What if your "too small" story is actually perfect for a picture book? Join award-winning @kyomaclear.bsky.social, @dirtbagg.bsky.social, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social, X Fang, & @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social for our five-week course on writing picture books this September.

"Writing Picture Books" starts tomorrow! Join @kyomaclear.bsky.social , @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social , X. Fang, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social , & @dirtbagg.bsky.social to learn techniques and generate new approaches to picture book writing. Register now:

This kicked off this past Saturday and it’s such vital discussion! Thanks @offassignment.bsky.social

Imagine you come to consciousness with no memory of who you are and what just happened . For @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, who rose from a roadside accident in Chicago in a state of amnesia, that feeling was ecstasy. What happens when she returns to the site of the crash?

In this week's "Behind the Essay" interview, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social tells us about her favorite modes of transportation, what the form of a farewell essay unlocked for her about goodbyes, and the great classics and forthcoming books that have been on her reading list. Read here:

Ingrid Rojas Contreras lost her memory entirely when she was hit by a car at a nondescript Chicago intersection. It became a symbol of heartbreak, ecstasy, rebirth. When she returns for the first time, what will she find? www.offassignment.com/gttp/ingrid-...

We're delighted to announce Carey Baraka is now our Editor-at-Large! Since 2022, Carey has played an instrumental role in curating and editing OA essays from a wide range of international writers. Raising a virtual toast to an editor extraordinaire, and here's to many more astounding essays to come!

What is autofiction? Join @aubereylescure.bsky.social and four legends in the realm of autobiographical fiction for this upcoming five-week Masters' Series: @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura Van Den Berg, Zinzi Clemmons, & Andrew Sean Greer. Register:

Congratulations to OA contributor Olajide Omojarabi, whose short story "Messenger Meg" appears in this summer's issue of Ploughshares Journal! Olajide is currently at work on his debut novel and collection of short stories. Get a taste of his stunning writing at Off Assignment:

Registration closes soon for "Writing the Body" with @margosteines.bsky.social! Write about embodied experiences with nuance and power, joined by renowned guest authors @sarahmanguso.bsky.social, Krys Malcolm Belc, @porochista.bsky.social, & @christinajcooke.bsky.social. Register:

"I'm partial to 'So Many Ways to Dance: Reading Raymond Carver in Wilmington.' I 've always loved Jamie Tews' work, but the way she navigates a breakup in this essay holds a new level of insight and vulnerability." —Emily Lowe Read this "Under the Influence" essay here:

In our latest "Letter to a Stranger" essay by Emily Lowe, we learn to leave the trail and follow the tracks. It may be reckless, but the desire for an adventure, and the desire to be part of her father's epic tales at the campfire, drove Emily onwards. Read the essay buff.ly/7DdNV0r

Not all strangers in the "Letter to a Stranger" archive are human! Like Emily Lowe's last week, Sebastian Modak's essay is to a Siberian dog who accompanied him on a lonesome hike to Lake Baikal while he was on assignment for the NY Times' 52 Places column. Read it here:

Travel writing is a beloved genre--and yet, historically, so much of it has gone awry. Develop a new approach to travel with our "Rethinking Travel Writing" course, led by Faith Adiele—featuring Bani Amor, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, & @noosarowiwa.bsky.social. Register:

This week, we're reading about how young womanhood, and its implications for marriage, has evolved in media; the lessons to be learned from fish while navigating queerness (@elizabethendicott.bsky.social); and a deep dive on a ubiquitous font in Manhattan (@aresluna.org): buff.ly/6tBGqM0

Join our "How to Write Autofiction" course this fall to learn from incredible writers @aubereylescure.bsky.social, @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Laura van den Berg, Andrew Sean Greer, & Zinzi Clemmons. Find out more and register here:

Take a look behind this week's "Letter to a Stranger" essay as writer Emily Lowe reflects on connecting with nature, bending the rules, and finding new ways to approach the bear that has haunted her stories over the years. Read the full Q&A through the newsletter: buff.ly/6tBGqM0

We're thrilled to have incredible authors Steve Almond, @meghamaj.bsky.social, Anthony Doerr, Camille Dungy, and @sarahmanguso.bsky.social teaching our "Writing Desire" Masters' Series course this November. Bring your burning questions for this stellar group and register here: buff.ly/CUo4EhW

