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# The Writer's Center

Supporting writers and everyone who wants to write.

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## Posts

- [Bethesda Local Writer’s Showcase: 2026 Adult Essay Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2026-adult-essay-contest/) - I’m GreedyBy Joyce Siegel – Rockville, MD1st Place While looking out the window of my condo one day I saw a woman who appeared to be 30”ish” walking by. She had a sprightly gait and was dressed for the summer heat…short shorts, bare midriff, flip- flops. I didn’t begrudge her the youthful outfit but I
- [Bethesda Local Writer’s Showcase: 2026 High School Essay Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2026-high-school-essay-contest/) - The Weight on the BenchBy Nolan Chen – Poolesville High School1st Place I sit on the black bench, my hands gently poised above the field of monochromatic keys. Golden rays of summer sunlight illuminate the room in hazy shades of comfort. As my fingers begin to run across the piano, the bench shifts in weight:
- [Bethesda Local Writer’s Showcase: 2026 Adult Poetry Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2026-adult-poetry-contest/) - Weeding Fish MintBy Thu Nguyen - Gaithersburg, MD1st Place I call you by all your names: Chinese lizard tail, fish leaf, heart leaf, chameleon of my yard.The man with Roman numeral tattoos tears a bit of your fishy flesh from the bolted weedy bed as he pretends to gag, throws a piece of you into
- [Bethesda Local Writer’s Showcase: 2026 Young Poet Contest Winners](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2026-young-poet-contest-winners/) - Who Said?By Eve Browne - Thomas S. Wootton High School Who says there has to be sadness?Who said I couldn’t just touch my fingers to the earth And let my love flow into the soil?God knows our roots need it. Who says there has to be chaos?Who said I have to quarter Famine and War
- [A Slow Descent Toward Hope - Interview w/ Zach Powers](https://writer.org/zach-powers-interview/) - A CONVERSATION WITH TWC DIRECTOR ZACH POWERS ABOUT HIS NEW NOVEL, THE MIGRAINE DIARIES By Amy Freeman When I was asked to interview Zach Powers, who is not only my friend, but also my boss, my only question was, “How annoying can I make this for him?” Given free rein, I decided to ask him
- [Telling & Retelling](https://writer.org/telling-retelling/) - Michele Evans on her debut collection, purl By Emily Holland Michele Evans’s debut poetry collection, purl, readers are taken on a journey through voice and time. purl brings forth new and traditional forms and unheard voices in poems that give life to women from the Odyssey and poems that bring those stories to the present.
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 High School Short Story Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-high-school-short-story-contest/) - High School Short Story Contest – 1st Place Beneath the Frozen MoonBy Max Bakelar – Georgetown Preparatory School His gaze flicked toward the boy. “You think you’re too good for this food?” he asked, his voice low and mocking. “Sitting there, barely touching it. You think you’re better than me?” “No, sir,” the boy said
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 Adult Short Story Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-adult-short-story-contest/) - Adult Short Story Contest – 1st Place RubinaBy Asma Dilawari – Bethesda, Maryland The kettle whistled and she poured the boiling water over tea in the saucepan, recalling one of the first times she had gone through these motions, now practically muscle memory. Her shoulders tensed as she remembered the audition of sorts, older aunties
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 Young Poet Contest Winners](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-young-poet-contest-winners/) - MundanityBy Leah Bulson – Richard Montgomery High School Do you mind if I set these here? whispering dogs with their heads hanging out of car windows hugs at the airport the rainbows that soap bubbles sometimes make (only sometimes) ice cream trucks on the highway the moon during the day knees bouncing to the beat
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 Adult Poetry Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-adult-poetry-contest/) - Adult Poetry Contest – 1st Place North of the AccentsBy John Whelan – Columbia, Maryland North of the eastern Canadian Providences,the Celtic lilt dissipates, disappearing into the big empty. Above Churchill Falls, the mother tonguemeanders through spruce and aspen forest,as softly as a foot falling into fresh snow.These ancient dialects, shaped by barometric pressure and
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 Adult Essay Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-adult-essay-contest/) - Adult Essay Contest – 1st Place Golden GiftsBy Sarah Craven – Cabin John, Maryland Golden apples falling at your feet. This was a phrase my father often used to remind me of the many gifts and privileges in my life. Lately, I have reinterpreted his adage through the lens of golden plumeria —the tender and
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2025 High School Essay Contest](https://writer.org/bethesda-local-writers-showcase-2025-high-school-essay-contest/) - High School Essay Contest – 1st Place The Painting in the MirrorBy Logan Moran – Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School As I step into the powder room adjacent to my attic bedroom, I take in my surroundings. The afternoon light streams through the stained glass window, dappling the walls with color. The messy array of pastes,
- [Inspiration Through Tragedy](https://writer.org/inspiration-through-tragedy/) - A Writer's Journey By Miriam Chernick If not for the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, I probably would not have become a writer. When the first plane hit at 8:46 a.m., I was home on maternity leave with my third child, just a month old. We lived in Battery Park
- [A conversation with essayist Morowa Yejidé about her new book, Creatures of Passage](https://writer.org/a-conversation-with-essayist-morowa-yejide-about-her-new-book-creatures-of-passage/) - By Zach Powers DC-based author Morowa Yejidé joined The Writer's Center for a chat about her forthcoming novel, the craft of writing, and the inspiration of our city. ZP: My favorite literary genre (using that term loosely) is the fantastical. What draws you to imagined and magical places? MY: DC is a place where people
- [WRITE THE FULL STORY](https://writer.org/write-the-full-story/) - A conversation with First Novel Prize winner Jasmin Darznik By Grace Mott Remember the flight, for the bird is mortal. —Forugh Farrokhzad This year we’re honored to award Jasmin Darznik the First Novel Prize for Song of a Captive Bird. This debut work of fiction is a truly unforgettable story set in 1950s Iran and
- [A Little Help from My Friends](https://writer.org/a-little-help-from-my-friends/) - THREE WRITERS ON THE BENEFITS OF WRITING GROUPS By Amy Freeman Writing is, of course, a solitary pursuit, which is perhaps all the more reason that writing groups are such a boon. They can meet in person or virtually, live or asynchronously. They can provide focus, accountability, inspiration, skills, or any mix thereof. I reached
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 High School Short Story Contest](https://writer.org/high-school-short-story-contest-2024/) - High School Short Story Contest – 1st Place The Coffee ShopBy Abigail Ott Kendra checked her phone again. She had already been waiting 15 minutes for her date to show up, but he hadn’t even texted to say he was going to be late. She tried not to judge him. After all, he might have
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 Adult Poetry Contest](https://writer.org/adult-poetry-contest-2024/) - Adult Poetry Contest – 1st Place ChinatownBy May-Mei Lee – Alexandria, Virginia On 7th street,before the fire,there was a restaurant,the one with the roast pork in the windownext to the Walgreens that used to be a CVS that used to be a Peoples Drug that used to bethe knick-knack store that displayed the musical pencil
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 Young Poet Contest Winners](https://writer.org/young-poet-contest-2024/) - Ms. Angelou’s Sweet Song Smells of HoneyBy Lauren Ajebon – Winston Churchill High School I’m so sorry white America.My bootstraps have been cut off,the seams ripped from the back of my shoe. With every inch I crawl, my parent's poverty shackles my anklesand drags me into the depths of hell.With every brilliant poem I write
- [Dissecting the Craft of Writing](https://writer.org/dissecting-the-craft-of-writing-w-samuel-ashworth/) - A Conversation with Novelist Samuel Ashworth By Zach Powers
- [Write What You Repeat](https://writer.org/write-what-you-repeat-w-lauren-francis-sharma/) - A Discussion with Lauren Francis-Sharma By Zach Powers
- [STEVEN LEYVA ON PUBLISHING, COMMUNITY, AND COPING WITH REJECTION](https://writer.org/steven-leyva-on-publishing-community-and-coping-with-rejection/) - By Emily Holland Steven Leyva was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 2 Bridges Review, Scalawag, Nashville Review, jubilat, Vinyl, Prairie Schooner, and Best American Poetry 2020. He is a Cave Canem fellow and author of the chapbook Low Parish and author of
- [PERSISTENT DREAMING](https://writer.org/persistent-dreaming/) - The Story of a Debut Novel By Dina Brumfield I wanted to be a writer as a young child. That was a world away both in place and time. My family and I then lived in Shanghai, China when the country was still closed to the world. It was a hot summer night when the
- [The Ingredients](https://writer.org/the-ingredients/) - A chat with the editor of Taco Bell Quarterly By Amy Freeman MM Carrigan is the Editor Grande Supreme of Taco Bell Quarterly—yep, that’s a real and prestigious literary journal. TWC sat down with her to find out what goes on in the journal’s backroom. Let’s start with the obvious question. For the uninitiated, what
- [DIGGING OUT A NICHE](https://writer.org/digging-out-a-niche/) - A conversation between Justin Sanders, editor of The Horror is Us (Mason Jar Press) and dave ring, editor of Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die (Neon Hemlock Press). Justin Sanders is a ghost from Baltimore. His words have appeared most recently on the city’s walls. Find him on Twitter at
- [When the Words Flow](https://writer.org/when-the-words-flow/) - THE STORY OF A DEBUT NOVEL By Priyanka Champaneri After graduating from college in 2005, I worked an office job full time while taking graduate creative writing courses at night. I didn’t quite know what I was doing with myself or my life, but I knew I loved books, with a passion that has run
- [An Unconventional Journey to Landing a Literary Agent](https://writer.org/an-unconventional-journey-to-landing-a-literary-agent/) - In September of 2019, authors SHANON LEE and JODI SAVAGE paired up to encourage each other through the process of writing their first book proposals. By the following year, Lee was represented by Agnes Carlowicz of the Carol Mann Agency and Savage signed with Mariah Stovall at Howland Literary. In this conversation, they reflect on
- [The Right Mix](https://writer.org/the-right-mix/) - NOVELIST MELISSA SCHOLES YOUNG ON THE ART OF GETTING PUBLISHED By Amy Freeman Melissa Scholes Young is the author of the novels The Hive and Flood, and editor of Grace in Darkness and Furious Gravity, two anthologies of new writing by women writers. She is a contributing editor at Fiction Writers Review, and her work
- [This Is What America Looks Like: Publishing in the Time of Pandemic](https://writer.org/this-is-what-america-looks-like-publishing-in-the-time-of-pandemic/) - By Kathleen Wheaton It was February 2020 when Washington Writers’ Publishing House decided to put out a new fiction and poetry anthology—that is, a lifetime ago. A staff meeting at my house: everyone crowded into a small living room, barefaced, handing around mugs of tea and pretzels without thinking about who else had touched them—remember
- [BEHOLDEN TO CHARACTER](https://writer.org/beholden-to-character/) - A Conversation with Philip Dean Walker about his new story collection, Better Davis By Zach Powers ZP: Better Davis is a sequel, or a continuation of, your first book, At Danceteria. So, you’ve been working on stories set in this cultural, historical moment—celebrities during the AIDS epidemicfor at least five years, and likely much longer.
- [Along for the Ride](https://writer.org/along-for-the-ride/) - VARYING METAPHORICAL DISTANCE IN PROSE By Zach Powers I moved from Savannah, Georgia, to the metro Atlanta area with my family in 1991. Because Savannah was our hometown, we drove between the two cities six or seven times a year, every major holiday and some minor holidays and some long weekends that weren’t holidays at
- [When the Words Flow - The Story of a Debut Novel](https://writer.org/when-the-words-flow-the-story-of-a-debut-novel/) - By Priyanka Champaneri After graduating from college in 2005, I worked an office job full time while taking graduate creative writing courses at night. I didn’t quite know what I was doing with myself or my life, but I knew I loved books, with a passion that has run unabated since I was a child
- [Helping Writers Write – The Washington Writers Conference Continues Its Mission](https://writer.org/helping-writers-write-the-washington-writers-conference-continues-its-mission/) - By Garinè Isassi On May 12 and 13, 2023, the Washington Writers Conference is celebrating its 10th conference — in its current form, that is! That final caveat leads us to a bit of local literary history. It turns out that this mainstay event of the DMV literary scene is actually an inspiring comeback story.
- [The Mechanical Engineer, Larry Brown, and the Lake](https://writer.org/the-mechanical-engineer-larry-brown-and-the-lake/) - By John Richard Saylor A dozen or so years ago, in early January, when the land in South Carolina is brown, mostly mud and dead leaves, and right around the time when I was promoted to professor of mechanical engineering, the highest rank in an academicdepartment, I lost the fire in my belly. Up until
- [Writing After College](https://writer.org/writing-after-college/) - By Anu Altankhuyag The idea of fully committing to my dream of becoming an author was frightening, but I decided to go through with it and study Creative Writing for my Bachelor’s degree. However, once I was getting to the end of my senior year, I realized I hadn’t the faintest idea of what I
- [Inescapable Themes – An Interview with Novelist E.A. Aymar](https://writer.org/inescapable-themes-an-interview-with-novelist-e-a-aymar/) - By Amy Freeman Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar’s most recent thriller, They’re Gone, was published in 2020 to rave reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus (starred), and was named one of the best books of 2020 by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His next novel, No Home for Killers, is coming out in 2023 by Thomas and
- [Coloring within the (Out)lines](https://writer.org/coloring-within-the-outlines/) - By Virginia Hartman As I’ve been doing readings and Q & A sessions about my new novel, The Marsh Queen, one set of questions seems to recur: How did you come up with these characters, and how did you arrive at this particular story? When faced with these questions I’m reminded of a well-known dichotomy
- [Write By Feeling – An Interview with Debut Novelist Nyani Nkrumah](https://writer.org/write-by-feeling-an-interview-with-debut-novelist-nyani-nkrumah/) - By Amy Freeman Nyani Nkrumah was born in Boston and raised in Ghana and Zimbabwe. She developed her love of reading and writing from her mother, who taught English Literature and Language and encouraged her children to recite poems and Shakespeare soliloquies. After graduating from Amherst College with a dual major in Biology and Black
- [Journeys from The Writer’s Center](https://writer.org/journeys-from-the-writers-center/) - By David Goodrich Originally published in the Winter/Spring issue of The Writer’s Center Magazine My friends know that I ride my bicycle quite a bit. Some years back, I started a job in Geneva, Switzerland, and for the first few weeks I was living in a hotel with only my bike for wheels. In my
- [Q&A with Jona Colson and Caroline Bock](https://writer.org/qa-with-jona-colson-and-caroline-bock/) - New Presidents of The Washington Writers’ Publishing House, a DMV Literary Institution The Washington Writers’ Publishing House (WWPH) is a forty-seven-year-old cooperative, nonprofit, small press based in DC with a mission to celebrate and publish writers from DC, Maryland, and Virginia. On June 1, poet Jona Colson and fiction writer Caroline Bock became co-presidents. They
- [Discoveries Along the Way: A Conversation with Memoirist Steve Majors](https://writer.org/discoveries-along-the-way-a-conversation-with-memoirist-steve-majors/) - By Zach Powers, The Writer’s Center Maryland-based writer Steve Majors recently published his gripping, startlingly honest debut memoir, High Yella, with The University of Georgia Press. He talked with us about the challenges of crafting this book and what he’s learned as an author. ZP: I’d like to start after the book ends, so let’s
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 Adult Essay Contest](https://writer.org/adult-essay-contest-2024/) - Adult Essay Contest – 1st Place A Bold LipBy Raegan O’Lone Raspberry Glade. Bamboo Pink. A Different Grape. These were shades my mother pulled from her purse when I asked her what lipstick she wore. Mom never left the house without hued lips. Every trip in sweatpants from our trailer to the corner store warranted
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 Adult Short Story Contest](https://writer.org/adult-short-story-contest-2024/) - Adult Short Story Contest – 1st Place They Did(n’t) DanceBy Bari Lynn Hein 1. They Didn’t Dance This is Neil’s bliss: this restaurant, these people—his hardworking staff who fill the kitchen with the aromas of garlic and tarragon and thyme, his guests who fill Beaumont’s with the sounds of clinking and laughter and cheers.He walks
- [Bethesda Local Writer's Showcase: 2024 High School Essay Contest](https://writer.org/high-school-essay-contest-2024/) - High School Essay Contest - 1st Place My Two WorldsBy Hannah Brunick I stare blankly at the mirror as she smears charcoal eyeliner into a wing on my face. She says the shape, paired with her ridiculously placed smudges of highlighter, will bring out the Asian in my eyes. I am a confounding collage of

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## Past Events

- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Megan Kamalei Kakimoto](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-on-fiction-with-megan-kamalei-kakimoto/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto to discuss her “knockout” debut story collection, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare. Megan is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. Megan Kamalei Kakimoto is a Japanese and Kanaka Maoli
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Sequoia Nagamatsu](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-novelist-sequoia-nagamatsu/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Sequoia Nagamatsu to discuss his debut novel, How High We Go in the Dark. Sequoia will be in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Director of Communications at The Writer’s Center. Sequoia Nagamatsu is a Japanese-American writer and managing editor of Psychopomp Magazine, an
- [Virtual Craft Chat with poet Chet’la Sebree](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-poet-chetla-sebree/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by poet Chet’la Sebree to discuss her stunning book-length prose poem, Field Study. Chet’la will be in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and Editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. Chet’la Sebree is the director of the Stadler Center for Poetry and
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Bryan Washington](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-bryan-washington/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by novelist Bryan Washington to talk about his celebrated first novel, Memorial. Bryan will be in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Director of Communications at The Writer’s Center. Bryan Washington is a National Book Award 5 Under 35 honoree and winner of the
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet KB Brookins](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-poet-kb-brookins/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by KB Brookins to discuss their debut collection, Freedom House. KB is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore. KB Brookins is a Black, queer, and trans poet, essayist, and cultural worker from Fort Worth, Texas. Their
- [Virtual Craft Chat with novelist Dionne Irving](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-novelist-dionne-irving/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Dionne Irving to discuss her striking new novel, Quint. Dionne will be in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Director of Communications at The Writer’s Center. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Dionne Irving’s work has appeared in The Missouri Review, Boulevard Magazine, LitHub, and other
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Kristen Arnett](https://writer.org/past-events/kristen-arnett-vcc/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by New York Times bestselling novelist Kristen Arnett to discuss her brand new novel, With Teeth. Kristen will be in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Director of Communications at The Writer’s Center. Kristen Arnett is the author of the New York Times-bestselling novel Mostly Dead Things and the
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Chen Chen](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-poet-chen-chen/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Chen Chen to discuss his new poetry collection, Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency. Chen is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and Editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine. Chen Chen was born
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Jennifer Lang](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-with-memoirist-jennifer-lang/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of memoir! We’re joined by Jennifer Lang to discuss her acclaimed debut, Places We Left Behind: a memoir-in-miniature. Jennifer is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. California-born Jennifer Lang lives in Tel Aviv, where she runs Israel Writers Studio.
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Cleo Qian](https://writer.org/past-events/virtual-craft-chat-on-fiction-with-cleo-qian/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Cleo Qian to discuss her debut story collection, LET’S GO LET’S GO LET’S GO. Cleo is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. Cleo Qian is a writer from southern California. Her work has been
- [Introduction to Book Publishing: The Apprentice House Press Experience](https://writer.org/past-events/apprentice-house-vid/) - A virtual panel discussion hosted by The Writer’s Center For both aspiring authors and aspiring publishing professionals (editors, illustrators, designers, publicists, etc.), the world of book publishing can be intimidating as well as alluring. Apprentice House Press, an independent student-run publisher at Loyola University Maryland, provides authors and students a hands-on education in traditional book
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Kelly Link](https://writer.org/past-events/kelly-link-white-cat-black-dog/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link to discuss her highly anticipated new story collection, White Cat, Black Dog.
- [The Writer’s Center LIVE! A Variety Show for Literature Lovers](https://writer.org/past-events/the-writers-center-live-a-variety-show-for-literature-lovers/) - Readings! Live music! Antics! The Writer’s Center LIVE! is a celebration of literature that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Attendees are treated to 5 exceptional readings, plus a generous serving of tomfoolery. Featuring acclaimed writers E.A. Aymar, Dan Brady, Lena Crown, Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes, and R.E.I.L. Hosted by Amy Freeman and Emily Holland, with music
- [Faith Through a Literary Lens](https://writer.org/past-events/faith-through-a-literary-lens/) - The Writer’s Center presents an informative and inspiring symposium addressing the subject of faith in literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing workshops followed by a panel discussion. Featured writers include Sufiya Abdur-Rahman, Eve Ettinger, Jenn Koiter, Eman Quotah, moderated by Zach Powers.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Kaveh Akbar](https://writer.org/past-events/kaveh-akbar-pilgrim-bell/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Kaveh Akbar to discuss his acclaimed new poetry collection, Pilgrim Bell. Kaveh is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and Editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Patricia Lockwood](https://writer.org/past-events/patricia-lockwood-no-one-is-talking-about-this/) - The Writer’s Center presents a virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by poet, memoirist, and novelist Patricia Lockwood to talk about her stunning first novel, No One Is Talking About This.

## Products

- [Publishing Your Oped](https://writer.org/product/publishing-your-oped/) - FA25NON2B
- [Gift Card](https://writer.org/product/gift-card/)
- [The Writer's Center Annual Membership](https://writer.org/product/membership/)
- [One-time Donation](https://writer.org/product/one-time-donation/)
- [Monthly Donation](https://writer.org/product/monthly-donation/)
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- [Writer's Center Donation](https://writer.org/product/donation/)

## Venues

- [National Portrait Gallery](https://writer.org/venue/national-portrait-gallery/)
- [The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/venue/bethesda/) - Parking Public parking is available directly across Walsh Street from The Writer's Center in a county parking lot. The meters in this lot are effective Monday through Saturday, 9:00am - 10:00pm and free on Sundays. Meters accept payment through the ParkMobile and MobileNOW! apps. Please note that The Writer's Center is not able to make
- [Kramers | Bookstore, Bar, & Restaurant in Dupont Circle](https://writer.org/venue/kramers-bookstore-bar-restaurant-in-dupont-circle/)
- [YouTube Premiere](https://writer.org/venue/youtube-premiere/)
- [Zoom](https://writer.org/venue/zoom/)
- [Wet Ink](https://writer.org/venue/wet-ink/)
- [No Kisses Bar](https://writer.org/venue/no-kisses-bar/)
- [metrobar](https://writer.org/venue/metrobar/)

## Organizers

- [Cara Seitchek](https://writer.org/organizer/cara-seitchek/) - Cara Seitchek has written grant proposals for local, state, and national nonprofit organizations. She has also evaluated proposals for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History program, American Association of Museums, and the Maryland State Arts Council. She has an M.A. in writing from The Johns Hopkins University.
- [Joy Cheriel Brown](https://writer.org/organizer/joy-cheriel-brown/) - Joy Cheriel Brown is a screenwriter, playwright, producer, and educator whose work explores raising collective consciousness through story. A professor of scriptwriting at Howard University and founder of Third Person Omniscient Productions, she is the author of The Secret of Life Through Screenwriting. Her short film N.O.S. is available on Amazon Prime.
- [Hananah Zaheer](https://writer.org/organizer/hananah-zaheer/) - Hananah Zaheer is the author of Lovebirds (Bull City Press). She has taught writing and literature for over 20 years in the United States and internationally. She is a former fiction editor for Los Angeles Review and served as a senior editor for SAAG: A Dissident Literary Anthology. She is also the founder of Dubai Literary Salon, a reading series
- [Jehanne Dubrow](https://writer.org/organizer/jehanne-dubrow/) - Jehanne Dubrow is the author of three books of nonfiction, ten poetry collections, and a craft book. Her book-length essay, Frivolity: A Defense, is forthcoming from Columbia University Press in 2026. Her writing has appeared in numerous literary journals, including New England Review, Southern Review, and Ploughshares.
- [Michael Battisto](https://writer.org/organizer/michael-battisto/) - Michael Battisto is an Oakland-based poet whose work has appeared in more than sixty journals, including Rattle, Poet Lore, The Normal School, and Iron Horse Literary Review. He has been nominated for Best of the Net and teaches poetry workshops exploring the history and craft of English-language poetry. Read more at Michaelbattisto.com.
- [David Baker and Christopher Kondrich](https://writer.org/organizer/david-baker-and-christopher-kondrich/) - David Baker is a poet, editor, critic, and educator. His new books are Transit (Norton, 2026) and Collected Poems of Stanley Plumly (coeditor, Norton, 2025). Christopher Kondrich is the author of Tread Upon (Copper Canyon Press, 2026) and the Poet-in-Residence for the University of Maryland’s MFA in Creative Writing program.
