Cole Kazdin

Instructor Biography:

Cole Kazdin, MS, writer, performer, and four-time Emmy-winning television journalist. Ms. Kazdin is a regular contributor to VICE, MEL Magazine and Refinery29, and has written for The New York Times’ Modern Love column, Los Angeles Magazine, and other major magazines. She tells stories live onstage with The Moth Mainstage, on The Moth Radio Hour on NPR, and is featured in the new Moth book, All These Wonders. She is a three-time Moth GrandSLAM champion, and has written and performed two solo shows in New York City.

Instructor Statement:

I believe very strongly that writing is an art form that everyone can access. You don’t need a fancy degree - everyone has a story. In my own career, writing everything from humorous essays to true crime journalism, I’ve found that all great stories share many of the same ingredients, among them: clarity, high stakes and personal change. Once we earn how to identify these components in our own lives, we find a seemingly endless amount of material to write about. Story is about change and we are changing and growing all the time. My background in journalism informs the way I teach creative nonfiction, personal essay, and storytelling. Tuning into the emotional and sensory detail of an experience helps us write with precision and depth. Simplifying structure allows our writing to flow easily, and when we are writing as clearly and concisely as possible, our unique writing voice naturally emerges. As an instructor, my goal is to create a safe space where students can experiment with these ideas and where writing can grow.