Downtown Writers Workshop was founded in New York City in 2023 by Emily Stone and Katie O’Donnell to help writers find and polish their unique voices through craft.
About Downtown Writers
Maintaining a writing habit in a busy world can feel next to impossible. We believe that with the support of writing groups and workshops, everyone can build a writing practice that works for them. Whether you dream of publishing a novel or simply want to make time for yourself to write daily, our online writing workshops and classes will help you find inspiration and develop a lasting routine.
About Emily Stone
Born in New Orleans and raised in Brooklyn, Emily is a writer, teacher, and content alchemist with 25+ years of experience working with high-profile authors on voice-driven memoirs and propulsive, upmarket novels. Her clients have sold projects to imprints of Simon and Schuster, Double Day, and Random House. Their essays have been published in Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, Zibby Mag, the Insider, Washington Post, Salon, Kveller, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, The Cut, Women's Health, and Vogue.
Emily is adept at working with authors with a wide variety of voices and experiences. She has special expertise in story structure and ideation, drawing from her years as a teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights and professor at Hunter College and Stern College. Her book Did Jew Know? (Chronicle) is a humorous and informative cultural history of all things Jewish from Saul to Seinfeld. Her essays and interviews covering movies, books, and TV have been published in Salon and Paper Brigade.
Emily received her MFA at Hunter College and has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, Blue Mountain Center, and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. Alongside her work developing books, Emily is working on a middle-grade novel and teaching creative writing (fiction/memoir) to kids and adults. She also runs a popular online Book Dive, a collision of pop culture and high criticism that explores classic gothic and genre novels. She lives with her wife in New York City.
If you would like to schedule a one-on-one ideation session, a diagnostic discussion, an outline package (4-10 sessions, depending on the scope of the project), or a book-coaching consult, contact Emily to schedule a consultation call.
Learn more about Emily at emilybstone.com.
About Katie O’Donnell
Katie is a writer, editor, and teacher who specializes in fiction. She got her degree in Creative Writing at the College of Charleston in 2016 and has been carving out a path to stay in the magical space of writers' workshops ever since.
For over five years, Katie has worked with writers on everything from novels to short fiction to life-spanning memoirs. She has also organized and led dozens of writing retreats, courses, and seminars.
Her current work outside of teaching involves editing/writing Substacks, writing copy for brands small and large, and ideating/assisting writers on pitching articles to major publications.
If you have a writing project of any kind you'd like to put out into the world, or have copywriting needs for your brand or business contact Katie to schedule a consultation call. Katie specializes in Substacks, fiction (novel or short story length), personal essays, and more.