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Spring workshop registration is now closed.
Visit us later for updated summer and fall workshops.
Creative Writing Workshops
Writing for Children with José Chávez
Alternating Mondays, 4/7, 4/21, 5/5, 5/19, and 6/2/25, 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
This workshop is designed to meet the needs of those who wish to write or are writing for children. We’ll explore the writing voice for children, define a “picture book,” story arc, story introductions, appropriate vocabulary, children’s poetry, and more. There will be time to flex our writing muscles and develop the beauty and strength of our “voice” for children.
José Chávez is a retired bilingual teacher who dedicates his life to writing. His poetry has been published in the Multilingual Educator Journal, Acentos Review, and the Inlandia anthology, and he is the author of two award-winning bilingual poetry books for children. José lives in Riverside, California, is married, and has three grown children.
The Art and Craft of Writing Poetry with Romaine Washington
Alternating Tuesdays, 4/8, 4/22, 5/6, 5/20, and 6/3/25, 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
Discover the art and craft of writing poetry with generative prompts and other forms of poetic inspiration. Brief group feedback will help you uncover images and language that resonate for you and for your audience.
Romaine Washington, M. Ed., is the editor of These Black Bodies Are… A Blacklandia Anthology and the author of Purgatory Has an Address and Sirens in Her Belly. She has been published in various anthologies and periodicals. Ms. Washington is a graduate fellow of The Watering Hole, South Carolina, and the Inland Area Writing Project at the University of California, Riverside. She was a public school educator for over twenty years. The proud mother of two sons, Romaine Washington is a native Californian from San Bernardino who resides in the Inland Empire.
All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle
Alternating Wednesdays, 4/9, 4/23, 5/7, 5/21, and 6/4/25, 6:00-9:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (Int.-Adv.)
In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for biweekly critiques and receive feedback from other group members. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face. The workshop leader provides biweekly articles and links related to participants’ work, particularly to problems that were discussed in the previous session.
Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, with fiction and nonfiction published in literary journals and anthologies, including in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. A collection of her short fiction, Acts of Contrition, is available from Los Nietos Press and her chapbook, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans, is available from Bamboo Dart Press. Her YA novel about a teen escaping a polygamist cult is coming from Inlandia Books. Previously the managing editor of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, she helped to establish a yearly teen issue. In a previous life, she was a high school English teacher and librarian.
All Genres Workshop with James Coats
Alternating Mondays, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/26, and 6/9/2025, 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
In this multi-genre workshop, participants submit poetry and prose for critique. Discussions include the craft of writing and the challenges writers face.
James Coats is a poet, performer, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. You can take a poetry workshop with him through his organization Lift Our Voices Education, which hosts an award-winning workshop monthly called Be the Change. He is the author of four poetry collections. His most recent is Midnight & Mad Dreams.
Poetry in Motion: Writing and Expressing Poetry in American Sign Language with Ryan Fingerle
Alternating Tuesdays, 4/15, 4/29, 5/13, 5/27, and 6/10/25. 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
Do you want to write poetry but don’t know where to start?
Would you rather express poetry in ASL but aren’t sure how to begin?
Join this interactive workshop designed for poetry lovers who want to explore both written and visual poetry in English and American Sign Language (ASL). Whether you’re looking to develop your skills in writing poetry or want to express poetry through ASL, this workshop is for you!
Ryan Fingerle is a Deaf writer, poet, educator, and community advocate whose passion for language knows no boundaries. Her work, “Stuck in the Middle,” was featured in the 2021 MUSE Literary Magazine, and she captivated a live audience by presenting her poem “Connected” in American Sign Language (ASL) during a National Deaf History and Poetry Month event. Ryan holds a M.A. from Southern New Hampshire University and serves as an English professor at Riverside City College and Crafton Hills College. She is deeply committed to empowering adult learners and their families to embrace and navigate both ASL and English.
Writing the Personal Essay with J.D. Mathes
Alternating Thursdays, 4/17, 5/1, 5/15, 5/29, and 6/12/25 6:00-8:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
In this workshop, participants will explore moments from their lives and use research to uncover connections between themselves and the wider world – topics can include nature, science, travel, culture, history – to write personal essays that ring with humanity.
J.D. Mathes grew up a feral child in the deserts of the American Southwest who loved to read library books and take photographs. He is a 2019-2020 PEN America Writing for Justice Fellow, a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar alumnus, an award-winning author of four books, photographer, screenwriter, and arts reporter. Although Mathes still struggles with subject-verb agreement and where to put commas, he is finishing work on his memoir Of Time and Punishment.
Celena’s Scribes with Wil Clarke
Tuesdays, 4/8-5/27/25, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM PT, on Zoom. (All Levels)
Participants respond to prompts about universal themes related to the human condition and are encouraged to explore all genres of writing. Individual writing is shared with a friendly, supportive group who do their best to encourage each member’s success.
Wil Clarke was born in Africa to missionary parents. He lived a total of 27 years in Africa. He is a career mathematician and is enjoying writing memoirs of his various experiences. His motto is, “You only live life once, so you may as well enjoy it the first time around and do all the good you can.”