- [Sylvia Jones](https://writer.org/organizer/sylvia-jones/) - Sylvia Jones is a lecturer at George Washington University and poetry editor for Black Lawrence Press—she also reads for Ploughshares. Her debut collection —Television Fathers was released in 2024 through Meekling Press. The followup, Dope Calisthenics, will be released in the fall of 2026 with Relegation Books. She earned her MFA from American University and
- [Peter Mandel](https://writer.org/organizer/peter-mandel/) - Peter Mandel is the author of eleven books for children including Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan), Zoo Ah-Choooo (Holiday House), Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster), Planes at the Airport (Scholastic), and Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (Hyperion). He’s a regular contributor to the travel sections of The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The
- [Virginia Hartman](https://writer.org/organizer/virginia-hartman/) - VIRGINIA HARTMAN is the author of the novel The Marsh Queen (Gallery/Simon & Schuster). Her writing has appeared in the Washingtonian, Hudson Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Potomac Review, Sligo Journal, Bluebird City, Delmarva Review, and Beltway Poetry Quarterly, among others. With Barbara Esstman, she edited the literary anthology A More Perfect Union: Poems and Stories
- [Fran Wilde](https://writer.org/organizer/fran-wilde/) - Fran Wilde is a multiple-award winning fantasy and science fiction author of adult, YA, and MG novels, including a 2019 Best of NPR. She also writes nonfiction and poetry, and edits The Sunday Morning Transport, a short fiction magazine. Her most recent book is A Philosophy of Thieves (Erewhon, 2025)
- [Lesley Younge](https://writer.org/organizer/lesley-younge/) - Lesley Younge is a writer, educator, and mindfulness teacher from Silver Spring, Maryland. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry, Callaloo, Little Patuxent Review, and others. She is also the author of Nearer My Freedom, A-Train Allen, and two forthcoming books, Playbook for Justice and Soulforce. Learn more at teacherlesley.com.
- [Kristina Tabor](https://writer.org/organizer/kristina-tabor/) - Kristina Tabor (she/her) is a writer of fiction and nonfiction, as well as founder of Writers’ Commons, a DC writing salon. Her work appears in the new anthology from Washington Writers Publishing House, America’s Future: Poetry & Prose in Response to Tomorrow; Best Microfiction 2023; and several literary journals including Cease, Cows, Ghost Parachute, Fractured
- [Charlene Thomas](https://writer.org/organizer/charlene-thomas/) - Charlene Thomas is a critically acclaimed author and writing coach. She earned her certificate in teaching creative writing from the University of Cambridge and is passionate about helping writers create their best stories. Her fourth novel, BLACK GIRL, JUMP, releases with Penguin Random House in summer 2027.
- [Aggie Blum Thompson](https://writer.org/organizer/aggie-blum-thompson/) - A former newspaper reporter, Aggie Blum Thompson is now the bestselling author of four suspense novels, all of which have been optioned by Hollywood. Her fifth novel will be out June of 2026. She currently lives in Bethesda, MD.
- [Christine Koubek Flynn](https://writer.org/organizer/christine-koubek/) - Christine Koubek Flynn’s stories have appeared in The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Electric Literature, Arlington and Chautauqua literary journal among others, and received awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Her work was also awarded an Elizabeth George Foundation grant and residency support from the Ragdale Foundation, the Virginia Center for the
- [Julie Lythcott-Haims](https://writer.org/organizer/julie-lythcott-haims/) - Julie Lythcott-Haims believes in humans and is interested in what holds us back. She’s a writer, speaker, teacher, mentor and activist. The New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, which inspired a widely viewed TED Talk. Her award-winning memoir, Real American, explores her experience as a Black and biracial person in
- [Brandon Blue](https://writer.org/organizer/brandon-blue/) - Brandon Blue is a black, queer poet, translator, educator from the D(M)V. Their work has or will appear in Foglifter, Frozen Sea, &Change, and more. His chapbook, Snap.Shot (Finishing Line Press) was named in Poetry Mutual’s Best Books of 2023.
- [Elizabeth Poliner](https://writer.org/organizer/elizabeth-poliner/) - Elizabeth Poliner’s books include the forthcoming novel, Spinning at the Edges (Harper), the novel As Close to Us as Breathing (Little, Brown & Co.), winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and Mutual Life & Casualty, linked stories. She’s published stories in Kenyon Review, Story, TriQuarterly, and other journals.
- [David Hicks, PhD](https://writer.org/organizer/david-hicks-phd/) - David Hicks, PhD is an award-winning professor/Creative Writing Director at the nationally ranked Wilkes University MFA graduate program and the author of two novels–White Plains (Bower House Books, 2018) and The Gospel According to Danny (Vine Leaves Press, 2025)–along with an autobiographical children’s book, The Magic Ticket (Fulcrum Books, 2024). An experienced developmental editor and
- [Lacey N. Dunham](https://writer.org/organizer/lacey-n-dunham/) - Lacey N. Dunham’s novel The Belles (2025) was named a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal and Crime Reads. A Poets & Writers Magazine 2025 Writer to Watch, Dunham has received writing fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and Catapult. Her forthcoming novel Fall of the House of Graystone (2027) is a sapphic southern
- [Lynn Auld Schwartz](https://writer.org/organizer/lynn-schwartz/) - Lynn Auld Schwartz is a writer, story development editor for fiction and nonfiction works, and has ghostwritten three books. Her plays and staged readings have been performed in Atlanta and NYC, including Lincoln Center. She founded the Temple Bar Literary Reading Series in NYC, has received two Individual Artist Awards in Fiction from the Maryland
- [Lisa Ko](https://writer.org/organizer/lisa-ko/) - Lisa Ko is the author of the new novel Memory Piece and the nationally bestselling novel The Leavers, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, and winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Ko’s writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories, McSweeney’s, and The
- [GG Renee Hill](https://writer.org/organizer/gg-renee-hill/) - GG Renee Hill is an author, creative coach, and workshop facilitator whose work centers writing as a tool for healing, self-discovery, and creative expression. Her mission is to help others enrich their lives and communities through the transformative power of the written word. She is the author of Self-Care Check-In: A Guided Journal to Build Healthy
- [Indran Amirthanayagam](https://writer.org/organizer/indran-amirthanayagam/) - Indran Amirthanayagam is a poet, editor, publisher, translator, youtube host, and diplomat. He is the author of 31 books and translations. For thirty years he worked for his adoptive country, the United States, on diplomatic assignments in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. Amirthanayagam produced a unique record in 2020 publishing three poetry
- [Golden Angel](https://writer.org/organizer/golden-angel/) - Golden Angel is a USA Today Bestselling Author of heart and bottom warming romance. Publishing since 2012, she's now a full-time, six-figure romance author who is known for dispensing publishing and authoring tips on Tiktok and Substack. Vice President of the Maryland Romance Writers, she has given presentations and run roundtables on marketing, publishing, and craft to a
- [Melanie S. Hatter](https://writer.org/organizer/melanie-s-hatter/) - Melanie S. Hatter is the author of Malawi’s Sisters, which was selected by Edwidge Danticat as the winner of the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction Prize and was published by Four Way Books in 2019. Her debut novel, The Color of My Soul, won the 2011 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Fiction Prize, and Let No One
- [Mariah Barber](https://writer.org/organizer/mariah-barber/) - Mariah “ Beyond Your Definition” Barber ( they /she ) is a multidisciplinary/storyteller spoken word artist, international host, and activist that has been creating social justice oriented art for the last 15 years. Barber holds a masters in public health, DEAI certification from Cornell and a B A in international studies. Their motto is “Some
- [Jesse Jae Hoon](https://writer.org/organizer/jesse-jae-hoon/) - Jesse Jae Hoon is a playwright, organizer, and occasional actor. Work developed with The Public Theater, NYTW, The O’Neill, Rattlestick Theater, Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Civilians, Yangtze Rep, The Playwrights Realm, Theater J, and more. 2023 Ollie Award; 2024 MacDowell Fellow; 2025 Yaddo Residency. MFA from Hunter College. jessejaehoon.com
- [Jade Song](https://writer.org/organizer/jade-song/) - Jade Song is a writer and artist based in New York City. Lauded as “visionary and disturbing,” her debut novel Chlorine was selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice, awarded the ALA Alex Award and the Writer’s Center First Novel Prize, and translated into four languages. Song’s second novel, I Love You Don’t Die,
- [Chioma Urama](https://writer.org/organizer/chioma-urama/) - Chioma Urama is a storyteller of Igbo and African American heritage. Her creations are the result of a deeply meditative process, connecting people, patterns, and ideas in efforts to heal herself and the collective. A Body of Water, Chioma Urama's debut collection of poetry, is the recipient of the Georgia Poetry Prize.
- [Michael Chorost](https://writer.org/organizer/michael-chorost/) - Michael Chorost, a science writer, has published two nonfiction books and has clips in Wired, Smithsonian, and the Chronicle for Higher Education, and elsewhere. His first book won the PEN/USA Award for Creative Nonfiction.
- [Susan Coll](https://writer.org/organizer/susan-coll-2/) - Susan Coll is the best-selling author of eight novels, including The Literati, Real Life and Other Fictions, Bookish People, and The Stager, a New York Times and Chicago Tribune Editor’s Choice. Her novel Acceptance was made into a television movie starring Joan Cusack. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times Book
- [Nicole Chung](https://writer.org/organizer/nicole-chung/) - Nicole Chung’s award-winning memoir A Living Remedy was named a Notable Book by The New York Times and a Best Book of the Year by over a dozen other outlets. Her 2018 debut All You Can Ever Know was a national bestseller, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, and an
- [D. M. Cross](https://writer.org/organizer/d-m-cross/) - D. M. Cross is a writer, playwright, actress, announcer, cosplayer, panelist, seamstress, critic and teacher. Her play, Madam, was produced by the Helen Hayes Gallery at the National Theater to a Standing Room Only audience; and her play, Black Roses, was produced by Young Audiences of Washington, DC. Last year she author-published her novella, A
- [Beth Kanter](https://writer.org/organizer/beth-kanter/) - Beth Kanter has been helping writers find, draft, and publish their stories for almost two decades. She is the author of six books about Washington, DC, including No Access Washington, DC and Great Food Finds, Washington DC. Beth’s creative nonfiction, essays, fiction, and poetry have appeared in a dozens of literary journals and magazines. Beth
- [Sarah Birnbach](https://writer.org/organizer/sarah-birnbach/) - Sarah Birbach is a six-time award winner in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition and a two-time award winner from Bethesda Magazine. Her articles have appeared in Talking Writing, Bookwoman, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Journal, the Michigan Jewish History Journal, and Pen in Hand. Sarah’s memoir, A Daughter’s Kaddish: My Year of Grief, Devotion, and Healing was published by Wonderwell Press
- [Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya](https://writer.org/organizer/kayla-kumari-upadhyaya/) - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. Her queer horror novelette Helen House was named one of the Best LGBTQ Books of 2022 by NBC News. She is the managing editor of Autostraddle, an assistant fiction editor at Foglifter, and the former managing editor of
- [Al Basile](https://writer.org/organizer/al-basile/) - Poet/playwright, singer/songwriter and cornet player, Al Basile has 20 solo albums (with 8 nominations for Blues Music Awards), four books of poetry, and six verse audio plays (with gold and platinum awards from the HEARnow national audio drama festival). A Powow River poet, he hosts the online show Poems On.
- [Jenn Koiter](https://writer.org/organizer/jenn-koiter/) - Jenn Koiter’s debut poetry collection, So Much of Everything, was published by Day Eight. She recently wrote and produced the award-winning short film “Birds of the Air.” Her poems and essays have appeared in Barrelhouse, Copper Nickel, Smartish Pace, and other journals. You can find her on Instagram as @jennkoiter.
- [Natasha Sajé](https://writer.org/organizer/natasha-saje/) - Natasha Sajé is the author of five books of poems, including The Future Will Call You Something Else (Tupelo, 2023). Her prose books are Windows and Doors: A Poet Reads Literary Theory (Michigan, 2014) and a memoir-in-essays, Terroir: Love, Out of Place (Trinity, 2020). Her honors include the Robert Winner and the Alice Fay di
- [Kristen Arnett](https://writer.org/organizer/kristen-arnett/) - Kristen Arnett is the queer Floridian author of the novels STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE (Riverhead Books, 2025) which was longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize, With Teeth (Riverhead Books, 2021) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction, and the New York Times bestselling debut Mostly Dead
- [Ofelia Montelongo](https://writer.org/organizer/ofelia-montelongo/) - Ofelia Montelongo is a bilingual writer from Mexico. She has an MBA in Strategic Leadership & an MA in Latin American Literature. Her work has been published in The Rumpus, Latino Book Review, Los Acentos Review, and elsewhere. She was the editor of the Latine Monsters issue at Barrelhouse. She is a PEN/Faulkner writer in residence; a Macondista and
- [Ariel Katz](https://writer.org/organizer/ariel-katz/) - Ariel Katz’s short stories have been published in the Sewanee Review, Missouri Review, Threepenny Review, Colorado Review, & elsewhere. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA), she is a PhD fellow in Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Houston. She’s online at ariel-katz.com.
- [Beth Kanter and Anna Kahoe](https://writer.org/organizer/beth-kanter-and-anna-kahoe/) - Beth Kanter has been helping writers find, draft, and publish their stories for almost two decades. She is the author of six books about Washington, DC, including No Access Washington, DC and Great Food Finds, Washington DC. Beth’s creative nonfiction, essays, fiction, and poetry have appeared in a dozens of literary journals and magazines. Beth
- [Yvette Neisser](https://writer.org/organizer/yvette-neisser/) - Yvette Neisser is an award-winning poet, Spanish translator, and founder of the DC-Area Literary Translators Network. Her co-translation of María Teresa Ogliastri’s “From the Diary of Madame Mao” won the Carnegie Mellon University Press Translation Award and is forthcoming in 2026. She has taught creative writing at various institutions.
- [Allison deFreese](https://writer.org/organizer/allison-defreese/) - Allison is president of the Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters (OSTI) and an NEA Literature Translation Fellow. Her translations include María Negroni’s Elegy for Joseph Cornell (Dalkey Archive); astronaut José Moreno Hernández’s Soaring to New Heights (Renuevo), and Verónica González Arredondo’s Green Fires of the Spirits (Libros BUAP, Mexico). Allison ​has published two books
- [Lyzette Wanzer](https://writer.org/organizer/lyzette-wanzer/) - Lyzette’s work appears in over thirty literary journals, magazines, and books. Her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES, & TRUTH (Chicago Review Press) was a Library Journal Top 10 Best Book. She’s received multiple grants from California Arts Council, California Humanities, Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco Arts Commission, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and others.
- [Hannah Grieco](https://writer.org/organizer/hannah-grieco-2/) - Hannah Grieco is the author of First Kicking, Then Not, released by Stanchion in August 2025. She writes a literary column for Washington City Paper, edits prose at a variety of small presses and literary journals, and teaches literature at Marymount University. She also works 1:1 with writers as an editor and book coach, helping
- [Afabwaje Kurian](https://writer.org/organizer/afabwaje-kurian/) - Afabwaje Kurian is the author of the novel BEFORE THE MANGO RIPENS, which was a finalist for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize and longlisted for the 2025 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. She received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, McSweeney’s, Callaloo, The Bare Life Review, Joyland Magazine, and other literary publications. She has
- [Michele Wolf](https://writer.org/organizer/michele-wolf/) - Michele Wolf is the author of Peacocks on the Streets, Immersion, Conversations During Sleep (Anhinga Prize for Poetry), and the chapbook The Keeper of Light. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, The Hudson Review, North American Review, The Southern Review, and numerous other literary journals and anthologies. Her honors include a literary arts Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State
- [DuEwa Frazier](https://writer.org/organizer/duewa-frazier/) - DuEwa Frazier is a poet, scholar, children’s author, program leader, speaker, consultant, and digital storyteller. She is the author of several volumes of poetry, stories for young readers, and the editor of scholarly volumes, including Introduction to Afrofuturism: A Mixtape in Black Literature & Art (Routledge). Visit her website at www.duewafrazier.com.
- [Saaret E. Yoseph](https://writer.org/organizer/saaret-e-yoseph/) - Saaret E. Yoseph is a multidisciplinary writer, producer and artist from Washington, DC. She tells stories about art, culture & intersectionality, connecting personal questions to broader themes concerning Black women across the African diaspora. Her work has been featured by Voice of America, HuffPost, The Rumpus, The Root and The Ethiopian Reporter. Saaret made her
- [Lauren Francis-Sharma](https://writer.org/organizer/lauren-francis-sharma/) - Lauren Francis-Sharma is the author of Casualties of Truth, which was inspired by her attendance at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Amnesty Hearings in 1996. She is also the author of Book of the Little Axe, a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Award in Fiction, and 'Til the Well Runs Dry, winner of the Honor Fiction Prize by the Black
- [Diane Zinna](https://writer.org/organizer/diane-zinna/) - Diane Zinna is the author of The All-Night Sun (Random House, 2020), which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Cabell First Novelist Award. She received her MFA from the University of Florida and worked for ten years at AWP, the Association of Writers Writing Programs, which hosts the largest
- [Eva Langston](https://writer.org/organizer/eva-langston/) - Eva Langston received her MFA from the University of New Orleans and is represented by Ali Lake of O’Connor Literary for her YA and adult novels. Her short stories have won prizes (such as The Playboy Fiction Contest) and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She is cohost of the podcast This Mama is Lit!
- [Caroline Bock](https://writer.org/organizer/caroline-bock/) - Caroline Bock writes micros to novels. Her latest novel, and her first for adults, The Other Beautiful People, is a workplace love story about a movie-loving marketing executive, and it will be published on June 2, 2026, by Regal House Publishing. Her short story collection, Carry Her Home, won the Fiction Award from the Washington Writers' Publishing House.
- [Atina Hartunian](https://writer.org/organizer/atina-hartunian/) - Atina Hartunian, a first-generation Armenian-American writer, earned her MFA from Pacific University in 2023. She received a Teaching Fellowship from Anaphora Arts (2024), a Pacific University MFA Merit Scholarship (2021), and residencies from Cambridge Writers’ Workshop and, most recently, from Rockvale Writers’ Colony. She has led generative workshops using sensory-driven prompts and craft-based constraints, and
- [Donald Illich](https://writer.org/organizer/donald-illich/) - Donald Illich‘s work appears in such journals as Iowa Review, LIT, Nimrod, Passages North, The Southern Review, Rattle, Fourteen Hills, The Louisville Review, Cimarron Review, Map Literary, Spork, Cream City Review, and Sixth Finch. His work has been anthologized in A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry and City of the Big Shoulders:
- [Courtney Sexton](https://writer.org/organizer/courtney-sexton/) - Dr. Courtney Sexton earned her MFA in nonfiction from Sarah Lawrence College and her PhD from The George Washington University. She is an artist, dog scientist, and the Co-founder/Board Chair of DC-based nonprofit literary arts organization, The Inner Loop. In addition to her leadership role at The Inner Loop, Courtney is a professor in the
- [Edgar Gomez](https://writer.org/organizer/edgar-gomez/) - Edgar Gomez is a queer NicaRican writer born and raised in Florida. He is the author of the memoir High-Risk Homosexual, winner of the American Book Award, a Stonewall Israel-Fishman Nonfiction Book Honor Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. Their sophomore book, Alligator Tears, was released in February 2025 and was called "triumphant, dazzling, and
- [Carolyn Clark](https://writer.org/organizer/carolyn-clark/) - Carolyn Clark, Ph.D. Classics (Johns Hopkins University) is the author of six poetry books, and credits The Writers Center with getting her started as a writing coach, workshop leader and consultant. Mostly she simply enjoys horses, woodlands lyric poetry, any kind of skiing, and finding mythology everywhere.
- [Meg Eden Kuyatt](https://writer.org/organizer/meg-eden-kuyatt/) - Meg Eden is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection Drowning in the Floating World (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently Good Different (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at megedenbooks.com or on
- [Daria-Ann Martineau](https://writer.org/organizer/daria-ann-martineau/) - Daria-Ann Martineau was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago and holds an MFA in Poetry from New York University. She is an alumna of several writing conferences including Bread Loaf and the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. Her poems have appeared in Voicemail Poems, Cordella Magazine, Anomaly, Narrative, and The Collagist, among others. She is the founder of PRINT
- [Caron Levis](https://writer.org/organizer/caron-levis/) - Caron Levis (MFA; LMSW) is the author of the award-winning Feeling-Friends collection with Charles Santoso: Mighty Muddy Us, Feathers Together, This Way, Charlie, and Ida, Always. Other titles include Stop That Yawn! and Mama’s Shoes. Stories and articles for teens and adults have been published in Fence Magazine, Norton Anthology, Modern Loss, and more. Caron
- [Megan Kamalei Kakimoto](https://writer.org/organizer/megan-kamalei-kakimoto/) - Megan Kamalei Kakimoto is the Japanese and Kanaka Maoli author of the story collection Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare (Bloomsbury 2023), a USA Today national bestseller. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Granta, Joyland, and elsewhere. Named a Fall 2023 “Writer to Watch” by Publisher’s Weekly, she has received the “Author Under 35” Award by
- [Julia Phillips](https://writer.org/organizer/julia-phillips/) - Julia Phillips is the author of the bestselling novels Bear and Disappearing Earth, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year. A 2024 Guggenheim fellow, she lives with her family in Brooklyn. Julia's work has been translated into twenty-six
- [Laura Villareal](https://writer.org/organizer/laura-villareal/) - Laura Villareal is a poet and book critic. Her debut poetry collection, Girl’s Guide to Leaving (University of Wisconsin Press 2022), was awarded Texas Institute of Letters' John A. Robert Johnson Award for a First Book of Poetry and the Writers' League of Texas Book Award for Poetry.
- [Amanda Shaw](https://writer.org/organizer/amanda-shaw/) - Amanda Shaw is the author of It Will Have Been So Beautiful (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2024). Based in Washington, DC, she is a teacher and editor at The World Bank and other international organizations. Her poems have appeared in LEON Literary Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, The Mid-Atlantic Review, and Lily Poetry Review, which
- [Bo Kaprall](https://writer.org/organizer/bo-kaprall/) - Bo Kaprall has been a television show creator, director, writer, producer, executive producer, and actor for over thirty-five years. Currently he has created and is Executive Producing a new television series, “Operation Undercover,” for HBO Max & Discovery ID. Bo got his start in Chicago as an actor in the touring company of Chicago’s Second
- [Annette Nielsen](https://writer.org/organizer/annette-nielsen/) - Cookbook editor, newspaper and magazine journalist, food systems advisor, cheesemaker, and a catering sous chef, Annette Nielsen has worked in the food space from production to consumption. She recently returned to Washington, DC from New York where she was the Executive Director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center.
- [Jennifer Hamady](https://writer.org/organizer/jennifer-hamady/) - Jennifer Hamady is a voice coach and therapist specializing in technical and emotional issues that interfere with self-expression, and the author of three books on musical and personal performance. Jennifer writes regularly for Psychology Today on matters of creative expression and frequently presents workshops and master classes on the same. More about her at FindingYourVoice.com.
- [Emily DeDakis](https://writer.org/organizer/emily-dedakis/) - Dr Emily DeDakis (Ireland/USA) is a writer & dramaturg. She’s developed dozens of scripts and performances on both sides of the Atlantic, and taught playwriting at Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, the Lyric Theatre, Grand Opera House, and Fighting Words NI’s Young Playwrights programme. Her writing has been broadcast on BBC television and radio.
- [Dan Brady](https://writer.org/organizer/dan-brady/) - Dan Brady is the author of the poetry collections Strange Children (2018), Subtexts (2022), and Songs in E——, winner of the Barclay Prize for Poetry, forthcoming from Trnsfr Books (2022), along with two poetry chapbooks. He is the poetry editor of Barrelhouse, a magazine and small press based in Washington, DC. Previously, Brady served as
- [Claudia Gary](https://writer.org/organizer/claudia-gary/) - Claudia Gary’s villanelles, sonnets, and other metrical poems appear in journals and anthologies internationally. (For examples online, see: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=claudia+gary+poem&t=h_&ia=web .) She has chaired panels including “The Sonnet in 2016” and “Poetry and Science” (2019) at the West Chester University Poetry Conference, and panels on Poetry and Music at both the WCU and Frost Farm poetry conferences. Author
- [Christopher Linforth](https://writer.org/organizer/christopher-linforth/) - Christopher Linforth's latest book is The Distortions (Orison Books, 2022). Recently, he has been awarded fellowships to the Ragdale Foundation, VCCA, BAU Institute at the Camargo Foundation, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Kone Foundation, Sitka Center, and Château de Lavigny. He holds an MFA from Virginia Tech. He has published fiction and nonfiction in dozens of literary magazines,
- [Aaron Hamburger](https://writer.org/organizer/aaron-hamburger/) - Aaron Hamburger is the author of the story collection The View From Stalin's Head winner of the Rome Prize in Literature, and the novels Faith For Beginners (a Lambda Literary Award nominee), Nirvana is Here (winner of a Bronze Medal in the 2019 Foreword Indie Awards), and Hotel Cuba, forthcoming from HarperCollins in July 2023.
- [Katherine Pickett](https://writer.org/organizer/katherine-pickett/) - Katherine Pickett is the owner of POP Editorial Services LLC (popediting.net), where she provides copy editing, proofreading, and developmental editing to authors and publishers across the country. She is also the author of the award-winning book Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro, the booklet Freelancing as a Business: 7
- [Amy Freeman](https://writer.org/organizer/amy-freeman/) - Amy’s bylines include The Washington Post, Parents.com, The Offing, The Advocate, and dozens of other publications and anthologies. She also serves as The Writer's Center's Development Director.
