Hurston/Wright’s Virtual Writers Weekend is a fast-paced intensive workshop period that focuses on one element of craft facilitated by an award-winning professional writer in the genre they are teaching. Participants are welcomed virtually by Hurston/Wright on Friday evening at 6pm EST where they meet their instructor and workshop participants. Workshop sessions begin on Saturday at 9 am EST to Sunday at 4pm EST. The workshop weekend includes one-on-one time with the instructor.
2026 Summer Writers Weekend Workshop (Virtual)
JULY 24 – JULY 26, 2026
Non-Fiction Workshop
Non-Fiction Workshop Description:
This course is for writers at all levels. Our instructor Tieshka smith delves into the concept of writing as a journey back to one’s origins. Students will be encouraged to engage in writing exercises that examine various facets of their heritage, such as culinary history, family customs, and community connections.
Students will:
- Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives.
- Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection.
- Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes.
Non-Fiction Instructor:
Tieshka (pronounced Tish-ka) Smith is a Philadelphia-based photographer, writer, teaching artist, and cultural documentarian. Her work interrogates placemaking, memory, and civic identity through the lenses of race and class. Smith is the author of Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015–2022) and is currently working on her second book, Unscripted Moments: From the Diary of a Restless Lightchaser. Her photographs have been featured online and in galleries, museums, and publications across the U.S. A Chicago native, Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Northwestern University, and a Master of Project Management degree from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management. Her website is tieshkasmith.com.
Non-Fiction Workshop
Non-Fiction Workshop Description:
This course is for writers at all levels. Our instructor Tieshka smith delves into the concept of writing as a journey back to one’s origins. Students will be encouraged to engage in writing exercises that examine various facets of their heritage, such as culinary history, family customs, and community connections.
Students will:
- Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives.
- Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection.
- Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes.
Non-Fiction Instructor:
DaMaris B. Hill is an American writer, scholar, and educator. She is the author of Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood, A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland, \Vi-zə-bəl\ \Teks-chərs\ (Visible Textures), and other books. Her digital work includes “Shut Up In My Bones”, a twenty-first-century poem. Hill is a professor of Creative Writing, English, and African American Studies at the University of Kentucky.She is a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Fiction Workshop
Fiction Workshop Description:
This workshop invites writers to engage emotionally charged, memory-driven work through a healing-centered lens, exploring how to craft scenes of (re)memory, relationships, and return in ways that honor emotional complexity and unlock what makes a story truly unforgettable.
Students will:
- Acquire proficiency in fundamental aspects such as plot construction, dialogue refinement, and character development.
- Enhance their mastery of sentence-level composition, leveraging techniques such as imagery, precise vocabulary selection, and rhythmic cadence.
- Cultivate the disciplined practices characteristic of seasoned fiction writers, encompassing the realms of editing, revising, and manuscript submission.
Designed for aspiring writers at the outset of their journey or those in the process of establishing themselves, this course caters to individuals who are deeply committed to advancing their skills in the craft of writing.
Students will:
- Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives.
- Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection.
- Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes.
Fiction Instructor:
Keith F. Miller Jr..., is the author of the critically-acclaimed HarperCollins “PRITTY” YA series (Pritty, 2023; Togetha, 2025). In addition to being an award-winning educator, artist, and researcher, he is the founder of Healing By Any Means (HBAM), home of Narrative Systems Design, an emerging academic and professional discipline that powers system transformation through story. Keith is an executive producer of Pritty: The Animation, and he has an MFA in creative writing from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY.
Poetry Workshop
Poetry Workshop Description Spoken Word poetry has been the emotional backbone of resistance movements across continents and throughout history. Performance poetry can connect with and move audiences in ways no other art form can replicate. Focusing on examples of historical movements and revolutions which were impacted by poetry, we will learn what strategies have been used to create effective performance pieces, as well as how we can apply those lessons to the struggles of today.
Students will:
- Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives.
- Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection.
- Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes.
Poetry Instructor:
Miles Justice Hardingwood is a poet and creative from Brooklyn, NY. He is a 2023 National Student Poet and a 2022 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador. His poetry has received a Scholastic National Gold Medal and an American Voices Medal, and he has performed at venues such as The White House, The Schomburg Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and Vice President Kamala Harris’s Black History Month Celebration. He attended the Kenyon Young Writers Workshop and the Iowa Studio, and he currently attends Brown University, where he is pursuing a concentration in Literary Arts. You can find him on instagram @mileshardingwood
Research Methods for Writers Workshop
Research Methods for Writers Workshop Description: Utilizing her extensive background in Sociology spanning decades, Lucy Anne Hurston will guide participants through a three-day course emphasizing:
- In-depth exploration of a chosen topic through the sociological perspective.
- Techniques for effectively organizing large volumes of information.
- Ethical considerations in both written expression and presentation.
Prior familiarity with research methods is not a prerequisite. The course will offer a gentle introduction, culminating in a modest project for each participant to showcase to their peers.
Students Will:
- Gain skills in effectively navigating the portrayal of family members and ancestral narratives.
- Explore the nuanced concept of truth as it relates to writing from personal recollection.
- Discover techniques for seamlessly blending personal experiences with broader universal themes.
Research Methods for Writers Instructor
Lucy Anne Hurston, the niece of major 20th-century writer Zora Neale Hurston and Professor Emeritus of Sociology, is an acclaimed sociologist, biographer, and ethnographer. She has spent her life as an educator and compiled a detailed knowledge of her aunt’s life and work with a historian’s observant eye. As the owner of Hurston Research, LLC for over 25 years, Lucy has played a critical role in exploring and disseminating Hurston knowledge from her own research. She also continues to act as a voice for social change and equity in her volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Connecticut Foodshare, and as an advocate for literacy through events such as The Big Read sponsored by the NEA.