by Writing Workshops Staff
4 weeks ago
There's something about Paris that makes writers want to write better. Maybe it's the weight of literary history—Hemingway's cafés, Shakespeare and Company's crowded shelves, Gertrude Stein's Saturday salons. Or maybe it's simpler than that: the morning light on the Seine, a perfect croissant, the sense that you've stepped into a city that still believes art matters.
Applications are now open for our July 2026 Writing Workshop in Paris, and this year we're offering two distinct weeks to choose from. Whether you're a fiction writer, poet, memoirist, or working across genres, you'll spend an intensive week in the heart of literary Paris with award-winning faculty who know what it takes to publish meaningful work.
Two Exceptional Weeks, Six Distinguished Faculty
For 2026, we're expanding our Paris workshop to accommodate more writers and offer two unique experiences:
Session I: July 14-19, 2026
Karen E. Bender leads our fiction workshop. A National Book Award finalist for her collection Refund and author of the newly released The Words of Dr. L (May 2025), Karen has won three Pushcart Prizes and been published in The New Yorker, Granta, Ploughshares, and The Yale Review. Her stories have been reprinted in Best American Short Stories and Best American Mystery Stories.
Robert Anthony Siegel guides our nonfiction workshop. Author of the memoir Criminals and contributor to Best American Essays 2023, Robert's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Drift, and The Oxford American. A former Fulbright Scholar and Paul Engle Fellow at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Robert brings deep expertise in personal narrative and creative nonfiction.
Ramona Ausubel returns for her fourth summer leading our generative writing workshop, open to all genres. A New Yorker contributor and PEN/USA Fiction Award winner, Ramona's most recent novel The Last Animal was published by Riverhead Books. Writers in Ramona's workshop will generate new work daily throughout Paris, using the city itself as creative catalyst.
Session II: July 21-26, 2026
Kelly Luce leads our fiction workshop. Editor of Electric Literature's Commuter and author of Pull Me Under (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), Kelly was selected as an Elle Best Book of the Year and served as a fellow at Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her viral digital story "Between the Lines" demonstrates her range and contemporary voice.
Joan Kwon Glass guides our poetry workshop—a new addition for 2026. A Paterson Poetry Prize winner and finalist for the Balcones Poetry Prize, Joan's collection Daughter of Three Gone Kingdoms won multiple awards including the Perugia Press Poetry Prize and an IPPY Gold Medal. Her poems have been featured on NPR, Best American Poetry, and in Poetry magazine.
Elissa Bassist leads our nonfiction workshop. Author of Hysterical (a Thurber Prize semi-finalist) and editor of The Rumpus's "Funny Women" column, Elissa has been a founding contributor to The Rumpus since 2009. She teaches humor writing at The New School, and her forthcoming craft book Inside Jokes (co-written with Caitlin Kunkel) publishes in 2026 with Grand Central Publishing.
An Intensive Week of Craft Development
This isn't a vacation with a workshop attached. Each genre workshop is capped at just 10 participants, ensuring intimate, rigorous feedback on your work. Here's what you can expect:
For Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction Writers: You'll submit two manuscripts before arriving in Paris. One piece will be workshopped by your cohort and instructor with detailed written critiques. Your second manuscript becomes the focus of a one-on-one conference with your instructor—private, in-depth feedback on your work and your path forward.
For Generative Workshop Writers: Come to Paris ready to create. Ramona will guide daily writing field trips throughout the city, generating new work inspired by Parisian streets, cafés, gardens, and hidden corners. This workshop is open to all genres.
All participants attend daily craft talks on the art and business of writing, led by faculty and program staff. Our mission is clear: to bring your writing out of the wilderness and into community, and to help you forge a path toward publication.
The Paris Experience
We've chosen the Hôtel Trianon Rive Gauche as our home base—a 4-star hotel in the heart of literary Paris, steps from the Jardin du Luxembourg and surrounded by the booksellers and publishing houses that make this neighborhood electric for writers.
Your mornings are for workshops and conferences. Your afternoons and evenings? They're yours to write in Parisian cafés, explore the city, or join our curated optional activities:
- Latin Quarter Walking Tour through Paris's oldest streets, tracing the footsteps of literary giants
- Bateaux Mouche Boat Ride floating through the heart of the city on the Seine
- Evening Bike Tour hitting all the landmarks (Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Place de la Concorde) on California Beach Cruisers
- Reading & Champagne Toast on the banks of the Seine, followed by a farewell dinner
As writer Kerrin S. from a previous cohort shared: "I left with unexpected friendships that I will have for life, and a fresh motivation to finish my novel. My approach to my writing has been invigorated and my motivation renewed."
What's Included
Tuition is $3,495 and includes:
- Your own room at Hôtel Trianon Rive Gauche for 6 days, 5 nights
- Four full days of intensive workshops with no more than 10 writers per group
- Critical feedback on your manuscript submissions
- A one-on-one conference with your instructor
- Daily craft and business of writing seminars
- Welcome picnic with faculty
- All curated evening activities
- Free Wi-Fi at the hotel
(Note: Meals are not included, giving you the freedom to explore Paris's extraordinary food scene.)
Payment plans are available through Affirm for U.S. and Canadian residents.
Who Should Apply
Our workshops are open to writers at all stages who are serious about deepening their craft and finding their path to publication. Published novelist Lauren W. shared after attending: "Thanks to [my instructor] and my wonderful, encouraging cohort, I have changed my mind and am going to pursue creative nonfiction alongside my other writing endeavors. And of course, Paris is a positively dreamy place to write, walk, eat, drink and get inspired!"
Your application will include:
- A brief bio (500 words max) covering your involvement in the writing community
- A purpose statement (500 words max) explaining why you want to participate
- A writing sample (5,000 words max)—this doesn't need to be published work or the piece you plan to workshop
Though our admissions process is competitive, all interested writers are encouraged to apply. Due to the volume of applications and limited spots (only 10 per workshop), early applications are strongly encouraged.
Choose Your Week and Apply Now
With two exceptional weeks and six distinguished instructors, you can select the session that best matches your genre and schedule:
Session I (July 14-19): Fiction with Karen E. Bender, Nonfiction with Robert Anthony Siegel, or Generative Writing (all genres) with Ramona Ausubel
Session II (July 21-26): Fiction with Kelly Luce, Poetry with Joan Kwon Glass, or Nonfiction with Elissa Bassist
Ready to spend a week in Paris becoming the writer you've been working to become?
Apply now for Writing Workshops Paris, July 2026 →