- [Melissa Webster](https://writer.org/organizer/melissa-webster/) - Melissa Webster earned her masters in creative writing at Johns Hopkins Krieger School in 2011, and trained to facilitate workshops with Amherst Writers and Artists in 2022. Over the years her short-form writing has appeared in various publications, journals and anthologies in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA. Her (unpublished) debut novel Who We Were, Where We Are was recently longlisted
- [Melanie Figg](https://writer.org/organizer/melanie-figg/) - Melanie Figg, author of the award-winning poetry collection, Trace, has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and others. As a certified professional coach, she offers women’s writing retreats and helps writers to finish projects, tame their inner critics, and add more ease and productivity to their creative lives. More about her at
- [Mathangi Subramanian](https://writer.org/organizer/mathangi-subramanian/) - Mathangi Subramanian, Ed.D., is an Indian American writer and educator. Her novel A People’s History of Heaven was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her middle grades book Dear Mrs. Naidu won the South Asia Book Award. Her personal
- [Emily Holland](https://writer.org/organizer/emily-holland/) - Emily Holland (she/they) is a genderqueer lesbian writer. Their poems appear in publications including HAD, Shenandoah, Black Warrior Review, and the chapbook Lineage. They are the recipient of multiple fellowships from DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She is the editor of Poet Lore and an adjunct instructor at GWU.
- [Carol Mitchell](https://writer.org/organizer/carol-mitchell/) - Carol Mitchell is the author of the novel What Start Bad a Mornin' (Central Avenue) and nineteen books for children, including three published by HarperCollins UK. She holds an MFA, and is the recipient of a number of fellowships including from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and Kimmel Harding Nelson Center. She teaches writing at
- [Kathryn Johnson](https://writer.org/organizer/kathryn-johnson/) - Kathryn Johnson's 40+ popular novels (nominated for the Agatha Award, winner of the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller's Best Awards), include historical fiction (e.g., The Gentleman Poet, wherein Shakespeare escapes to the New World aboard a ship bound for disaster) and contemporary suspense. The Extreme Novelist (nonfiction) is the text based on her courses at
- [Nikki Frias](https://writer.org/organizer/2134161/) - Nikki Frias has contributed to Forbes, The Daily Beast, and Boardroom. She is an author, writing coach, and teacher specializing in comedy writing, and facilitating improv in the corporate world. After noticing the struggles with finishing her book, she started "Book on a Budget" coaching to help writers achieve their goals with an affordable a
- [Dr. Tonee Mae Moll](https://writer.org/organizer/dr-tonee-mae-moll/) - Dr. Tonee Mae Moll (she/they) is the author of Out of Step: A Memoir, which won the Lambda Literary Award and You Cannot Save Here, winner of the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize.
- [C Pam Zhang](https://writer.org/organizer/c-pam-zhang/) - C Pam Zhang is the author of the bestselling How Much of These Hills Is Gold and Land of Milk and Honey. She is a National Book Award 5 Under 35 Honoree. How Much of These Hills Is Gold was a New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR Notable Book of the Year; one of
- [Jessica Berg](https://writer.org/organizer/jessica-berg/) - Jessica Berg is a literary agent and author passionate about nurturing unique voices in publishing. As the founding agent of Rosecliff Literary, she focuses on character-driven stories and high-stakes narratives while helping authors navigate the industry. A multi-nominated writer with an MFA from Spalding University, Berg is a member of the AALA and EFA. She
- [Emily Barrosse](https://writer.org/organizer/emily-barrosse/) - Emily Barrosse is founder and CEO of Bold Story Press, a publishing house for women authors who want to share their stories with the world. Emily spent the first 32 years of her career in the publishing industry, including as Vice President and Editor in Chief at McGraw Hill.
- [Kelly Sather](https://writer.org/organizer/kelly-sather/) - Kelly Sather is the author of Small in Real Life (Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 2023), her debut story collection and winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. A former entertainment lawyer and screenwriter, she received an MFA from Bennington, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Santa Monica Review, Literary Hub, J Journal, Pembroke Magazine, PANK, and elsewhere. She writes about books
- [Louise Arnheim](https://writer.org/organizer/louise-arnheim/) - Louise Arnheim is a Washington, DC public affairs and executive communications professional recognized for creating high-impact speeches that promote executive brand and advance policy. Renowned for capturing leadership voice, she has directed strategic communications for federal policymakers, corporate executives, and non-profit leaders.
- [Lindsey Van Wagner](https://writer.org/organizer/lindsey-van-wagner/) - Lindsey Van Wagner is a writer, speaker, teacher, and lifestyle guide known for empowering clients to live with more intention and higher creativity. She is the author of Spirit Vigilante: Sharing My Truth to Help You Live Yours. She has written for American University and Pathways Magazine and is passionate about health and wellness and she incorporates
- [Shannon Sanders](https://writer.org/organizer/shannon-sanders/) - Shannon Sanders is the author of the linked short story collection Company, which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize's Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named a Publishers Weekly and Debutiful Best Book of 2023, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in One Story, Sewanee Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere, and
- [Zach Powers](https://writer.org/organizer/zach-powers/) - Zach Powers is the author of the forthcoming novel The Migraine Diaries (JackLeg 2026), the novel First Cosmic Velocity (Putnam 2019), and the story collection Gravity Changes (BOA Editions 2017). His writing has been featured by American Short Fiction, Lit Hub, and elsewhere. He serves as Artistic Director for The Writer’s Center and Marketing Director for Poet Lore, America's oldest poetry magazine. Originally from
- [Mary Quattlebaum](https://writer.org/organizer/mary-quattlebaum/) - Mary Quattlebaum is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books (Pirate vs. Pirate, Jo MacDonald Hiked in the Woods, Hero Dogs) and of stories and poems in anthologies and children’s magazines (Cricket, Spider, Ladybug, Highlights). She teaches in the MFA program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a
- [Joan Waites](https://writer.org/organizer/joan-waites/) - Joan Waites has illustrated more than 40 children’s books and most recently has written and illustrated A Colorful Tail: Finding Monet at Giverny, A Purr-fect Painting: Matisse’s Other Great Cat, and An Artist’s Night Before Christmas. She teaches arts classes for children at her private studio and speaks frequently at schools and conferences.
- [John DeDakis](https://writer.org/organizer/john-dedakis/) - John DeDakis (pronounced dee-DAY-kiss) is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of six novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. In Enemies Domestic, Lark is a pregnant White House press secretary forced to make an abort-or-not-to-abort decision in a highly toxic and polarized fishbowl while dealing with an attack
- [María Fernanda](https://writer.org/organizer/maria-fernanda/) - María Fernanda (she/her) is a poet whose work explores, “the breaking and making of family,” (OkayAfrica). Awarded the The Norma Elia Cantú Award in Creative Writing, María Fernanda has performed at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Phoenix Art Museum, and more. Read her latest work in The Hill Rag.
- [Camille Cabrera](https://writer.org/organizer/camille-cabrera/) - Camille Cabrera is a 10-time bestselling mystery author. She has written over 10 short stories and novels. Cabrera enjoys crafting stories ranging from cozy mystery to noir. When she’s not creating another caper, you can likely find her in the nearest coffee shop enjoying a black coffee.
- [Marita Golden](https://writer.org/organizer/marita-golden/) - Marita Golden is the award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. She has taught creative Writing at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and works with authors on book and manuscript development. She has led workshops on writing and self-care practices for diverse audiences. She is co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation.
- [Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman](https://writer.org/organizer/khadijah-z-ali-coleman/) - Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is an award-winning performance artist, multi-genre writer, playwright, and filmmaker. She is the current Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, Maryland. Learn more at KhadijahAli-Coleman.com.
- [Chris Gamble](https://writer.org/organizer/chris-gamble/) - Chris Gamble is a Licensed Professional Counselor and writer based in Washington, D.C. His experiences in the mental health field inspired him to write his debut novel, Tales of a Black Therapist. He strives to use storytelling and education to shift how mental health is understood.
- [Courtney LeBlanc](https://writer.org/organizer/courtney-leblanc/) - Courtney LeBlanc is the author of Her Dark Everything (forthcoming 2025), Her Whole Bright Life, winner of the Jack McCarthy Book Prize, Exquisite Bloody, Beating Heart, and Beautiful & Full of Monsters. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Riot in Your Throat, an independent poetry press. www.courtneyleblanc.com.
- [Joyce Winslow](https://writer.org/organizer/joyce-winslow/) - Joyce Winslow’s fiction is included n The Best American Short Stories and several college textbooks. She has won the Phoebe Fiction prize, The F. Scott Fitzgerald Award, a P.E.N. Syndicated Fiction Award, The Raymond Carver Award, and had stories translated and broadcast over Voice of America. She served as Fiction Editor of AARP’s magazine, taught
- [R. O. Kwon](https://writer.org/organizer/r-o-kwon/) - R. O. Kwon is the nationally bestselling author of Exhibit, a novel, which published in May 2024 with Riverhead (US) and will be out in July 2024 with Virago/Little Brown (UK). Kwon’s first novel, The Incendiaries, has been translated into seven languages and was named a best book of the year by over forty publications.
- [Jose Hernandez Diaz](https://writer.org/organizer/jose-hernandez-diaz/) - Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020) Bad Mexican, Bad American (Acre Books, 2024) The Parachutist (Sundress Publications, 2025) and Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man (Red Hen Press, 2025). He has been published in The American Poetry Review,
- [Sam Nelson](https://writer.org/organizer/sam-nelson/) - Sam Nelson is a teacher, writer, and naturalist. He's especially interested in using ecology to inform creative literature for both adults and children. He’s published work in The Washington Post, Two Hawks Quarterly, DCist, and other places. You can read more about his work here: samnelson.xyz
- [Mel Barrett](https://writer.org/organizer/mel-barrett/) - Mel Barrett is a writer, director, editor, producer, and script consultant. As a seasoned coverage editor for production companies like Circle of Confusion, Mel is responsible for identifying the production-viability of a screenplay. Mel's screenplays have also won numerous awards and have been produced for the big and small screen.
- [Jubi Arriola-Headley](https://writer.org/organizer/jubi-arriola-headley/) - Jubi Arriola-Headley (he/him) is a Black queer poet, storyteller, first-generation United Statesian and author of the poetry collections original kink (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2020), recipient of the 2021 Housatonic Book Award, and Bound (Persea Books, 2024). He’s currently at work on a collection of essays, an excerpt of which won the 2023 First Pages Prize.
- [Sheila Wenz](https://writer.org/organizer/sheila-wenz/) - Sheila Wenz is a writer and comedian who has worked on a variety of television series and films at CBS, ABC, Columbia Pictures, MGM, Warner Bros., Disney and on the writing staff at NBC’s Stage One on “The Tonight Show.” She is founder of Stand-Up Studios comedy school and coaching and is also a part
- [Laura J. Oliver](https://writer.org/organizer/laura-oliver/) - Laura J. Oliver, MFA, is a story development editor, newspaper columnist, NPR contributor, and writing mentor who has taught at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. The author of The Story Within (Penguin Random House), Oliver teaches others to write successful short stories, novels, memoirs, and personal essays. Oliver's work appears in national
- [Lorin Drexler](https://writer.org/organizer/lorin-drexler/) - Lorin Drexler is an American poet, fiction writer, musician, songwriter, and music producer. Currently residing in Phoenix, Arizona, and originally from Chicago, he graduated from Columbia College with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. His work has appeared in Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Apocrypha and Abstractions, Maudlin House, and others.
- [Judith Harris](https://writer.org/organizer/judith-harris/) - Judith Harris is the author of three poetry books, Atonement, The Bad Secret, and Night Garden (LSU and Tiger Bark) and two critical books on poetry and psychoanalysis Signifying Pain: Constructing and Healing the Self through Writing and The Poetry of Loss: Romantic and Contemporary Elegies (SUNY Press, Routledge Press) Her poems have appeared in
- [Emily Jon Tobias](https://writer.org/organizer/emily-jon-tobias/) - Emily Jon Tobias is an American author and poet with her debut story collection, MONARCH, forthcoming by Black Lawrence Press in May, 2024. She is an award-winning writer whose work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, along with other honorable mentions, and has been featured in literary journals such as Santa Clara Review, Talking River Review, Flying South Literary Journal, Furrow
- [Hank Wallace](https://writer.org/organizer/hank-wallace/) - Hank Wallace, a Columbia Law School graduate, was a government reporter for New Jersey's Middletown Courier and Red Bank Daily Register, and the assistant director of law-school publishing for Matthew Bender. He wrote the FCC's plain-language newsletter and newswriting tips for the Radio Television Digital News Association. For more information about Hank Wallace, visit his
- [Jonathan Roth](https://writer.org/organizer/jonathan-roth/) - Jonathan Roth writes and illustrates the graphic novel series Rover and Speck (Kids Can Press, 2022+), the chapter book series Beep and Bob (Aladdin/S&S, 2018+) and the upcoming non-fiction picture book Almost Underwear (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024). He lives in Rockville and teaches elementary art.
- [Jen Buxton](https://writer.org/organizer/jen-buxton/) - Jennifer Buxton has an MFA from the University of Virginia. Her stories have appeared in Epoch, Puerto del Sol, Blue Penny Quarterly, and Dr. TJ Eckleberg Review. She has taught at the University of Virginia and the Young Writers Workshop, and coaches high school seniors on the college application essay.
- [Marija Stajic](https://writer.org/organizer/marija-stajic/) - Marija Stajic is a Public Affairs Officer currently working for the Federal Government. Her short stories have been published in many literary journals (Prairie Schooner, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg Review, Gargoyle, South 85, Barely South Review etc.), awarded, anthologized and nominated for Pushcart Prize. She has published three books of poetry and she used to work
- [Natasha Oladokun](https://writer.org/organizer/natasha-oladokun/) - Natasha Oladokun is a Black, queer poet and essayist from Virginia. She holds fellowships from Cave Canem, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Jackson Center for Creative Writing, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was the inaugural First Wave Poetry fellow. Her work has appeared in the American Poetry Review, The Academy
- [Ginny Barnes](https://writer.org/organizer/ginny-barnes/) - Ginny Barnes is an artist and environmental advocate. She has published several articles on trees and nature. In particular for the magazine Plenty which sings the praises of Montgomery County's 93,000 acre agricultural reserve. She also serves as Vice-chair of Conservation Montgomery and has written several pieces on nature for their website: conservationmontgomery.org
- [Margaret Coan](https://writer.org/organizer/margaret-coan/) - Margaret is the author of two published books. Writing is Margaret’s life raft, a safe place for discovery. She loves to share this gift with others and encourage them to write their stories and discover its power and joy. As an instructor Margaret’s focus is on process and exploration. More about her at: sacredlisteninghealing.com.
- [Nevin Martell](https://writer.org/organizer/nevin-martell/) - Nevin Martell is the author of eight books and a veteran freelancer with over two decades experience whose work has been published by The Washington Post, USA Today, National Geographic, Fortune, and Washingtonian.
- [Chris Lilly](https://writer.org/organizer/chris-lilly/) - Chris helps screenwriters and authors emotionally center themselves whenever they're writing so they can create for their hearts and impact their readers. He lives in Los Angeles and has worked in the entertainment industry for 15+ years.
- [Talia Lakshmi Kolluri](https://writer.org/organizer/talia-lakshmi-kolluri/) - Talia Lakshmi Kolluri is a mixed South Asian American writer from Northern California. Her debut collection, What We Fed to the Manticore (Tin House 2022), was a finalist for the 2023 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, among other honors. To learn more about Talia, visit taliakolluri.com.
- [Shanon Lee](https://writer.org/organizer/shanon-lee/) - Shanon Lee is a contributor for Forbes and The Lily, published by The Washington Post. Her byline appears in publications including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Marie Claire, Playboy, Redbook, Women’s Health and Parents Magazine. Her opinion essays on misogyny and racism are widely circulated, and have been shared by notables including bestselling author J.K. Rowling, rap legend MC Lyte and political activist Kevin Powell. Shanon is an alumna of
- [Solveig Eggerz](https://writer.org/organizer/solveig-eggerz/) - Solveig Eggerz, a native of Iceland, is the author of two novels, Seal Woman and Sigga of Reykjavik. She teaches for Heard, an Alexandria, VA non-profit that brings the arts to under-served populations.
- [Dana Cann](https://writer.org/organizer/dana-cann/) - Dana Cann is the author of the novel Ghosts of Bergen County (Tin House). His short stories have been published in The Sun, The Massachusetts Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Florida Review, and elsewhere. He’s received awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and The
- [Naomi Ayala](https://writer.org/organizer/naomi-ayala/) - Naomi Ayala is the author of three books of poetry: Wild Animals on the Moon, This Side of Early (both published by Curbstone Press), and Calling Home: Praise Songs & Incantations (Editorial Bilingüe/Bilingual Press). She is also the translator of Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s La arqueología del viento/The Wind’s Archeology. Her most recent poems appear in
- [Jodie Hollander](https://writer.org/organizer/jodie-hollander/) - Jodie Hollander, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was raised in a family of classical musicians. She studied poetry in England, and her poems have appeared in journals such as The Poetry Review, The Yale Review, PN Review, The Dark Horse, The New Criterion, The Rialto, Verse Daily, The Best Australian Poems of 2011, and The Best
- [Sandra Beasley](https://writer.org/organizer/sandra-beasley/) - Sandra Beasley is the author of Made to Explode; Count the Waves; I Was the Jukebox, winner of the Barnard Women Poets Prize; Theories of Falling, winner of the New Issues Poetry Prize; and Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, a disability memoir. She also edited Vinegar and Char: Verse from
- [Abdul Ali](https://writer.org/organizer/abdul-ali/) - Abdul Ali is a poet, teacher, and nonprofit consultant. He is the author of Trouble Sleeping, his debut collection of poems that won the 2014 New Issues Poetry Book Prize and is the current Editor-at-Large of Pleiades. He has published his poems in numerous journals and publications including Copper Nickel, Plume, and Transition. He has
- [Julia Tagliere](https://writer.org/organizer/julia-tagliere/) - Julia Tagliere’s work has appeared in The Writer, Potomac Review, Gargoyle Magazine, and numerous anthologies. She completed her MA in Writing at Johns Hopkins University, and in 2017, won The Writer’s Center’s Undiscovered Voices Fellowship. She serves as an editor with The Baltimore Review. More about her at justscribbling.com.
- [Nancy Naomi Carlson](https://writer.org/organizer/nancy-naomi-carlson/) - Nancy Naomi Carlson, an NEA grant recipient, is a poet, translator, essayist, and editor, and has authored 10 titles. Her work has appeared in APR, The Georgia Review, The Paris Review, and Poetry, and An Infusion of Violets was named “new & noteworthy” by The New York Times. More about her at nancynaomicarlson.com.
- [Ann Quinn](https://writer.org/organizer/ann-quinn/) - Ann Quinn’s chapbook, Final Deployment, was published by Finishing Line Press (2018). Her poetry has appeared in journals including Poet Lore, Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, and Broadkill Review. Ann holds an MFA from Pacific Lutheran University, and is poetry editor for Yellow Arrow Journal. More about her at annquinn.net.
- [James Alexander](https://writer.org/organizer/james-alexander/) - James Alexander has more than 30 years experience writing professionally, including stints as a political speechwriter at the Cabinet level. After earning a B.A. in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he worked as a bylined newspaper reporter at The Charlotte Observer and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and also interned at The
- [Mary Quattlebaum & Joan Waites](https://writer.org/organizer/mary-quattlebaum-joan-waites/) - Mary Quattlebaum is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books (Pirate vs. Pirate, Jo MacDonald Hiked in the Woods, Hero Dogs) and of stories and poems in anthologies and children’s magazines (Cricket, Spider, Ladybug, Highlights). She teaches in the MFA program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a
- [Patricia Gray](https://writer.org/organizer/patricia-gray/) - Patricia Gray, author of Rupture from Red Hen Press, formerly headed the Library of Congress’s Poetry and Literature Center. Her work appeared recently in Oberon and in Endlessly Rocking. She has published short fiction, judged the national Poetry Out Loud recitation contest, and directed a Dylan Thomas play with 18 actors playing 60 parts. She has
- [Rob Jolles](https://writer.org/organizer/rob-jolles/) - A 30-year professional speaker and four-time bestselling author, Rob Jolles has traveled over 2.5 million miles delivering keynotes and workshops all over the world. He trains authors to promote their books and speak for some of the largest publishers in the country. More about him at jolles.com.
- [Tara Campbell](https://writer.org/organizer/tara-campbell/) - Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction editor at Barrelhouse. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, Jellyfish Review, Booth, and Strange Horizons. She's the author of a novel, TreeVolution, a hybrid fiction/poetry collection, Circe's Bicycle, and a short story collection, Midnight at the Organporium. She received her M.F.A. from American
- [Lisa Jan Sherman](https://writer.org/organizer/lisa-jan-sherman/) - Lisa Jan Sherman is an actor and improvisational acting and cognitive skills coach and team-builder. She has been a member of AFTRA and SAG for over 35 years and has performed, on stage, television, film and radio. Lisa received a B.A. in Theatre and Speech from University of Maryland. She is a founding member of
- [Hildie Block](https://writer.org/organizer/hildie-block/) - Hildie S. Block's work has appeared in Gargoyle, Cortland Review, Washington Post, Salon, Literary Taxidermy, Porcupine Literary, Queer Sci Fi, Haunted MTL, 0-Dark-30, and in many anthologies.
- [Richard Washer](https://writer.org/organizer/richard-washer/) - Richard Washer is a playwright and director, and serves as Associate Artistic Director and First Draft Resident Playwright at The Rose Theatre Company. He holds a BA (University of Virginia) and an MFA (American University). His work has been produced at venues including Charter Theatre, Earl Hamner Jr. Theatre, Source Theatre, The National Conservatory of
- [Kenneth D. Ackerman](https://writer.org/organizer/kenneth-d-ackerman/) - Kenneth D. Ackerman has authored five commercially-published books of Americana (including his most recent, Trotsky in New York, 1917) plus dozens of articles, posts, and a recent screenplay. He has practiced law in DC since the 1970s, including senior posts on Capitol Hill and in two Administrations. He lives in Falls Church with his wife
- [Tammy Greenwood](https://writer.org/organizer/t-greenwood/) - T. Greenwood is the author of fifteen novels. She has received grants from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Maryland State Arts Council. She has won four San Diego Book Awards. Five of her novels have been Indie Next picks. Bodies of Water was a
- [Khris Baxter](https://writer.org/organizer/khris-baxter/) - Khris Baxter is a screenwriter and producer and the co-founder of Lost Mountain Entertainment. Baxter co-produced Above the Shadows (2019), starring Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, and Megan Fox, and is currently co-producing Out of Darkness, written and directed by Claudia Myers and starring Mary-Louise Parker and Emile Hirsch. As a writer-producer, Baxter is
- [Pat McNees](https://writer.org/organizer/pat-mcnees/) - Pat McNees is a writer and editor who for 25 years has helped individuals tell their life story. A former editor in book publishing (at Harper & Row and at Fawcett), she is also past president of the Association of Personal Historians, and manager-scribe of the local Washington Biography Group. She received training in Guided
- [Sue Ellen Thompson](https://writer.org/organizer/sue-ellen-thompson/) - Sue Ellen Thompson is author of six books of poetry, most recently Sea Nettles: New & Selected Poems (2022). She is also the editor of The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry. Her work has been included in the Best American Poetry series, read on NPR by Garrison Keillor, and featured in U.S. Poet Laureate Ted
- [Timothy Tau](https://writer.org/organizer/timothy-tau/) - Timothy Tau is an award-winning writer, director and producer. He was named by Mic Magazine as one of "6 Young Asian-American Filmmakers Who Are Shattering America's Asian Film Bias." Tau's short film Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee (2016) won Best Original Script and Best Comedy Short awards from the Asians on Film Festival and screened
- [Kathy MacMillan](https://writer.org/organizer/kathy-macmillan/) - Kathy MacMillan (she/her) is the author of nearly two dozen traditionally-published books for children, teens, and adults, including the Little Hands Signing series, The Runaway Shirt, She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World, and Compton Crook Award finalist Sword and Verse. More about her at kathymacmillan.com.
- [William O'Sullivan](https://writer.org/organizer/william-osullivan/) - William O'Sullivan is an essayist and editor whose writing has appeared in Washingtonian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The North American Review, 100 Word Story, and others. His work has been cited three times among the notable essays of the year in The Best American Essays.
- [Dave Tevelin](https://writer.org/organizer/dave-tevelin/) - Dave Tevelin has written four historical novels about crime in DC, the latest of which is Three Dead In Starbucks. A GW Law School graduate, he was an attorney at the Department of Justice and the Executive Director of the State Justice Institute before becoming an author.
- [Saúl Hernández](https://writer.org/organizer/saul-hernandez/) - Saúl Hernández is a queer writer from San Antonio, TX who was raised by undocumented parents. Saúl has an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas at El Paso. He's the winner of the 2021 Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize chosen by Victoria Chang. His poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize
- [Tommy Dean](https://writer.org/organizer/tommy-dean/) - Tommy Dean is the author of two flash fiction chapbooks Special Like the People on TV (Redbird Chapbooks, 2014) and Covenants (ELJ Editions, 2021), and a full flash collection, Hollows (Alternating Current Press 2022). He lives in Indiana where he currently is the Editor at Fractured Lit and Uncharted Magazine. A recipient of the 2019
- [Nick Gardner](https://writer.org/organizer/nick-gardner/) - Nick Gardner holds an MFA from BGSU and has received support from The Elizabeth George Foundation, VSC, and The DeGroot Foundation. His writing has been widely published, including one book of poetry, So Marvelously Far, and a forthcoming novella, Hurricane Trinity. An Ohio native, he resides in Washington DC.
