Via Bleidner

Instructor Biography

Author of Flatiron Books’ recent release If You Lived Here You’d be Famous by Now, a collection of true stories about growing up in the San Fernando Valley. The book received rave reviews and is currently in development for television.

Instructor Statement

As an instructor, I am influenced by the great Flannery O’Connor, who said: “Anyone who has lived to the age of eighteen has enough stories to last a lifetime.” I believe that students already have entire books inside them, waiting to be put on the page. All they need is to be asked the right questions. I strive to foster an atmosphere of discovery and positivity so that each writer feels supported when experimenting with new ideas, style and narrative. I find that having an audience is a powerful tool in revision and I encourage writing students to be diligent readers as well. By collaborating with peers and studying the masters, students will establish their own voices and explore the hundreds of moving parts that can really make a piece of writing sing.