Welcome to Story Therapy!

I’m glad you’re here & I look forward to helping you discover the story you need to tell.

After twenty years of teaching and editing writers at every stage of their careers, I know that great stories aren’t the result of a mastery of craft alone. They are also the product of identifying the personal narratives that inform how we show up on the page. No matter where you are in your writing journey—from aspiring novelist to award-winning screenwriter—I want to help you find the joy, clarity, and confidence needed to make your best work yet.

Scroll for a list of current workshops and the various support options I offer.

SERVICES

Ever wish you could just talk to someone about the story you’re working on? These as-needed meetings run between thirty and ninety minutes and, much like traditional therapy, are as much about how you talk about what you're working on as the work itself. Through close, objective listening I can help you reconnect with your intentions and inspire you to take the next steps in your writing process.

Are you working on a longer form project? Have you been stuck in a chapter for too long? Do you want to deepen your craft skills, but loathe sharing work in progress with everyone in a writing course? Personalized coaching is the best way to make meaningful and measurable progress toward your writing goals. Book a free consultation so we can discuss how I might best support you.

I offer editorial support for short stories, story collections, screenplays, novels, and occasionally memoirs. Most often writers come to me in need of a developmental edit. This means I am reading a draft of work in which a writer feels stuck or that they’ve lived in too longer and can no longer see clearly. Through margin notes, some line editing, and an editorial letter, I show them what their story is through fresh eyes and identify the revisions that are needed to bring the work to its fullest potential.

I am always teaching (and learning). There is a list of ongoing craft and generative writing workshops below. If you don’t see what you’re looking for right now, please sign up for my mailing list to stay informed about new offerings.

Ready to query agents? Apply for an MFA or an artist’s residency? I’ll review your materials and ensure you’ve discussed your work and aspirations for the greatest impact — and crossed your Is and dotted your Ts. ( ;

  • TESTIMONIALS

    “It's no exaggeration to call Kate my manuscript's fairy godmother -- her guidance through the querying process not only gave me the confidence, clarity, and tact needed to land my dream agent, but she provided an invaluable sense of safety, care and camaraderie in an otherwise lonely and terrifying process. Whether it's a developmental edit, a query letter review, or first chapter polish, I cannot recommend her services enough.”

    — Dan Robert, TV Writer & Producer (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Baby-Sitters Club) and a debut novel coming soon!

  • TESTIMONIALS

    "Kate approaches her courses with invaluable personal experience, unwavering passion, and a genuine dedication to safe, respectful, and caring environments to an extent I've never experienced in any other workshop. Kate is one of those rare instructors who impacts your writing for the rest of your career, which, for me, unearthed a passion and zeal for writing I had been convinced was lost forever."

    — Robert Del Mauro, former fiction workshop student

  • TESTIMONIALS

    “Kate’s instinct for identifying plot problems is nothing short of miraculous. Give her a tangled mess, and she’ll find the thread — spotting connections and helping weave your ideas into a beautiful and airtight story. She helped me create a narrative that worked, with real, multifaceted characters. I can say with total confidence that Middlehood is a far stronger screenplay because of Kate’s insight and guidance.”

    — Ali McGrath, Screenwriter, “Middlehood,” a Semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival & the Page International Screenwriting Awards 

  • TESTIMONIALS

    “Kate is my ideal reader—insightful, precise, inspiring. She asks the questions that get a piece to its deeper meanings. And Kate looks at sentences and structure, she’s detailed in the best ways, and she loves working with writers!” 

    — Kelly Sather, author of Small in Real Life, Winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Upcoming and Ongoing Workshops

  • The Author's Workshop II

    Mondays, 2/9 - 4/13, 7:00-9:00PM

    COURSE IS FULL BUT CHECK BACK IN JUNE FOR NEXT ROUND.

    A virtual workshop offered through The Center for Fiction.

    Perfect for the writer who is mid-stride on a new story, as well as anyone trying to figure out how to make a story “work,” this ten-week short fiction workshop is broken up into two parts. In the first four weeks, we will read and discuss contemporary and classic short stories, using these craft discussions as inspiration for our own writing, and generating new pages or deepening work we intend to workshop later.. With new pages written and a deepening sense of craft possibilities, the second half of the course turns to workshopping one another’s works-in-progress.

    Sign Up

  • Be Here, Write Now

    Tuesdays, 11am-12:30pm EST, starting March 31st, 2026

    This generative writing & accountability group is as it sounds: a time and place to center your writing. You will feel welcomed, focused, and inspired by both the conversation and the curated writing prompts each week. Come in your pajamas, hide in the break room at work, or still in the grocery store parking lot; let that ice cream melt! This time is dedicated to your writing and you know that writing is a muscle: use it or lose it! Sign ups are for four weeks at a time. Limited to 15 writers.

    Sign Up

  • Friday Night Write-Ins

    Every Other Friday Night at 8pm EST, starting April 3rd, 2026

    Some of us party a little differently! Come meet your people, get inspired, and hold yourself accountable for your writing goals. In these meetings we generate new pages but we also create community; discussing our work and sharing advice. We meet every first and third Friday of the month and when you sign up you are committing to three months of meetings. Limited to 15 authors at a time.

    Sign Up

  • Indie Author's Workshop

    Ongoing, Sunday Nights, 7:00pm-9:00pm

    Limited to former students or editorial clients. This fiction workshop is usually at capacity (8 authors max), but if you are interested in joining us, please let me know via the contact form as spaces do open!

    Express Interest

  • The Author's Workshop for Advanced Writers

    Thursdays, 4/19 - 6/11, 7:00 - 9:00PM

    A virtual workshop offered through the Center for Fiction

    This course is ideal for anyone considering, currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from an MFA program, as well as writers with previous workshop experience seeking a fresh perspective on their work. Workshopping will begin in the second week of the course, so writers should already have a draft for a story or novel chapter in progress (up to 5,000 words max) that they know can benefit from peer feedback.

    Each writer will submit work twice over the course of our ten weeks. With each submission, you will also provide an “Author’s Request Letter” (the structure and intent of which will be outlined in Week One) that helps guide the conversation about your work. The second submission can be a revision of the previous piece or a new story or chapter—whichever feels like the best use of your workshop time.

    Craft discussions in this course will stem organically from workshop submissions. Students should plan to dedicate 3–5 hours to reading and annotating their peers’ work in addition to their own writing practice.

    Sign Up

Great News from Friends & Former Students

A book deal report with the title 'ALL GOOD MEN' by Libby Flores, published by Unnamed Press, dated December 16, 2025.

Congratulations, Libby Flores! My student at UCLA many moons ago, Libby has SOLD her debut, ALL GOOD MEN! A pre-order link as soon as it pubs, but in the meantime, you can learn from her. Find Libby here.

Cover of the book "Black Moses" by Caleb Gayle, with a teal background and the title in large black letters. The book subtitle, publisher, and a sticker indicating a national book award are also visible.

Congratulations to Caleb Gayle on BLACK MOSES being longlisted for the National Book Award! Caleb was already an award-winning journalist when I had the pleasure of editing his novel-in-progress as a mentor for The Center for Fiction’s Emerging Writers Fellowship program. Learn more about Caleb’s work here.

Book cover titled 'Stories for Grown-up Girls' with a white background and an illustration of a colorful parrot sitting on a small wooden chair.

Congratulations to Gloria Rodriguez-Gil on the publication of her short story collection, STORIES FOR GROWN-UP GIRLS. Order here.

Send me your news!