Kaz Conference Writing Workshop is the home of small, focused writing cohorts in nonfiction, playwriting/screenwriting, poetry and fiction. We also host virtual conferences, bootcamps and intensives on the business of being a writer. Our montly workshops are virtual and take place via ZOOM. We also offer in person 4 day conferences - the next one will be the annual "All Write, Columbia Writers Conference" at the Spencertown Academy this November 2023. The Kaz Conference Writing Workshop is organized by award winning author and activist Donna Kaz ("UN/MASKED, Memoirs of a Guerrilla Girl On Tour;" "Push/Pushback, 9 Steps to Make a Difference with Activism and Art.") There are two to four cohorts and/or intensives each month including the Advanced Manuscript Boot Camp (fiction/nonfiction); Creative Nonfiction Writers Workshop; Writing Comedy Intensive for Women (all genres); Playwriting Intensive for Women (Plays/Screenplays); Activist Playwriting Intensive; and ONE to ONE Road to Publishing Intensive (all genres). All cohorts are small (4-8) and in each workshop writers receive feedback every other week on submissions. Talks on the practical training of writers are included in every workshop. Because reading and reviewing other work helps to strengthen ones own writing, peer review is a requirement of all sessions. The Kaz Conference Writing Workshop is committed to diversity and our faculty reflect an all-encompassing and equal world. Our goal is to challenge, inspire and foster a writers community that continues beyond the workshops because the stories we tell become the world we live in. UPCOMING: ACTIVIST PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP (2024); MEMOIR COHORT (JAN/FEB 2024). There is a submission fee of $10 per submission. Submission fees are non-refundable. This fee covers submission processing fees, hosting fees and ongoing operational costs. Rolling admissions. I look forward to hearing from you and reading your work.
-Donna Kaz
Director Kaz Conference
Kaz Conference Writing Workshop presents the 2nd Annual Comedy Writing Intensive for Women via ZOOM. The Intensive is 4 weeks of comedy writing for funny feminist writers. You know who you are. You make people laugh with your short stories, essays, articles, poems. But something stops you from finishing your work and submitting it. You are a bit fearful of your humor because there is a certain power in it. Yep, you possess power in a man’s world and that’s, well, that’s revolutionary. This intensive is for you – women who know they write funny but for whatever reason have put those funny pages to the side. It is time to step it up, gals. There’s an election right around the corner! This intensive is for just 4-6 writers. DATES and TIMES depend on each accepted writers availability. We will begin JAN/FEB of 2024. Each week we will discuss the fundamentals of writing humor and find ways to strengthen the humor in our work. You will bring to the intensive a short piece to work on and at the end of the intensive you will have an essay, ten minute play, vignette, memoir or fake news article to submit to major media outlets. COST: $350.00. Your work will be workshopped at least twice using the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process. DATES: JAN/FEB 2024/
TO SUBMIT: Please read these guidelines carefully. Submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines will not be considered for the intensive. 1) Submissions are accepted in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays and screenplays. 2) Submit 5 to 10 pages of your best comedy writing. (This is not what you might work on at the conference). 3) All submissions must be double spaced and all pages must be numbered. 4) Put your name on the submission at the top of page 1. 5) Save your submission for upload in a wpd, .doc, .docx, or .pdf as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_TITLE
Decisions will be made on a rolling basis, I look forward to reading your submission. Donna Kaz Kaz Conference Writing Workshop Director
Kaz Conference Writing Workshop 4 week activist playwriting intensive! Less than 18% of all plays produced in the US are written by women, trans, BIPOC or LBGT writers. Globally that percentage is far less. Without the vision of ALL writers for the stage, the theatre is like a play without a second act. This is the impetus behind the playwriting Intensive with award winning playwright and Guerrilla Girl, Donna Kaz aka Aphra Behn. Aphra will lead this 4 week intensive where just 6 intergenerational writers will meet weekly to write and rewrite new plays (from 10 minutes to full length). Writers will submit new work or rewrites every other week, receive feedback and participate in class discussions based on the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process. 2023 is the time to put pen to paper or brush off that final draft document of a stage play. Something stops you from finishing your work and submitting it. You are a bit fearful of your writing because there is a certain power in it. Yep, you possess power in the world and that’s, well, that’s revolutionary. This intensive is for you – writers for the stage who, for whatever reason, have put your plays to the side. It is time to step it up, gals. There’s an election coming up in 2024. Trans, LGBT and women's rights are restricted. Write about it. The intensive takes place via ZOOM for 4 weeks - you will receive weekly critiques of each 10 to 30 page piece of playwriting submitted from Kaz and the rest of the cohort. Here is more info:
COST: $350.00.