- [Courtney Eldridge](https://writer.org/organizer/courtney-eldridge/) - Over the past 20 years, Courtney Eldridge has published two novels, The Generosity of Women and Ghost Signs, and Unkempt, a short story collection. Record à battre, the translation of her first novella, “The Former World Record Holder Settles Down,” received France’s Prix du Marais in 2006 and was profiled in Vogue Paris. Eldridge’s work also
- [Raquel Gutiérrez](https://writer.org/organizer/raquel-gutierrez/) - Raquel Gutiérrez is a critic, essayist, poet and educator. Gutiérrez is a 2021 recipient of the Rabkin Prize in Arts Journalism, as well as a 2017 recipient of the The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Gutiérrez teaches in the Oregon State University-Cascades Low Residency Creative Writing MFA Program. Gutiérrez's first book Brown Neon (Coffee
- [Rachel Coonce](https://writer.org/organizer/rachel-coonce/) - Rachel Coonce is a graduate of the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, specializing in creative nonfiction writing. She has been awarded the Conger Beasley Jr. Award for Nonfiction by New Letters magazine, an Independent Artist Award by the Maryland State Arts Council, and she received an honorable mention in The Missouri Review’s Miller Audio
- [Ryland Shengzhi Li](https://writer.org/organizer/ryland-shengzhi-li/) - Ryland Shengzhi Li is a poet living in Northern Virginia. Over 150 of his haiku, tanka, and related works have been published in the leading journals for these forms, including Frogpond, Ribbons, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, and Presence. Ryland is a member of Towpath Haiku, the local haiku group in the DMV, and the Haiku Society of America.
- [Eric Lichtblau](https://writer.org/organizer/eric-lichtblau/) - Eric Lichtblau is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author of The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler's Men; as well as Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice; and Return to the Reich: A Holocaust Refugee's Secret Mission to Defeat the Nazis. He is currently working on a
- [Liz Tracy](https://writer.org/organizer/liz-tracy/) - Liz Tracy is a culture and health journalist. She started her career as a nightlife and arts blogger. She’s since contributed to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Glamour, No Depression, and many other publications. Liz was a music editor at an alt weekly and managing editor at Tom Tom, a magazine about female and
- [Paz Pardo](https://writer.org/organizer/paz-pardo/) - Paz Pardo is a playwright and a novelist. Her debut, The Shamshine Blind, was a most anticipated book of Winter 2023 at Bustle, Lithub, and Crimereads, and was described as “appealingly strange… a novel that’s both topical and entertaining” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Her plays include Movimiento Perpetuo/Perpetual Motion, which she has performed in eleven cities in three
- [Jenny Sadre-Orafai](https://writer.org/organizer/jenny-sadre-orafai/) - Jenny Sadre-Orafai is a poet and essayist and the author of Dear Outsiders and three other poetry collections. Her poetry has appeared in Puerto del Sol, Cream City Review, Ninth Letter, and The Cortland Review. Her prose has appeared in The Rumpus, Fourteen Hills, and The Los Angeles Review. She co-founded and co-edits Josephine Quarterly and teaches creative writing at Kennesaw State University.
- [John-Michael Bloomquist](https://writer.org/organizer/john-michael-bloomquist/) - John-Michael Bloomquist lives in DC with his wife, son, and their needy black cat. He is the author of Rocket Celestial (White Stag, 2023). His poetry has been published in Heavy Feather Review, The Michigan Quarterly Review, and Third Coast, among others.
- [Basil Sylvester](https://writer.org/organizer/basil-sylvester/) - Basil Sylvester is the co-author of 2021 Lambda Finalist The Fabulous Zed Watson! (HarperCollins CA), and the forthcoming Night of the Living Zed (Jan. 2024, HarperCollins CA). They are a bookseller and freelance editor based in Toronto, Canada.
- [DeMisty D. Bellinger](https://writer.org/organizer/demisty-d-bellinger/) - DeMisty D. Bellinger is the author of the novel New to Liberty, and the poetry collections Peculiar Heritage and Rubbing Elbows. Her writing can also be found in journals and anthologies, in print and online. DeMisty has an MFA from Southampton College and a PhD from the University of Nebraska.
- [Javed Jahangir](https://writer.org/organizer/javed-jahangir/) - Javed Jahangir’s fiction has been published in LUMINA Literary Journal (Sarah Lawrence College), HIMAL Magazine, Smokelong Journal, LOST Magazine, Bengal Lights Journal, Six Seasons Review, Daily Star, Bangladesh, and others. He was on the 2011 panel of judges for the RISCA (Rhode Island State Council Arts) Fiction Fellowship award. He was part of Jenna Blum’s
- [Nani Power](https://writer.org/organizer/nani-power/) - Nani Power is the award winning author of three novels and three memoirs, to include Crawling at Night (Grove/Atlantic Monthly, 2001), a New York Times Notable Book of The Year and a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Award as well as the British Orange Award.
- [Sam Cameron](https://writer.org/organizer/sam-cameron/) - Sam Cameron (she/her) is a high school history teacher, YA author, and Author Accelerator certified book coach, specializing in Kid Lit. She believes all children deserve to see themselves represented in great books. They deserve a chance to read your story....and you deserve a chance to tell it! You can learn more about Sam’s private
- [Mary Collins](https://writer.org/organizer/mary-collins/) - Mary Collins taught nonfiction part-time at the Johns Hopkins' MA in Writing Program in DC for 12 years, where she won the teaching award. Currently she is the Program Coordinator for the Writing Minors and a full professor at Central CT State University. For the last six years, she has also taught the nonfiction workshop
- [Sayan Ray](https://writer.org/organizer/sayan-ray/) - Sayan Ray is a writer and freelance editor, whose work has appeared in a Dedalus Press anthology and several literary magazines. As an editor, he assisted clients in successfully publishing their debut works. His poetry has also featured in UNESCO’s World Poetry Day and the curriculum of Swarthmore College.
- [Tracy Hahn-Burkett](https://writer.org/organizer/tracy-hahn-burkett/) - Tracy Hahn-Burkett is a writer and public policy advocate. Her work has appeared in Pangyrus, Experience Magazine, The Drum, The Washington Post’s On Parenting, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Adoptive Families, and others. Her policy and politics background includes work at both the national and state levels. Tracy is revising her first novel.
- [Sufiya Abdur-Rahman](https://writer.org/organizer/sufiya-abdur-rahman/) - Sufiya Abdur-Rahman is author of the memoir Heir to the Crescent Moon, winner of the Iowa Prize for Literary Nonfiction. She is creative nonfiction editor for Cherry Tree, a national literary journal, at Washington College, where she teaches creative writing and journalism. Find her at sufiya.net and on Twitter @MrsAbolitionist.
- [Thibault Raoult](https://writer.org/organizer/thibault-raoult/) - Thibault Raoult holds an MFA from Brown University and PhD from University of Georgia. He has published three books: Person Hour, Disposable Epics, and Pro(m)bois(e). A former editor at The Georgia Review, TR currently directs RealPoetik and makes letterpress and music (as Historic Sunsets) in and near Mount Rainier, Maryland.
- [Laura Lannan](https://writer.org/organizer/laura-lannan/) - Laura Lannan is a recent graduate of the MFA program at American University where she received the Myra Sklarew Award for outstanding poetry thesis. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in THAT Literary Review, Burnt Pine Magazine, The Blood Pudding, and Prometheus Dreaming. A lover of horror movies, libraries, and heavy metal music,

## Events

- [Submit-O-Thon!](https://writer.org/event/submit-o-thon/) - Submit your Work for a Cause! Each autumn, thousands of lit mags and journals open their portals/queues/websites to read your work. We know that submitting on your own can be a slog, so let’s get it done, together! The Writer’s Center is hosting our first ever Submit-o-thon, a marathon-like afternoon where you commit to submitting
- [Hunger Action Month Reading](https://writer.org/event/hunger-action-month/) - EC Poetry and Prose, The Writer's Center, Poet Lore, and Poetry x Hunger are partnering to raise funds in honor of Hunger Action Month! Each September, Hunger Action Month unites millions to raise awareness and provide nutritious food to neighbors facing hunger. Join us at The Writer's Center on September 12th, 2026 at 2pm for
- [Your Literary Lineage: From Beloved Work to New Poems](https://writer.org/event/your-literary-lineage-from-beloved-work-to-new-poems/) - Our poetic inspirations are a kind of chosen family. In this workshop, we will explore the ways we c...
- [The Eerie Twinship Between the Haunted and the Nostalgic](https://writer.org/event/the-eerie-twinship-between-the-haunted-and-the-nostalgic/) - This craft talk and generative workshop examines how absence, memory, and longing operate in fiction...
- [Subtleties of Meter](https://writer.org/event/subtleties-of-meter/) - To explore some of the fine points of meter, we will examine how metrical patterns can vary between ...
- [Cover Letters and Agent Queries](https://writer.org/event/cover-letters-and-agent-queries/) - Your query letter is your first introduction to a potential agent--which is to say, your first intro...
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news-7/) - Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most imp...
- [Introduction to Grief Writing](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-grief-writing/) - What does it mean to write from a wound? What does it mean to write from a scar? There are readers o...
- [Writing the Truth](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-truth/) - Writers will explore how honesty and vulnerability can strengthen personal narrative. Through guided...
- [Poetry Potluck: 5 Forms in 3 Weeks](https://writer.org/event/poetry-potluck-5-forms-in-3-weeks/) - Build your literary muscles by practicing a mix of five contemporary and traditional forms: sonnets,...
- [Persona Poem Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/persona-poem-crash-course-4/) - In the Persona Poem, or Dramatic Monologue, the poet writes in the voice of another real or imagined...
- [Polishing Your First Draft](https://writer.org/event/polishing-your-first-draft-2/) - When the first draft is complete, the real work begins. You should not be your only editor, but you ...
- [Novel 101: How to Craft the Story](https://writer.org/event/novel-101-how-to-craft-the-story-4/) - This class offers the key concepts of plotting and pacing while delving into different genres. Begin...
- [Building a Writing Process](https://writer.org/event/building-a-writing-process-3/) - Do you ever think to yourself: “Why is it so hard to get my ideas out of my head and onto the page?”...
- [Washington Writers' Publishing House Capital Love LitFest](https://writer.org/event/capital-love/) - The Capital Love LitFest is an 8-hour literary salon of writing workshops, deep-dive literary discussions, and poetry and prose readings from the new WWPH pocket-sized anthology, Capital Love. The Capital Love LitFest, and our anthology, are dedicated to all those who believe love is the antidote to hate, and that love is action, intent, healing, and
- [Reading Your Work Out Loud with Jennifer Hamady](https://writer.org/event/out-loud-with-jennifer-hamady/) - Practice sharing your story and yourself Spend an evening practicing and learning about the art of public speaking. This in-person coaching session will give you the opportunity to bring your voice– and self– to the words you’ve written. You’ll learn how to become a more genuine and effective communicator of your work, which will in
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Kay E. Bancroft](https://writer.org/event/kay-bancroft/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Kay E. Bancroft to discuss their debut collection, Bloodroom. Kay is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Rebecca Lee](https://writer.org/event/rebecca-lee/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Rebecca Lee for a discussion of her new publication, Rogues, Widows and Orphans: Mischief and Misadventures in the World of Books. Rebecca is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive
- [How to Write A Grant Proposal](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-grant-proposal-3/) - This workshop will cover how to research prospective funders, the elements of a good proposal, and h...
- [Let the Soft Animals Speak: Writing the Wild with Craft and Care](https://writer.org/event/let-the-soft-animals-speak-writing-the-wild-with-craft-and-care-2/) - When Mary Oliver tells us to let the soft animal of [our bodies] love what [they] love, we know exac...
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-7/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you ...
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Adam Gianforcaro!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-adam-gianforcaro/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Adam Gianforcaro to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of his collection, Poems to Stage Dive to. Adam is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Taylor Byas!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-taylor-byas/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Taylor Byas to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, Resting Bitch Face. Taylor is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Chet'la Sebree!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-chetla-sebree/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Chet’la Sebree to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, Blue Opening. Chet'la is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online »
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Michele Evans!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-michele-evans/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Michele Evans to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, februaries. Michele is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online » ***Get a discount
- [Historical Research for Narrative Writing](https://writer.org/event/historical-research-for-narrative-writing/) - An introduction to narrative writing and experimentation through historical research. Learn how to w...
- [Inner Loop Author's Corner w/ Shelagh Johnson!](https://writer.org/event/inner-loop-shelagh-johnson/) - A History of Existing Life is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes the distinctive literary culture of Washington, DC. Author’s Corner supports local authors’ independently published books by spotlighting them in community programming and collaborations. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage
- [Inner Loop Author's Corner w/ Lenna Jawdat!](https://writer.org/event/inner-loop-lenna-jawdat/) - 70,000 is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes the distinctive literary culture of Washington, DC. Author’s Corner supports local authors’ independently published books by spotlighting them in community programming and collaborations. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you to order a
- [Inner Loop Author's Corner w/ Hasan Dudar!](https://writer.org/event/inner-loop-hasan-dudar/) - Carryout is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes the distinctive literary culture of Washington, DC. Author’s Corner supports local authors’ independently published books by spotlighting them in community programming and collaborations. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you to order a
- [Inner Loop Author's Corner w/ Stephanie Dupal!](https://writer.org/event/inner-loop-stephanie-dupal/) - The Kindness of Terrible People and Other Stories is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes the distinctive literary culture of Washington, DC. Author’s Corner supports local authors’ independently published books by spotlighting them in community programming and collaborations. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times
- [Writer Wayne Brown Book Reading](https://writer.org/event/wayne-brown/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Wayne Brown for a reading from his new book, Sports...Biblically Speaking: Life Lessons From The World Of Sports. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Wayne Brown Sr. is a military veteran having served honorably for 13 years in the United States Air Force from 1979-1992. He and his wife, Joanne,
- [Book Launch for Poet Robert Tobias](https://writer.org/event/robert-tobias/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Robert Tobias for a reading from his newest collection, What Lives in Me. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Robert M. Tobias, a debut author at 82, completed his fourteen-year career as the General Counsel of the National Treasury Employees Union successfully suing Presidents Nixon ($533M in back
- [Activating Creativity Through Play](https://writer.org/event/activating-creativity-through-play/) - Even the most disciplined writers encounter creative stalls, moments when the page feels resistant a...
- [Self-Publishing 101](https://writer.org/event/self-publishing-101/) - Discover the core steps of self-publishing from a 40-time bestselling author. Explore editing, writi...
- [Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/plot-like-a-pro-4/) - You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an ou...
- [Advanced Fiction Workshop](https://writer.org/event/advanced-fiction-workshop/) - Deep reading and insightful questions are the hallmarks of this course. If you have previous worksho...
- [Chapter One Workshop](https://writer.org/event/chapter-one-workshop/) - Learn how to hook a reader in the opening pages of your book. Every week we will go over the elements of what makes a good first chapter and what you can leave out and save for the middle of the book. We'll talk tone, genre, pacing, and reader expectations. By the end of the
- [Words that Heal: Expressive Writing for Self-Discovery](https://writer.org/event/words-that-heal-expressive-writing-for-self-discovery/) - Writing can be both a creative act and a path toward healing. In this workshop, we’ll explore the pr...
- [This Isn't Real: Add Dream Logic to Your Work](https://writer.org/event/this-isnt-real-add-dream-logic-to-your-work/) - Become the next David Lynch -- apply dream logic to your fiction, poetry, and hybrid work. Participa...
- [Intro to Micro-Memoir and Flash Fiction](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-micro-memoir-and-flash-fiction/) - What if the most powerful story you ever write is also the shortest? In this workshop, we'll explore...
- [Book Promotion Through Podcasting](https://writer.org/event/book-promotion-through-podcasting-5/) - In this workshop, you’ll learn how to craft a winning podcast pitch, get booked on the right shows, ...
- [UnClogging Your Brain](https://writer.org/event/unclogging-your-brain-8/) - Prompts will spark memories, characters, and places, turning them into poems, scenes, dialogues, and...
- [Write the Day](https://writer.org/event/write-the-day-3/) - We will read and then write poems and stories starting from close observation of our day, from wakin...
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension-7/) - Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary f...
- [Ten Pro Tips for Writing Life Stories](https://writer.org/event/ten-pro-tips-for-writing-life-stories-3/) - Where do you begin your life story and how do you guarantee it is interesting to others? With ten cr...
- [Intermediate Novel Writing: The 8 Cs](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-writing-the-8-cs-5/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eigh...
- [Writing the Feature-length Screenplay](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-feature-length-screenplay/) - In this 10-week intermediate to advanced workshop, writers will complete a feature-length screenplay...
- [Poems After Art, Media, and Ruin](https://writer.org/event/poems-after-art-media-and-ruin/) - This workshop studies how poems can respond to paintings, photographs, monuments, advertisements, fi...
- [The Art of Description](https://writer.org/event/the-art-of-description-2/) - This six-week interactive class is designed to give you the skills to write rich descriptive sentenc...
- [The First 50 Pages: Craft a Submission-Ready Opening](https://writer.org/event/the-first-50-pages-craft-a-submission-ready-opening/) - This course is designed to help young adult writers shape those pages into an unputdownable introduc...
- [Finding Your Poetic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-poetic-voice-4/) - Writing poems is discovery on paper, and good poems surprise and delight the poet as much as anyone....
- [Using the Tools of Fiction in Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/using-the-tools-of-fiction-in-nonfiction-2/) - Whether you are crafting an essay or writing a memoir, the tools of fiction can bring depth and susp...
- [Starting a Novel or Memoir](https://writer.org/event/starting-a-novel-or-memoir/) - Ready to write that novel or memoir? Or have you started a large writing project and need some sound...
- [Caroline Bock Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/caroline-bock/) - The Writer's Center welcomes novelist Caroline Bock for a reading and a wide-ranging discussion of the writing life and publishing journeys, as she celebrates the publication of her first novel for adults, The Other Beautiful People. Caroline is in conversation with Writer's Center Executive & Artistic Director Zach Powers, who will also share from his
- [Making a Broadside](https://writer.org/event/making-a-broadside/) - A broadside is an art print with text and drawings. Participants will receive printmaking paper, ste...
- [***CANCELED** Fiction Book Club w/ Lauren D. Woods!](https://writer.org/event/lauren-woods/) - This event has been canceled and will be rescheduled for another date. The Writer’s Center welcomes author Lauren D. Woods, to our monthly Fiction Book Club for a discussion of her most recent novel, The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe, at The Writer’s Center! Zach is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage
- [Honoring the Ancestors: A Poetry Workshop](https://writer.org/event/honoring-the-ancestors-a-poetry-workshop/) - This generative poetry workshop begins with a grounding exercise that prepares participants to begin...
- [Fundamentals of Persuasive Writing](https://writer.org/event/fundamentals-of-persuasive-writing-2/) - Learn how to pack a powerful punch when writing persuasively! This four-week workshop covers the pro...
- [Novel Overhauler w/ Lacey N. Dunham](https://writer.org/event/novel-overhauler/) - Revise your novel in 6 months! Have you written a novel but don’t know where to begin revising? Or maybe you’re feeling stuck in the middle of drafting your novel and need help moving forward to the end? This intensive, six-month novel revision workshop is open to writers of all genres and forms of the
- [Book Marketing On A Budget](https://writer.org/event/book-marketing-on-a-budget-6/) - In this workshop you’ll discover over 30 practical, budget-friendly book marketing strategies, from ...
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Essayist & Poet Chet’la Sebree](https://writer.org/event/turn-where/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Chet’la Sebree for a discussion of her new essay collection, Turn (W)here. Chet’la is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Writing Poems of Trauma](https://writer.org/event/writing-poems-of-trauma/) - Inspired by Jehanne Dubrow's craft book, The Wounded Line: A Guide to Writing Poems of Trauma, this ...
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-7/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handfu...
- [Finding Your Light on the Page: A Summer Solstice Workshop](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-light-on-the-page-a-summer-solstice-workshop/) - This generative workshop invites writers to explore what becomes visible when we write toward the li...
- [How to Write a Stand Up Comedy Act](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-stand-up-comedy-act-3/) - Learn how to recognize a premise, extract the humor, and hone it into a stand-up act or funny story....
- [Smart Marketing Writers](https://writer.org/event/smart-marketing-writers/) - These days, writers increasingly are expected to be their own best publicists, which can be a challe...
- [Reading and Writing Contemporary Poetry](https://writer.org/event/reading-and-writing-contemporary-poetry/) - In this generative poetry course, we will immerse ourselves in the landscape of contemporary poetry ...
- [Writing About Mental Health Topics in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-mental-health-topics-in-fiction-4/) - Write about mental health with intention. Along with general guidelines, examples from popular media...
- [From Novice to Novelist](https://writer.org/event/from-novice-to-novelist-3/) - This workshop will offer a practical plan that takes you from the mere germ of an idea all the way t...
- [How—and Where—To Pitch Your Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/how-and-where-to-pitch-your-personal-essays-2/) - Personal essays are perhaps the genre that has the largest array of publication possibilities—litera...
- [Letting Your Characters Talk: Dialogue Intensive](https://writer.org/event/letting-your-characters-talk-dialogue-intensive/) - Take your dialogue to the next level with this online three-week intensive course. Good dialogue doe...
- [Creating Backstory & Flashbacks](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashbacks-4/) - Every character in your story has a past. The events that occurred in a character’s life before they...
- [How to Write Successful Micro Memoir](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-successful-micro-memoir/) - Write your life story as you lived it, one moment at a time. This interactive workshop teaches write...
- [Writing From Memory](https://writer.org/event/writing-from-memory/) - Memory is rarely objective truth, but it tells an important story that affects our identities and th...
- [The Writer as Archivist: A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/the-writer-as-archivist-a-generative-workshop/) - In this multi-week writing workshop, writers will be immersed in a safe space to experiment, fail, a...
- [Teen Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/teen-open-mic-may2026/) - A special Open Mic to uplift the voices and work of the teenagers in our community. Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 1:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 2pm. Limited to 20 readers,
- [Fiction Book Club w/ Zach Powers!](https://writer.org/event/fiction-book-club-w-zach-powers/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author, and Executive Director of The Writer's Center, Zach Powers, to our monthly Fiction Book Club for a discussion of his most recent novel collection, The Migraine Diaries, at The Writer's Center! Zach is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book
- [Reimagining America: Toward a Poetry of the Demos](https://writer.org/event/reimagining-america/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Writers for Democratic Action for a special forum on the democratic imagination, featuring DC-area poets, scholars, and journalists. RSVP here>> About the event Join us for an inspiring in-person gathering as DC-area poets and scholars reflect on the past, present, and future of the democratic imagination, in American life and beyond.
- [Banshee Press: Irish Literary Talent & Support for the Arts](https://writer.org/event/banshee-press/) - The Writer’s Center and Solas Nua welcomes Banshee Press, Ireland's award-winning independent publisher, to learn about Irish literary talent & support for the arts. Join Irish writers Bebe Ashley, Eimear Ryan, and Jessica Traynor, in conversation with Zach Powers, Executive & Artistic Director of The Writer's Center, for a conversation about the work of Banshee
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-2/) - Have you always wanted to write a novel but didn’t know where to start? This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss
- [Poetic Rhythm](https://writer.org/event/poetic-rhythm/) - Make the rhythm of your poetry run, skip, and dance! We'll learn the fundamentals of repeating rhyth...
- [How to Write a Heist](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-heist/) - This one-day, generative workshop will help you brainstorm a heist story, explore how heists immerse...
- [Virtual Info Session for Novel Overhauler w/ Lacey N. Dunham](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-overhauler-w-lacey-n-dunham/) - Meet Lacey N. Dunham, instructor for our Novel Overhauler workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: June 15, 2026 Workshop Dates: Begins July 16, meeting biweekly for ~6 months Cost: $2,600 |
- [Capitol Hill Poetry-Group Anthology Launch](https://writer.org/event/other-side-of-the-hill/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Capitol Hill Poetry-Group for a reading from the new poetry anthology The Other Side of the Hill: 1975 - 2025. This launch will include readings from Patricia Gray, Jean Nordhaus, Rosemary Winslow, Greg McBride, Noel Salinger, and Anne Harding Woodworth. Free and Open to the Public About The Other Side of
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-8/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting...
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Nonfiction w/ Lauren Westerfield](https://writer.org/event/lauren-westerfield/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE Virtual Craft Chat on the craft of Nonfiction! We’re joined by author Lauren Westerfield for a discussion of her new collection of essays, Woman House: Essays and Assemblages. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We
- [End of Season Celebration Reading!](https://writer.org/event/end-of-season-celebration-reading-apr26/) - Ever wonder who else is taking classes at The Writer’s Center? Want the chance to hear the work being made in other classes? Meet with Instructors of the coming season’s courses? We invite you to attend our first ever End of Season Celebration, a time to meet and hear work from the participants from the
- [Poet Adam Tavel Book Release](https://writer.org/event/adam-tavel/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Adam Tavel for a reading from his new collection, The Ghost-Star King. Adam is joined by Melissa Reddish for the reading and conversation. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Adam Tavel is the author of seven books of poetry and the recipient of the Richard Wilbur Book Award,
- [Writerly Happy Hour](https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour-5/) - Join us for cocktails and writerly conversation at metrobar! Come connect with the local writing community! Hang with staff, board, and friends of The Inner Loop, The Writer's Center, DC Writer's Room, and PEN/Faulkner, and tell us how your writing is going! Register here »
- [Getting Started Creative Writing: Try 3 Genres](https://writer.org/event/getting-started-creative-writing-try-3-genres/) - Find your creativity with fun exercises in poetry, memoir, and fiction. You’ll take home two origina...
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-7/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifest...
- [Flash Fiction: A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/flash-fiction-a-generative-workshop/) - Discover how a single moment can hold an entire world: write bold, luminous flash fiction in this fl...
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-7/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still...
