Success Stories
Success: Alison Turner’s New Published Poem
Former student Alison Turner’s poem, “from The Covid Notebooks,” appears in the Summer/Fall 2020 issue of the American Journal of Poetry. Of her experience in a Writers’ Program class, Alison says, “Good lines just happen in a poem, but it’s those other lines that...
Success: Nell Beckerman Publishes Picture Book
Former student Nell Beckerman had her first picture book published earlier this year. She says of the experience, “I took Writing Picture Books on a whim, but quickly got very inspired by the form. In the second-to-last class, the instructor assigned a writing...
Success: Karen Germain Published in Narrative Medicine Journal
Former student Karen Germain recently had a non-fiction piece, "Weight," published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine. Karen says, "I wrote this story In Sharon Bray's Writing to Heal class, during my first quarter at UCLA Extension. Sharon Bray's Writing to...
Success: Instructor Shawna Kenney Wins 2nd Place in Essay Contest
Instructor Shawna Kenney recently won 2nd place in the Los Angeles Press Club’s ‘Life in the Time of the Coronavirus’ essay contest. The prize came with a $500 award and publication on the Press Club’s site, “to serve as a historical document of the times." Of her...
Success: Pam Wiedenbeck Publishes Book
Student Pam Wiedenbeck achieved a long term goal last fall with the publication of her book, "Pam, You Not Doing Job." Pam credits the Writers' Program with helping to achieve this goal, saying, "If it had not been for the Writers Studio and the annual Writing Retreat...
Success: Cass Ford’s Novel Finalist for Independent Audiobook Awards
TV & Film Development and Writing Certificates alumnus Cass Ford is thrilled to share that her debut novel, Prince of Sin, is a finalist at the upcoming 2020 Independent Audiobook Awards, part of the HEAR Now Festival. The sultry erotic romance takes place in Los...
Success: Parnaz Foroutan Publishes Memoir
Former student Parnaz Foroutan published her memoir Home is a Stranger earlier this year, about her journey back to Iran as a young woman, two decades after her family fled the rise of the Islamic Theocracy. Parnaz also wrote the novel Girl from the Garden, which...
Success: Eric Walters Publishes Third Book in Series
Former student Eric Walters published the third book in a series as 2019 came to a close and is still amazed by his work. He says of the experience, “A self-published author? Me? In the fall of 2019, I published third book, My Life With Lukas (On Topanga Canyon...
Feature Articles
SDCC @ Home with the Writers’ Program
Like many events this year, San Diego Comic Con shifted to a virtual format for 2020. SDCC surprised folks by eliminating badges, day-long lines, and hotel lotteries as part of their virtual platform and made all panels completely free on YouTube. So, like many, the...
Announcing: WP NOW
The Writers’ Program announces the launch of WP NOW, a new membership program for current and recent students. The membership offers discounts, exclusive professional development events, a private online community, and access to reciprocal memberships in up to three...
Tips on Keeping a Personal Journal
By Noemi VanSlyke In times like these, maintaining your sanity is difficult enough. Gathering enough motivation to write can seem impossible—but keeping a journal can help. By documenting your personal thoughts and feelings during times of turmoil, you may find...
Writing Tips for Difficult Times
Like a worldwide pandemic accompanied by civil unrest, but also any scenario where you find your life circumstances upended and the future uncertain. Check-in with other writing pals. Odds are someone else (or many someone elses) are going through a similar time....
Writing Blogs You Should Follow
By Alexis Harmon Ever find yourself googling “tips for writers” just hoping you’ll find a useful piece of advice or some words of inspiration? Same – we’ve all been there. Lucky for us, there are hundreds of writers, bloggers and professionals out there that are ready...
2020 Allegra Johnson Prize
The Writers’ Program is thrilled to announce Hillary Georgaris as the winner of the 2020 Allegra Johnson Prize. The final judge panel included Writers’ Program instructors Maria Amparo Escandon, Saritza Hernandez, and Monica Holloway. From our semifinalists, the panel...
Late Starting Summer Courses
Summer is officially here, and Summer quarter is underway. As the world continues changing and everyone copes with ever-evolving challenges, we don’t want you to feel like missing the official quarter start date means you have to miss out on opportunities to work on...
Writers’ Program Midyear Update
As we near the midpoint of 2020, the Writers' Program wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the changes this year has (mostly unexpectedly) brought. We are continually amazed at the strength of the Writers’ Program community. And yet we know that more work is...