Writing for the Lay Public: How Professionals Can Master Online and Op-Ed Writing

Due to the overwhelming success of the first Blank Slate Writing Workshop held in January 2015, we are offering this workshop for a second time on Saturday, January 23, 2016.

This full day workshop will teach short essay and op-ed writing. Participants will write an 800 word essay in the course of the day – aided by continuous individual and group feedback.

The workshop is designed for professionals of any discipline at any point in their career (doctors, lawyers, scientists, graduate students and residents, teachers, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and community workers). Both those who have already written as well as those beginning to write will learn the principles and practice of scientific, narrative non-fiction writing for the educated reader. Periods of writing and of review/discussion will structure the day, with participants grouped according to where they are in the development of their actual written work product.

This workshop is for those who want to produce brief, written or spoken posts/blogs/articles/reviews for online media and newsletters, local or regional publications, or the national press. Participants also will learn how to effectively use social media to promote their ideas and writings.

Click here for the Workshop Schedule.

Lloyd Sederer, MD

Dr. Sederer is Medical Editor for Mental Health for the Huffington Post, Chief Medical Officer of the NYS Office of Mental Health, and Adjunct Professor at the Columbia/Mailman School of Public Health. He has taught medical writing for the lay public for nine sequential semesters in the Columbia Department of Psychiatry. The author/editor of seven textbooks and two books for the lay public, his essays, opinion pieces, and book and movie/TV reviews have appeared about every week for over 5 years in the Huffington Post, US News and World Report, Psychology Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, Commonweal Magazine, and TheAtlantic.com. Dr. Sederer is the recipient of a Rockefeller Scholar-in-Residence Grant and numerous professional awards for education and clinical administration. His website is www.askdrlloyd.com.

Drew Ramsey, MD

Dr. Ramsey is a psychiatrist, author, and farmer. He is one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of using dietary change to help balance moods, sharpen brain function and improve mental health. An assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, his clinical work focuses on the treatment of depression and anxiety.

His work and writing on food and brain health been featured by top tier media outlets such as The New York Times, The Huffington Post,Prevention, The Atlantic, The Doctors Show, and NPR. His recent bestseller 50 Shades of Kale (HarperWave 2013) helped elevate kale to celebrity status and has made this superfood accessible to thousands. His first book, The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood and Lean, Energized Body (Rodale 2011) explored the impact of modern diets on brain health providing a solution of recipes and meal plans. Learn more at www.DrewRamseyMD.com.

Lisa Gornick, PhD

Dr. Gornick is a clinical psychologist/psychoanalyst and a fiction and essay writer.  She is the author of two novels -- Tinderbox (Sarah Crichton Books/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Picador) and A Private Sorcery (Algonquin) -- and a collection of linked stories, Louisa Meets Bear (also with Sarah Crichton Books/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux).  Her essays have appeared widely, including in Slate, The New York Times, Real Simple, and The Huffington Post. Currently on the faculty of the Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, Lisa has taught at Yale and Fordham.