- [Writing as a Restorative Practice](https://writer.org/event/writing-as-a-restorative-practice-2/) - As writers, it’s vital that we nurture our creativity through self-care so we can work with our natu...
- [Your Personal Artifacts in Fiction and Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/your-personal-artifacts-in-fiction-and-nonfiction/) - Jumpstart your fiction or literary nonfiction with a focus on important parts and objects of your li...
- [Point of View](https://writer.org/event/point-of-view/) - One of the most challenging fiction techniques is perspective. A wandering Point of View confuses re...
- [Evoking Reader Empathy](https://writer.org/event/evoking-reader-empathy-3/) - Even a well-crafted story can fail to resonate with readers if it lacks emotional impact. The key is...
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Haili Blassingame](https://writer.org/event/haili-blassingame/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Haili Blassingame for a discussion of her new publication, They All Fall in Love at the End. Haili is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-8/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand thei...
- [Reading Poems to Write Poems](https://writer.org/event/reading-poems-to-write-poems/) - This is a reader’s workshop, focusing on close readings of poems by two great American poets, Stanle...
- [Show and Tell Intensive](https://writer.org/event/show-and-tell-intensive-5/) - Learn to make your work compelling with the most important skill any writer can possess. Successful writers make readers feel and intuit precisely what they want them to by using the technique of showing writing. No other element of craft promises this immediacy and power to bring a work to life. This is how to
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Brittany Rogers!](https://writer.org/event/brittany-rogers/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Brittany Rogers to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, Good Dress. Brittany is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online » FREE &
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Aldo Amparán](https://writer.org/event/aldo-amparan/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Aldo Amparán to discuss their new collection, THE HOUSE HAS TEETH. Aldo is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Jake Rose](https://writer.org/event/jake-rose/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Jake Rose to discuss their debut collection, JOAN. Jake is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Book Launch for Writer Abby Reid](https://writer.org/event/abby-reid/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Abby Reid for a reading from her new book, How to Write Like a Human: Writing for Work, School, and Life—Without AI. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. A keen editor and digital storyteller, Abby Reid derives a great deal of joy (probably too much!) from turning complex
- [Book Launch for Herminia Gil Guerrero](https://writer.org/event/herminia-gil-guerrero/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Herminia Gil Guerrero for a reading from her new publication, Lo Que No Te Pertence. This reading will be followed by a Q&A and signing. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Herminia Gil Guerrero is a Spanish writer and scholar. She holds a PhD on the work of Jorge Luis
- [Writer Pauline Steinhorn Book Release](https://writer.org/event/pauline-steinhorn/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Pauline Steinhorn for a reading from her new publication, Dreaming of the River. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Pauline Steinhorn enjoys telling other people’s stories. Throughout her career as an award-winning filmmaker and writer, she has written and directed documentaries for PBS, Maryland Public Television, Sesame Street,
- [Convergence: Poetry on Environmental Impacts of War Reading](https://writer.org/event/convergence/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Randall Amster, Colonel Roger Chang, Lisa Couturier and Linda Dove for a reading from the new poetry anthology Convergence: Poetry on the Environmental Impacts of War (Scarlet Tanager Books). About the Anthology Convergence: Poetry on Environmental Impacts of War offers a groundbreaking and vital perspective on war’s destruction of the natural world—the creatures,
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-the-writers-center-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Me Myself and I: Understanding Memoir](https://writer.org/event/me-myself-and-i-understanding-memoir-2/) - This workshop is a two-hour seminar for those who want to better understand the genre of memoir and the craft elements required to write it well. In this course we will: Explore the tensions inherent in being author, narrator, and subject all at once; Unpack the subjectivity of truth; Commit to treat all characters fairly;
- [All About Tone _ TEST](https://writer.org/event/all-about-tone-_-test/) - Robert Frost said, "It's tone I'm in love with; that's what poetry is, tone." The ability to control...
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Mathangi Subramanian](https://writer.org/event/mathangi-subramanian/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Mathangi Subramanian for a discussion of her new publication, Our Periods, Ourselves: An Empowered Teen's Guide. Mathangi is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Novel 101: How to Write the Story](https://writer.org/event/novel-101-how-to-write-the-story/) - If you’ve always wanted to create your own exciting novel then this is the class for you. The class ...
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Diana Cao](https://writer.org/event/diana-cao/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by author Diana Cao for a discussion of her debut poetry collection, Slipstream. Diana is in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Preeti Vangani](https://writer.org/event/preeti-vangani/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by author Preeti Vangani for a discussion of her newest poetry collection, Fifty Mothers. Preeti is in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Arielle Hebert](https://writer.org/event/arielle-hebert/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Arielle Hebert to discuss her debut poetry collection, Bottom Feeders. Arielle is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Publishing Your Writing: Choosing the Right Path](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-writing-choosing-the-right-path/) - Writers today have more options than ever, but the choices can be overwhelming. Should you try to fi...
- [Opening Art Reception & Book Talk for The Green Heart of Italy](https://writer.org/event/green-heart-of-italy/) - The Green Heart of Italy: Umbria and its Ancient Neighbors Photographs by Judith Goodman and Frank Van Riper Text by Frank Van Riper The Writer’s Center of Bethesda is proud to welcome Chevy Chase, DC husband and wife photographer/authors Frank Van Riper and Judith Goodman to a reception, exhibition and book-signing to celebrate publication of
- [Book Launch for Handbook of Foams / Manual de espumas](https://writer.org/event/handbook-of-foams/) - Join Francisco Aragón and a constellation of DC-area poets to celebrate Handbook of Foams/Manual de espumas by Gerardo Diego, translated by Francisco Aragón. Gerardo Diego was arguably the least known of Spain’s “generation of 27,” which included Federico Garcia Lorca. Written in 1922 when the poet was 26, Handbook of Foams was one of the
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Ramona Ausubel in Conversation w/ Masie Cochran](https://writer.org/event/ramona-ausubel/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by novelist Ramona Ausubel to discuss her new writer's guide, Unstuck: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page. Ramona is in conversation with Masie Cochran, Editorial Director of Zando & Tin House. RSVP below to receive login
- [Poet Elizabeth Hazen Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/elizabeth-hazen/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Poet Elizabeth Hazen and Poet Rose Solari for a reading of their newest collections, The Sky Will Hold and The Last Girl, respectively. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Elizabeth Hazen is a poet and essayist. Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, Epoch, American Literary Review, Shenandoah, and other journals.
- [***Canceled***Black, White, Colored: A Short Film and Q&A](https://writer.org/event/black-white-colored/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writers Lauretta Malloy Noble and LeeAnét Noble for a short film and Q&A surrounding their latest publication, Black, White, Colored: The Hidden Story of an Insurrection. The film and Q&A will cover a Family, a Southern Town, and Identity in America as they dive into their ancestors incredible life and uncovered
- [Poetry for the End of the World (and other hard times)](https://writer.org/event/poetry-for-the-end-of-the-world-and-other-hard-times-2/) - In this workshop, writers will consider end-times poems both ancient and contemporary in order to fi...
- [Revise, Revise, Revise](https://writer.org/event/revise-revise-revise/) - Writers often hear about “the revision process” as if it’s a singular thing. It’s not. Revising your work entails several processes and sub-processes, from the “30,000 feet” view to macro-strategies to micro-editing. If all you’re doing is going over it “from the top” again and again, a manuscript may need up to fifty revisions before
- [Writing Micro Memoir](https://writer.org/event/writing-micro-memoir-2/) - Write your life story as you lived it, one moment at a time. This interactive workshop teaches write...
- [Me Myself and I: Understanding Memoir](https://writer.org/event/me-myself-and-i-understanding-memoir/) - This workshop is a two-hour seminar for those who want to better understand the genre of memoir and the craft elements required to write it well. In this course we will: Explore the tensions inherent in being author, narrator, and subject all at once; Unpack the subjectivity of truth; Commit to treat all characters fairly;
- [Show, Don’t Tell](https://writer.org/event/show-dont-tell-2/) - Show, Don’t Tell is a hands-on writing workshop designed to help participants transform plain prose ...
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-6/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handfu...
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Bret Anthony Johnston](https://writer.org/event/bret-anthony-johnston/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Bret Anthony Johnston for a discussion of his new collection, Encounters with Unexpected Animals. Bret is in conversation with Varun​ Gauri, novelist and Board member at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Elizabeth Hazen!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-elizabeth-hazen/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Elizabeth Hazen to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, The Sky Will Hold. Elizabeth is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Tonee Mae Moll!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-tonee-mae-moll/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Tonee Mae Moll to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, You Cannot Save Here. Tonee is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent
- [The Business of Being an Author](https://writer.org/event/the-business-of-being-an-author/) - Once your book is out in the world, how do you ensure it works for you? This session demystifies pub...
- [Let's Write! A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/lets-write-a-generative-workshop-2/) - Using various writing prompts will invite ourselves into new stories, and explore new ways to tell f...
- [Reading and Celebration of Sara M. Taber](https://writer.org/event/sara-m-taber/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes students, colleagues, and friends for a celebration of former Writer's Center instructor, Sara M. Taber, with a reading and reception. In lieu of flowers, the Memoir Club suggests donations be made to The Writer's Center during or in advance to the celebration. Please feel free to bring something to share and
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-oct-26/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers Lola Haskins and Mary Sesso. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open to the public. RSVP on the
- [Creating & Writing Your First TV Pilot](https://writer.org/event/creating-writing-your-first-tv-pilot/) - You'll not only learn how to write your own television pilot, but the ins and outs of the entire tel...
- [What we Inherit: a Panel on Family in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/what-we-inherit/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Tamar Shapiro and John Vercher for a conversation about exploring the impact of wanted and unwanted legacies in their novels. About the event Home means many things to many people. It can be a source of comfort and familiarity. It can be serve as a connection to people we love and
- [Vulnerability in Personal Storytelling](https://writer.org/event/vulnerability-in-personal-storytelling-5/) - We will explore the complexities of writing about sensitive topics with vulnerability and creative c...
- [Turning Points: The Role of the Volta in Poetry](https://writer.org/event/turning-points-the-role-of-the-volta-in-poetry/) - Although we associate the term "volta" with the traditional sonnet form, it has been used with great...
- [Revising Your Poems](https://writer.org/event/revising-your-poems-2/) - Revising can be very intimidating territory for all of us, but in this workshop we will take a diffe...
- [Poetry Book Club w/ Alina Stefanescu!](https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-alina-stefanescu-2/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Alina Stefanescu to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection, My Heresies. Alina is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online
- [Publish Now! A One-Day Conference @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/publish-now-26/) - Learn the ins and outs of publishing, make connections, and build your writing career! Publish Now is a one-day conference for writers interested in learning more about all the ways you can share and publish your work. You’ll attend up to 4 panels featuring experts in all aspects of the writing and publishing cycle. Topics
- [Writing Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/writing-personal-essays-4/) - Journeys, relationships, hardships, love, and loss—these are just a few of the subjects personal essays explore. In this workshop we’ll examine essays from magazines, literary journals, and newspapers to illuminate the ways imagery, dialogue, scene, and crafting an “I” narrator transform a personal experience into a compelling story. You’ll generate new material each week through
- [Literary Agents: What Do They Do?](https://writer.org/event/literary-agents-what-do-they-do/) - Literary agents play a crucial role in the publishing world, yet authors are often in the dark about...
- [So, You Want to Write a Book?](https://writer.org/event/so-you-want-to-write-a-book-3/) - Do you feel called to write a book? Is there something important that you have always wanted to say ...
- [Michael Battisto and Friends Poetry Reading](https://writer.org/event/michael-battisto-poetry-reading/) - The Writer's Center welcomes Michael Battisto and friends for an afternoon of Poetry. Free and open to the public. RSVP by emailing poetrybethesda@gmail.com Michael Battisto is an Oakland-based poet, essayist, editor, teacher, and tutor who worked for many years as a cook and chef in high-end kitchens throughout the country. Having written thousands of poems
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Nur Turkmani](https://writer.org/event/nur-turkmani/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Nur Turkmani to discuss her debut collection, October. Nur is in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Manager of The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Scene Stealers: Details and Dialogue](https://writer.org/event/scene-stealers-details-and-dialogue/) - What makes a scene stay in your mind, is it rhythmic language, a character’s gesture, or that line o...
- [Novel Club w/ Lisa Ko](https://writer.org/event/novel-club-w-lisa-ko/) - Jumpstart your novel and writing practice in this ten-month intensive! If you're wondering how to write a novel and sustain a writing practice in the midst of everything, Novel Club is for you. Together, with the guidance of an experienced mentor and author and the camaraderie of your Novel Club cohort, this is the year
- [Fiction Book Club w/ Megan Howell!](https://writer.org/event/fiction-book-club-w-megan-howell/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author Megan Howell to our monthly Fiction Book Club for a discussion of her debut short story collection, Softie at The Writer's Center! Megan is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco. We encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local, independent bookseller or online » ***Get a
- [Novelist Justin Collmann Book Release](https://writer.org/event/justin-collmann/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Justin Collmann for a reading from his debut new novel, Thirteen Fallen Horses. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Justin Collmann lives in Washington, DC where he enjoys spending time with family, friends, and his cat, Clementine. He loves music and plays the guitar and sings. He has
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-mar2026/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Writing Picture Books](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-5/) - Learn how to write a picture book from a successful author of thirty award-winning books for childre...
- [Finish Writing Your Book!](https://writer.org/event/finish-writing-your-book/) - Have you been working and reworking the beginning of your manuscript but can’t seem to push past a c...
- [Crafting Fiction, Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element-6/) - By studying basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their w...
- [Poets Claudia Gary and Roderick Deacey Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/gary-deacey/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Poets Claudia Gary and Roderick Deacey for a reading and discussion of their new collections, Time and Other Solvents, and Birds Flew In, respectively. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Claudia Gary teaches workshops on Sonnets, Villanelles, Natural Meter, Persona Poems, Poetry vs. Trauma, etc., at The Writer’s Center
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Zach Powers](https://writer.org/event/zach-powers/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by our own Zach Powers to discuss his new novel, The Migraine Diaries. Zach is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Dora Malech](https://writer.org/event/dora-malech/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Dora Malech to discuss her latest collection, Trying x Trying. Dora is in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Manager of The Writer's Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Toni Ann Johnson](https://writer.org/event/toni-ann-johnson/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author for a discussion of her new collection of stories, But Where's Home? Toni Ann is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [American Gothik: The Changing Face of American Families - A Staged Reading](https://writer.org/event/american-gothik/) - Writer Steve Majors presents a staged reading of his new play, American Gothik, which grew out of a Writer's Center workshop. A full-cast reading will be presented Sunday, February 22 at 2pm inside the theatre at The Writer's Center. Admission is free.
- [Boot Camp for Writers](https://writer.org/event/boot-camp-for-writers-4/) - Each session of Boot Camp for Writers will begin with a prompt followed by writing time. Participant...
- [DC LIT FEST](https://writer.org/event/dc-lit-fest/) - The nation's capital is full of readers, and the DC LIT FEST will give those readers a chance to mix, mingle, and meet the city’s literary organizations all in one place. Organized by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the Goethe-Institute Washington, this FREE event will start with an open house and a pop-up book sale, then conclude with a panel discussion* featuring some of DC literary leaders and a wine reception for
- [Search Party: Find Your Writing Group](https://writer.org/event/search-party-apr-26/) - Looking for a writing group? We want to help you meet other interested writers! The Writer's Center and The Inner Loop invite you to Search Party, a social event connecting writers to other writers interested in forming/joining a writing group. Simply show up, fill out a nametag with your genres and other areas of interest,
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Paige Lewis](https://writer.org/event/paige-lewis/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by novelist and poet Paige Lewis for a discussion of their debut novel, Canon. Paige is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Opening Art Reception for Deborah Tomlin's SUTRA](https://writer.org/event/deborah-tomlin-opening/) - The Writer’s Center is pleased to present SUTRA, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by artist Deborah Tomlin, on display in the Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery, January 29–March 23, 2026. Opening reception is FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. In 2022, Deborah Tomlin was diagnosed with breast cancer from a routine mammogram. She
- [***CANCELED**Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2026-2/) - Tonight's Open Mic is canceled due to weather conditions. See you on February 11th! Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive
- [Book Launch for Poet Richard Smith](https://writer.org/event/richard-smith/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Richard Smith for a reading from his new collection, Beyond Where Words Can Go. This reading will be followed by a Q&A and signing. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Richard Smith’s first book, Not a Soul but Us, is a narrative in sonnets about the plague pandemic
- [Claire Fuller Virtual Book Launch w/ Melissa Faliveno](https://writer.org/event/fuller-faliveno/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by writer Claire Fuller to discuss her latest publication, Hunger and Thirst. Claire is in conversation with writer Melissa Faliveno. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you to
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Alan Chazaro](https://writer.org/event/alan-chazaro/) - Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Alan Chazaro to discuss his latest collection, These Spaceships Weren't Built For Us. Alanis in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Manager of The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Aaron Fountain](https://writer.org/event/aaron-fountain/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Aaron Fountain for a discussion of his new publication, High School Students Unite! Aaron is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via
- [Writing Steamy Scenes that Stick with Golden Angel](https://writer.org/event/writing-steamy-scenes-that-stick/) - Learn to Captivate a Reader in a Romance Novel USA Today Bestselling Author Golden Angel presents her tricks and tips on writing steamy scenes that stick with readers long after the book is over. It's really easy to write a bad steamy scene, it's difficult to write a good one. Golden Angel discusses the various
- [A Steamy Reading and Q&A with Romance Writer Golden Angel](https://writer.org/event/steamy-reading/) - Keep the Valentine's Day spirit going by spending an afternoon hearing Steamy Scenes written with the guidance of USA Today Bestselling Author Golden Angel. This reading will be followed by a Q&A with Golden Angel about Romance Writing. This event is Free and Open to the public. Our Writing Steamy Scenes That Stick workshop will take
- [Novelist Maria Karametou Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/maria-karametou/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Maria Karametou for a book launch celebration of her debut novel, The Amalgam. Maria is in conversation with author Frances Park. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. About the Book Athens, 1984. All Meta wants is to escape her tyrannical father and the future he demands of her. But
- [UnClogging Your Brain](https://writer.org/event/unclogging-your-brain-7/) - Prompts will spark memories, characters, and places, turning them into poems, scenes, dialogues, and...
- [Artist Talk for Deborah Tomlin's SUTRA](https://writer.org/event/deborah-tomlin-talk/) - The Writer’s Center is pleased to present SUTRA, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by artist Deborah Tomlin, on display in the Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery, January 29–March 23, 2026. Artist Talk is FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. In 2022, Deborah Tomlin was diagnosed with breast cancer from a routine mammogram. She
- [Setting in Fiction: Beyond Time and Place](https://writer.org/event/setting-in-fiction-beyond-time-and-place/) - Setting is the foundation for any story. Whether you’re thinking about character, motivation, obstac...
- [Life Stories Intensive](https://writer.org/event/life-stories-intensive-3/) - Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, letter to your granddaughter, or use your life as the foun...
- [Journaling Techniques for Writing Memories](https://writer.org/event/journaling-techniques-for-writing-memories-3/) - This workshop is about the pursuit of insight through writing personal memories. Whether you current...
- [Collage Poetry: Telling Your Story in Pieces](https://writer.org/event/collage-poetry-telling-your-story-in-pieces/) - How to tell your story in pieces. Create physical / digital collage poems representing your personal journey(s), origin stories, and / or future aspirations using found imagery and text. This hands-on workshop encourages creative inquiry, experimentation and expression through the art of collaging. Source, sort, and assemble with generative prompt questions in mind. Live video
- [Susan Scheid and Burgi Zenhaeusern Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/scheid-zenhausern/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Susan Scheid and Burgi Zenhausern for a launch of their respective new books, True Blue and White Door. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Susan Scheid is the author of After Enchantment, which was inspired by beloved fairy tale characters. Scheid’s poetry has appeared in The Southern Quill, Blue Heron Review, The Mid-Atlantic Review, The Orchards
- [The Practice of Nonfiction Revision](https://writer.org/event/the-practice-of-nonfiction-revision/) - This class is designed for writers of all levels of experience to help them find the story tapping t...
- [Publishing Your Book for Children](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-book-for-children-4/) - Having a children's book published in today's tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, i...
- [All About Tone](https://writer.org/event/all-about-tone/) - Robert Frost said, "It's tone I'm in love with; that's what poetry is, tone." The ability to control...
- [Creating Backstory & Flashbacks](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashbacks-3/) - Every character in your story has a past. The events that occurred in a character’s life before they...
- [Writing Memorable Characters](https://writer.org/event/writing-memorable-characters/) - Whether you’re in the midst of your manuscript or just starting out, in this workshop you will devel...
- [Travel Storytelling in Words and Pictures](https://writer.org/event/travel-storytelling-in-words-and-pictures-2/) - Travel isn’t about mileage. It’s about the personal experiences and stories that bring a journey ali...
- [Your Writing Journey Begins](https://writer.org/event/your-writing-journey-begins/) - You have a story inside you, but how do you even start to bring it out? With so many crazy things go...
- [DIY Novel Revisions](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revisions/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you ...
- [$40 Pop Up: Write Your Query Letter](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-write-your-query-letter/) - Learn the ins and outs of writing the perfect query letter! For many writers, to get a book deal first requires getting a literary agent. Through the querying process, prospective authors pitch their book projects to agents using a query letter—a very short introduction of less than 500 words to you, your book, and why
- [Researching for Creativity: Practical tips of DC-Area writers, from the1930s and Now](https://writer.org/event/researching-for-creativity/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Kim Roberts, David Nicholson, and David Taylor for a conversation and practical creative exercises on how to research in your writing. This event will also include examples of local resources. About the Event How can real-world research foster your creative work and thinking? In connection with The People’s Recorder podcast, this
- [The Survival Power of the Lyric Poem](https://writer.org/event/the-survival-power-of-the-lyric-poem-3/) - Think now of poetry as a school for emotions, and the lyric has had a revelatory power evoked throug...
- [Focus on Scene Building](https://writer.org/event/focus-on-scene-building/) - Scenes are the building blocks of fiction. They convey the vision of the story in the author’s head ...
- [Writing About Mental Health Topics in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-mental-health-topics-in-fiction-3/) - Write about mental health with intention. Along with general guidelines, examples from popular media...
- [Lyrical Memoir Writing](https://writer.org/event/lyrical-memoir-writing/) - How do we turn the fragments of memory into writing that resonates? In this workshop guided by award...
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension-6/) - Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary f...
- [How to Discover Your Voice](https://writer.org/event/how-to-discover-your-voice/) - Agents say it all the time. What sells a manuscript? A standout voice. Acquire the tools you need fo...
- [Memoir? Maybe?](https://writer.org/event/memoir-maybe/) - This class is for writers who are exploring the idea of writing a memoir. Maybe you have an idea, or...
- [Defeat the Blank Page! Generative Fiction Workshop](https://writer.org/event/defeat-the-blank-page-generative-fiction-workshop/) - In this generative fiction writing workshop, we'll confront the blank page head-on. Our emphasis wil...
- [Let the Soft Animals Speak: Writing the Wild with Craft and Care](https://writer.org/event/let-the-soft-animals-speak-writing-the-wild-with-craft-and-care/) - When Mary Oliver tells us to let the soft animal of [our bodies] love what [they] love, we know exac...
- [Melanie McCabe & Brad Barkley Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/mccabe-barkley/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writers Melanie McCabe and Brad Barkley for a reading from their respective novels, Road Longer Than Memory and The Reel Life of Zara Kegg. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Melanie McCabe is a writer of poems, essays, memoir, and most recently, fiction. She is a lifelong Virginian and was
- [The Artist's Way: A Year of Creative Reawakening w/ Lindsey Van Wagner](https://writer.org/event/the-artists-way/) - Through reflection, community, and practice, you’ll awaken the artist within and build a creative life that feels aligned and alive. This year-long journey through The Artist’s Way offers a sustained path for creative reawakening and artistic growth. Writers, artists, and creative seekers will move chapter by chapter through Julia Cameron’s classic text, reconnecting with their
- [Writer Matthew Pitt in Conversation w/ Monica Prince](https://writer.org/event/matthew-pitt/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer and Writer's Center Emerging Writer Fellowship awardee Matthew Pitt for a reading of his debut novel, Tear Here. Matthew is in conversation with poet Monica Prince. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Matthew Pitt is the author of the novel Tear Here and two collections of short fiction:
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author & Physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein](https://writer.org/event/chanda-prescod-weinstein/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of science writing! We’re joined by acclaimed author and professor of physics and astronomy Chanda Prescod-Weinstein for a discussion of her new book, The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie. Chanda is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Executive
- [The Honest Truth about the Publishing Industry: One Survivor's Perspective](https://writer.org/event/amin-ahmad/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist and former instructor Amin Ahmad for a frank discussion of writing with an eye on the market, writing in genre, how agents work and different pathways to publication. Amin will be joined in conversation with Susan Coll as they discuss how these considerations led to their most recent publications, A
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Luke Kennard](https://writer.org/event/luke-kennard/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Luke Kennard for a discussion of his new novel, Black Bag. Luke is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poets Asa Drake & Laura Cresté](https://writer.org/event/drake-creste/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by poets Asa Drake to discuss her debut poetry collection, Maybe The Body and Laura Cresté, author of In the Good Years. These poets are in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal.
