Bootcamp for Writers
Days: Sunday — Friday
Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Ages: Adult
Prices:
4 sessions/month = $99
8 sessions/month = $149
12 sessions/month = $189
Unlimited sessions/month = $239
SLIDING SCALE is available. Contact us here.
Let's be honest. Writing is a solitary challenge, and it’s hard to keep your butt in the chair. Bootcamp emerged when a group of local writers realized it would be less lonely to write in the company of other creative folks.
Who we are:
We’re novelists, essayists, screenwriters, scholars, picture book writers, journalists, and poets. Writers of all ages, experience levels, and backgrounds work in our space. Our diverse writing community is our greatest strength.
What we expect:
-You take your craft seriously. In the last eight years of Bootcamp, we’ve seen our stories and poems published in magazines, newsletters, and blogs; agents secured; book deals negotiated; and over a dozen published novels, memoirs, and poetry collections. Things get done here.
-You want to be among other writers, to share resources, to be part of a community.
What you get:
-A quiet workspace with big communal tables where you can spread out your materials and get to work, and a cozy nook with a couch and armchair for reading and mulling over ideas.
-Daily communal lunches with other serious writers. Many friendships, collaborations, and writing groups are born in Bootcamp.
-Monthly lunchtime chats with authors and literary gatekeepers. Recent guests have included The Believer Editor Daniel Gumbiner, literary agents Anna Ghosh and Danielle Svetcov, novelist Shanthi Sekaran, and Callaloo Editor-in-Chief Kyla Kupferstein Torres. These events are open only to Bootcampers.
-A kitchenette with a fridge, pour-over coffee, and a variety of teas on hand.
-Free wi-fi.
-A lending library of craft books, LML authors’ new releases, literary magazines, and other resources.
-Secure space for your belongings. Leave and return as often as you like.
-A glorious location in one of the safest, friendliest neighborhoods in Berkeley. We share a block with renowned restaurants, bakeries, cafes, a bookstore, and the Thursday Farmers’ Market. There’s plentiful free and paid street parking nearby. Bike racks too. We’re also a 10 minute walk from BART.
-Long open hours: 8 am-8 pm, with occasional evening events inviting you to stay longer. Hosted hours (with co-directors David and/or Rachel) are 9 am-3 pm. Every Bootcamper has an access code to the space.
-Invitations to read in our seasonal reading series, open to the public.(Bring your friends, family, fans!)
-Shout-outs in our LML newsletter and on our social media platforms. We want to broadcast your good news.
-AND… a 25% discount on every LML class you sign up for while you’re enrolled in Bootcamp, with the exception of year-long programs.
Creativity is a team sport! Join Bootcamp now.
What Bootcampers Say:
LML not only offers the space to write but a supportive community to help navigate what often feels like a lonely marathon.
— Hannah Michell, author of the novel Excavations.
Writing in this cozy workspace with the company of other focused writers has transformed my writing life (and life in general!) for the better.
— Kate O' Shaughnessy, author of middle grade novels The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane, Lasagna Means I Love You, and The Wrong Way Home.