If you test positive for Covid – Don’t come to class until you test negative. But let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).
Food Writing
GUIDE TO NONFICTION COURSES
Nonfiction Pathways
Foundation
If you’re not sure what kind of nonfiction to write...
If you know what kind of nonfiction to write...
Memoir I
Essay & Opinion Writing
Feature Article Writing
Blog & Newsletter Writing
Travel Writing
Food Writing
Or...
If you want a rather short course...
Memoir Intensive
Personal Essay Writing
Feature Article Writing Intensive
Humor Writing Intensive
Blog & Newsletter Writing Intensive
Next Steps
After completing a Level I ten-week course...
After completing Memoir II, if you want to write a book...
Selling Your Work
If you hope to get published somewhere...
Also Helpful
These essential courses are great for writers of any level.
Food Writing is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
If you savor eating and drinking, food writing will suit your taste. You can write a review of a new restaurant in town, an article about the secrets of saffron, a story about helping grandma in the kitchen, or a collection of recipes for catfish. And you can experience the deliciousness of food writing without gaining a single pound.
Food writing requires a passion for food and the ability to summon its wonders in words. Here you will learn about the full spectrum of food writing—reviews, memoir, essay, articles, blogs, books—as well as writing craft and how to market your work.
Whether you seek to write about producing, preparing, or partaking of food, we’ll show you how to spice your writing just right.
A welcome to the food world, the writing world, and the opportunity to discover who we are as writers and eaters.
Maria Aguirre
freelance writer
Notes
Gotham only offers Food Writing at Level I. After that, if you want to continue working on food pieces, you have these options:
Memoir I or Memoir II – for food-related memoirs
Essay & Opinion I – for food-related essays and reviews
Feature Article – for food-related articles
Upcoming Classes
NYC COVID Info
-
You can still enroll in this class.
10-Week
-
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $439 (returning students: $409)
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One-on-One
Tuition: $1,895
Syllabus
This course gives you a firm grounding in the basics of food writing gets you writing a short piece (or two) or a book. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
Introduction to Food Writing: Appeal of food writing. Types of food writing. Angle. Timeliness. Audience. What to write about. What a food writer needs.
Week 2
Memoir/Essay: Memoir—focusing on an aspect, telling a story, scene and reflection, facts and memory, people and place. Essay—topics, structure, personality.
Week 3
Journalism: Types of food articles—features, health, roundups, advice, front of book pieces. Angles. Structural mainstays—lead, nut graf, body, kicker. Food books. Point of view.
Week 4
Cooking: Cooking articles. Cookbooks. Writing about cooking.
Week 5
Reviews: Overview of reviewing. Facts and opinion. Structure. Creativity. Ethics.
Week 6
New Media/Photography: Blogs. Social networking. Photography 101. Photographic artistry.
Week 7
Description: Using the senses. Specificity. Techniques for creativity. Finding the right words. An eye for detail. Writing tight.
Week 8
Voice: Voice defined. Exploration of the various types of voice. Understanding style—syntax, diction, and paragraph length. Tone. Tips for finding your voice. Humor.
Week 9
The Business: Selling short pieces. Selling books. Query letters. Clip files. Targeting. Making contact. Response. Contracts.
Week 10
Research/Revision: Importance of research. Food writing resources. Plagiarism and “borrowing." The research process. The revision process. Editing.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins contributes to various guidebooks (including Mexico City, Pacific Northwest, New England, Utah, and National Parks) for Fodor's Travel, and he’s the author of Ultimate Road Trips USA & Canada (Hardie Grant). He’s the editor of the official visitor guides of Washington State, Seattle, and Asheville, and he's a regular contributor to The Points Guy and Yankee Magazine. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University.
Read moreAndrew Collins
Andrew Collins
contributes to various guidebooks (including Mexico City, Pacific Northwest, New England, Utah, and National Parks) for Fodor's Travel, and he’s the author of Ultimate Road Trips USA & Canada (Hardie Grant). He’s the editor of the official visitor guides of Washington State, Seattle, and Asheville, and he's a regular contributor to The Points Guy and Yankee Magazine. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University.
Related Courses
Memoir Writing I
True stories about aspects of the writer’s life, whether essay or book-length.
Travel Writing
Tour the spectrum of travel writing— articles, memoir, essays, blogs, and guidebooks.
Feature Article Writing
Feature articles are the story-driven side of journalism, covering topics earth-shaking or simply interesting.