In this week's new essay, we meet a bear. We follow its paw prints through the woods, imagine it scarfing down berries, and, through it all, feel the wonder and trust of a daughter ready to follow her father anywhere. Read this heartbreakingly tender essay by Emily Lowe: buff.ly/7DdNV0r

Imagination is essential to creating new worlds, both on and off the page. Join "The Practice of Imagination" w Rachel Khong, Shruti Swamy, @rubenwrites.bsky.social, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, & Hilary Leichter this fall to develop a stronger imaginative practice to fuel your writing:

At OA, we’ll take a prompt over a blank page any day—all our columns invite writers to respond to a generative prompt! Read OA co-founder Colleen Kinder ( @colleenkinder.bsky.social) in Brevity ( @dintywmoore.bsky.social) about their potential as creative springboards:

She's taught two OA courses and been a guest at another: Chloé Caldwell's pretty popular around here. So let's congratulate her on her new memoir! Mia Arias Tsang, a guest author at Chloé's most recent OA course, joins her on tour, and catch OA contributors Leslie Jamison & Michelle Tea in NYC & LA!

At Off Assignment, we think a lot about platforming writing outside the western-centric canon of travel literature. Join travel writers Faith Adiele, Pier Nirandara, Carey Baraka, Bani Amor, and @noosarowiwa.bsky.social to reimagine travel writing through these perspectives. buff.ly/OkswTkm

What does it mean to say goodbye: Is it a definitive act, a threshold? In her "Behind the Essay" interview, Holly Brickley looks back on how the farewell essay taught her the place she's writing about cannot truly be left. Read the full interview in our newsletter: buff.ly/Ub9gkn4

Highly recommended read. I talked to Kat last year on my podcast, and we dug into her Fiona Apple connection: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTAN...

Per Leslie Jamison, reading @margosteines.bsky.social's writing is "journeying to the center of the earth, except the earth is a human body." Learn from Margo, @christinajcooke.bsky.social @porochista.bsky.social @sarahmanguso.bsky.social & Krys Malcom Belc in "Writing the Body." buff.ly/JOxfnwQ

Last week's "Goodbye to That Place" essay by Holly Brickley had Donald Fagen lyrics suffusing a farewell to San Francisco, and it made us think of how Katrina Prow used Fiona Apple albums as roadmaps thru her California upbringing in this 2023 "Under the Influence." Read along here: buff.ly/j8Uzc6k

This one's for all of you who have read picture books to kids and thought: I want to write one too! For dreamers, professionals, and all in between: join @kyomaclear.bsky.social, @dirtbagg.bsky.social, @matthewburgessj.bsky.social, X Fang, & @bottomshelfbks.bsky.social in September. buff.ly/lCHPVNT

This week, we're reading: an article on beavers' 50 years as Canada's national symbol by @brianbanks.bsky.social, a story about the haunting of a mill town by Rebecca Turkewitz, and an essay on shifting landscapes and disasters by Erica Berry. These and more in our newsletter: buff.ly/nM5NgsI

OA editors @aubereylescure.bsky.social & Tusshara reunited in London! They talked about writing communities, what it means to travel back to same city again and again, and Aube’s preparation for her Masters' Series course “Writing Autofiction.” We love international reunions in our far-flung team! 🥰

In this week's "Behind the Essay" interview, Holly Brickley tells us her advice for weaving music into writing, what she learned about farewells while working on her "Goodbye to That Place" essay, and the beautiful, bawdy, and devastating books she's been reading. Find the full Q&A:

In this Masters' Series course w Rachel Khong and guest authors Shruti Swamy, @rubenwrites.bsky.social, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, & Hilary Leichter, we’ll engage in the practice of imagination—the bedrock of all fiction. Learn more & register (early bird discount expires Sunday!): buff.ly/Jn7zKUJ

To Holly Brickley, San Francisco meant anticipation: cotton-candy houses and street punks. She'd always imagined moving there to be a writer, but when she did, what happened next she could never have anticipated. Read this electric second essay in our "Goodbye to that Place" column: buff.ly/FYX73nl

This intensive (but free-wheeling) course will focus on desire as an engine of literary creation. Join Steve Almond w guest authors Camille Dungy, @meghamaj.bsky.social, @sarahmanguso.bsky.social, & Anthony Doerr this fall to explore this most human of experiences: buff.ly/CUo4EhW