DATES: TBD JAN 2024
LOCATION: The playwriting Intensive for Women takes place via ZOOM!
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION: 1) Submit 5 to 10 pages of your best piece of playwriting. (This is not what you might work on at the intensive). 3) All submissions must be formatted via standard play formatting i.e. Dramatists Guild guidelines or Final Draft. 4) Put the title of your submission, name and contact information on page 1. If your submission is an excerpt of a larger play you may include a brief (50 word) synopsis. 5) Save your submission for upload in a wpd, .doc, .docx, or .pdf as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_TITLE
I look forward to reading your submission! Donna Kaz aka Aphra Behn (Guerrilla Girl) Kaz Conference Writing Workshop Director
Kaz Conference Writing Workshop 4 week playwriting / screenwriting intensive. Less than 18% of all plays produced in the US are written by women or BIPOC writers. When Emerald Fennell won an Oscar for best screenplay in 2021 no woman had won that award in 13 years. Without the vision of ALL writers the theatre / cinema is missing a second act. This is the impetus behind the Playwriting / Screenwriting Intensive. Award winning playwright and Guerrilla Girl, Donna Kaz aka Aphra Behn, leads this 4 week intensive where just 6 intergenerational writers will meet weekly to write and rewrite new plays and screenplays (from 10 minutes to full length). Focusing on practical tools to help clarify story-telling through dialogue and scene, the intensive is for both new and seasoned writers working on anything from ten minute plays and short form screenplays to longer works. Character driven pieces as well as more stylized explorations of form are appropriate for this intensive. Now is the time to put pen to paper or brush off that final draft document of your script. Something stops you from finishing your work and submitting it. You are a bit fearful of your writing because there is a certain power in it. Yep, you possess power in your words and that’s, well, that’s revolutionary. This intensive is for you – people who write for the stage and screen but for whatever reason have put those pages to the side. It is time to step it up. The intensive takes place via ZOOM. Each week we will read and discuss two to three submitted plays/screenplays using the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process as a base for our critique. Writers receive two critiques of 10 to 30 pages from Kaz and the rest of the cohort. COST: $350.00. DATES: The Intensive will meet at a time and date TBD by cohorts availability - January 2024.
TO APPLY - GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION: 1) Submit 5 to 10 pages of your best piece of playwriting. (This is not what you might work on at the intensive). 3) All submissions must be formatted via standard play formatting i.e. Dramatists Guild guidelines or Final Draft. 4) Put the title of your submission, name and contact information on page 1. If your submission is an excerpt of a larger play you may include a brief (50 word) synopsis. 5) Save your submission for upload in a wpd, .doc, .docx, or .pdf as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_TITLE I look forward to reading your submission! Donna Kaz aka Aphra Behn (Guerrilla Girl) Kaz Conference Writing Workshop Director
FIND YOUR MEMOIR COHORT - NOW FORMING FOR 2024 via ZOOM. Applications are now being accepted for the Kaz Conference Keep Writing Virtual Nonfiction Cohort via ZOOM. Are you a nonfiction writer working on a memoir? For 5 weels just 6-8 writers will gather via ZOOM -- at each workshop two writers will workshop 10 to 20 pages of a work of creative nonfiction/memoir. The sessions include discussions on the business of being a writer i.e. publishing, legal issues, agents and self promotion. The Kaz Conference was founded by award winning author Donna Kaz (UN/MASKED, Memoirs of a Guerrilla Girl) and is committed to diversity. Our faculty and cohorts reflect an all-encompassing and equal world and our goal is to challenge, inspire and foster a writers community that continues beyond the workshop because the stories we tell become the world we live in. In this workshop you will discover what is working in your pages, where your readers have questions, and what your peers want to see more of. These responses will spark fresh ideas about how you can strengthen your story and inspire you to return to your desk to complete and publish your work. Virtual workshop tuition: $375 for 5 weeks - includes two reviews of your writing samples from Donna Kaz and your cohort.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION: Please read these guidelines carefully. Submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines will not be considered for the workshop. 1) Submissions are accepted in nonfiction only. 2) Submit up to 10 pages of a work of nonfiction (may be an excerpt from a larger work). 3) All submissions must be double spaced, 12pt font. All pages must be numbered. 4) Put the title of your submission, your name and the date at the top of page 1. 5) Save your submission for upload in a wpd, .doc, .docx, or .pdf as follows: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_TITLE.
NOTE: We accept writers on a rolling admissions basis. I look forward to reading your work. - Donna Kaz: Kaz Conference Founder and Director