Workshops - In Person
Workshops - Online
Student Testimonials
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Jost teaches in a tradition that assumes students take their work seriously. He doesn’t over-explain or lower expectations. In both his classes and our one-on-one meetings, he asked direct questions and expected me to think carefully about my answers. That approach pushed me to trust my own thinking and take responsibility for my writing, from early ideas down to the sentence level. He doesn’t teach a formula or prescribe a style. Instead, he assumes you’re already a writer and meets each student’s voice with targeted feedback and thoughtful recommendations. I recommend this class without reservation.
—Sara D.
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Studying with Hank has been extraordinary. I joined his class as a complete novice and fell in love with the act of crafting fiction. Through his instruction, I've developed a sustainable writing practice, learning to investigate the fundamental question I’m asking when I tell a story. I’ve learned how to allow language to reveal itself; that a noun is a verb is an adjective, and that the dance is infinite. And perhaps most importantly, under his tutelage, I’ve developed an unshakable reading discipline. Regardless of skill level, surely there’s tons to discover and explore under his mentorship or in his workshops.
—Spencer G.
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Past writing classes had left me with the impression that writing couldn't be taught, that it was the pastime of geniuses alone. Maybe some of that is also attributable to English curriculums heavy on specific writers with bankable styles. But Hank encourages students to read broadly and with an open mind. Then, after kiboshing the idea that good writing needs to sound a certain way, he teaches you to zero in on techniques the authors are using and to what effect, helping you to abstract from that something you can apply immediately in your own writing. His feedback on first drafts is honest and helpful. He doesn't coddle but he's never mean. Taking a class with him makes you excited to write. Do it.
—Mohammad R.
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K Hank Jost is one of the most challenging yet engaging writing teachers I’ve had. He translates his love for the art of prose and all of its intricacies to his students. Hank encourages them to explore what they love most in their own writing and pushes them to dig deeper into the craft of language. Studying with him, I’ve noticed not only how my love for writing fiction has grown, but also how my abilities to be creative, be inspired, and form unique ideas have strengthened both on the page and in my life.
—Keaton R.
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I took a group workshop with Hank Jost and also worked with him one-on-one, and in both settings I found that Hank had enormous talent as a teacher, on top of his talent as a writer and prolific reader. He is profoundly down-to-earth, and he brought the same support and enthusiasm to students from about as wide a range of different writerly backgrounds as one could imagine, whether they had been writing for years or had just started, and whether they were writing genre fiction, YA, pulp, or literary fiction. He has enormous energy and constantly went above and beyond with feedback, even after the class was formally over, and he was funny and inspiring during class. He was also terrific at proctoring discussions and building community among his students: many of us are in regular contact even now, long after we took his class. Under Hank's tutelage I went from a 4 full decade in which I no longer really worked on my fiction to, in the past year, finishing many stories and submitting several for publication, of which one was recently accepted.
—David D.