How often do we assign an entire imagined role—sometimes a villainous one—to a stranger? In @maggiedowns.bsky.social's essay, a group hike on the Inca Trail comes w both thinning air and thinning patience before things take a surprising turn. Read here: buff.ly/jC7Fjma

Last chance to sign up for "Writing the Book Proposal," starting this Monday July 14. Join Raksha Vasudevan, @graywolfpress.bsky.social editor Anni Liu, literary agent Noelle Falcis-Math, and acclaimed writers Elisa Gabbert & @laurenmarkham.bsky.social to finalize your proposal: buff.ly/d0NTkxb

It's become an annual tradition: OA editors (and bffs) Anya Tchoupakov (@anyatchoup) & @aubereylescure.bsky.social on a Provençal terrace, snacking on saucissons and iced tea while staring down spreadsheets, discussing brilliant essay drafts, & brainstorming future OA hangs. #workingoffassignment

If you've had a tab open for weeks with Greg Marshall "Writing Humor" Masters' Series course, now is the time to register! Class starts this Sunday June 13th! Imbue your writing with humor alongside Greg, Sloane Crosley, Ben Phillipe, Parini Shroff, & @csittenfeld.bsky.social: buff.ly/ltjyNxo

In conversation with @maggiedowns.bsky.social's Letter to a Stranger last week about a man encountered on the Inca trail, carrying a heavier load than most, is Sarah Menkedick's essay about early motherhood and a woman who gave her an orange in the Oaxacan mountains. Read it here:

How do we occupy our bodies, what do we do with them, how do we feel in them? Explore this and more in our popular "Writing the Body" course w @margosteines.bsky.social, @christinajcooke.bsky.social, @porochista.bsky.social, @sarahmanguso.bsky.social, & Krys Malcolm Belc. buff.ly/JOxfnwQ

This week, we're reading: Chloé Caldwell's tell-all about selling her book WOMEN on dating apps; @mrbrianbenson.bsky.social's flash piece on the bane of existence that is 3:27pm; & Megan Marshall's essay on the left-handed women in her family, drawn from her book AFTER LIVES. Read: buff.ly/6J14g1M

In Raksha Vasudevan's Writing the Book Proposal, literary agent Noelle Falcis-Math and editor Anni Liu will share what makes a book proposal stand out, while Elisa Gabbert and @laurenmarkham.bsky.social will explain how they wrote, refined, & sold their proposals. Register: buff.ly/d0NTkxb

Walking literature is a rich genre of its own—but how can walking itself translate into your written work? In this week's newsletter, @maggiedowns.bsky.social‬ discusses what got her started on the trail, and her approach to writing about hikes and pitfalls to avoid. Read: buff.ly/6J14g1M

Award-winning travel writer Faith Adiele invites you to push the possibilities of travel writing. Get ready for transformative discussions on decolonizing language and structure, considering how your voice interacts with the voices of others in your work, and more. Register here: buff.ly/MVu3716

The air was thin and the effort arduous on the Inca Trail. To make matters worse, another hiker ahead of @maggiedowns.bsky.social seemed to taunt her by carrying two backpacks. Why two? The answer, when revealed, left the author floored, just as it leaves readers breathless: buff.ly/C1ns1TM

“It’s not often that a glass smashes. But it happens. At home, in a restaurant, at a party. And when it does, whether in a gay bar in New York’s West Village…” Read Mohsin Zaidi’s “To the Child I Could Not Help” in @offassignment.bsky.social this #PrideMonth: www.offassignment.com/articles/moh...

“You sat next to me on the sofa, and asked to take off my shirt when I told you it was wet from wandering in the rain…” Ani Kayode Somtochukwu’s essay “To Divine, from Grindr” (@offassignment.bsky.social) is featured on our reading list for #PrideMonth: www.offassignment.com/articles/ani...

We are so proud of the work put out by the alumni from the OA courses community—here's just a snippet of our alums who have published far and wide! If you've taken an OA course before, we'd love to hear about your successes and amplify your publications. Email/DM/Slack us with your good news!

LAST CHANCE! "Fuck the Big Five" starts this weekend! We've loved watching the excitement generated by this course, a testament to writers' hunger to get their words out there. Join Chloé Caldwell and her fantastic line-up of guest speakers to learn how thru indie publishing:

What our editors loved about our latest essay, "Yaar," was its playful, sensorial investigation of sound: how a word sounded in our mouths, its heft, its vibrance. Read Lily Kelting's masterful exploration of a single word, "yaar," and the multitudes it contains: