"...From time to time over the last decade in my role as director and writer-in-residence of the Attic Writers' Workshop, I've used this newsletter to connect with you on a personal level -- one writer reaching out to other individual writers with a similar passion for the written word and a commitment to literary culture. 


"While the Attic community, and the workshops we host, provide Portland's writers with a degree of literary companionship, we are always trying to find new ways for the Attic to offer even more. That is why I'm so pleased to make an announcement that I hope will have a lasting impact on the literary life of this city -- the debut of the Attic Atheneum, a low-residency, 11-month master writing certificate program..."



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Life by Design NW, a nonprofit in Portland that serves people over 50 in navigating life changes such as retirement, career and volunteer opportunities, has teamed up with the Attic to feature our upcoming Life Sketches workshops.

Life Sketches is the Attic’s one-of-kind writing workshop for individuals 55 and older. In six-weeks participants get to experience the pleasure of writing their personal stories, share them with peers, and preserve them in print. 

Sign up now

The Attic Atheneum is our groundbreaking alternative to traditional or low-residency MFAs. An 11-month certificate program, the Attic Atheneum melds independent study under close faculty supervision, student receptions, public readings, and other special Atheneum events created around good food and great conversation, dialogue, and literary community.

Student to faculty ratio is 2 to 1. Running for just under a year, the Atheneum is designed to advance your writing and seed your new literary life in the city.

Deadline to nominate/apply: Friday, April 24. The next 11-month Atheneum begins in July 2010.

Learn more

Register today and secure your spot
New! Attic Academy (for Kids) & Attic at the Dojo

Workshops in fiction, poetry, memoir, screenwriting, & creative non-fiction

Sign up now

"This was so much more than I had hoped I would gain from the experience. This is a great service for the Attic to provide!"  -- Pam Ledbetter, children's book consultation

We've updated our one-on-one services. Check out the lineup of offerings. Plus, you can always devise your own plan.

Learn more

One the Attic's freelance magazine writing instructors, Bill Donahue...has a new piece on why American rodeos are taking on a Latin flair in the March Atlantic Monthly.

Take a sneak peek

Plus: Register now for our upcoming Attic at the Dojo "Magazine Writing from Start to Finish" workshop taught this spring by freelance journalist Elizabeth Rusch.

Join the "Write Now!" workshop for educators and earn graduate academic credit from Western Oregon University (and/or PDUs)

Read more about the class

Plus: All professional teachers can earn academic credit by taking any class at the Attic. Learn more

We offer several types of editing based on each writer’s wants and needs.

These choices will help you to reach the potential your writing has to offer and are a great way to help ensure your piece has been prepared to send to publishers of any kind.

We offer proofreading, copyediting, and developmental editing.

Read more

 Write. Share. Preserve.

If you're 55 & over, come up to the Attic to tell us one of your life stories. We've heard experiences that range from survivng the Blitz during World War II to growing up on the streets during the Depression. In six-weeks participants get to experience the pleasure of writing their personal stories, share them with peers, and preserve them in print. Experienced published writers facilitate each series of workshops with supportive and intimate guidance. 

For more information

Register now for the upcoming Life Sketches class at the Attic.

Attic instructor Merridawn Duckler has a new essay in Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces

"Adventures in Dance" is Merridawn's contrbution to Site Dance, edited by Melanie Kloetzel & Carolyn Pavlik, published by the University Press of Florida. In February 2010, Merridawn, a former Oregonian dance critic, will speak about her essay at UCLA.

Buy the book