Teaching & Consultations
Teaching
I teach writing as a practice of attention — to language, to memory, to the self that shows up on the page. All levels welcome, from beginners to longtime poets to elders finding new stories to tell.
Private consultations · Current & upcoming classes · Retreats · Past classes
“I’m less interested in perfect answers than in meaningful questions.”
— Sabina Khan-Ibarra, on her teaching
Work With Me
Private Consultations
I work one-on-one with writers on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Whether you’re developing a piece, exploring revision, or working through a particular craft question, I’d be glad to read your work.
What you receive
An editorial letter highlighting what’s working and possibilities for revision, along with in-manuscript comments. We’ll then meet for a 45-minute video call to discuss the feedback and your next steps.
Each consultation includes up to 10 double-spaced prose pages or five poems totaling no more than 10 pages. Written feedback is delivered within three weeks of our agreed start date. Longer projects can be discussed individually.
How to inquire
Email me a few lines about your project, including its genre, approximate length, and what kind of feedback would be most helpful. I’ll reply with availability, rates, and next steps.
Once we’ve agreed on the scope, fee, and timeline, I’ll send submission instructions.
Now through November
Current & upcoming classes
Fridays, Oct 2–23
11:30 AM–1:30 PM PT
In progress
Writing Between Forms
The Writers Grotto
A hybrid workshop exploring poetry, memoir, essay, prose poetry, braided essays, and genre-crossing forms — studying Bhanu Kapil, Jenny Boully, Maggie Nelson, Natalie Diaz, Lia Purpura, Alexander Chee, and others.
Oct 10 & 17
In progress
The Unsaid: Writing Through Silence, Secrecy, and Omission
San Diego Writers, Ink · Write Your Story Now
Explore how silence, omission, emotional restraint, and gaps in knowledge can create tension and complexity.
Sun, Oct 18
One session · Zoom
The Poem as Container
San Diego Writers, Ink · Write Your Story Now · 1:00–3:00 PM PT
How does a poem hold emotional weight?
Wed, Nov 4
11:00 AM–12:00 PM PT
Fall Write-In
The Writers Grotto · Virtual
A 60-minute virtual write-in — space and guidance to get your creative energy flowing, generate new material, or return to work-in-progress alongside a community of writers.
Fridays, Nov 6–27
11:30 AM–1:30 PM PT
The Poem As Container
The Writers Grotto
A generative poetry course on emotional resonance through image systems, repetition, compression, silence, and pacing.
Sat, Nov 7
Character Without Backstory: Revealing the Inner Life Through Scene, Dialogue, and Image
San Diego Writers, Ink · Write Your Story Now
Explore how character emerges through scene, dialogue, gesture, and image rather than exposition.
Sun, Nov 8
The Small Shift: Making a Scene Move
San Diego Writers, Ink · Write Your Story Now
Create movement through small, precise shifts — a poured cup of tea, a folded shirt, a held silence — rather than big plot turns.
Weekly series · Litquake Elder Project
Creative Writing & Storytelling
Online · Tuesdays, 1:00–2:30 PM PT. A weekly workshop for elder writers — reading published work, writing from prompts, and sharing in community. I teach select sessions as part of a co-teaching team with Tureeda Mikell, Michelle Kicherer, and Denise Sullivan.
Weekly series · Litquake Elder Project
Community Living Campaign Writing Workshop
Online · Wednesdays, 6:00–7:45 PM PT. Readings, discussion, writing prompts, and sharing. I teach select sessions as part of a co-teaching team with Melissa Cistaro, Antony Fangary, Tureeda Mikell, Tam Putnam, and Denise Sullivan.
Retreats
Keeper of Stories Retreats
Rooted in the belief that writing begins with attention, these retreats invite participants to slow down, listen closely, and explore the stories that matter most to them. Through generative prompts, close reading, discussion, and dedicated writing time, we engage with memory, image, place, and lived experience.
Days together, rather than hours, change what’s possible: there’s time to return to a poem after sleeping on it, to sit with a story past the point where you’d normally stop.
Generative prompts · Close reading · Dedicated writing time · Memory & place · Small & intimate
The first Keeper of Stories retreat is planned for spring 2027. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when exact dates and location are announced.
Join the retreat waitlist
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From students
“The poems I began in this class went on to be published. Sabina’s thoughtful, craft-driven approach helped me create some of my strongest work.”
“She makes complex craft concepts tangible without oversimplifying them. Every class left me with practical tools I still use in my writing.”
Past classes (8): show the archive
- The Poem as Container
Sep 19, 2026 · San Diego Writers, Ink - Fall Write-In
Sep 14, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Virtual - The Strange Shape of the Poem
Sep 4–25, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Zoom - What We Carry: Writing Ancestral Memory Through Story, Image, and Inheritance
Aug 22 & 29, 2026 · San Diego Writers, Ink - Write With Image, Not Explanation
Aug 7–28, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Zoom - Write Stronger Poems Through Form
Jul 10–31, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Zoom - Unlock the Poet Within: Transforming Tradition
May 2–23, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Zoom - Fragments, Rooms, & Returns: Writing Nonlinear Prose
May 1–22, 2026 · The Writers Grotto · Zoom
