If everyone's a critic, why do we need arts writers? This writing workshop investigates arts journalism—encompassing theater, screens, architecture, food, dance, opera, fashion, music visual arts, books, and more—and what it means to be a feature writer or critic in the 21st century. We look with an editor's eye at classics (think: Edmund Wilson to Susan Sontag) and contemporaries (beyond your New Yorker). Weekly writing assignments include: first-person essays, Q&A interviews, reviews, and blog stories, with an opportunity at pitching and publishing to both mainstream and alternative outlet editors. Guest lecturers include traditional as well as e-publishing, from Amazon and the New York Times, to offer their viewpoint on what good arts writing means to us today.