Cole Kazdin

Instructor Biography:

Cole Kazdin, M.S., writer, performer, four-time Emmy-winning television journalist and author of What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety. Ms. Kazdin has written for TIME, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, The Daily Beast and was a regular contributor to VICE. She has produced television for Good Morning America, Nightline, World News Tonight and HBO Documentaries. She is also a contributing author to the book, The Moth Presents All These Wonders: True Stories About Facing the Unknown  and has told stories with The Moth Radio Hour on NPR, RISK! and has performed live on The Moth's Mainstage across the country.

Instructor Statement:

I believe very strongly that writing is an art form that everyone can access. You don’t need a fancy degree - everyone has a story. In my own career, writing everything from humorous essays to true crime journalism, I’ve found that all great stories share many of the same ingredients, among them: clarity, high stakes and personal change. Once we earn how to identify these components in our own lives, we find a seemingly endless amount of material to write about. Story is about change and we are changing and growing all the time. My background in journalism informs the way I teach creative nonfiction, personal essay and storytelling. Tuning into the emotional and sensory detail of an experience helps us write with precision and depth. Simplifying structure allows our writing to flow easily, and when we are writing as clearly and concisely as possible, our unique writing voice naturally emerges. As an instructor, my goal is to create a safe space where students can experiment with these ideas and where writing can grow.