Alexandra lived up to the great reputation that she has in the Writing Program. She was prepared, funny, available, enthusiastic and creative with her criticism. She provided a wide range of writers for us to consider and we all found something to inspire us. Alexandra was the best teacher I had at the New School and, considering the overall quality of the teachers, that's saying a lot.
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—Sara Wooster, Author, Painting Can Save Your Life: How and Why we Paint

But it is her passion for writing that sets her apart from other teaching writers. She has that rare ability to imbue her students with her own confidence and enthusiasm; so much so, that it is difficult to be serious about writing, attend one of Alexandra's classes and be unchanged as a result as a writer.
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— Joy Rhoades, Author, The Woolgrower's Companion

In reflecting on the Great Short Story class today, I am struck not only by Alexandra's grace and skill in working with me, but in how she handled a very diverse group ranging perhaps 50 years in age and at least that much in life experience.

Of this group she crafted a true workshop, where each of us dared to expose our work to scrutiny and learned how to evaluate writing in positive, constructive and (to borrow a word from another universe) actionable ways.
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—Jane Palmer

I, and other members of our class, found her masterful, yet congenial, approach to thinking, writing and molding the written word, so intriguing that many of us took advanced classes in short story writing with her to continue our development as writers.

Ms. Alexandra Shelley is a gem of an instructor; she loves what she is doing as a master teacher and she imparts that joy and her love of ideas to all students fortunate to have been in her classroom!
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— Robert Allen Levy

[Alexandra] provided a community and prepared me for an MFA program. Alexandra's interaction does not end in the class room. She creates a writer's community.

Alexandra is a working writer in New York whose insights come from experience, and who is devoted to maintaining a community once class has ended and the lonely, heavy lifting of writing begins.
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—Aimee Rinehart

Although her comments were to the point and directional--she made excellent suggestions about how to improve individual passages and also the work as a whole--she imparted her comments with such generosity of spirit that one felt challenged to progress up the learning curve of writing fiction.

She accepts work on the individual student's terms and the result is that she helps make a story a better within the student's vision.
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—Jacqueline Gill

She was able to impart to us her great knowledge and talents as a writer while also coaxing the most helpful responses from my classmates and me. I never felt that the students were running the class, as I have felt in other workshops; but neither did I ever feel that Ms. Shelley was shutting out student reactions, either.

Rather, she was able to impart to us her great knowledge and talents as a writer while also coaxing the most helpful responses from my classmates and me.
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—Myung Joh

Through her workshops she challenges students of all levels, using in-class exercises that provide much fodder for creativity, evaluations of student writing that lead to substantial revision, and studies of writing masters that aid in exploring variations in tone, plot, characterization, style. Alexandra's acceptance of a diverse arena of writers is evident, and she always inspires rather than squelches individual aspirations.
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—Jane Hoppen,
Author, In Between

She was able to see the merit in different writing styles and genres, and encouraged her students to write in ways that were different than what they were accustomed to.

This led to happy discoveries, and better writing. Alexandra's open-mindedness helped the class recognize quality in whatever form it took.

Her encouragement inspired students to write their best, without feeling pigeonholed in one specific school of writing.
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—Timothy Samson

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.
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—Greg Durham

I was lucky to belong to Alexandra Shelley's workshop and would never have written The Town Crazy without her feedback and guidance, and the support of the great writers in the workshop she hosted in her living room. The tone she set was relaxed, serious, and fun.

— Suzzy Roche, author of The Town Crazy and Wayward Saints, and musician

The course was intelligently structured, including both readings and workshopping of student work. Alexandra is an expert with craft, particularly in the rare art of teaching it. She fostered a friendly community in the classroom. Her comments on my work were top-notch – in fact I have no doubt her critique and my revisions helped me to get into the MFA program at The New School.
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— Eric Taylor

She embodies precisely what any writer wishes for in a workshop leader: a generous spirit with a keen eye and incisive editorial skills. She is also warm and witty and a pro at fostering a constructive environment in which each writer can individually flourish. I credit much of my growth as a writer to Alexandra's workshop.
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— Dalia Azim, Author, Country of Origin

Having been out of school for three years, I was nervous about how my stories would be received.

But Alexandra was always direct and thorough; she was able to see my stories not as they were, but as they were trying to be.

In this way, Alexandra gave us the most important encouragement a writing professor can give: she made us look at ourselves as writers.
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—Kyle Mellen

From my first days in her Great American Short Story Workshop, I was impressed by how well-structured Alexandra's classes are. She manages to fit an enormous amount into each class. She provides doses of theory, outside reading (with a focus on "reading like a writer"), and traditional workshop feedback.

This combination provides writers of all levels with a solid foundation, while also sparking discussion and inspiring future work. Students emerge from the semester with a firmer, deeper understanding of writing.
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—Lydia Unfried

Ms. Shelley has a gift for recognizing each individual's passion, and a greater sense of drawing it out of you.

Through her inspiring exercises and insightful discussions, she instilled a diverse foundation of style and substance in my writing which I continue to draw on today, both professionally and personally.
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—Janine Lopiano,
Partner, Sputnik Entertainment, Inc.

Sixteen years ago, it was my good fortune to take Alexandra Shelley's class, The Great American Short Story, at the New School.

The class was a portal to the world of writing and literature, and Ms. Shelley has been my guide and mentor ever since.
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—Harriet Goldman

Her keen ability to give critiques, her success in eliciting cooperation, and her practical knowledge of the publishing world make her the best writing teacher I have ever had. Alexandra's critiques were always incisive, helpful, and targeted.

She always made her comments in a diplomatic and gentle manner, careful not to harm any fragile egos. More importantly, in the long term, I learned from her how to critique my own work and the work of others.
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— Brendan Huhn

I studied with Professor Shelley for two semesters and the scope of what I learned under her tutelage has had a huge impact on my craft.

She is one of those rare individuals who possesses an infectious enthusiasm for her subject and has a skill set to match her passion. In class she introduced us to writers I had never heard of, illustrated how and why their different styles were effective, and had us do exercises incorporated those styles. These exercises proved invaluable to me.
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—John Howard Swain