Erica Berry | Attic Institute

Erica Berry

Associate Fellow at the Attic Institute

Erica Berry’s nonfiction debut, Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear, was published in February 2023 by Flatiron/Macmillan (US+Canada), and Canongate (UK+Commonwealth) in March 2023. Her essays and journalism appear in Outside, Catapult, Wired, The Yale Review, The Guardian, Literary Hub, Gulf Coast, The New York Times Magazine, Colorado Review, The Atlantic, and Guernica, among others. Winner of the Steinberg Essay Prize, she has received grants and fellowships from the Ucross Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources, and Tin House.

Upcoming Classes

Fall | Memoir Bootcamp w Erica Berry | Nov 16 - 17 | In-person

The Attic Experience

"Andrea Hollander and I just had our poetry consult and I couldn't be more pleased. Not only did she address every goal I set for this conversation, but she blew my expectations into the stratosphere. I walked away with 1) the title, poems, and arrangement for a chapbook; 2) the grand design for a book that would use the chapbook poems as springboards; 3) suggestions for revisions on many of the poems I sent; 4) the encouragement and support of an established poet I admire as a writer, teacher and woman. The Attic Institute is blessed to have added Andrea Hollander to its faculty."

Carolyn Martin

The Classic Book for Writers, Updated and Revised

EVERY WRITER HAS A THOUSAND FACES

"This book has been in print forever because what it offers works for people." — Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club

"Finally, an anti-bullsht book on creativity!"* — James Marcus, former editor of Harper's

"Does for the creative process what Strunk and White did for our approach to grammar and style. Indispensible." — Marjorie Sandor, National Jewish Book Award winner

"Buoyant...unorthodox...A provocative and anti-intuitive manual for making fresh art." — Kirkus Review

"Biespiel offers a number of best practices—not just for writing...but for living a creative life." — The Rumpus

A Statement of Our Values

The Attic Institute of Arts and Letters opposes the legitimation of bigotry, hate, and misinformation. As a studio for writers, we do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. We embrace and celebrate our shared pursuit of literature and languages as essential to crossing the boundaries of difference. To that end, we seek to maintain a creative environment in which every employee, faculty member, and student feels safe, respected, and comfortable — even while acknowledging that poems, stories, and essays delve into uncomfortable subjects. We accept the workshop as a place to question ourselves and to empathize with complex identities. We understand that to know the world is to write the world. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to literary pursuits and shared understanding by affirming diversity and open inquiry.