GrubStreet
Like other writing centers, such as The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and the Richard Hugo House in Seattle, [1] Grub Street, Inc. is a non-profit creative writing center located in downtown Boston.
According to its website, its mission is to "support creative writers at all stages of their development so that they can achieve their goals of publication, social and professional networking, gainful employment in the field, and/or personal enrichment." [2]
Grub Street does not offer any writing degrees. Rather, it provides university-level instruction that's comparable to an MFA program. It offers a variety of courses in poetry, fiction, essay, narrative nonfiction, as well as screen & playwriting, the "Writing Life," and publishing & promotion. Courses can be one-night seminars, weekend workshops, or 6 or 10 week long workshops.
Grub Street was founded in 1997 by Eve Bridburg, who grew enrollment from eight students for the center’s first term to 450 for the most recent winter session. Since its inception in 1997, 53 instructors, including New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum, and 22 students have published books. Grub also makes an effort to reach into the community by offering free writing workshops for teens (the YAWP, or Young Adult Writers Program). Senior citizens are served by the Memoir Project, which encourages older residents in 10 Boston neighborhood to write; anthologies of their work have been published. [3]
Grub Street also offers the chance to be part of a writing community. Writers can read their work at quarterly Season Showcase events and attend networking parties. Grub Street also holds annual conference, call the Muse and the Marketplace, where writers can learn craft from practicing writers as well as receive marketplace advice from practicing agents and editors.
Writers associated with Grub Street (former or current instructors, or those on the board) include: Steve Almond, Arthur Golden, Margot Livesey, Sue Miller, Susan Orlean, Tom Perrotta, Michelle Hoover and Ethan Gilsdorf.