The Short Novel
Instructors: Gary Schmidt & Shelley Tanaka
Sundays, March 23 - August 24, 20205
See description for schedule breakdown | Online | Workshop recorded
Level: Advanced
Short novels are in demand. Teachers want them, librarians want them, and kids want them. And yet authors continue to churn out 200-page-plus books for young readers.
In this new and unique offering, beloved faculty members Gary Schmidt and Shelley Tanaka will walk you through the process of writing a short novel (approximately 80-120 pages) from beginning to end. That’s right, you will come up with a novel premise and by the end of the workshop you should be able to write the full manuscript with the help of these two amazing mentors.
We can only accept ten students for this intensive workshop. Registration opens December 15, 2024.
THIS CLASS IS FULL
Workshops will be recorded, but we recommend attending all workshops.
Revise Your Picture Book Manuscripts: A Faculty led, Writer-Centered Critique Group
Instructor: Karen Krossing
Wednesdays March 26 - May 21, 2025
7:30 - 8:50 PM EST | Online
Level: All Levels
Do you have picture book manuscripts that you’d like to revise with a small, committed group of writers dedicated to helping you produce your best work? Join award-winning author and MFA-level instructor Karen Krossing for this in-depth, hands-on, nine-week workshop limited to eight participants. You’ll use your own manuscripts to explore picture-book craft/revision, you'll discuss craft elements you can apply to your own manuscripts, and you’ll participate in weekly online discussions that dive into picture book craft topics.
THIS CLASS IS FULL
Get To The Heart Of Your Story
Instructor: Leah Henderson
Wednesdays, April 16 - May 7, 2025
7:30-9:00 PM EST | Online | Workshop recorded
Level: All Levels
Are you partway through your manuscript and feeling a little lost? Have you completed a first draft and still don't know exactly what your protagonist needs or wants? Or, perhaps you are still at the beginning, struggling to figure out how this story is going to work.
Understanding your story helps you fulfill promises and endear readers from the beginning to the end of your work. In this workshop, master instructor and award-winning author Leah Henderson will use prompts, questions, texts and exercises to help you better understand your story and your characters. We’ll study what goes into strong opening lines, paragraphs, and scenes as well as what holds a reader’s attention through often murky middles. We’ll examine how to create intentional and memorable endings. We’ll delve into character, setting, pacing, plot, emotion and other key elements that come together at each stage of the writing process to help you create engaging stories.
Publishing Is a Crafty Biz: A Two-Part Craft and Publishing Business Workshop
Instructor: Charlesbridge editor, Karen Boss
Thursdays, May 29 & June 5, 2025
7:00-8:30 PM EST | Online | Workshop recorded
Level: All Levels
Do you ever wonder why editors make the decisions they make? Why do they reject some projects and acquire others? How do they balance the demands of the market with their quest for voice and story?
Join esteemed Charlesbridge editor Karen Boss for this two-part series designed to give you insight into both the business and the art of publishing. You'll integrate these newfound insights into your craft, using prompts, exercises, and mentor texts. And of course, there will be plenty of time for questions and answers. Week one will explore finding the balance between creativity and commerce and week two will explore how to find the best voice for any given project.
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with and learn from an acquiring editor.
Whale Rock Mentorships, Fall 2025
Instructors: Liz Bicknell, Kathryn Erskine, Liz Garton Scanlon, Gary Schmidt, and Shelley Tanaka
September - December 2025
Times TBD | Online | Workshops recorded
Level: Advanced
Our Mentorships are immersive, writing experiences designed to offer writers one-on-one attention, feedback and skill building from master, MFA-level faculty members.
Our mentorship faculty members team up for this unique online program designed for picture book, middle grade, and young adult authors. With award-winning authors, editors, professors and former professors from Hamline University and Vermont College of Fine Arts, students receive one-on-one guidance and stewardship. For authors contemplating an MFA program, this is a wonderful alternative to grow your skills without the steep price tag. For authors who have an MFA or never considered one, this is your opportunity to get pages read and critiqued by master instructors.
*Please Note: We do not yet have confirmation of availability from all our mentors, but 80% of our mentors return session after session. If you wish to register early in order to confirm your spot, you will be able to revisit your mentor choice once we have our faculty in place.
In Person Master Skills Workshop
Patti Gauch and Gary Schmidt
Sunday, September 7 - Saturday, Septemver 13, 2025
All day | In-Person | Lexington, MI
Level: Advanced
Join Patti, Gary and other children’s literature authors for a week designed to help you dive deep into your craft and take your writing to the next level. Each year, our instructors bring new lessons, new prompts and new exercises to help you master your craft.
This class is full
Virtual Master Skills Workshop
Patti Gauch and Gary Schmidt
Sunday, October 19 - Saturday, October 25, 2025
All day | Online | Partially recorded
Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Join Patti, Gary and other children’s literature authors for a week designed to help you dive deep into your craft and take your writing to the next level. Each year, our instructors bring new lessons, new prompts and new exercises to help you master your craft.
All workshops are recorded.
Caboose Retreat 2025:
WEEK ONE DATES: November 2 - November 7, 2025
WHERE: Sabillasville, MD
SPECIAL GUEST: Patricia Lee Gauch
WEEK TWO DATES: November 9 - November 14, 2025
WHERE: Sabillasville, MD
SPECIAL GUEST: Agent Miranda Paul, Erin Murphy Literary Agency
Join Whale Rock Workshops faculty for a cozy writing retreat in Sabillasville, MD. Make lifelong writer friends with this six-day, five-night getaway. Faculty and writers will cook together, eat together, walk together, laugh together, and of course write together.
Fall 2025 Write Now!
WHEN: September - December, 2025
Wednesday & Thursday mornings
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Tuesday evenings 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM ET
WHERE: Online
There’s nothing like a regular meeting time and space to keep your writing commitments honest. Our Write Now! groups are FREE and offer the support you need to show up and work each week. (Note: You must be a newsletter subscriber to participate in Write Now!)
Details Coming Soon