Writing Classes at Wiawaka
Restorative Reading Sessions at Wiawaka
Join us for a restorative reading session! In each session, we’ll explore a chosen topic through books and reading. You’ll learn about multiple books across a variety of genres and get helpful tips for your reading life. We’ll spend time reading and come together in a community to meet new bookish friends, too.
10am-11am Tuesday July 2nd, 16th, 30th & August 13th, and 27th
Stephanie is a book-loving, notebook-hoarding literacy teacher educator at The University at Albany on a mission to change lives one book and one notebook at a time. She blogs about the power of leading literate lives at www.alitlife.com and podcasts weekly on books and reading, writing and notebooks and everything in between on Get Lit(erate). She also chats with a new children’s literature author every week on her KidLit Love podcast, too. You can find her online at www.alitlife.com and on most social platforms using @AffinitoLit.
Sign up for these free sessions at our front desk, (518)-668-9690 ext.1.
Writing Workshop with Bernice Mennis
July 21st, 2025
1:00pm – 4:00 pm
$20 for the writing class
$30 for the class and day pass
The poet William Stafford said that following the threads of our own mind would lead us to the holyland. The definition of “holyland” is open and wide, deep and unknown. In this workshop we will follow our pen and heart to discover where we are led.
Bernice has lived in the Adirondack woodlands for over 42 years, the bounty and beauty of nature continually nourishing her with its bounty, diversity and beauty. Bernice Mennis taught literature and writing at Vermont’s Adult Degree Program and at Great Meadows prison. She wrote Breaking Out of Prison:a guide to consciousness,compassion and freedom, about her experience at Great Meadows and the rich writing of the men she taught, and Holding it All, a book of poetry exploring the challenge of holding what is complex and layered in our lives.
Lake George through the senses and Georgia O’Keeffe’s art
July 19th, 2024
10:00am – 12:00 pm
Instructor: Johannah Spero
$30 for the writing class
In this fun, interactive workshop, we will focus on imagery as a literary device, taking inspiration from majestic Lake George—in person and as seen in Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork. From journaling to guided meditation to exploration of the outdoors, participants will transpose their interaction with nature into sensory descriptions—which will become lines of poetry. The workshop will culminate in an individual and group poem to memorialize Lake George, as O’Keeffe has done in the canon of American art.
With a BA in English literature from UMass Amherst and a Masters in Teaching from Simmons College, Johannah Davies Spero teaches composition and creative writing at SUNY Adirondack. The award-winning author of 8 novels under the name JD Spero, she has done author visits in school classrooms across the Northeast and has taught writing workshops locally for BOCES enrichment, and also at yoga retreats, Wiawaka, the Hyde Collection, Chingachgook Women’s Retreat and, most notably, following the footsteps of Stephen King at Exeter High in New Hampshire. After living in the Boston area for over twenty years, she returned to her hometown of Lake George to raise her three boys—although her family will always root for Boston sports teams.
Writing Workshop with Bernice Mennis
August 20th, 2025
1:00pm – 4:00 pm
$20 for the writing class
$30 for the class and day pass
The poet William Stafford said that following the threads of our own mind would lead us to the holyland. The definition of “holyland” is open and wide, deep and unknown. In this workshop we will follow our pen and heart to discover where we are led.
Bernice has lived in the Adirondack woodlands for over 42 years, the bounty and beauty of nature continually nourishing her with its bounty, diversity and beauty. Bernice Mennis taught literature and writing at Vermont’s Adult Degree Program and at Great Meadows prison. She wrote Breaking Out of Prison:a guide to consciousness,compassion and freedom, about her experience at Great Meadows and the rich writing of the men she taught, and Holding it All, a book of poetry exploring the challenge of holding what is complex and layered in our lives.
Journaling as brainstorming with inspired prompts!
