The Writers Studio
The Writers Studio is a privately held, founder-owned creative writing school founded in 1987 in New York City that teaches fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir through a proprietary five-level workshop progression and online program, serving aspiring writers and MFA-holders worldwide across five branch locations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Writers Studio does
The Writers Studio is a privately held, founder-owned creative writing school founded in 1987 in New York City by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Schultz. It operates as a consumer-facing educational institution serving aspiring writers through advanced MFA-holders seeking serious ongoing instruction, primarily via multi-level progressive writing workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir. The company's underlying pedagogical technology is its proprietary "persona writing" method, in which students "try on" narrative voices and techniques drawn from accomplished published authors as a structured path to discovering their own voice; this method is operationalized through a five-level workshop progression (Levels 1-5 / Master Class), a weekly Craft Class teaching students to read like writers, and an asynchronous online program delivered via Google Meet or Zoom. Instructional quality is standardized by training all teachers internally (every teacher is a former student who completed the highest workshop level plus three years of method-specific training), and consistency is reinforced across all delivery formats including in-person NYC and Tucson classes, virtual San Francisco and Hudson River Towns classes, Italian-language instruction in Rome, and a global online program.
The Writers Studio generates revenue through four streams: subscription-style workshop tuition across the five progressive levels and eight-week terms (primary recurring revenue); Craft Class fees for reading and discussion sessions; a one-on-one Tutorial Program priced at $1,925 for 20 hours of teacher time (a professional-services unit-priced revenue stream); and transactional sales of the Craft Class Archive at $25 per recording (a digital product line monetizing 30 years of recorded lectures). Go-to-market is community-led: the school does not require writing samples or applications, relying instead on word-of-mouth referrals, a regular Reading Series featuring prominent authors, newsletter marketing, organic social media, student testimonials from Pulitzer-winning alumni, and PR coverage in outlets such as The New Yorker, NPR, and The New York Times Book Review. The school has five physical or virtual branch locations (NYC, Tucson, San Francisco, Hudson River Towns, Rome) plus a comprehensive online program serving students worldwide, and is privately held with no disclosed outside investors.
The Writers Studio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Writers Studio
- Legal name
- The Writers Studio
- Website
- https://writerstudio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Writers Studio is a privately held, founder-owned creative writing school founded in 1987 in New York City that teaches fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir through a proprietary five-level workshop progression and online program, serving aspiring writers and MFA-holders worldwide across five branch locations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Writers Studio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Writing Education
- NAICS
- Fine Arts Schools (61161), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Writing Craft & Technique Workshops (Voice, Structure, Character, Style) (EDAMAMAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fiction Writing Workshops (Short Story, Novel) (EDAMAMAA), Creative Nonfiction & Memoir Workshops (EDAMAMAC), Online & Hybrid Creative Writing Workshops (EDAMAMAL)
Keywords
Where The Writers Studio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
The Writers Studio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Workshop Tuition: In-person and online writing workshops offered at five levels, with eight-week terms. Students progress through levels requiring sequential completion of multiple terms.
- Craft Class: Reading and discussion class offered online via Google Meet, recorded and available for asynchronous access. Open to all levels and also available to non-workshop students.
- Tutorial Program: One-on-one tutoring sessions with Writers Studio teachers. Priced at $1,925 for 20 hours of teacher time, available in-person or via phone/video/email.
- Craft Class Archive: Sale of historical Craft Class recordings, priced at $25 per recording. Includes 30 years of lectures by Philip Schultz, various teachers, and distinguished authors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Craft Class - Reading and Discussion |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Tutorial Program - One-on-One Instruction |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Craft Class Archive Recordings |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Writers Studio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Writers Studio sells ongoing creative writing workshops and instruction built around a proprietary "persona writing" teaching method developed by founder Philip Schultz. Courses are delivered across five progressive levels covering fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir, offered in-person at US branch locations (NYC, Tucson, San Francisco, Hudson River Towns) and Rome, plus a global online program, with supplemental Craft Class, Tutorial, Memoir, and Six-Week formats.
Product overview
The Writers Studio is an educational institution offering a unified creative writing program centered on its proprietary persona-writing teaching method. The core offering consists of progressive workshop levels (Levels 1-5) available across multiple delivery formats: in-person courses at NYC and Tucson locations, virtual courses via Zoom/Google Meet for San Francisco, Hudson River Towns, and online students, and Italian-language instruction at the Italia branch. The program is complemented by the Craft Class (reading and discussion sessions analyzing published works), a Tutorial Program (one-on-one instruction), specialized Memoir and Six-Week Classes, and a Reading Series featuring students, faculty, and guest authors. All these offerings share a common pedagogical framework centered on persona writing exercises derived from analyzing published literature, providing a cohesive curriculum across all formats and locations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Courses
Quantifiable outcome
- Multiple Pulitzer Prize winners among alumni
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Writers Studio
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Writers Studio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Writers Studio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Village Community School (NYC)coreIn-person classes held at Village Community School facilities at 272 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, NYC. Long-term facility partnership supporting flagship operations.
