I teach writing seminars in person and online, support writers with personal coaching, and also offer manuscript review and editing services for fiction and nonfiction.
Sign up for our newsletter (about 6 – 8 times a year) for first info on our in-person and online courses.
See testimonials from previous seminar participants and clients, and a small sample of
books published by my clients. I’ve helped many new writers get agents, publishers and their first publishing credits. Most importantly, I love helping writers discover the transformational power of writing as a practice – a way to connect with their soul and their authentic voice.
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The Turning World: A Soulful Journey through the Cycle of the Seasons
My 4-Month Online Exploration circle starts a new round in January, and new participants are welcome to join! My guest teacher is Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei. We’ll embark on a creative journey to deepen our intimacy with the natural cycle of the changing seasons, exploring the way our inner world is in relationship with our outer world. We’ll meet once a month by Zoom. You’ll also receive email guidance and inspiration, and you can share your experiences with others in a private Facebook group. Sliding scale fee. Info, dates and registration at this link.
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Online Writing Course: Write a Book with Write to the Finish 2025 :
Starts Spring 2025 – Email to be the first to receive dates and info
A 9-month online course for writers working on a book-length manuscript, in any form: fiction, nonfiction, memoir, or poetry and story collections. We work closely together with a small group of writers via live Zoom masterclasses, phone mentor calls and an online teaching platform for craft lessons, writing exercises and feedback on your pages. Now in its 20th year, the Write to the Finish course includes a full manuscript critique. Led by Tania Casselle and Sean Murphy, NEA Fellow in Creative Writing & winner of the Hemingway Award for a First Novel.
Find out more about Write to the Finish.
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Free Mini Zoom Seminar Saturday May 4
4 Myths about Writing A Book
Join our FREE 1-hour live Zoom mini seminar on May 4 at Noon Eastern on
FOUR MYTHS ABOUT WRITING A BOOK. Find out why those myths are harmful to your process as a writer and how you can liberate yourself for success!
We’ll have time for your questions about your own book writing process. Register here .
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Our ZOOM video online contemplative writing retreat is designed to support your creative life in these most challenging times. Our small group of 8 to 14 writers will meet for 8 writing sessions over 5 days. Each session is 2 hours. Find out more about Writing From Where You Are.
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9-Month Meditation and Mindfulness Leader Training Certification Program
Online / Via Zoom Starts September 2024.
If you are a meditator, come join our Sage Institute Meditation and Mindfulness Leader Training certification program, all online and with live classes via Zoom. My husband Sean Tetsudo Murphy Sensei, a fully authorized Zen teacher in the American White Plum Lineage, is the head teacher and program director and I also teach in the program and serve as mentorship director. We are now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 Cohort.
This 200-hour 9-month secular/interfaith certification program is designed for experienced meditators who wish to share basic meditation and mindfulness skills with others from any background or belief system.
It’s a small and intimate program with lots of personal contact with Sean and me. Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness was founded by Sean with fellow author Mirabai Starr.
Our inclusive, secular approach focuses on meditation & mindfulness techniques, psychological and physiological aspects of practice, creativity and artistic expression, embodiment practices, inclusivity and social change, and service.
Meditation Leader grads include writers, spiritual directors, body workers, yoga teachers, ministers and psychotherapists and people who are none of the above but who wish to make a difference and help in the world. Scholarships and payment plans are available. People of diverse identities are encouraged to apply. Our new cohort starts September so get in touch soon! Information on the program here.
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Spiritual Directors International 2020 Writer’s Institute
April 23, 2020. Santa Fe, New Mexico
* Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19*
I am Institute Chair for the Writer’s Institute at the 2020 Spiritual Directors International Conference in Santa Fe, NM. You can join the Contemplative Writing Half-Day Workshop without attending the full conference. I can’t wait to lead this lovely Writer’s Institute for the third year.
As a spiritual practice, writing holds great potential for transformation. Explore how to connect your inner and outer worlds through writing. In this contemplative workshop we’ll combine mindfulness practices with writing as a tool for discovery and transformation. These exercises also stimulate the creative process and open the mind / heart to new possibilities, freeing the natural flow of our writing voice.
Guest presenter is Sean Murphy, 2018 NEA fellow in Creative Writing, Faulkner and Hemingway Award-winning fiction author, winner of an International Book Award for his non-fiction book One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories and Zen teacher in the White Plum Lineage.
Writing at the Edge of the World
A Contemplative Writing Retreat
June 15 – 19, 2020 * Postponed to 2021 due to the Coronavirus*
North Beach Inn, Orcas Island, W.A.
Are you drawn to discovery, transformation, creativity? This may the perfect opportunity for you…. Join us for a contemplative writing retreat at this beautiful Orcas Island beachside property in the sunny banana belt near Seattle. Step out of the hurried pace of everyday life and explore writing as spiritual practice in this peaceful setting where forested land meets ocean, where our own individual stories meet the magnificence of the natural world.
Get all the information here on this unique retreat taught that I look forward to teaching with Sean Murphy, 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellow and an authorized Zen teacher (Sensei) in the American White Plum Lineage.
