Writing Funny Personal Essays, a Zoom Seminar with Elissa Bassist on Sunday, January 18th, 2026
Sunday, January 18th, 2026
Live Seminar via Zoom from 2:30PM - 5:30PM EST
Now Enrolling!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.
Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and the author of Hysterical, a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, Elissa has written cultural and personal criticism since the website launched in 2009. INSIDE JOKES, a humor writing craft book, co-written with Caitlin Kunkel, is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2026. Elissa teaches humor writing at The New School and elsewhere, and she is probably her therapist’s favorite.
Who is this course for?
This course is for writers who want to be David Sedaris but tell their own stories. It's open to all levels.
What to expect:
Why do you laugh when you read? Because you relate? Because you’re surprised? Because life is an absurd farce?
In this mind-blowing seminar, we’ll gossip about the many ways to make readers laugh and how to turn an anecdote into an essay that’s funny and publishable. We’ll cover the mortification essay, the revelation essay, the “that one time…” essay, the funny op-ed, and the self-effacing essay.
Students will learn a repeatable drafting process to find topics, angles, and what’s unusual and universal in their lives to carve out their stories. Writers may come with an idea in mind or start from scratch. Our goal will be to go from topic to crappy first draft in one sitting or die trying.
What are the writing goals?
In class we'll brainstorm topics, generate raw material, write scenes, rewrite those scenes, and figure out how it all comes together. Our goal will be to go from topic to crappy first draft in one sitting or die trying.
Readings will include work from Samantha Irby, Melissa Broder, Jenny Lawson, Daniel Lavery, Jabeen Akhtar, R. Eric Thomas, and Michael Arceneaux.
Preparation and workload: Read (and love) Hysterical (if you want). There will be handouts (to reference during classes) and brainstorming and writing exercises (to be done in class). Elissa will provide PDFs of funny nonfiction pieces. You’ll bring in one page of your own writing to revive it with everything you learn in class.
Can't Make It Live?
No problem! The session will be recorded and available to watch after the seminar concludes.
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
What to look forward to:
- Hilarious readings; in-class brainstorming; writing exercises; excessive handouts; and solicited and unsolicited advice.
- Guidance on coming up with topics to write about, raw material, and unique angles.
- Detailed explanation of what every funny personal essay needs to be publishable.
- Information on what venues publish and pay for the funny personal essay.
- Instruction on how to step up your game and turn a personal essay into a funny one.
- Honest answers about drafting, revising, pitching, and publication.
TESTIMONIALS:
"I loved this class. Elissa was an extremely generous teacher/storyteller. I think listening to her talk about her experience/struggles to get words on the page was the most valuable part. I was amazed with Elissa’s ability to focus and maintain passion and energy for 3 straight hours. I was completely engaged in her personal writing journey and was satisfied with spending 3 hours listening to her speak." -former student
"This was a fun class! I found Elissa's personal takes and experiences in both the process and in finding a home for her writing most valuable. The process seems much more manageable to me now, and I would take another class with Elissa." -former student
"I heard about WritingWorkshop.com via Hippocampus Magazine. I'm so happy I found Elissa's class, which was filled with many small insights that added up to a lot. I left the class feeling inspired. Thank you." -former student
"Elissa's seminar exceeded my expectations! She provided real-world solutions for rejection and included so many thought-provoking prompts. This class was so rich with information it could have easily been a 6-week course."-former student
"This class was SO, SO GOOD!!!! By far, my favorite ever of the many many I have taken with Catapult, Grubstreet, Porch, CFF, and WritingWorkshops.com. Big compliments! Thank you!!! Learned a lot and was furiously taking down notes; what marvelous advice and stories you have. Can't wait to read HYSTERICAL and the books that will come after that." -former student
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Sunday, January 18th, 2026
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Live Seminar via Zoom from 2:30PM - 5:30PM EST
- Tuition is $99 USD.
If you have questions, please use the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.