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Our Stories, Our Terms
A personal essay workshop for emerging queer writers and LGBTQ+ allies.
There are innumerable kinds of queer love stories. Some are romantic, of course, but others are about friendships, family bonds, or intergenerational connections. They all deserve to be shared.
This workshop helps you find both the point of view and the genre for the queer love story that only you can tell. We begin by reading works by foundational queer authors such as Audre Lorde, Edmund White, and Dorothy Allison. Then we use a writing prompt to get you started on a queer love story of your own, developing the piece together with personalized feedback on your draft.
You leave this workshop with the beginnings—or even a finished draft—of a great story. You also have the opportunity to pitch your idea for an upcoming edition of The Queer Love Project, a platform that includes an online magazine, a quarterly print edition, and a podcast. No matter how you identify, you are encouraged to attend. This is the perfect time to share your perspective on queer love.
Price range: $250.00 through $275.00
"Sharing our stories is one way we can map out a future. Queer people don’t have the weight of millennia of rules and restrictions binding us. We don’t even have generations of examples and are often fumbling to mirror what we see—so we have the freedom, and obligation, to craft our own narratives to understand how we put ourselves together."
Jerry Portwood is a journalist, editor, and educator recognized for his prominent leadership roles in major cultural publications and his focus on LGBTQ+ storytelling. He has held top editorial roles at Rolling Stone, Out magazine, and the New York Press, and in 2024, he launched The Queer Love Project, a platform dedicated to queer narratives. He’s also a long time instructor at The New School, where he teaches essay writing and arts criticism, and mentors emerging writers. He splits his time between New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts. His personal essays have been published in the New York Times, Narratively, Huffington Post, Vol. 1 Brooklyn and other journals.
Here’s what some of our writers are saying…
Project Write Now offers no refunds or credits once registered, except in the unfortunate case a class or event is cancelled. We reserve the right to change instructors if necessary. We reserve the right to cancel, postpone, or reschedule any class, workshop, or event because of low enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. Contact us at info@projectwritenow.org or call 908.675.0467 for more information. Please note that when you register for a class you are reserving one of a limited number of spots available. Your registration also counts toward our consideration of class minimums.
Our organization was founded to help amplify the voices of those who are often not heard—including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other historically marginalized groups. We have witnessed how writing and sharing stories has the power to effect change by generating greater love, compassion, and empathy in the listener. In all of our programs, we provide an inclusive, supportive, and welcoming environment. We do not tolerate writing and/or behavior that perpetuates harmful stereotypes or fuels hate. Failure to align with our philosophy can result in your removal from class.