I am Institute Chair for the Writer’s Institute at the 2019 Spiritual Directors International Conference in Bellevue, Seattle. You can join the Writing your Story – Making Connections seminar day without attending the full conference. I am so looking forward to leading this Writer’s Institute for the second year. The focus is on writing as a spiritual practice, also exploring how we can write about spirituality in order to reach an audience of spiritual seekers. Of course, we will also discuss paths to getting published, with plenty of practical tips for writers to take away.
Guest presenters are Sean Murphy, 2018 NEA fellow in Creative Writing, Faulkner and Hemingway Award-winning fiction author, winner of an International Book Award for his non-fiction book One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories and Dharma teacher in the White Plum Lineage. Author & Huffington Post writer Steven Crandell will bring his expertise too.
Zen in the Art of Writing: Writing, Meditation and Yoga workshop
Chateau Fairmont, Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies
March 18 – 22, 2018
Join me and Hemingway Award-winning author, NEA Fellow and Dharma teacher Sean Murphy for a contemplative writing retreat in this world-renowned natural setting in the Canadian Rockies! We’ll begin each day with meditation and mindfulness, exploring how these practices open our eye for detail, free the creative flow and liberate our authentic writing voices. Optional yoga sessions are offered each morning as well. We taught at this beautiful hotel last year and it was a wonderful experience in a stunning location.
Find all the information here and contact me with any questions.
Participant Mag said: “Definitely take this retreat if you would like some immersion in writing practice and meditation. The kind attention and wisdom of these teachers is a huge plus and the setting is remarkable!”
Spiritual Directors International Writer’s Institute
St Louis, April 26 2018
I am Institute Chair for the Writer’s Institute at the 2018 Spiritual Directors International Conference in St Louis. You can join the Writing your Story – Making Connections seminar day without attending the full conference. I am so looking forward to leading this Writer’s Institute, with a focus on writing as a spiritual practice, also exploring how we can write about spirituality in order to reach an audience of spiritual seekers. Of course, we will also discuss how to get published, with plenty of tips for writers to take away.
Guest presenters are Sean Murphy, 2018 NEA fellow in Creative Writing, Faulkner and Hemingway Award-winning fiction author, winner of an International Book Award for his non-fiction book One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories and Dharma teacher in the White Plum Lineage. Author & Huffington Post writer Steven Crandell will bring his expertise too.
Manuscript Reviews & Editing
I specialize in developmental or substantive editing, which means I’m looking at the big picture of how a manuscript hangs together and works as a whole. I give you feedback on what is working well in your draft (we all need to know our strengths so we can build on them) and give practical suggestions on how you can improve any weaker points. This includes the structure, narrative arc, character development, and many other aspects of writing craft. See what my writer clients say about working with me.
If you write short stories or nonfiction essays, or are working on a novel or memoir, and you’d like honest, supportive feedback or to discuss strategies on marketing for publication, email me to see if we’d be a good fit in working together.
I also offer a Query Letter Review Package to help with your query letters to agents and editors.
Personal Coaching for Writers
I work as a private coach for writers, according to their needs. I give expert feedback on their work and help with:
→ Overcoming writer’s block and motivation to keep on track
→ Craft issues and narrative development
→ Marketing and queries to publishers and agents
I only take on a few coaching clients at a time, and only if I feel I can offer good service to match the writer’s needs. Most writers come via referrals from previous clients, but even if you haven’t been referred to me, drop me an email and tell me what kind of writing you do, what you want to achieve, and what kind of support you’re looking for.
Or see my Get Fired Up Coaching Package of individual coaching calls and critique.
Who Am I?
An award-winning professional writer for international publications and a former magazine editor. See more about my work for books and magazines and other media and as the award-winning host of the radio show Writers on Radio, a literary chat show with authors broadcast on an NPR-affiliate and syndicated to other stations. I’m a Committee Chair of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and (as if I don’t spend enough time writing for a living) I also love writing fiction.
My fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and published in journals including New York Stories, Saint Ann’s Review, South Dakota Review, Carve Magazine, Cezanne’s Carrot, Pindeldyboz, In Posse Review, The God Particle, Insolent Rudder, Wild Strawberries, Edifice Wrecked, Yankee Pot Roast, etc. I’m the winner of the Lesley Poling-Kempes prize for non-fiction, a prize winner in the Asham Short Story Award, and I’ve received honorable mentions/finalist in the SFWP Literary Awards, Raymond Carver Short Story Award, Writers at Work Fiction Fellowship, American Literary Review Fiction Contest, Reynolds Price Short Fiction Award, EWN Short Fiction Contest, the David Morrell Fiction Prize.
I’ve taught creative writing and led writing workshops and retreats at:
University of New Mexico-Taos
Taos Institute of Arts, New Mexico
Taos Art School, Canyon de Chelly, Navajo Nation
Ghost Ranch Casa del Sol, New Mexico
American Franklin College, Switzerland
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Canada
Murie Center, Grand Tetons, Jackson, Wyoming
Breckenridge Summit Huts Association, Colorado
Various centers in London, UK and other educational and arts organizations.