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Memoirist  Mai Serhan](https://writer.org/event/mai-serhan/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Mai Serhan for a discussion of her new memoir, I Can Imagine It for Us. Mai is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Ally Ang](https://writer.org/event/ally-ang/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Ally Ang to discuss their debut collection, Let the Moon Wobble. Ally is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Writer  Melanie McCabe in Conversation w/ Jennifer Keith](https://writer.org/event/melanie-mccabe-poetry/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Melanie McCabe for a reading of her latest collection of poems, All The Signs Were There. Melanie is in conversation with poet Jennifer Keith. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Melanie McCabe is a writer of poems, essays, memoir, and most recently, fiction. She is a lifelong Virginian
- [Recent Grad Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/recent-grad-writers-mixer-may26/) - Are you a writer who recently graduated? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who have recently graduated. RSVP required below. Attending?
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-apr26/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-jun26/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [Music in the Words: Book Launch for Y.S. Fing's Elysium, Part Three with Garinè Isassi](https://writer.org/event/music-in-the-words/) - The Writer's Center welcomes Y.S. Fing and Garinè Isassi for musical performances and a discussion on how music influences writing. As teens, these authors absorbed similar musical, cultural and literary vibes, which remained at the forefront of their creative pursuits. To celebrate Fing's newest book, Elysium, Part Three of The Profane Comedy and revisit Isassi's
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-dec-26/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers from Washington Writer's Publishing House reading from the America’s Future Anthology. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-sep-26/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers Luther Jett and Julia Kolchinsky. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open to the public. RSVP on the
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-july-26/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers Greg Luce and Burgi Zenhaeusern. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open to the public. RSVP on the
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers Holly Karapetkova and Steven Leyva. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open to the public. RSVP on the
- [Mapping Strategies for Story Structure](https://writer.org/event/mapping-strategies-for-story-structure-4/) - There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for story structure. Let’s discuss a plan that works for you....
- [Novelist Nancy Garruba in Conversation w/ Katherine Gekker](https://writer.org/event/nancy-garruba/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Nancy Garruba for a reading and discussion of her debut novel, The Vanishing of Rose B. Nancy is in conversation with Katherine Gekker. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Nancy Garruba studied Comparative Literature at Rutgers University. She later trained in the conservation of rare books in Florence,
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Tayyba Kanwal](https://writer.org/event/tayyba-kanwal/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Tayyba Kanwal for a discussion of her new story collection, Talking with Boys. Tayyba is in conversation with Brandon Johnson, poet and Events Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [The Novel Year w/ Susan Coll](https://writer.org/event/novel-year/) - Bring your novel to life with best-selling author Susan Coll! Whether you have been thinking about writing a novel for years but are not sure how to get started, or are already published but embarking on a new project, this year-long workshop is intended to help get the next book off the ground. Watch the
- [Awakening Through Words: A Spring Equinox Workshop](https://writer.org/event/awakening-through-words-a-spring-equinox-workshop/) - As the world tilts toward renewal, this workshop invites writers to align with the energy of the Spr...
- [Crafting Swoonworthy Romance](https://writer.org/event/crafting-swoonworthy-romance/) - Romance is a booming market. Although maligned as “fluff,” writing a compelling romance requires ser...
- [Intermediate Novel Writing: The 8 Cs](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-writing-the-8-cs-4/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eigh...
- [From Novice to Novelist](https://writer.org/event/from-novice-to-novelist-2/) - This workshop deconstructs and demystifies the novel-writing process for struggling and/or aspiring ...
- [Fundamentals of Persuasive Writing](https://writer.org/event/fundamentals-of-persuasive-writing/) - Learn how to pack a powerful punch when writing persuasively! This four-week workshop covers the pro...
- [Write the Day](https://writer.org/event/write-the-day-2/) - You will transform your day into poetry and fiction. You will make poems and stories from everyday details of your life. We will read and then write poems and stories starting from close observation of our day, from waking to preparing coffee and bread, to recalling a dream, to answering a nagging question from the
- [Virtual Info Session for Novel Club w/ Lisa Ko](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-club-w-lisa-ko/) - Meet Lisa Ko, instructor for our Novel Club workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: February 16, 2026 Workshop Dates: Begins March 4, meeting biweekly for ~10 months Cost: $5,400 | Members
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Cortney Lamar Charleston](https://writer.org/event/cortney-lamar-charleston/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Cortney Lamar Charleston to discuss his new collection, It's Important I Remember. Cortney is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Audiobook Creation: Tips on Publishing Accessible Audiobook Stories](https://writer.org/event/audiobook-creation/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Sarah Keisler who will introduce authors to the process of publishing an audiobook-version of their story using audiobook creation platforms like ACX, Author's Republic, and more. Why Create an Audiobook? Audiobooks are more popular than ever, and are a great way for both established authors and self-published indie writers to increase their
- [BIPOC Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/bipoc-writers-mixer-feb/) - Calling all BIPOC writers in the DMV! Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to meet new writers, make new friends, and share your love of the written word. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend,
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-apr2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-dec2026/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-nov2026/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-march2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-march2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2026-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2026-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Ten Pro Tips for Writing Life Stories](https://writer.org/event/ten-pro-tips-for-writing-life-stories-2/) - With ten crucial tips and in-class writing prompts, learn how to capture your life on the page scene...
- [Crafting Compelling Characters](https://writer.org/event/crafting-compelling-characters/) - Fictional characters are the entry point for readers to engage with the worlds that writers create. ...
- [Poem Fundamentals](https://writer.org/event/poem-fundamentals/) - This class aims to teach students how to write poems that surprise with imagery and ingenuity. Sever...
- [It’s All in the Details: Description in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/its-all-in-the-details-description-in-fiction/) - Description is an important element in fiction to orient the reader to setting and characters. But h...
- [Freedom With Forms](https://writer.org/event/freedom-with-forms-5/) - Here’s an opportunity to shed any misconception that poetic forms are only constricting. Inspired by...
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-6/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifest...
- [30 Ways to Market Your Book on a Budget](https://writer.org/event/30-ways-to-market-your-book-on-a-budget-2/) - You’ve written, or are writing your book; now it’s time to fight for it! In this workshop you’ll dis...
- [Playwriting I: The Playwright’s Toolbox](https://writer.org/event/playwriting-i-the-playwrights-toolbox/) - Write your first (or newest) play, break that writers’ block, and unlock your theatrical voice! Duri...
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist-6/) - If you struggle to get your novel written, you aren't alone. Most novelists never complete the story...
- [Mystery Novel for the Novice](https://writer.org/event/mystery-novel-for-the-novice/) - Learn how to differentiate the unique mystery tropes while gaining a better understanding of the exp...
- [Interiority: What Is It and How Do I Do It?](https://writer.org/event/interiority-what-is-it-and-how-do-i-do-it/) - In this one-session workshop we'll dive into the creative writing workshop buzzword "interiority" so...
- [Words that Heal: An Expressive Writing Workshop](https://writer.org/event/words-that-heal-an-expressive-writing-workshop/) - Writing can be both a creative act and a path toward healing. In this workshop, we’ll explore the pr...
- [Poetry as Autobiography](https://writer.org/event/poetry-as-autobiography/) - The autobiographical impulse has always been a strong one in American poetry, but it wasn’t until th...
- [Writing Food & Memories](https://writer.org/event/writing-food-memories/) - Food carries the stories of who we are and where we come from. In this workshop, we’ll explore how t...
- [Sonnet Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/sonnet-crash-course-4/) - Guided by an award-winning and internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other m...
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-6/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still...
- [Poetry Vs. Trauma](https://writer.org/event/poetry-vs-trauma-4/) - Trauma can shut us down; writing poems can help free us to open up again. This workshop will present...
- [Poet Bonnie Naradzay Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/bonnie-naradzay/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Poet Bonnie Naradzay for a reading and discussion of her new collection, Invited to the Feast. Bonnie is in conversation with Poet David Keplinger who will also be reading his own poems. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Bonnie Naradzay’s poems appear in AGNI, New Letters (Pushcart Nomination), RHINO,
- [Let's Write! A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/lets-write-a-generative-workshop-3/) - What is this next story, and how shall I tell it? Using various writing prompts will invite ourselves into new stories, and explore new ways to tell familiar ones. Each week we will write together in response to prompts, and have the option and opportunity to share our fresh writing for positive feedback. We will
- [Writing Poetry Like a Movie](https://writer.org/event/writing-poetry-like-a-movie/) - Imagine your poem as though you held a camera and planned a sequence, choosing what to include “in t...
- [Writing from Deep Emotion](https://writer.org/event/writing-from-deep-emotion/) - When asked about her creative process, the writer Can Xue said: "Emotions are completely unleashed. ...
- [Writing about Family](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-family/) - In this workshop, participants will receive guidance on writing about family relationships, dynamics...
- [Fast Drafting: The Art of Speed and Imperfection](https://writer.org/event/fast-drafting-the-art-of-speed-and-imperfection/) - John Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in less than three days. Kazuo Ishigurodrafted The R...
- [On Duende and Surrealism](https://writer.org/event/on-duende-and-surrealism/) - Participants will be prompted to create literary works inspired by Federico García Lorca’s concept o...
- [How to Get Your Work Accepted at Literary Conferences](https://writer.org/event/how-to-get-your-work-accepted-at-literary-conferences/) - Being invited to read your creative work at a conference is a huge feather in your literary cap. Thi...
- [How to Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/how-to-plot-like-a-pro-4/) - You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an ou...
- [Memoir Year w/ Nicole Chung](https://writer.org/event/memoir-year/) - Work on your memoir with bestselling author Nicole Chung! This intensive workshop is open to writers working on a memoir or memoir-in-essays. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in lively craft discussions, generative exercises, and in-depth workshops designed to help you identify and hone your strengths as a writer. If you have an idea for
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-7/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting...
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-7/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand thei...
- [Book Publishing 101](https://writer.org/event/book-publishing-101-2/) - This class pulls back the curtain on the ins and outs of publishing by walking participants through the component parts of the publishing industry. From the role of literary agents to the dreaded query letter to what an editor’s job is to the different types of publishers (big 5, indie, small press, vanity press, self-publishing) to how authors are paid, this jam-packed class takes a practical approach that will focus on the business side of writing with lots of time for Q&A. Whether you want to know how books come to exist or are simply curious about how this notoriously opaque industry works, this class is for you. Please note: This class will touch on what query letters are and the purpose they serve but this is not a class on how to write query letters. PRIOR PARTICIPANTS SAY: — “A remarkable two hours. That was the very best—and most helpful—presentation on publishing I've ever experienced.” — “Outstanding seminar. Lacey was well prepared, organized, knowledgeable, experienced & responsive. She engaged attendees & provided ample yet structured time for questions.” — “Very helpful and I learned a lot. I liked how she was realistic but hopeful.” — “It’s totally worth the time and money.” — “Absolutely do it if you’re able. I absolutely loved the class and got a ton out of it.”
- [How Do You Pronounce That? A Panel on Non-English Words in English Language Poetry](https://writer.org/event/how-do-you-pronounce-that/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes three poets to discuss their use of non-English words in their English language poetry. Do they italicize? Translate? Footnote? Endnote? Through a craft discussion focused on the poem on the page, the poetry book as a whole and the ideal reader, you’ll leave the panel with some choices and directions for
- [Eric Lichtblau Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/eric-lichtblau/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author Eric Lichtblau for a reading from his new novel, American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Eric Lichtblau is a Washington author and investigative journalist and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. His latest non-fiction book, American
- [Virtual Info Session for The Artist's Way: A Year of Creative Reawakening w/ Lindsey Van Wagner](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-the-artists-way/) - Meet Lindsey Van Wagner, instructor for The Artist's Way: A Year of Creative Reawakening, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: January 11th, 2026 Workshop Dates: Begins February 2026, self-paced with monthly
- [Virtual Info Session for The Novel Year w/ Susan Coll](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-year/) - Meet Susan Coll, instructor for our Novel Year workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: January 9th, 2026 Workshop Dates: Begins January 20th, meeting biweekly for ~10 months Cost: $5,400 | Members
- [Virtual Info Session for Memoir Year w/ Nicole Chung](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-memoir-year/) - Meet Nicole Chung, instructor for our Memoir Year workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: January 24th, 2026 Workshop Dates: Begins February 3rd, meeting biweekly for ~10 months Cost: $5,400 | Members
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-dec-25/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring poets Karren Alenier, Anne Becker, Ellen Cole, Henry Crawford, and M. Mack reading from the anthology, From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons Vol. III, Rooms. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The
- [POSTPONED: Genre Jumper! A Daylong Workshop @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/genre-jumper/) - POSTPONED: Please check back for a new date in the near future. 2 workshops, 2 genres, 2 panels, 1 great day for writers! Genre Jumper is a one-day conference for writers interested in experimenting in multiple genres. You'll attend 2 workshops (one in your primary genre and one in a new/secondary genre) and 2 panels
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Marisa Kashino](https://writer.org/event/marisa-kashino/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Marisa Kashino for a discussion of her new novel, Best Offer Wins. Marisa is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via
- [Allison Ashton Book Release](https://writer.org/event/allison-ashton/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Allison Ashton for a reading from her new publication, Sweet, Spicy, Delicate. Allison is joined in conversation with sexuality educator Lisa M. Orange. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Allison Ashton has thrown herself off a moving train, unknowingly opined about Hillary Clinton to a former investigator of the
- [Writing Picture Books II](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-ii-4/) - You’ve drafted your picture book, what’s the next step? Learn to revise and polish your picture book manuscript before submitting to an agent or publisher. A widely published author and an acclaimed illustrator will lead discussions in pacing, page turns, storyboarding, and visually dramatic storytelling. During this hands-on workshop, writers will be editing their own manuscripts and enhancing their skills as picture book creators. Bring your questions and two double-spaced copies of your picture-book manuscript. Workshop may most benefit those who have taken Writing Picture Books or another picture book class.
- [Francene Hill Book Release](https://writer.org/event/francene-hill/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author Francene Hill as she shares insights from her new biography, Tiny Tots in Tiaras and Tuxedos: The Life, Love, and Business Success of Kermit B. Hill. Francene will read excerpts and discuss how she transformed genealogy records, weather reports, and newspaper clippings into a vivid, creative biography. She will also touch on
- [Natural Meter Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/natural-meter-crash-course-5/) - Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Here’s an opportunity to improve your ear for meter—a major element of poetic prosody—and to fine-tune your understanding of how it works. Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day workshop includes scansion of well-known poems, writing exercises, and, if you like, close examination of a poem you’ve drafted prior to class. You’ll leave with new insights about improving the auditory qualities of all your poems and prose.
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Jonathan Eig](https://writer.org/event/jonathan-eig/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize Winning author Jonathan Eig for a special Black History Month discussion of his Pulitzer Prize Winning biography, King: A life. Jonathan is in conversation with David O. Stewart, historian and board member at The Writer’s Center. RSVP
- [A Conversation with Laura Demaría](https://writer.org/event/laura-demaria/) - The Writer's Center welcomes the Graduate students from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Maryland to a dialogue with Professor Laura Demaría about her recent book, Provincias- Un-Idas: Un itinerario conceptual en el presente (LASA Press, 2025). In the book, the concept of the province unfolds as a theoretical category that
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-5/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for plotting their novels. Using the three-act structure as a map, we will explore the basic components of a novel’s plot.
- [Know Your Competition!](https://writer.org/event/know-your-competition-2/) - For your book to succeed, you must know which books you are competing against. In this interactive workshop, we will look at resources for locating comparable and competing titles, analyze comparable and competing titles, and look at how to use that information to inform your writing as well as in your proposal or query letter. Attendees will walk away with an in-depth understanding of one more piece of the book-publishing puzzle.
- [Author Robert W. Fieseler in Conversation w/ Ronald Collins](https://writer.org/event/robert-w-fieseler/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author Robert W. Fieseler for a reading from his new publication, American Scare, Florida's Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives. Robert is joined by author Ronald Collins. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Robert W. Fieseler is a journalist investigating marginalized groups and a scholar excavating forgotten histories.
- [Novelist Virginia Pye Book Release in Conversation with Mary Kay Zuravleff](https://writer.org/event/virginia-pye/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Virginia Pye for a reading from her new novel, Marriage and Other Monuments. Virginia is joined by award winning writer, Mary Kay Zuravleff. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Virginia Pye’s most recent novel, Marriage and Other Monuments, published by Koehler Books in February, is set in Richmond, Virginia
- [Let's Write! A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/lets-write-a-generative-workshop/) - Each week we will use writing prompts to generate fresh authentic work and invite participants to share their new work for immediate encouraging feedback. In week 2 we will discuss editing strategies that enhance the craft of narrative fiction and nonfiction. Additionally, for weeks 3, 4, and 5 participants are invited to submit one polished piece to the group for more comprehensive feedback.
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Eman Quotah](https://writer.org/event/eman-quotah/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Eman Quotah for a discussion of her new novel, The Night Is Not for You. Eman is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Defining Place: Three Writers Untangle the Research Process](https://writer.org/event/defining-place/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes three DC-area authors to discuss the importance of place in writing! Every place holds stories of past and present. But those stories can be hard to find, especially when so much of history can be covered up or purposefully disappeared. Moderated by writer Moa Short, authors Charlotte Taylor Fryar, Andrea Seiger,
- [Writerly Happy Hour](https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour-4/) - Join us for cocktails at No Kisses Bar to mingle with friends of The Inner Loop, The Writer's Center, DC Writers Room and PEN/Faulkner! Register here »
- [Personal Essays from Start to Finish: 10 Essays in 5 Months!](https://writer.org/event/personalessay-fa23/) - Inspiration, accountability, and the tools you need to get your essays out into the world! Join us for five months of craft lessons, workshops, editor visits, and personal editorial feedback! This small and inclusive class meets weekly, alternating between live Zoom sessions and asynchronous lessons, with the goal of creating an intimate, writer-based community of
- [End of Season Celebration Reading!](https://writer.org/event/end-of-season-reading-jan-26/) - Ever wonder who else is taking classes at The Writer’s Center? Want the chance to hear the work being made in other classes? Meet with Instructors of the coming season’s courses? We invite you to attend our first ever End of Season Celebration, a time to meet and hear work from the participants from the
- [Carving Out a Literary Life: Four Authors on Their Nontraditional Journeys to Publication](https://writer.org/event/carving-out-a-literary-life/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes four recently-published DC-area authors to discuss the inspirations, obstacles, and lessons gleaned on their writing journeys. Each of them has engaged with The Writer’s Center in the course of their careers. The event will include brief readings and ample time for audience questions and discussion. Elizabeth Bruce’s debut story collection, Universally
- [$40 Pop Up! Bite-Sized Horror: How To Write (and Publish!) Freaky Flash Fiction](https://writer.org/event/bite-sized-horror-how-to-write-and-publish-freaky-flash-fiction/) - In this pop-up session, students will learn the essential tools for crafting effective and haunting literary horror flash pieces through lecture and close readings. Experience in writing horror is not required, and in fact if the thought of writing horror “scares” you, it could be just what you need, as the lessons and tools for
- [$40 POP UP: QueryTracker 101](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-querytracker-101/) - QueryTracker is a powerful tool for finding literary agents, sending them queries, and tracking their responses. In this course we’ll cover the basics: search tools, the who-represents-whom tool, and data view options. We’ll also look at cool features that are a little harder to find: pasting in agency/agent notes, flagging agents by priority, and setting
- [POSTPONED: Submit-O-Rama!](https://writer.org/event/submit-o-rama/) - This event has been postponed. Keep an eye out for our new date! Get a jump on submission season while you raise money for The Writer's Center! Each autumn, thousands of lit mags and journals open their portals/queues/websites to read your work. We know that submitting on your own can be a slog, so let’s
- [Personal Essays from Start to Finish: 10 Essays in 6 Months w/ Hannah Grieco](https://writer.org/event/personal-essays-from-start-to-finish/) - Join us for five months of craft lessons, workshops, editor visits, and personal editorial feedback! This small and inclusive class meets bi-weekly on Zoom, with the goal of creating an intimate, writer-based community of essayists who learn and grow together. You’ll read, brainstorm, and write drafts. You’ll explore different essay forms and practice a variety of narrative techniques. You’ll learn tangible self-editing tools, then revise, workshop, and revise some more! You’ll discover the publications you love, whether literary or freelance in nature (or both!), and you’ll create a plan to get those bylines! You’ll receive supportive, thoughtful peer workshop feedback on six drafts. You’ll have three personal one-on-one meetings (with detailed line edits) from your instructor. You’ll meet editors, attend panels, and participate in a final online reading event to celebrate your hard work! You’ll discuss next steps in publication, including how to pitch editors and begin forming a full collection. This workshop is for writers who already have some experience publishing personal essays in either literary or freelance publications. The workshop model will be carefully scaffolded and writer-centric, evolving as the class evolves. Writers will finish the class with ten complete drafts and a path forward for publication.
- [An Evening of Tributes to Percival Everett](https://writer.org/event/percival-everett/) - A Free Fitzgerald Festival Event Co-sponsored with The Writer’s Center The F. Scott Fitzgerald Festival and The Writer’s Center present a reading in tribute to Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novelist Percival Everett. Featuring best-selling author Samuel Ashworth, multiple award-winning novelist Madison Smartt Bell, and acclaimed novelist Afabwaje Kurian, plus concluding remarks by Everett. FREE
- [Teen Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/teen-open-mic-the-writers-center/) - A special Open Mic to uplift the voices and work of the teenagers in our community. Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 1:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 2pm. Limited to 20 readers,
- [Spooky Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-the-writers-center/) - A Halloween-themed night featuring scary/creepy writings. Costumes encouraged. Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored
- [Boot Camp for Writers](https://writer.org/event/boot-camp-for-writers-3/) - Each session of Boot Camp for Writers will begin with a prompt followed by writing time. Participants will have the opportunity to share and discuss their work as well as receive in-class feedback. The workshops is designed so that participants will have the start of six new pieces by the end of class. Former Boot Camp participants are always (and happily) welcome.
- [Show and Tell Intensive](https://writer.org/event/show-and-tell-intensive-4/) - A dynamic workshop on the single most important skill any writer can have. Skilled writers make readers feel and intuit precisely what they want them to by using the technique of showing writing. No other element of craft promises this immediacy and power to bring a work to life. This is how to make a flat passage sing, how to gain your readers’ trust and emotional participation. Through exploration of compelling published examples, exercises, lively discussion, and inspiring instruction, you will learn to elevate your stories to submission-quality prose.
- [Diction for Poets: Choosing the Right Word](https://writer.org/event/diction-for-poets-choosing-the-right-word/) - Diction, or word choice, is crucial to poetry, where every word matters. In this workshop, we will examine what diction is "appropriate" in a poem and why understanding where certain words come from is essential to using them effectively. We will discuss the relationship between diction and tone, the difference between idiom and cliché, and the role that ambiguity can play. We will also talk about “poetic diction” and how to avoid it.
- [Building a Writing Process](https://writer.org/event/building-a-writing-process-2/) - Do you ever think to yourself: “Why is it so hard to get my ideas out of my head and onto the page?” This workshop offers a variety of techniques that help writers develop their ideas and break down barriers to writing. Whether you are a plotter or a pantser, neurotypical or neurodivergent, you will come away understanding your creative process on a deeper level so you can work with it and not against it. You will experiment with different approaches to idea generation, prewriting, outlining, drafting and revising so when you get stuck, you can reach into your toolbox and try a different method. Writers will come away with a rough draft of a personal narrative and a new appreciation for each stage of the writing process.
- [The Muddle in the Middle](https://writer.org/event/the-muddle-in-the-middle-3/) - This quick-take session focuses on ways to get yourself unstuck when a story’s middle gets thorny, or you lose your way. A relaxed, informative 90 minutes chockful of information from a multi-published author who often has to fight her way out of the middle of a manuscript…and onward to a completed novel. Loads of tips and tricks for you to take away!
- [Writing to Heal](https://writer.org/event/writing-to-heal-3/) - Pain is part of life, whether it’s the loss of a job, a pet, a friendship, your innocence, your health, or a loved one. In my case, I've lost a sister to suicide and a son to a heroin overdose. Even though death is a part of life, it need not be crippling or debilitating. In this session, we’ll look at strategies -- including journaling and storytelling -- to help you move forward, through and beyond the pain and into a future that can once again be filled with hope—and even joy. The session includes short writing exercises.
- [Promoting Your Collection of Poetry](https://writer.org/event/promoting-your-collection-of-poetry/) - This workshop will provide ideas and suggestions for promoting your new collection of poetry. Courtney LeBlanc is the author of four full length collections of poetry and for her 3rd collection she went on a self-organized book tour that encompassed 9 months, 18 states, and 64 readings. Not only is this an impressive feat, but she *made money* on her book tour! She'll share her tips and tricks for promoting your work without feeling icky doing it.
- [Organizing a Collection of Poetry](https://writer.org/event/organizing-a-collection-of-poetry/) - This workshop will walk you through how to organize your collection of poetry, offering multiple examples and different techniques to ensure your manuscript is as cohesive and organized as it can be!
- [Publishing Well: Hands-on Advice](https://writer.org/event/publishing-well-hands-on-advice/) - Do you want to get your writing published (in literary journals and as books), but don't know where to start? Are you already publishing but want to publish in more competitive markets? In this workshop we'll learn about the business of submitting to editors of literary journals and presses. We'll also discuss tips for finding appropriate markets for your writing.
