• Photo by Adam Verity

      Photo: Adam Verity

       

      BLAISE ALLYSEN KEARSLEY

      Hello, it's me. I know the name looks complicated. I would like to help you with that:

      My first name is pronounced BLAZE, my middle name is just ALISON, but with some

      different letters, and my last name sounds like KEY-ER-S-LEE.

       

      That's it for this first section of my website. It's been pretty demanding already.

       

    • [ about

      I'm a Black-biracial writer and teacher, and the creator/producer/host of How I Learned, a long-running storytelling, comedy, and reading series. I've appeared at The Moth, Risk, Mortified, Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, Gotham Storytelling Festival, and various New York (and one in New Orleans) venues that serve booze and sometimes snacks.

       

      My writing has appeared in Longreads, VICE, The Boston Globe, Midnight Breakfast, Electric Literature's The Nervous Breakdown, Elle.com, three anthologies—including Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic.—and in several magazines and online outlets a long time ago that are perhaps not worth mentioning by name and probably don't even exist anymore. Two new stories will appear in Catapult and in the anthology Nonwhite and Woman in February, 2022.

       

      I teach mostly memoir and personal essay writing as well as creative writing for teens. I'm currently a contributing editor at Vestal Review, the oldest flash fiction journal on the planet. I live in Brooklyn, but if you need me for something somewhere else maybe I'll go there.

       

      In another life I took a lot of pictures with actual cameras, and some of those pictures were published in places like New York Magazine, Gawker, Playbill, The Morning News, JPG Magazine, and Nerve. Maybe one day I'll add a gallery to this website.

    • [ select writing

      🜃   Finding Oneself in 'Surviving the White Gaze' (The Boston Globe)

      🜃   Why Mr. Bauer Didn't Like Me (Longreads)

      🜃   Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. (Gallery Books)

      🜃   The Mail Club (Midnight Breakfast)

      🜃   3 Songs About Being Young and Disenfranchised Before The Internets (The Weeklings)

       

    • [ teaching

       
      ​"Blaise's class made me a stronger writer.
      It was the hardest workshop I've ever done,
      but also one of the most important."

       

      ☉

       

      I offer 8-week workshops on memoir, personal essay, autobiographical fiction, and flash nonfiction for emerging and advanced writers, including teens. I also provide classes exclusively for BIPOC writers.

       

      My workshops are safe, creatively rigorous spaces in which we think critically about the tools of the craft from an inclusive perspective. We dig deeper for the real story, the nuance, and the singular voice that's sometimes simmering below the surface. We lean into both the heartache and the hilarity of good storytelling in an intimate and vital learning community.

       

      ☉

       

      "I've taken several workshops over the years, all over the country, and this was by far the best. Blaise is a goddamn treasure."

       

       

      "I feel so inspired, enriched, encouraged, and empowered in my writing practice. I've been sitting at my desk since we all logged off just feeling how full of gratitude my heart is—for you, the workshop, and the entire group."

       

      "During quarantine I had to show up for myself and others who counted on me, even when I felt like all I wanted to do was hide under my couch. Being part of this creative group of writers saved me."

       
       

      Some of my current and former students have been published in The New York Times, The Root, Blavity, Dame, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The Rumpus, Modern Love, Vox, Refinery29, Reductress, 12th Street, Manifest Station, Food & Wine, and Rolling Stone.

       

      But getting published isn't always the ultimate goal. Most writers join my workshops because it's hard to stick to a practice when no one's expecting you to.

       

      So they focus on the intentions they've set for themselves. They connect with other creative thinkers. They watch their own work evolve. They walk out of the workshops a little different than the way they walked in.

       

      ☉

       

       

      "I really loved the class. You treat every question with such a genuine desire to give the best possible answer and it made me happy every time. I admire that you focus on building people up. For someone like me, that means the world."

       

      "I genuinely looked forward to each week. The feedback and advice you gave sent me back out into the world with confidence and purpose."

       

      "Submitting something for publication for the first time was one of my goals for our eight-week workshop and that gave me the push I needed to hit the send button. Everything this group taught me about specificity, vulnerability and vivid storytelling made a huge difference."

