I founded the Sayulita Writer’s Workshops in late 2009 in order to bring the North American writing community to Sayulita, on the coast in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. I’ve been visiting Sayulita since about 1998, and was convinced long ago that it would be a great place to live and work as a writer. I moved with my family to Sayulita in the summer of 2009, at the same time I began planning the workshop program.

The Sayulita Writers Workshops offers aspiring and professional writers and writing teachers an opportunity to experience Mexico in a relaxed, welcoming setting: a small, colorful, and lively beachfront town with an eclectic population mix of Mexicans and expat Americans and Europeans. The eclectic program features classes ranging from "Turn Your Blog Into a Book "(taught by Seattle blogger Candace Dempsey, who blogged her way through the Amanda Knox murder trial to a book deal with Penguin) to “The Art and Soul of Food Writing,” (taught by author-chef-blogger Becky Selengut) and everything in between. Both aspiring and already successful writers will find something of interest to study—and what a great place to hang out and write between classes!

The writing workshops are $500 which includes a Sunday night cocktail party, four days of intensive classroom time, and a Thursday night event--dinner, reading, performance?-- to be determined by teachers and students. Information on pricing and other details can be found at sayulitawritersworkshops.com. I have recently discounted all workshops to $400, $700 for two in a row, and now offer a further discount to $300 per workshop to all Sayuleros, San Panchos, and Vallartans from all over the Bahia Banderas region. Come on up and take a class! I need students!

Workshop Schedule
January
Searching for the Golden Voice in Music and Words
January 11-14, 2010 / Instructor: Charles R. Cross

Words and Pictures
January 18-21, 2010 / Instructors: Justin Henderson and Donna Day

Launch: Drafting the Personal Essay
January 25-28, 2010 / Instructor: Lyall Bush

February
Contemporary Magazine Journalism
February 1-4, 2010 / Instructor: Charles Salzberg

Memory to Story: Writing Your Life

February 8-11, 2010 / Instructor: Richard Goodman

Making Fiction out of Facts
February 15-18, 2010 / Instructor: Justin Henderson

Dramatic Writing
February 22-25, 2010 / Instructor: Jonathan Kravetz

March
Writing the Graphic Novel Script
March 1-4, 2010 / Instructor: Laurance Klavan

Intro to Travel Writing: Must Love Travel AND Words
March 8-11 2010 / Instructor: Giselle Smith

Framework
March 15-18, 2010 / Instructor: Ross Klavan

Method and Madness – A Fiction Workshop
March 29-April 1, 2010 / Instructor: Tim Tomlinson

April
The Art and Soul of Food Writing
April 5-8, 2010 / Instructor: Becky Selengut

From Fact into Fiction
April 12-15, 2010 / Instructor: Lauren Weedman

Turn Your Blog into a Book
April 19-22, 2010 / Instructor: Candace Dempsey