- [Creating Backstory & Flashback Scenes](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashback-scenes-2/) - Every character has a hidden history from before your story starts. Learn how to masterfully weave in details and experiences that enrich your characters and create believable motivation. Novelists, short story authors, and creative nonfiction writers will all benefit from these twin skills. You’ll see your writing grow in sophistication and depth
- [Writing the Braided Story](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-braided-story/) - A braided story weaves two or more distinct threads—memories, events, voices, topics, or styles—into one cohesive narrative. The strands speak to one another through juxtaposition, echo, interruption, and surprise. In this workshop you will study published examples, both fiction and nonfiction, create strands of your own, and explore creating your own narrative braid.
- [Literary Translation Basecamp](https://writer.org/event/literary-translation-basecamp/) - Are you bilingual or fluent in two (or more) languages? Are you learning a foreign language? Are you interested in exploring a heritage language you grew up hearing? This informative presentation will provide tips for getting started as a literary translator and include time for questions at the end. From Charles Simic to Robert Bly and Elizabeth Bishop, many poets and writers have also translated significant works from other languages. How does turning a pen toward literary translation enrich a poet's own writing practice? What are some of the practical, cultural, and ethical considerations that translators should consider and what should you know about world language rights and publication before allowing translations of your own verse to go into print? This workshop is open to poets of all levels and backgrounds, as well as to translators working out of any language into English. Presentation includes elements of translation ethics, culture, trauma-informed practice, equity and inclusion, outreach to authors, and publication.
- [Introduction to the Craft and Beauty of Poetry](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-the-craft-and-beauty-of-poetry-2/) - This workshop is for writers looking to begin, or deepen, their exploration of poetry with a focus on craft. Each session is devoted to one aspect of craft—imagery, line, form, voice, etc.—and begins with a chance to share your work aloud (not workshop). Participants learn by discussing great poems, reading short, engaging chapters, and doing fun weekly assignments. One session will be devoted to revision. Please bring a copy of The Poet’s Companion by Addonizio and Laux to the first class.
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension-5/) - Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary fiction into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy—you can learn techniques for drawing readers into your tales through action, dialogue, setting details, and plot twists that make your work stand out from the crowd. Join us and leave with ideas to apply to your stories.
- [Writing Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/writing-personal-essays-3/) - Journeys, relationships, hardships, love, and loss—these are just a few of the subjects personal essays explore. In this workshop we’ll examine essays from magazines, literary journals, and newspapers to illuminate the ways imagery, dialogue, scene, and crafting an “I” narrator transform a personal experience into a compelling story. You’ll generate new material each week through in-class exercises, plus receive in-class feedback on your draft. Note: No meeting November 25.
- [Punctuation: A Poet's Dilemma](https://writer.org/event/punctuation-a-poets-dilemma/) - When it comes to punctuating poems, opinions vary widely. Some poets are as careful and correct as T.S. Eliot, while others, like W.S. Merwin, have gotten rid of punctuation altogether. In this workshop we will discuss what traditional punctuation can achieve and whether syntax and line breaks can be used in its place. We will explore in depth the role played by the period and the comma, and we’ll take a look at some of the more unusual punctuation marks that poets have invented to suit their own purposes. By looking closely at a few poets who turned away from conventional punctuation at some point in their careers, we will be able to judge for ourselves whether and how to punctuate our own poems.
- [Yes, You Can Write a Poem!](https://writer.org/event/yes-you-can-write-a-poem/) - We will circumvent the analytic brain and give imagination a chance to thrive. You can expect to take home three of your own original poems. You will receive helpful prompts for in-class writing exercises with the opportunity to read your writing and receive positive feedback that points the way toward your specific writing talents. Please bring your favorite writing instruments to the workshop, and please look for an email from the instructor the evening before the workshop begins.
- [Evoking Reader Empathy](https://writer.org/event/evoking-reader-empathy-2/) - Even when a story is skillfully crafted, it may not be enough to make the reader care. The key lies in creating an emotional impact that connects them to your narrative—encouraging readers to invest in your characters and embark on their own emotional journeys. We’ll discuss how to avoid clichés and heavy-handed moralizing while determining the right balance of internal thought, scene, and underlying tension. Additionally, we’ll explore how to use an object or image (such as your father’s watch, a specific place, or a work of art) to carry the emotional weight of your story. Through reading examples and participating in short exercises, you will have the opportunity to practice and refine your ability to evoke empathy on the page.
- [Turning Memories into Transformational Stories](https://writer.org/event/turning-memories-into-transformational-stories-3/) - How have your ups and downs, wins and losses shaped your life? Whether you want to write privately or wish to publish, identifying the turning points and themes in your life is an important first step in memoir writing. In this workshop, participants will reflect on the transformational seasons in their lives and associate stories and themes to each one. We will explore the dynamics of character development and narrative arc, and learn techniques to capture universal meaning through personal experiences. You will come away with a timeline technique to uncover life themes and storylines, a bank of memories to serve as writing prompts, and tips for starting a memoir journaling practice.
- [Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/plot-like-a-pro-3/) - You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a well-conceived story around a main character and central conflict, while paying attention to pacing, can make the difference between a finished, publishable manuscript and an abandoned work-in-progress. Plotting provides a safety net that never robs the author of the joy of writing and always reduces revision time
- [Writing Micro Memoir](https://writer.org/event/writing-micro-memoir/) - Write your life story as you lived it, once experience at a time. This interactive workshop teaches writers to distill a moment of change, conflict, contradiction, or mystery, to its essence, so that the impact on the writer resonates profoundly with the reader. We will examine inspiring published examples to learn exactly how the writer moved and entertained us. Using the same tools with which we craft fiction, this workshop is an excellent learning environment for both genres. We'll conclude with a review of where to publish.
- [Writing Picture Books](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-4/) - Learn how to write a picture book from a successful author of thirty award-winning books for children. Each session will begin with a short discussion of an aspect of writing for children, including story openings and arcs, characterization, plot/pacing, rhythm/sound, and marketing. Suggested readings, prompts, and feedback on in-class writing will inspire and guide writers in the class. By the end of the workshop, participants should have written and/or revised part or all of a picture book and have a better sense of how to create one in the future. Feedback will be offered on in-class exercises only rather than workshopping writing done outside of class.
- [$40 Pop Up! Getting Unstuck](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-getting-unstuck/) - Journal techniques are like tools in a writer’s toolbox. Just as a hammer is the right choice for placing a nail in the wall, so a particular journal method can be exactly the right tool to use to advance the dialogue in a story, to help craft the end of a novel, or to create
- [How to Craft a Short Mystery](https://writer.org/event/how-to-craft-a-short-mystery/) - Fans of mystery have the chance to build their own condensed caper using helpful tips and tools by a popular published mystery author.
- [Crafting Fiction, Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element-5/) - By studying basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their writing—be it stories or novels. This 7-week workshop will explore elements (characterization, setting, scene, etc.) one at a time and ask participants to practice them through in-class exercises. We'll also read published stories to help us understand how writers regularly employ these elements. Class members will begin to put the elements together, too, as they start a story. You’ll leave the workshop with the tools you need to write wonderful, authentic fiction.
- [$40 Pop Up! Diction and Etymology](https://writer.org/event/pop-up-diction-and-etymology/) - Choosing the “best” words requires the use of a thesaurus, but also asks the writer to consider origins, etymology, and changes over time. Words from other languages, for instance "canoe" or "turban," demand the same attention. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "language is fossil poetry." A writer can tap into buried or historical meanings of words,
- [Revive & Revise: A Writing Workshop](https://writer.org/event/revive-revise-a-writing-workshop/) - Your story wants readers, but how do you get it to the point where publishers just can't put it down? Through my own twist on the traditional workshop model we will focus on the pacing, intrigue, cause & effect, and general appeal of your story and rework it into the story it always wanted to be. Before the class starts, you should have a short story or novel anywhere from 10-20 pages (double spaced) ready to submit for workshop, and be ready to revise, revise, revise!
- [Book Launch for Poets Geraldine Connolly and Nancy Naomi Carlson](https://writer.org/event/geraldine-connolly-and-nancy-naomi-carlson/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Geraldine Connolly and poet Nancy Naomi Carlson for a reading from their new collections, Instructions at Sunset and translation of French Djiboutian poet, novelist, and essayist Abdourahman A. Waberi collection When We Only Have the Earth, respectively. These wonderful poets will be in conversation with Natasha Sajé. FREE & open to
- [Cafe Muse Literary Salon](https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-oct-25/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring poets Bonnie Naradzay, Michele Wolf, Kim Roberts, and Michael Gushue. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. FREE & open to the
- [Intermediate Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-nonfiction/) - The workshop will allow participants to write non-fiction works in different formats and lengths, from first-person writing to essays and magazine-style pieces.
- [Lessons in Nonfiction Narrative Writing](https://writer.org/event/lessons-in-nonfiction-narrative-writing/) - The workshop will allow beginning writers to learn the building blocks of researching and writing non-fiction works in different formats and lengths, from first-person writing to essays and magazine-style pieces. The only catch: it has to be true.
- [Contracts and Copyrights for Writers](https://writer.org/event/contracts-and-copyrights-for-writers/) - In this one-session workshop, author/lawyer Ken Ackerman covers the basic legal framework of how writers interact with publishers, what copyrights are, why they matter, and how publishing contracts work -- all with an eye toward defending your work in a rough and tumble world.
- [Lee Woodman Book Launch of Colorscapes](https://writer.org/event/lee-woodman/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Lee Woodman for a reading from her new collection, Colorscapes. Lee is joined by Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Lee Woodman is the author of the “Scapes” poetry series (Homescapes, Mindscapes, Lifescapes, Artscapes, and Soulscapes) and
- [Disability Through a Literary Lens](https://writer.org/event/disability-literary-lens/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE symposium addressing the subject of disability in literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing workshops and a panel discussion. Featured writers include Ava Serra, Casey Catherine Moore, Natalie Illum, and Rhonda Zimlich. The symposium concludes with a reception for all attendees. All events are FREE and open to
- [High Octane Grammar](https://writer.org/event/high-octane-grammar-2/) - In this one-session workshop, Ken Ackerman shares his own secrets to get the most out of wordsmithing, using simple rules of grammar to energize your writing like a fine-tuned engine. This workshop includes a refresher on grammar essentials, strong verbs, and sharp sentences to make your writing sing.
- [Writer Maddie Ballard Book Launch in Conversation w/ Betsy Greer](https://writer.org/event/maddie-ballard/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by writer Maddie Ballard to discuss her debut memoir, Patchwork: A Sewist's Diary. Maddie is in conversation with Betsy Greer. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you to
- [Virtual Info Session for Personal Essays from Start to Finish w/ Hannah Grieco](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-hannah-grieco/) - Meet Hannah Grieco, instructor for our Personal Essays from Start to Finish workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: October 27, 2025 Workshop Dates: November 8, 2025 - April 11, 2026, meeting
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Sara Kehaulani Goo](https://writer.org/event/sara-goo/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by author Sara Kehaulani Goo for a discussion of her new memoir, Kuleana. Sara is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Novel Mill w/ Kristen Arnett](https://writer.org/event/novel-mill/) - Write your novel in a year with bestselling author Kristen Arnett! Are you looking for an exciting, fun, collaborative way to get your writing brain into gear? Are you ready to finally sit down and write that novel that you’ve been thinking about forever? Do you wish you had a confident, cheerful writing coach to
- [Poet jason b. crawford in Conversation w/ Poet Abi Pollokoff](https://writer.org/event/jason-b-crawford-abi-pollokoff/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet jason b. crawford for a reading from their new, award winning collection, YEET! jason is joined by poet Abi Pollokoff reading from her debut collection night myths • • before the body. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. jason b. crawford (They/He) born in Washington, DC, and raised
- [Ten Pro Tips for Writing Life Stories](https://writer.org/event/ten-pro-tips-for-writing-life-stories/) - Where do you begin your life story and how do you guarantee it is interesting to others? With ten crucial tips and in-class writing prompts, learn how to capture your life on the page scene by scene. From point-of-entry to transformative conclusion, you will find your story subjects, create tension, and most of all, meaning--- so that the story you tell is the one that most mattered.
- [Novelist Anbara Salam Book Launch in Conversation w/ Rene Denfeld](https://writer.org/event/anbara-salam/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by writer Anbara Salam to discuss her gothic thriller, The Salvage. Anbara is in conversation with best selling novelist Rene Denfeld. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you
- [Building Your Story from the Ground Up](https://writer.org/event/building-your-story-from-the-ground-up/) - In this workshop you’ll learn how to craft engaging stories from scratch, even when you’re starting with no clear ideas. Through interactive exercises and creative techniques, we’ll explore how to tap into your imagination, develop characters, and build narratives that captivate any audience. Whether you’re a novice writer or simply looking to sharpen your storytelling skills, this workshop will equip you with the tools to transform a blank page into a powerful story. Participants will need simply a writing utensil and paper, or their computer.
- [Women Artists of the DMV Opening Reception @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/women-artists-of-the-dmv/) - The largest ever curated fine arts multi-venue show in the United States comes this Fall to 16 art venues in the Greater Washington, DC capital region as curator Florencio Lennox Campello surveys over 400 female artists actively working around the DMV. The Writer's Center's Joram Piatigorsky Gallery will host a portion of the exhibition from
- [Researching and Writing your Family History](https://writer.org/event/researching-and-writing-your-family-history-2/) - Historian/biographer Ken Ackerman shows the nuts and bolts of investigating our family trees, going back generations. He will describe how to use archives, interviews, internet sources, family records, and memories and piece together a multigenerational story. The class is perfect for memoirists, biographers, or people interested to learn where they came from, or how to organize their family knowledge for children or grandchildren.
- [The Art of Description](https://writer.org/event/the-art-of-description/) - Learn the secret to engaging readers with your writing! This six-week interactive class is designed to give you the skills to write rich descriptive sentences and paragraphs that infuse life into your characters and the worlds you create. During this course, you will strengthen your powers of observation through a variety of assigned weekly readings and writing exercises. You’ll also share some of your own writing and enjoy reading the work of other participants. A new lesson will open on Mondays and assignments will be due by the end of each week. After the completion of this course, you’ll have new material that may springboard future stories.
- [Poet Michele Wolf Book Release w/ Margaret McCarthy](https://writer.org/event/michelewolf/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Michele Wolf for a reading from her new collection, Peacocks on the Streets. Michele is joined by poet Margaret McCarthy reading from her collection In The Becoming: Poems On The Deirdre Story, a meditation on a creative woman’s coming to language. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Michele
- [Micro Memoirs: Your Life in Less than 250 Words](https://writer.org/event/micro-memoirs-your-life-in-less-than-250-words/) - Join us to explore the elements of memoir in small manageable bites. We'll read and discuss Micro Memoirs, also called Flash Memoir, (50-250 words) to inspire your own writing and enhance your storytelling skills. Each week, with provided prompts, you’ll write about a variety of incidents, stories, or memories while building specific craft skills (image, metaphor, point of view, rhetorical strategies to address memory “gaps,” and more).
- [Virtual Info Session for Novel Mill w/ Kristen Arnett](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-mill/) - Meet Kristen Arnett, instructor for our Novel Mill workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below! About the Program Application Deadline: September 19, 2025 Workshop Dates: Begins October 1, meeting biweekly for ~10 months Cost: $5,400 | Members
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Writer Steve Majors](https://writer.org/event/steve-majors/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Steve Majors for a discussion of his new collection of essays, Man Made. Steve is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Chelsea Sutton](https://writer.org/event/chelsea-sutton/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Chelsea Sutton for a discussion of her debut novella, Krackle’s Last Movie. Chelsea is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ James R. Gapinski](https://writer.org/event/james-gapinski/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author James R. Gapinski for a discussion of their award-winning debut story collection, The Museum of Future Mistakes. James is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Writing Horror w/ Tracy Cross in Conversation w/ Teri Ellen Cross Davis](https://writer.org/event/tracy-cross/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of horror! We’re joined by Tracy Cross to discuss her new novel, A Gathering of Weapons. Tracy is in conversation with her sister, poet Teri Ellen Cross Davis. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Author Peter Mountford Book Release w/ Karin Tanabe](https://writer.org/event/peter-mountford/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes author Peter Mountford for a reading from his new collection, Detonator. Peter is joined by novelist Karin Tanabe. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Peter Mountford is the author of the novels A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism (winner of the Washington State Book Award in Fiction), and The Dismal Science (a New York
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-6/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of the other novelistic elements, and we will examine the challenge of creating and integrating these various elements into a cohesive and credible whole. Participants will explore the main character(s) in their novels-in-progress.
- [Intermediate Novel Writing: The 8 Cs](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-writing-the-8-cs-3/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eight fundamental elements of the novel to help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your work-in-progress. From Concept to Conclusion, we will study the key components of a novel, with generative and evaluative exercises along the way. Written lessons, curated online resources, and targeted exercises (along with instructor and peer feedback) will help guide you as you continue to draft your novel. (Note: This course is a good follow-up to Tammy Greenwood’s Intro to the Novel workshop.)
- [Sonnet Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/sonnet-crash-course-3/) - Guided by an award-winning and internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, you’ll first read time-honored sonnets to see how and why they work. Next the class will write a group sonnet, and then -- with or without shortcuts -- you’ll start one of your own. You’ll leave with at least one new (draft) or improved sonnet, as well as insights about how writing poems in form can unlock deeper meaning and enhance everything you write.
- [30 Ways to Market Your Book on a Budget](https://writer.org/event/30-ways-to-market-your-book-on-a-budget/) - You’ve written, or are writing your book; now it’s time to fight for it! In this workshop you’ll discover over 30 practical, budget-friendly book marketing strategies, from building a book launch to leveraging social media, blogs, podcasts, Amazon tools, press releases, and more. Each session will be fast-paced, idea-heavy, and packed with real-world tactics you can apply immediately. By the end of the program, you’ll walk away with a personalized, actionable marketing plan and the confidence to promote your book like a pro.
- [Writer GG Renee Hill Book Release](https://writer.org/event/gg-renee-hill/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes writer and long time instructor, GG Renee Hill for a reading from her new publication, Story Work: Field Notes on Self-Discovery and Reclaiming Your Narrative. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. GG Renee Hill is an author whose books have helped thousands of people overcome the emotional obstacles keeping them
- [Lyric A to Z: Exploring Abecedarian Forms in Poetry and Creative Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/lyric-a-to-z-exploring-abecedarian-forms-in-poetry-and-creative-nonfiction/) - Ignite your creative spark using the prompt of the abecedarian form, which works powerfully in both poetry and creative nonfiction. In an “abecedarian,” consecutive lines, sentences, or paragraphs lead with consecutive letters of the alphabet, posing unique opportunities and challenges. We’ll look at examples and identify options for further reading, including book-length projects. Participants will experiment with designing their own abecedarian structures for poems and essays.
- [Writing Long Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-long-fiction/) - If the idea of starting on a novel or novella sounds daunting, or you wish to finally make the move from short fiction to long fiction—this is the class for you! This course is designed to help you launch and advance an outline and rough draft of a novel in 8 weeks. Expect guidance, encouragement, strategy, and development ideas of MFA caliber. Participants will write daily for at least 1 hour, or 7 to 10 hours per week. Classes will include craft lessons, discussions of vision and revision, as well as the chance to share a portion of your work-in-progress with your instructor and peers for fast feedback and first impressions. This is not an 8-week workshop model. It is primarily a generative and project development course that will culminate with submissions for feedback.
- [Writer's Block Unblocked](https://writer.org/event/writers-block-unblocked/) - You want to write. So why can't you get yourself to sit down and do it? We'll start by discussing some of the causes of creative blocks, before moving on to exercises that will help you melt back into your writing. We'll close with a generative writing exercise. You'll leave with tactics you can implement whenever you start to feel stuck, so you can finally do the writing you want to do!
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Advocacy with Pedro R. Pierluisi & Mark A. Cymrot](https://writer.org/event/pierluisi-cymrot/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of advocacy! We’re joined by former Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi and author/attorney Mark A. Cymrot for a candid discussion of writing and speaking for a cause. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-5/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Students will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a great half-day session for the beginning long-form fiction writer, or for the more experienced author in need of a quick strategy brush-up.
- [Is Self-Publishing Right for You?](https://writer.org/event/is-self-publishing-right-for-you-2/) - You have many options for publishing your work. Which one is best for you and your book? In this class we will explore self-publishing, hybrid, and alternative routes to publication: collaborating with a nonprofit and work-for-hire. We will set goals and evaluate the assets we bring to the publishing process to see how those affect available options for publishing. Attendees will walk away knowing what it takes to succeed in these varied and exciting routes to publication.
- [Reading Your Work Out Loud](https://writer.org/event/reading-your-work-out-loud-4/) - Spend an evening practicing and learning about the art of public speaking. This in-person coaching session will give you the opportunity to bring your voice– and self– to the words you’ve written. You’ll learn how to become a more genuine and effective communicator of your work, which will in turn fuel a more authentic writing process and outcome. You’ll leave the workshop with an experience of camaraderie, community, and a more deeply rooted sense of your creative and expressive self. Please have on hand a number of pieces you’d be comfortable sharing during the meeting. There will be a break; please also bring a snack and water.
- [Getting Your Poetry Published](https://writer.org/event/getting-your-poetry-published-2/) - This intensive one-day workshop will offer all poets—whether they have yet to submit their first poem to a literary journal or are ready to present a publisher with a book-length manuscript—hands-on advice on how to achieve their publishing goals. Participants will learn how to place poems in print and online journals, why anthologies are such an appealing platform, how to publish chapbooks and books, the pros and cons of contests, the etiquette of poetry submission, ways to develop a poetry network, and how to keep morale high while facing rejection in a highly competitive field
- [Write the Day](https://writer.org/event/write-the-day/) - You will transform your day into poetry and fiction. You will make poems and stories from everyday details of your life.
- [Fall Equinox Writing Workshop](https://writer.org/event/fall-equinox-writing-workshop/) - Step into the season of change and use the power of writing to reflect, realign, and begin again. In this Fall Equinox-inspired workshop, we’ll explore personal transformation through themed prompts that mirror the seasonal cycle—harvesting growth, shedding what no longer serves, and writing into what’s next. Explore personal transformation grounding reflection and intentional writing. Supportive discussion provides space to write freely and deeply. Walk away with several pieces of intuitive writing, a clearer sense of what you're ready to let go, and a written intention to carry into the season ahead. Please bring a journal or notebook and a pen.
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-5/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Learn what Kathryn Johnson's Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We'll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use to complete their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Become the dedicated author you've always dreamed of being. (Ideal for writers who don’t have 8 weeks to dedicate to the Extreme Novelist course.)
- [Mapping Strategies for Story Structure](https://writer.org/event/mapping-strategies-for-story-structure-3/) - There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for story structure. Let’s discuss a plan that works for you. We’ll examine your story’s strengths and weaknesses, focusing on both the destination and the journey. Does your narrative feature a compelling character arc, a strong point of entry, well-placed flashbacks, a transformative and resonant ending, and will readers care? We will use maps, sketches, and diagrams, emphasizing the importance of revising your initial plan as your story evolves. Bring your specific idea for a short story, memoir, or novel.
- [Enrich Your Poems with Metaphor and Simile](https://writer.org/event/enrich-your-poems-with-metaphor-and-simile/) - This class aims to restore Metaphor and Simile to prominence in the writing of contemporary poems. In the first two weeks we'll run exercises in class and for homework on generating metaphor/simile pairs. For the next two weeks, metaphor and simile will be either added to a previously written poem, or a new one generated using them. FInally, we'll work on extending metaphor and building a new poem around such an extended metaphor.
- [Writing Borders & Identity](https://writer.org/event/writing-borders-identity/) - Discover the power of storytelling to map the borders we cross and the identities we claim. Each week, participants will read and discuss short creative works that explore migration, place, and belonging, followed by guided writing exercises designed to spark personal narrative, poetry, and hybrid experimentation. The workshop will blend group discussion, generative prompts, and peer feedback to create a supportive and imaginative writing space. By the end of the course, participants will have crafted a small portfolio of original pieces reflecting on borders—both real and metaphorical—and the identities that shape their voice. Please bring a notebook or device to write on, and be ready to share a short introduction and a place or memory that feels important to your identity for the first session.
- [Finding Your Authentic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-authentic-voice-4/) - Look beyond your inner critic and tap into the flow of your limitless creativity, as you discover the powerful impact of your authentic voice. Learn how to identify limiting beliefs, deconstruct doubt, and write compelling pieces to foster a special connection with your readers. In a safe and supportive space, reintroduce your childlike wonder around creativity so you can write freely, reclaim your power, and uncover your true gifts. Unleash your brilliance and honor the impact of your stories, lessons, and innermost thoughts. Walk away feeling empowered with fresh awareness, confidence in your writing, and practical tips to stay inspired and let your art flow freely. Agenda for each session: Lesson and outline for the week Writing prompts Discussing the process and what came up while weaving in course content Practical tools What to expect in the next class Week 1: Identifying limiting beliefs and recognizing the perils of comparison Working through core fears, insecurity, and other causes of writer’s block Develop a better understanding of self and minimize shame Week 2: How to lean into vulnerability to foster connection with your readers Fusing universal themes with specificity to write compelling pieces Complete a first draft of a short piece to be completed by the end of the course Learn the importance of building a writing community and support system Week 3: Mental frameworks to actualize your power and tap into your limitless Spirit Letting your art flow freely Healthy habits to stay inspired The difference in creation and revision Trusting the process Week 4: Maintaining a balanced inner space to put forth your best work Staying inspired and remaining true to your path Read your final draft out loud Discuss main themes and takeaways
- [Elements of Poetry Writing Workshop](https://writer.org/event/elements-of-poetry-writing-workshop/) - Get started on your way toward writing wonderful poetry! This class aims to describe and explain a different poetry element each week. It also will allow students to workshop their poems throughout the class. Each class will include a reading of 1-2 poems, discussion of a poetry element in regards to them, and some workshopping of poems. At the end of the class each participant should have 2-3 poem drafts written that are on their way toward revision.