       

      "Thank you for creating this generous space for us to try new things and be vulnerable, for the insightful feedback, and for leading us through the last 8 weeks. I'm really grateful."

       

      "This has been an amazing experience that has not only helped me improve as a writer, but affirmed my life journey along the way."

       

       

    • [ current workshops + consulting

      1

      Open Workshop

      Limited to 7 writers.
      8 weeks; Wednesdays, November 17 - January 12,
      7:00 - 10:00 pm ET.
      *No class November 24*
      By invite, referral, or application.

      Open to writers working on personal essay, long and short-form memoir, autobiographical fiction, and fiction. See your work through the fresh eyes of other wise, attentive writers and their critical feedback. There will be writing prompts to foster experimentation, enliven simmering ideas, cultivate new work, and dig deeper into current projects. Everyone will have three opportunities to submit their work to the group for feedback.
      $500 / $460 - $470 for returning writers*

      *$30 off for writers returning for a second workshop; $40 off for writers who've taken three or more workshops.

      Payment plans available.
       
      2

      Deep Dive Craft Workshop (Memoir)

      Limited to 7 writers.
      8 weeks; Thursdays, January 6 - February 24;
      7:00 - 10:00 pm ET.

      The act of creative writing, good storytelling, and personal growth requires us to keep things fresh, revisit and challenge what we think we know, and continually expand the depth and breadth of our knowledge. In this workshop, through purpose-driven prompts and peer feedback, we'll dive into different approaches to aspects of the craft of memoir—structure; audience; arc, action, and characterization; conflict and stakes; foreshadowing; beginnings; and the manipulation of time. Writers will have 2 opportunities to submit short-form memoir or autobiographical fiction. Everybody into the pool.
      $500 / $460 - $470 for returning writers*

      $30 off for writers returning for a second workshop; $40 off for those who've taken three or more workshops.

      Payment plans available.
       
      3

      One-On-One

      One-on-one work is for writers looking for individual attention and personalized creative direction. Over the course of three coaching sessions, we'll meet remotely (or in person if possible) to identify your goals and develop a work plan. You'll receive extensive critical feedback and other forms of guidance based on your needs. You can also sign up for a one-off session if you're just looking to generate new material and get back into your writing practice.
       
      For accountability and momentum, signing up for a minimum of 3 sessions is recommended.
       
      Payment plans available.
       

    • Get notified about future workshops.

       

      If you're interested in taking Creative Writing 101, please visit Gotham Writers.

    • [ how i learned

      Photo by Jon Boulier

      Photo: Jon Boulier

       

      Blaise Allysen's Kearsley's HOW I LEARNED series, a live reading/storytelling/comedy show, was born on the Lower East Side in 2009. The series has featured Aparna Nancherla, Janelle James, Alexander Chee, Anna Sale, Ophira Eisenberg, Isaac Fitzgerald, Nick Flynn, Mira Jacob, Nore Davis, Lizz Winstead, Amanda Duarte, Sasheer Zamata, Isaac Oliver, Jo Firestone, Mike Albo, Phoebe Robinson, Choire Sicha, Dan Kennedy, Rob Sheffield, Rosie Schaap, David Crabb, Jami Attenberg, and many, many, many, many others.

       

      ~

       

      Named one of "Five Best Comedy Shows Hosted By Women" by CBS New York and one of the Best Storytelling Series and Best Reading Series by Time Out New York.

       

       

       

       

      "Hostess Blaise Allysen Kearsley makes sure to keep it awkwardly funny." -CBS New York

       

      "...Always hilarious, sometimes touching, and without fail entertaining." -Brooklyn Magazine

       

      "This show has renewed my faith in this whole storytelling endeavor and what it means in the world." -David Crabb, The Moth


      "Blaise Allysen Kearsley is a charming host with an irrepressible, humming little laugh that seems to be a compromise she’s made with some wicked guffaw within." -LitWrap

       

    • And another thing.

       

      [ silent virtual write-in

      The free virtual write-in offers two and a half hours of creative focus to anyone who needs it.

      No prompts. No chatter. Just good writing energy.

      Pop in for part of the time or stay for the whole thing.

       

      Sign up below for notifications.

    • OK, this is the end of my website. You did a great job.

    •  

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