and reflect back how to find the stakes, beginning, middle and end.”
“She was engaging and clear, the tips were great, her advice to those who shared was insightful and personalized but incredibly helpful to note for any storyteller.”
“Laura did an amazing job listening to our stories and really finding ways to strengthen the narrative. She helped define voice and set up great structures for our writing process.”

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