- St. Francis in the Foothills (Tucson)coreTucson branch classes held at St. Francis in the Foothills campus, 4625 E. River Road, providing physical location for in-person workshops.
- Temple Beth Abraham (Hudson River Towns)minorHudson River Towns Workshop meets at Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown, NY. Intermediate Workshop at Croton-on-Hudson location.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Writers Studio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sackett Street Writers' Workshop: Brooklyn-based creative writing workshop founded by a Writers Studio alumna, offering multi-level fiction, nonfiction, and memoir workshops. Comparable NYC-adjacent school using a similar workshop-level structure and serving overlapping aspirant-to-MFA writer segments.
- Lighthouse Writers Workshop: Denver-based independent creative writing workshop offering multi-level genre tracks (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting) plus craft classes and literary events. Comparable progressive workshop structure and adult-writer target audience with similar community-driven GTM.
- Community of Writers (formerly Squaw Valley): Olympic Valley, California-based organization running intensive summer writing workshops (fiction, poetry, memoir) founded in 1969. Comparable as a long-running US creative writing workshop destination serving serious writers, though delivered as a residential intensive rather than ongoing multi-term format.
- Hugo House: Seattle-based literary arts center offering multi-genre workshops, craft classes, readings, and one-on-one tutorials. Comparable as a city-based creative writing institution with progressive levels, public readings series, and a focus on community-driven enrollment.
- GrubStreet: Boston-based nonprofit creative writing center offering multi-level workshops, seminars, and the Muse & the Marketplace conference. Comparable as a regional literary arts center serving aspiring and serious writers with progressive workshop tiers and a robust community programming model.
- Catapult / Center for Fiction workshops: The Center for Fiction (NYC) offers multi-level fiction workshops, craft classes, and manuscript consultations. Comparable NYC-based creative writing institution with progressive levels, public readings, and a community of literary-publishing-adjacent instructors and students.
- Gotham Writers Workshop: NYC-based creative writing school founded in 1993 offering multi-level workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, and more, both in-person and online. Most direct competitor in the NYC adult creative writing workshop market with overlapping curriculum structure and target audience.
- The Loft Literary Center: Minneapolis-based independent literary arts center offering multi-level writing workshops across genres plus readings and conferences. Comparable regional competitor with similar workshop-tier structure, public programming, and target audience of serious adult writers.
Broad incumbents
- Tin House: Renowned literary magazine and former book publisher that has run craft-oriented writing workshops (online and in-person). Comparable as a brand-recognized writing education provider with overlapping audience, though Tin House's workshop program is one component of a broader literary publishing operation.
- MasterClass: Streaming education platform offering celebrity-taught courses including creative writing (e.g., James Patterson, Margaret Atwood). Comparable as a high-profile consumer-facing writing education brand, but with a fundamentally different model (pre-recorded video at lower per-course price points) and broader category focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Writers Studio social profiles
Digital presenceThe Writers Studio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Writers Studio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
The Writers Studio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Writers Studio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Writers Studio
What does The Writers Studio do?
The Writers Studio sells ongoing creative writing workshops and instruction built around a proprietary "persona writing" teaching method developed by founder Philip Schultz. Courses are delivered across five progressive levels covering fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir, offered in-person at US branch locations (NYC, Tucson, San Francisco, Hudson River Towns) and Rome, plus a global online program, with supplemental Craft Class, Tutorial, Memoir, and Six-Week formats.
Is The Writers Studio a public or private company?
The Writers Studio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Writers Studio founded?
The Writers Studio was founded in 1987. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Writers Studio based?
The Writers Studio is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Writers Studio make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Workshop Tuition is the primary driver. The others are craft Class, tutorial Program and craft Class Archive.
Who are The Writers Studio's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sackett Street Writers' Workshop, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Community of Writers (formerly Squaw Valley), Hugo House, GrubStreet, Catapult / Center for Fiction workshops, Gotham Writers Workshop and The Loft Literary Center. Broad incumbents are Tin House and MasterClass.
Does The Writers Studio have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Writers Studio.
What industry is The Writers Studio in?
The Writers Studio's product category is Creative Writing Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAMAH, Writing Craft & Technique Workshops (Voice, Structure, Character, Style), with a secondary code of EDAMAMAA, Fiction Writing Workshops (Short Story, Novel). Its NAICS code is 61161.