August 7th, 2024
1:00pm – 4:00 pm
Instructor: Johannah Spero
$35 for the writing class
In this thoughtful, introspective workshop, we will explore the technique of journaling as a way of jump-starting the creative process, taking inspiration from the beloved poet Shel Silverstein as well as Jane Austen, author of the classic Pride and Prejudice. Participants will use prompts inspired by Austen quotes and Silverstein poems as a basis for free-writing. From this popular and cathartic technique, we will explore ways—through one-on-one guidance and peer reviews—to turn an unstructured journal entry into a cohesive art form—be it a poem or flash fiction story or personal essay.
With a BA in English literature from UMass Amherst and a Masters in Teaching from Simmons College, Johannah Davies Spero teaches composition and creative writing at SUNY Adirondack. The award-winning author of 8 novels under the name JD Spero, she has done author visits in school classrooms across the Northeast and has taught writing workshops locally for BOCES enrichment, and also at yoga retreats, Wiawaka, the Hyde Collection, Chingachgook Women’s Retreat and, most notably, following the footsteps of Stephen King at Exeter High in New Hampshire. After living in the Boston area for over twenty years, she returned to her hometown of Lake George to raise her three boys—although her family will always root for Boston sports teams.
Using Your Senses to Write More Creatively
August 8th -10th, 2025
$50 for the class for all days
Get 10% off an overnight when participating in this class
There is power in sharing our stories.They tell who we are and what life was like during our time on earth. They are a gift to the folks we love. As time goes by, our memories of people and places are coaxed out through various sensory experiences. an image, a melody, a scent, a sound,a taste. In this 2 night , 3 day workshop, through activities that encourage observation, mindfulness and reflection you will be guided to write your stories. Come join our Sense-sational Circle.
Joyce Rubin has been conducting workshops in shared story telling and writing for 10 years. In 2017 she published her first book, "How Do You Know When It's Saturday? " a collection of poetry, prose and pastels. She has presented for audiences in upstate NY libraries, bookstores, residences, churches and synagogues, the Academy for Lifelong Learning in Saratoga Springs on Zoom for members of Life Long Learners Group and Wiawaka in July, 2022.
Writing Workshop with Liza Frenette
August 15th, 2025
10:00am – 4:00 pm
$55 for the class and lunch
Have you had enough screen time? Come write by hand in journals or notebooks; come discover stories within as you take a day for yourself to sit in a rustic building on the lake and write.
Writing instructor Liza Frenette, an author, journalist, poet and essayist, will lead writing sessions using word prompts and positive response. This isn’t a “how-to” workshop – it is a “go within” workshop. There is no need to have a work in progress; all material generated will be new.
We will be listening to poems and short pieces, and then doing spontaneous writing based on prompts, followed by positive recall. Optional shared reading will take place at the end of the day.
We will be writing on small, silly, and serious topics ranging from nature, witnessing, a labyrinth walk, what’s in a name, life in a pandemic, or persona reflection.
It is about being present, noticing life, and finding your voice, whether that be for yourself, for stories to pass on to family, or for publication. The workshop will open pathways to that voice. The day will include time outside to walk the labyrinth or sit along the lake and write, as well as time for lunch.
Journal Writing as a Tool for Self-Discovery and Manifesting Your Best Life
August 26th, 2024
9:30am – 3:30 pm
Workshop Led By Lynn Sickles
$35 for the class
Meals can be purchased separately by calling 518-668-9690
Daily journal writing has the power to change your life. It is a tool for self-discovery and self-nurturing. Here is your chance to spend the day with your journal and like-minded women in a beautiful setting on the shores of Lake George.
During this day-long retreat we will discuss the importance of journal writing and how it can help us navigate the twists and turns on our life journey. We will spend most of our time together writing and some sharing of our thoughts about the process. Different journal writing techniques will be used and prompts provided. Writing times for each prompt will vary from as little as 3 minutes to 20 plus minutes.
Morning session: 9:30-11:30 Lunch break: 11:30-1:30 Afternoon session: 1:30-3:30
Bring your journal and favorite pens. This will be thought-provoking and fun workshop. I look forward to writing with fellow journal writers. New and experienced journal writers are welcome to attend.