Announcing Wenner-Gren Foundation/SAPIENS Online Workshops in Writing for the Public

Date: April 11, 2019

Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm MDT

Class: How to Write an Essay for the Public

Instructor: Amanda Mascarelli

Cost: Free (class size limited to 99)

Location: Zoom (we will send out sign-in instructions approximately one week before workshop)

Learn how to pitch and write a successful essay for SAPIENS and other popular magazines. In this class, you will explore a framework to approach popular writing and an understanding of the publication process. Essay writing is a craft that must be cultivated, so please join the class to sharpen your skills and learn about how you can engage a broad public audience to make your research matter.

Date: May 15 and May 22, 2019

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am MDT (each class)

Class: A Masterclass in How (and Why) to Write an Opinion Column

Instructor: Nicola Jones

Cost: Free (class size limited to 10)

Location: Zoom (we will send out sign-in instructions approximately one week before workshop)

An opinion piece can be one of the most powerful ways to get your work and its implications across to policy-makers, journalists, and the general public. Learn how to do it from a master: Nicola Jones, an editor at SAPIENS. A one hour crash course on how to write an opinion column, also known as an op-ed, will cover the typical structure and components of such a piece, along with writing tips to help you be as compelling and clear as possible, illustrated with examples. The first group class will be followed by a one-week homework period, during which the instructor will be available for quick e-mail feedback on your progress, and a second one-hour group session to share your work and lessons learned. Participants should emerge with the first draft of an opinion piece that they may wish to submit for consideration for publication in SAPIENS or elsewhere.

Date: October 23, 2019

Time: 1–3 p.m. MDT

Class: Public Writing for Undergraduates

Instructor: Christine Weeber

Cost: Free (class size limited to 99)

Location: Zoom (we will send out sign-in instructions approximately one week before workshop)

Targeted at undergraduate students, this course involves a collaboration with professors teaching an anthropology course. The professor will prime students for the workshop by working through two SAPIENS pieces as examples and introducing the idea of what it means to write for the public. As part of this exercise, the students pair off and map out the journalistic elements as shown (or not, in some cases) in the examples. Then, the students will join the Zoom workshop where an editor will explore the writing process and provide concrete tools for students to improve their writing. The workshop concludes with a brief generative writing exercise with the students to brainstorm ledes (the opening lines) for an article.

Date: December 4, 2019

Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm MDT

Class: Essay Writing

Instructor: Daisy Yuhas

Cost: Free (class size limited to 10)

Location: Zoom (we will send out sign-in instructions approximately one week before workshop)

Learn how to pitch and write a successful essay for SAPIENS and other popular magazines. Before the class you will brainstorm a list of 1-3 essay ideas and send them in advance to the instructor, as well as prep by reading two essays in advance. The class then begins with a discussion of where ideas come from and how to think of matching a piece of writing to a particular outlet. Next, the class will review the two assigned scientist-written essays and learn about the key components that make them successful (or not so much). Through these exercises students will learn about how to start a story, where the thesis, how narrative or anecdotal material is woven in, how background and history fits in, how sources are incorporated, strategies for organization, and more.