Writing Instructor

Part-Time | Drawing Room | NYC

About the Role

Drawing Room is looking for an experienced, enthusiastic Writing Instructor to join our Learning team.

Our workshops are professionally instructed, thoughtfully curated experiences designed to promote creativity, learning, and community. We’re looking for practicing writers who bring a strong craft, a genuine love of teaching, and a thoughtful approach to working with adult learners.

Instructors teach a combination of established Drawing Room workshops and, when appropriate, help develop new programming. This is a collaborative, hands on role that combines creative instruction, curriculum preparation, and studio operations.

What You’ll Do

• Learn, prepare, and confidently teach established Drawing Room writing curriculum

• Lead engaging, approachable workshops for adult writers of all experience levels, including people who haven’t written creatively since school

• Guide students through prompts, exercises, and sharing, and help them build a sustainable writing practice

• Create a room where people feel safe reading their work aloud and giving and receiving feedback

• Contribute ideas for new workshops and longer form Intensives, with dedicated, paid development time for approved projects

• Collaborate with Drawing Room leadership on curriculum development, revisions, and final approvals

• Prepare materials, set up workshops, and clean and reset the space afterward

• Pitch in on routine studio upkeep, including organizing and restocking supplies and completing assigned tasks

• Communicate proactively about scheduling, availability, materials, and operational needs

• Participate in required team meetings, training, and other scheduled responsibilities

What We’re Looking For

• An active writing practice, with published work, an MFA, or comparable training and experience

• Experience teaching or leading writing workshops, especially for adult beginners

• Range across forms, such as poetry, personal essay, memoir, fiction, or generative and prompt based writing

• The ability to give clear structure while leaving room for each writer’s voice

• Strong group facilitation skills and comfort managing discussion and feedback

• Strong organization, preparation, reliability, and attention to detail

• A collaborative mindset and openness to feedback

• A warm, encouraging approach to teaching and community building

• A willingness to contribute to the practical, behind the scenes work of maintaining a shared creative studio

• Bonus: experience bridging writing and visual work (journaling, zines, image and text)

Curriculum Preparation + Development

Instructors get dedicated, paid time to prepare for and, in some cases, develop the workshops they teach, whether working with established Drawing Room curriculum or creating new programming.

This includes learning existing lesson plans, preparing prompts and readings, refining teaching techniques, and making thoughtful improvements to the student experience.

We also encourage instructors to bring their own expertise and ideas into our programming. Larger projects, including new workshops and Intensives, are planned together with Drawing Room leadership, with agreed upon scopes, timelines, and development hours.

All new curriculum and significant changes to existing programming are reviewed and approved by Drawing Room leadership before launch.

Private Events + Additional Programming

In addition to regular workshops and Journey programs, instructors support Drawing Room’s private events and other special programming as needed.

Private events are an important part of our business and may include corporate gatherings, celebrations, and other group creative experiences. Instructors should be comfortable adapting their teaching to different audiences, group sizes, and formats.

Instructors are expected to provide availability for at least one private event per month and take on assigned events based on training, availability, and programming needs. All event work, including prep, setup, facilitation, and cleanup, is paid.

Schedule + Compensation

This is a part time, non exempt position with a schedule based on programming and operational needs. Workshops take place mostly on weekday evenings and weekends at both Drawing Room locations. You must be able to commit to at least 6 to 7 regular hours a week during those times. Fuller schedules may be closer to 15 to 20 hours a week. Additional hours are available by combining roles across the organization, including hosting Open Hours. Team meetings currently take place on Monday daytimes, alternating between our locations.

All instructors train and staff Open Hours during their onboarding period (roughly 2 to 3 months) to get to know the space, our offerings, and our community.

Compensation

• $40 to $45/hr for teaching

• $28 to $35/hr for instructor related hours, including meetings, setup and cleanup, and workshop development

• $24/hr for hosting

• $22/hr for training