Wendy Call

Wendy Call has been writer in residence at two dozen institutions, including five national parks, four universities, two visual arts centers, and a historical archive, including at Everglades National Park, Harborview Medical Center, New College of Florida, Richard Hugo House, and Seattle University. She co-edited the widely used craft anthology Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide (Plume/Penguin) and wrote No Word for Welcome (University of Nebraska Press), winner of Grub Street’s 2011 National Book Prize for Nonfiction. She teaches creative writing at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. and on writers.com. Read her literary work at Guernica, Orion, Witness, and Yes! magazine, and her philosophy of teaching creative writing.

Student Feedback for Wendy

Wendy is very practical and creative; patient and encouraging. She has an innovative way of teaching that leads the writing student through a productive journey. This is the best approach to creative nonfiction narrative I have seen. Jeanmarie Morelli

Wendy is wonderful to work with. She has a keen eye as an editor and is skillful at offering both encouragement and critique. She relates to her students in a genuinely kind and personal manner that is both motivating and educative. It is a delight to work with her. Jessica Kulynych

Wendy is very supportive and flexible. She was also very on top of the schedule and was responsive. I learned so much in a short period of time. She’s great! William Huffaker

It was phenomenal! Immeasurably valuable to my writing progress (on too many levels to list them simply here.) The workshop far exceeded what I hoped to gain by participating. It was evident that Wendy invested an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and self in meticulous preparation of each week’s lesson and supporting materials — readings and links. Frankly, I was ecstatic to gain possession of what I now view as my Go-To CNF Primer Workshop book…. Wendy’s broad range of sensibilities in responding to workshop participants of various levels of writing skills, life experience, and communication styles, was as instructive to me as the overall workshop itself.  Mary Godfrey

Wendy created a well crafted course, scaffolding the information and assignments in helpful manner. She was prompt and responsive to questions. Wendy is a great teacher and I found her assignments helpful in developing my writing skills. Swasti Bhattacharyya

The writing class with Wendy Call helped to illuminate the various components of writing. The readings, written instruction, writing exercises, and workshopping gave me more resources and new ways to approach the act and thought of writing. I still have a ways to go but have more confidence. Nedra Deadwyler

Wendy is a fantastic teacher. She does a great job of providing new perspectives, even on topics you think you know. And so many great resources! You do the course, but you have weeks of additional materials to dig into later. I really appreciated it. Her feedback on the writing exercises was very helpful. Jennifer Gresham

Wendy does a great job in assembling the course materials – readings, exercises and assignments – and in guiding her students through a step-wise process to produce a solid piece of work at the end of the ten weeks. Leigh Hough

Wendy offered both enthusiastic encouragement and clear suggestions for improvement. She was timely and thorough in her review of students’ work. Great feedback, good choice of readings, interesting fellow-students. Linda Lundeen

The content was excellent and there was a wealth of information and optional readings. The lessons were well structured. I felt it was easily college level in terms of the content. Wendy clearly knows her stuff and she was very generous with her feedback on the weekly assignments. Allison Allen

Wendy is absolutely top level and I really benefited from someone going line by line through my work saying what worked and what needed changing. Her clinical look at the prose and her suggestions for improvements were always spot on. This course delivered exactly what I wanted. Timothy Stannard
Great class ! Wendy builds a sense of community with the students, provides precise individual feedback and excellent lessons. I plan to take another online class when offered. Janice Secord Neilson

Very happy. I learned so much. Wendy’s lessons were thorough, and in addition to the information contained in the readings, she provided a reference of other websites and books to check out. The assignments were valuable. Wendy was very encouraging, answered questions quickly and with great insight. And [she] always gave detailed feedback. Elizabeth Sharp

Wendy has provided an extremely strong foundation in the writing craft lessons. There’s something for every writer, no matter your level or step in the journey, in her array of resources and tips. Wendy is an amazing source of knowledge, and her feedback was spot on! Joy Hoppenot

Wendy Call is clearly an experienced writer, editor and teacher. She provided valuable and material and lessons. The lessons and assignments were valuable and relevant, and the feedback was constructive and improved my writing. Brandie Knox

I was happy with the lessons and assignments. Wendy was very knowledgeable and professional. I enjoyed the weekly readings and her analysis as to how they illustrated her subjects.
For me, in my phase of writing, the most valuable part was the feedback from other students. Wendy did a great job of teaching us how to give and receive feedback and it’s the first time I’ve had other writers comment on my work. It was very interesting. Four of us have formed an online Writers Group to continue learning from each other. I would recommend this class to others. I would definitely consider another one in the future. I thought the online platform was easy to use and a good way to collaborate. Thanks! Heather von Bargen

This course celebrates the power of non-fiction writing within a unique and successful structure. The process presented is detailed but manageable, the readings insightful and pointed. Wendy is positive, informative and responsive. I highly recommend! Valerie Ashton


I was very happy with the content, lessons and assignments. I found all the material very informative. Wendy gave very good feedback and I think her insights were wise and pragmatic. For me, this was a whole new area and I’m still digesting all the amazing materials Wendy gave us to read. The course opened up a new horizon for me and I’ve learned so much. I would recommend the course and I will definitely do another. Linda Master

The writing class with Wendy Call helped to illuminate the various components of writing. The readings, written instruction, writing exercises, and workshopping gave me more resources and new ways to approach the act and thought of writing. I still have a ways to go but have more confidence. Nedra Deadwyler

I found the lessons in this class to be extremely informative and helpful. This was exactly the class I was hoping to take! We went over topics that I found illuminating, we had interesting readings, and she recommended several books that I ordered and am finding very helpful as well. Wendy was great. It is obvious that she is a practiced and knowledgeable writer and she had valuable insights to offer. She was a wonderful teacher to learn from. I have already suggested Writers.com classes to a friend and already signed up for another. You provide a good spectrum of classes for different writers and different interests. McKenzie Long

I took this course to coincide with my efforts to develop a topic for a new book project. The first week’s subject was how to choose a topic. The second week’s subject was research techniques. As we moved through the readings and lessons for each week, I focused on my own specific project, which was very useful. The course helped me to feel as if I was not going through that process alone. As a result, by the end of the course, not only did I produce the 3,000 word piece of creative nonfiction as a final assignment, I also put together a ten page book proposal and another article for publication. I am happy to know that writers.com is there as a resource for the future. Thank you very much to Wendy and to Writers.com!! Christa Kuljian, author of Sanctuary (Jacana 2013) and Darwin’s Hunch (Jacana 2016)

The content and assignments, especially the readings, were wonderful and eye opening. I ended up buying some of the books, including Wendy’s, and really am loving using them. [Wendy] was very responsive and helpful.  Nancy Napier