It wasn't until I studied with Alexandra Shelley that I began to understand the craft of writing.  With her dead-on criticism and her knack for finding the gold in even the roughest drafts, she is a writer's best friend.  She is that rare instructor who neither coddles the ego nor condemns the work, but rather always finds the heart.

I am especially grateful to Alexandra because I had decided that, after several unsatisfactory writing instructors, her New School class would be my last attempt at trying to find my voice.  Writing, I was beginning to think, just wasn't where my talents lived. That was about seven years ago and I'm happy to stay that I am now writing full time.

Alexandra has continued to mentor me, and her encouragement has been indispensable to my growth and that of many other writers I know (the truth is that she has something of a fan club).  Every piece I've published has been improved by her keen eye.  She also has a talent for introducing writers and encouraging vital writer/reader relationships.  In the best sense, she is a literary citizen who facilitates community.

… She sees what's lovely in something you've created, even when you're blind to it yourself.  That may sound simple, but in the arts nothing is, in fact, more rare, more need and more appreciated.  For me, it has been a gift.

-Greg Durham