"Hilary is a wonderful instructor. She creates a warm and comfortable environment without sacrificing depth. I was very impressed that she modified the course as she went to incorporate the things we were interested in learning about or to address questions we had. She gives a lot of great feedback and assigns deeply interesting reading followed by great discussions. She is very generous with her knowledge and I felt like I was getting a micro MFA in our few weeks together."

“I first had the privilege of learning from Hilary at a Porch writing workshop she led. She impressed me so much with her meticulous reading of the submissions, and even more so with offered suggestions, and the questions posed that made us think about our stories in unique ways. She was also instrumental in helping me prepare my creative portfolio for two different MFA programs, both of which were successful. She is incredibly kind and thoughtful, very easy to work with, ultimately pushing you to get out of your own way so the writing can speak. As I'm preparing to begin the first year of my MFA, I feel a debt of gratitude for her generosity in guiding me through the application process. Highly recommend!”

“Hilary has been nothing short of amazing in helping me grow as a writer. She has given amazing, detailed feedback that is a perfect combination of honest and encouraging. I have taken classes with Hilary as well as worked with her one on one, and I would highly recommend her for either.”

"Hilary is kind and patient. She was open and willing to discuss and share about anything we were curious about."

"The Short Story was a great introduction for me — a writer with no fiction experience. Hilary's choices for class readings were interesting and inspiring. I appreciated her encouragement to ground into our own unique lives and perspectives for material. She also offered a lot of nuts and bolts information about the elements that make a short story. I feel I now have a path into this medium. I signed up because I had one story idea, and in just a month's time the ideas have proliferated! Thank you, Hilary!"

"I enjoyed the class and picked up several ideas for improving my structure, strengthening my dialogue, submitting my stories, and understanding the creative process in general."

"Hilary offers wonderful insight, advice, and feedback!"

"Hilary is so kind and so knowledgable and she helped to demystify and provide inspiration for the stressful process of MFA prep."

"Hilary did such a great job answering all of our questions and giving attention to everyone's different processes."

"As a beginner, Hilary made me feel very comfortable asking questions that for me sounded very naive. I enjoyed reading the short stories, and reflecting and finding some inspiration for them afterwards. It re-invigorated my love for reading that I've lost."