- [Novel 101: How to Craft the Story](https://writer.org/event/novel-101-how-to-craft-the-story-3/) - If you’ve always wanted to create your own exciting novel then this is the class for you. The class offers the key concepts of plotting and pacing while delving into different genres. Beginners have the opportunity to share their works with the class while also building confidence in their craft. Short homework assignments will encourage practice outside of assigned class hours. Students will leave with an evolved sense of fiction and the tools necessary to continue writing their own story.
- [$40 Pop Up! How Architecture Amplifies Horror](https://writer.org/event/how-architecture-amplifies-horror/) - This pop up session explores how architectural elements in literature reflect and intensify horror, tracing a path from Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher to contemporary works like In the Dream House and Model Home. The talk incorporates a visual presentation, handouts, close readings, and discussion prompts designed to spark fresh thinking around horror and setting. Students
- [$40 Pop Up! Collage Poetry](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-collage-poetry/) - How to tell your story in pieces Create physical / digital collage poems representing your personal journey(s), origin stories, and / or future aspirations using found imagery and text. This hands-on workshop encourages creative inquiry, experimentation and expression through the art of collaging. Source, sort, and assemble with generative prompt questions in mind. Supplies: Digital:
- [Journaling Techniques for Writing Memories](https://writer.org/event/journaling-techniques-for-writing-memories-2025/) - Use your journaling practice to mine your memories for writing projects. This workshop is about the pursuit of insight through writing personal memories. Whether you currently keep a journal or want to start journaling to nurture a consistent writing practice, in this two-day workshop you will learn journaling techniques that help you recall significant memories
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-6/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc.) but the emphasis will be on discovering the writing process that works best for each writer.
- [Crafting the Short Story](https://writer.org/event/crafting-the-short-story/) - What brings a short story to life? We’ll investigate this question by paying close attention to craft elements—the nuts-and-bolts of storytelling—in participants’ work and in published fiction. Each week, we’ll zoom in on a different aspect of the form such as plot, character, dialogue, place, or point of view. Together, we’ll explore the vast and varied potential of the short story, reading across eras and styles to expand the horizons of our own work. Participants will submit at least one short story for peer and instructor feedback during the workshop. As time allows, we’ll also do in-class writing exercises and read essays on the craft of fiction writing and art of revision.
- [Introduction to Art Journaling](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-art-journaling-3/) - Using quotes, poems and/or personal reflections, students will combine words with easy to follow art techniques to create an art journal reflecting their own personal style. *Students should bring to all classes a blank watercolor journal, 8x8 or larger. All other art materials used in class will be provided by instructor. (*For questions about what type of journal to purchase, please email instructor at: jwstudio@msn.com)
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-6/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise your own novel without the assistance of a professional editor.
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelists Lacey N. Dunham & Laura Venita Green](https://writer.org/event/dunham-green/) - Just in time for Halloween, the Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing gothic and horror-adjacent fiction! Gothic fiction frequently blends realism with the otherworldly through the presence of doppelgangers, ghosts, the uncanny, and atmospheric prose that elicits dread and unease. We’re joined by authors Lacey N. Dunham and Laura
- [End of Season Celebration Reading!](https://writer.org/event/esc-reading-august2025/) - Ever wonder who else is taking classes at The Writer’s Center? Want the chance to hear the work being made in other classes? Meet with Instructors of the coming season’s courses? We invite you to attend our first ever End of Season Celebration, a time to meet and hear work from the participants from the
- [Perfect and Publish Your Fiction](https://writer.org/event/perfect-and-publish-your-fiction/) - Learn when your fiction is ready to be submitted, how to get it ready for publication and tricks to get it published. Is your short story, flash fiction, novella, or novel ready to be submitted and published? How do you polish it so it's as perfect as it could be? Do you need an agent
- [More Short Poems](https://writer.org/event/more-short-poems/) - Short poems can say it all! A continuation of the popular class, "big things in small packages," though it's also open to those who haven't yet taken that class. We will explore the possibilities of saying a lot in a very few words. You will read a number of short poems, learn some new forms,
- [Get Published](https://writer.org/event/get-published/) - Ready to turn your manuscript into a published book? Join this interactive class to get expert guidance, insider tips, and the support you need to navigate the publishing world—designed especially for women authors. Demystify the path to publishing and get expert answers to your biggest book publishing questions—all in one hour. Led by founder Emily
- [$40 Pop Up! Let the Soft Animals Speak: Writing the Wild with Craft and Care](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-let-the-soft-animals-speak-writing-the-wild-with-craft-and-care/) - When Mary Oliver tells us to let the soft animal of [our bodies] love what [they] love, we know exactly what she means. But how does she engage the natural world to create pieces that linger on our tongues and in our hearts, and how can we endeavor to do the same? In this workshop, our
- [Hispanic Heritage Month Panel, Chisme and Chapters: Navigating Family Expectations](https://writer.org/event/chisme-and-chapters/) - Join us for a candid conversation moderated by Adrian Gaston Garcia (aka AGG) about the unspoken rules, cultural pressures, and heartfelt desires that shape our lives and the stories we tell. In "Chisme and Chapters," we bring together authors Anna Lapera (Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice), Ursula Villarreal-Moura (Like Happiness), and Diana Rojas (Litany of Saints) to
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Kathleen Barber in Conversation w/ Suzanne Park](https://writer.org/event/kathleen-barber/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Kathleen Barber to discuss her new novel, Both Things Are True. Kathleen is in conversation with Suzanne Park. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We
- [Novelist Terri Lewis Book Release in Conversation with Barbara Esstman](https://writer.org/event/terri-lewis/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Terri Lewis for a reading from her debut novel, Behold the Bird in Flight. Terri is joined by writer and former Writer Center instructor, Barbara Esstman, in conversation about the power of literary community and how lessons become craft. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Before she fell
- [Poet Shaheen Dil Book Release w/ Grace Cavalieri, Holly Karapetkova & Lyubomir Nikolov](https://writer.org/event/shaheen-dil/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Shaheen Dil for a reading of her new collection, Letters to My Younger Self. Shaheen is joined by poets Grace Cavalieri, Holly Karapetkova, and Lyubomir Nikolov. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Grace Cavalieri is an award-winning poet, playwright, and radio host of the Library of Congress program
- [Reading and Celebration of Stanley Plumly](https://writer.org/event/stanley-plumly/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes students, colleagues and friends for a celebration of Stanley Plumly with a reading from Collected Poems of Stanley Plumly! Featuring readings and stories from poets Caroline Barnes, Julie Brigham, Ellen Cole, Joanne Rocky Delaplaine, Margaret Flaherty, Majda Gama, Jason Gebhardt, Claire McGoff, Pamela Murray Winters, Bonnie Naradzay, Susan Okie, Martin Shapiro,
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Susan Coll](https://writer.org/event/susan-coll/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Susan Coll for a discussion of her new novel, The Literati. Susan is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Search Party: Find Your Writing Group](https://writer.org/event/search-party/) - Looking for a writing group? We want to help you meet other interested writers! The Writer's Center and The Inner Loop invite you to Search Party, a social event connecting writers to other writers interested in forming/joining a writing group. Simply show up, fill out a nametag with your genres and other areas of interest,
- [Search Party: Find Your Writing Group](https://writer.org/event/search-party-fa24/) - Looking for a writing group? We want to help you meet other interested writers! The Writer's Center and The Inner Loop invite you to Search Party, a social event connecting writers to other writers interested in forming/joining a writing group. Simply show up, fill out a nametag with your genres and other areas of interest,
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-jul2025/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Writing Your Story From Scratch](https://writer.org/event/writing-your-story-from-scratch/) - Discover how to create compelling stories from scratch, using simple techniques to unlock your imagination and bring ideas to life. In this workshop you’ll learn how to craft engaging stories from scratch, even when you’re starting with no clear ideas. Through interactive exercises and creative techniques, we’ll explore how to tap into your imagination, develop
- [America's Future: poetry & prose in response to tomorrow](https://writer.org/event/americas-future/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes contributors to Washington Writers' Publishing House's 50th anniversary anthology, America's Future: poetry & prose in response to tomorrow, for a virtual reading of their work. Featuring K. Avvirin Berlin, Myna Chang, Donald Illich, G.R. Kramer, Mary Ann Larkin, Chanlee Luu, Kathleen O'Toole, Patric Pepper, Leona Sevick, Gregg Shapiro, Laura-Gray Street, Claudia Wair,
- [Poet Chet’la Sebree in Conversation w/ Lillian-Yvonne Bertram](https://writer.org/event/chetla-sebree/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes award-winning poet Chet’la Sebree for a reading and discussion of her new collection, Blue Opening. Chet'la is in conversation with Lillian-Yvonne Bertram. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Chet’la Sebree is the author of Field Study, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Mistress. Raised
- [The Muddle in the Middle](https://writer.org/event/the-muddle-in-the-middle-2/) - Story middles are author traps—discover how to avoid them! This quick-take session focuses on ways to get yourself unstuck when a story’s middle gets thorny, or you lose your way. A relaxed, informative 90 minutes chockful of information from a multi-published author who often has to fight her way out of the middle of a
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Jennifer Givhan](https://writer.org/event/jennifer-givhan/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Jennifer Givhan for a discussion of her new novel, Salt Bones. Jennifer is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Mary Ardery](https://writer.org/event/mary-ardery/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Mary Ardery to discuss her debut collection, Level Watch. Mary is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom).
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Heather Christle](https://writer.org/event/heather-christle/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Heather Christle to discuss her new collection, Paper Crown. Heather is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [$40 Pop-Up: Persona Poems](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-persona-poems/) - This Persona Poem Pop-Up will help writers get started on making their own persona poems. Part of the class will be lecture/discussion of what makes a good persona poem and what to avoid. The class will also feature discussion of 2-3 contemporary persona poems, concerning how they work and succeed and what students can learn
- [So, You Want to Write a Book?](https://writer.org/event/so-you-want-to-write-a-book-2/) - Learn the elements of writing a book of any genre, and walk away with a basic understanding of the overall process from start to finish. Do you feel called to write a book? Is there something important that you have always wanted to say but need help organizing the ideas in your mind? No matter
- [Memoir Maker w/ Diane Zinna](https://writer.org/event/memoir-maker/) - Write your memoir in 9 months! If you're finally ready to write the memoir of your heart, we invite you to join longtime writing teacher and author Diane Zinna for her new class, Memoir Maker. This will be Diane’s 12th time leading a book-in-a-year course, which has helped bring so many writers to a finished
- [Opening Art Reception for Mark Cymrot's “Around the World in 50 years with Photography”](https://writer.org/event/cymrot/) - The Writer’s Center is pleased to present “Around the World in 50 years with Photography,” an exhibition of photographs by Mark A. Cymrot, on display in the Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery, July 3 – August 26, 2025. The proceeds of all photograph sales will be contributed to the Center. FREE & open to the public.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Melissa Febos](https://writer.org/event/melissa-febos/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of memoir! We’re joined by bestselling author Melissa Febos to discuss her new memoir, The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex. Melissa is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet, author, and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal.
- [Writing About Sex and God](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-sex-and-god/) - Sex can just be sex. And while it doesn’t have to be a spiritual experience, there's no denying that for many poets, there are transcendent moments when sex and the sacred touch each other. Sometimes that touch is gentle, and intimate. Sometimes that touch is overwhelming, or even grotesque in its unexpectedness. But either way,
- [Ekphrasis: Writing from Art](https://writer.org/event/ekphrasis-writing-from-art/) - Explore the intersection of literary and visual arts. The ancient art of ekphrastic writing, writing that responds to art, is more relevant than ever in the visual culture that surrounds us today. In this workshop, writers will be introduced to the literary possibilities unlocked by engaging with visual art. The workshop will explain this approach,
- [$40 Pop Up! Secondary Characters in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-secondary-characters-in-fiction/) - Secondary characters in novels can provide greater opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of our protagonists. As readers we learn about characters through their thoughts and words, but also through other people’s responses to them. In this class, we will explore how secondary characters can help you reveal the truer nature of your main character
- [Food Memoir Writing with Recipes](https://writer.org/event/food-memoir-writing-with-recipes/) - Craft recipes as part of a food essay or memoir! This workshop is open to all levels of writers – the only requirement is to have a passion for food – whether growing, harvesting, preparing, or eating. For some, growing food or cooking represents a career choice. For others, preparing a meal or spending an
- [Sarah Kay Poetry Performance and Conversation w/ Clint Smith](https://writer.org/event/sarah-kay/) - Wonderland Books presents an exclusive event at The Writer's Center! Beloved spoken word poet Sarah Kay will be in performance and in conversation with award-winning writer and poet Clint Smith. Kay brings her long-awaited second full-length poetry collection, A Little Daylight Left, a decade after her acclaimed debut No Matter the Wreckage. Registration required. Click here to
- [Virtual Reading w/ Poets Catherine Arnold & Richard Smith](https://writer.org/event/arnold-smith/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poets Catherine Arnold (The Apple Tree) and Richard Smith (Beyond Where Words Can Go) for a virtual reading. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Catherine Arnold grew up in Cheshire, in the northwest of England. Having fallen in love with painting, she moved to the United States to study at
- [Virtual Craft Chat w/ Hannah Grieco & Alina Stefanescu](https://writer.org/event/grieco-stefanescu/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by fiction writer Hannah Grieco and poet Alina Stefanescu for a cross-genre discussion about their new collections. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern. We encourage you
- [Memoir Maker w/ Diane Zinna](https://writer.org/event/memoir-maker-2/) - Write your memoir in 9 months! If you're finally ready to write the memoir of your heart, we invite you to join longtime writing teacher and author Diane Zinna for her new class, Memoir Maker. This will be Diane’s 12th time leading a book-in-a-year course, which has helped bring so many writers to a finished
- [Washington Writers' Publishing House 50th Anniversary Celebration](https://writer.org/event/wwph50/) - The Writer's Center welcomes Washington Writers' Publishing House for a celebration of the press's 50th anniversary! Featuring readings from Grace Cavalieri (founder of WWPH), E. Ethelbert Miller, Kathleen Wheaton, Erika Raskin, Jacob Budenz, and more! Hosted by Caroline Bock & Jona Colson, co-presidents. 3:00-4:30pm Theater Welcome & Select Readings from America’s Future: poetry & prose
- [Creating & Writing Your First Original TV Pilot](https://writer.org/event/creating-writing-your-first-original-tv-pilot/) - Learn how to write for television and develop your concept into a professional first draft. Applicable to comedy, drama, and reality, this unique course is designed for creative aspiring writers with no prior experience—as well as those with screenwriting experience—who seek to break into television writing. Learn in an interactive environment the basics of creating,
- [Short Fiction Intensive Reading hosted by R. O. Kwon](https://writer.org/event/short-fiction-intensive-reading/) - The Writer's Center welcomes five participants from R. O. Kwon's Short Fiction Intensive for a virtual reading of work produced in the workshop. Featured readers: Margaret Chmiel, Blue Guldal, Alice Kim Hawari, Brent King, and Sergio Muro. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Marjee Chmiel is a writer, researcher, and documentarian who lives
- [Micro-Memoir](https://writer.org/event/micro-memoir/) - Write three linked micro-memoirs in this generative workshop. Develop up to three micro memoirs (short, short stories of 250 words or less) via prompts and exercises to craft your stories. In-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD. In this workshop you’ll learn: Structure & Plot Concrete Detail
- [Memoirist Johnisha Matthews Levi in Conversation w/ Bernardine (Dine) Watson](https://writer.org/event/johnisha-matthews-levi/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Johnisha Matthews Levi for a reading and discussion of her new memoir, Number's Up: Cracking the Code of an American Family. Johnisha is in conversation with DC author Bernardine (Dine) Watson. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Johnisha Matthews Levi is a nonprofit development professional and former litigation attorney. Her
- [Virtual Info Session for Novel Year with Mathangi Subramanian](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-year-with-mathangi-subramanian/) - Meet Mathangi Subramanian, instructor for our Novel Year workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. The info session is free and open to all interested writers. About the Program Application Deadline: July 28,
- [New Verse Review Reading](https://writer.org/event/new-verse/) - New Verse Review: A Journal of Lyric and Narrative Poetry is an online journal committed to renewing the ancient affinities among poetry, song, and story. This reading features four prominent poets who have published in NVR. Ned Balbo holds degrees from Vassar, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His books are
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Emily St. James](https://writer.org/event/emily-st-james/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author and cultural critic Emily St. James for a discussion of her debut novel, Woodworking. Emily is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are
- [Vulnerability in Personal Storytelling](https://writer.org/event/vulnerability-in-personal-storytelling-4/) - Explore the therapeutic benefits of writing with vulnerability while developing ideas for writing projects. We will explore self-healing and cathartic storytelling through writing. We will look at our lived experiences to find meaning and wisdom through the expressive writing method, a well-researched practice that leads to creative expansion and healing narratives for adversity, trauma, grief,
- [$40 Pop Up! Enchanted Objects in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/pop-up-enchanted-objects-in-fiction/) - Objects are the understated laborers in fiction. Capable of revealing character, escalating a narrative, carrying metaphorical weight, and speaking to a cultural inheritance, objects wear many hats in even short works of prose. Yet the potential in utilizing objects isn’t always at the forefront of a writer’s mind. In this Pop-Up Workshop, we will celebrate
- [Playwrights' Staged Reading Showcase - Session 2](https://writer.org/event/playwrights-showcase-2/) - The Writer's Center welcomes playwrights Tyrone Colbert, Deryl Davis, and Charles Jones for staged readings of their new plays! 2:00pm “Charlie’s Year” Historical figures come to life as flamboyant art historian Bendor Grosvenor sets out to uncover the truth behind a series of paintings about Scottish romantic hero Bonnie Prince Charlie. 3:00pm “The Waiting Room”
- [Playwrights' Staged Reading Showcase - Session 1](https://writer.org/event/playwrights-showcase-1/) - The Writer's Center welcomes playwrights Steve Majors and Charles Jones for staged readings of their new plays! 2:00pm “American Gothik” In a rural Black home held together by half-truths and patchwork love, a boy must piece together who he is before the whole house of cards comes down. 3:00pm “Finding Home” Haunted by war and
- [Scrabble for Scholarships](https://writer.org/event/scrabble/) - Play Scrabble, win prizes, and support scholarships for writers! The Writer's Center presents the return of Scrabble for Scholarships, a fundraiser for our scholarship funds, providing financial assistance for writers to attend our workshops. Scrabble for Scholarships is a party, plus all attendees are encouraged to join in one round (or more!) of Speed Scrabble
- [Speed Scrabble for Scholarships](https://writer.org/event/scrabble24/) - Play Scrabble, win prizes, and support scholarships for writers! The Writer's Center presents the return of Speed Scrabble for Scholarships, a fundraiser for the Ann McLaughlin Scholarship Fund, providing financial assistance for writers to attend our workshops. Speed Scrabble for Scholarships is a party, plus all attendees are encouraged to join in one round (or
- [$40 Pop Up! Writing the Flamenca](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-writing-the-flamenca/) - Learn to write the Flamenca, a poetic form resembling the rhythms of Flamenco, with award-winning poet María Fernanda. The Flamenca is a cinquian (or a five-line stanza) with defined assonant and syllabic structures. Participants will learn the technique of the original Flamenca literary form, which is defined as mimicking the “clicking” of the flamenco dancer’s
- [$40 Pop Up! Scrivener for Writers & Poets ](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-scrivener-for-writers-poets/) - Learn about the basics of using the program Scrivener to best organize your ideas, as well as outline and draft efficiently. We’ll cover the basic features of the program, as well as ideas and strategies for best using this tool as a poet or fiction writer.
- [A Farewell for Margaret!](https://writer.org/event/a-farewell-for-margaret/) - As she prepares for retirement, help us celebrate Margaret Meleney's leadership and legacy as Executive Director of The Writer's Center! Drinks and snacks for all! Please RSVP below.
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-nov2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [10 Prompts to Kickstart Your Summer Writing](https://writer.org/event/10-prompts-to-kickstart-your-summer-writing/) - Dive into the depths of water imagery as we explore various art forms, revealing layers of emotion, themes, and universal truths that equip you to craft stories resonating deeply with readers. Guided by water imagery, this workshop aims to inspire you to imbue your writing with emotional depth. By examining your responses to various visual
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-dec2025/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-nov2025/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Sienna Liu](https://writer.org/event/sienna-liu/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of memoir! We’re joined by Sienna Liu to discuss her new book-length essay, Specimen. Sienna is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Keetje Kuipers](https://writer.org/event/keetje-kuipers/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Keetje Kuipers to discuss her new collection, Lonely Women Make Good Lovers. Keetje is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-june2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Poets Michael Gushue & Kim Roberts Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/gushue-roberts/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Michael Gushue and Kim Roberts to celebrate the release of their collaborative poetry collection, Q&A for the End of the World. Book signing to follow. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Michael Gushue has been published in journals such as the Indiana Review, Third Coast, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Gargoyle, and American Letters and Commentary. His
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-june2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with First Novel Prize Winner Jade Song](https://writer.org/event/jade-song/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Jade Song, winner of the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize for their debut, Chlorine. Jade is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Author Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://writer.org/event/viet-thanh-nguyen/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss his new book, To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other. Viet is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [Memoirist Hannah Stowe Virtual Paperback Launch in Conversation with Sonja Swift ](https://writer.org/event/hannah-stowe/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual paperback launch! We’re joined by nature writer Hannah Stowe to discuss her memoir, Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea, now available in paperback. Hannah is in conversation with Sonja Swift. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Reading and Discussion with Poets Steven Leyva & Holly Karapetkova](https://writer.org/event/leyva-karapetkova/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poets Steven Leyva and Holly Karapetkova for a reading and discussion to celebrate their new books. Steven Leyva was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 2 Bridges Review, Scalawag, Nashville Review, jubilat, Vinyl, Prairie Schooner, and Best American Poetry 2020. He is a Cave Canem fellow
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Poetry Reading with Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Brandel France de Bravo & Jennifer Martelli](https://writer.org/event/bacon-france-de-bravo-martelli/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poets Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Brandel France de Bravo, and Jennifer Martelli for a reading from their latest collections. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Subhaga Crystal Bacon (they/them), is the author of four collections of poetry including the Lambda Literary finalist, Transitory, 2023, winner of the BOA Editions, Ltd. Isabella Gardner Award
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Flash Fiction with Avitus B. Carle](https://writer.org/event/avitus-b-carle/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of flash fiction! We’re joined by Avitus B. Carle to discuss her debut collection, These Worn Bodies. Avitus is in conversation with Hannah Grieco, author and TWC instructor. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Poet Michele Evans Reading, Discussion & Open Mic](https://writer.org/event/michele-evans/) - Join Michele Evans for a reading and discussion of purl, her debut poetry collection from Finishing Line Press. Afterwards, Michele will host an open mic. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Michele Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian (D.C.), is a writer, teacher, and adviser for Unbound, an award-winning Northern Virginia high school literary magazine. This Pushcart
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Varun Gauri](https://writer.org/event/varun-gauri/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Varun Gauri to discuss his debut novel, For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus. Varun is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Poetry Demystified](https://writer.org/event/poetry-demystified/) - Wield the tools of poetry with confidence! Poety's magic is for everyone. Join this workshop that uses plain language to explain the tools of writing poetry. By considering the fundamentals that contemporary poetry values, writers can approach any genre of writing with a more lyrical command of language. Participants will leave with the seeds of
- [Memoir Year w/ Edgar Gomez](https://writer.org/event/memoir-year-edgar-gomez/) - Write your memoir with award-winning author Edgar Gomez! In this intensive, you will learn about the art of creative nonfiction and be given the tools to ready your memoir or memoir-in-essays for publication. Format We will begin our time together with discussions about essential craft elements, such as structure, voice, audience, setting, characterization, navigating time,
- [Fabulous First Pages](https://writer.org/event/fabulous-first-pages-2/) - Learn how to write the first pages of your novel or memoir in a way that will immediately capture reader, agent, and editor attention. These days, readers and agents often won't read past a book's first page if it's not grabbing their attention. This means your first page is probably the most important page of
- [Writerly Happy Hour](https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour-3/) - Join us for cocktails at No Kisses Bar to mingle with friends of The Inner Loop, The Writer's Center, DC Writers Room and PEN/Faulkner! Register here »
- [Memoirist Katie Goh Virtual Book Launch in Conversation w/ Shze-Hui Tjoa](https://writer.org/event/katie-goh/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by author Katie Goh to discuss her debut memoir, Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange. Katie is in conversation with memoirist Shze-Hui Tjoa. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times
- [Writing Compelling Historical Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-compelling-historical-fiction-4/) - Make your book come alive! The D.C. area is rich with history, and the resources to explore it. This four-week virtual course will be a collaborative workshop that will teach participants a variety of techniques to find what they’re looking for and work it into a gripping and informative novel. At the final session, participants
- [Caregiving & Parenting Through a Literary Lens](https://writer.org/event/caregiving-literary-lens/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE symposium addressing the subject of caregiving (including parenting, eldercare, and other ways we give care to the world) in literature and popular culture, offering a short film screening, free creative writing workshops, and a panel discussion. Featured writers include Hannah Grieco, Steve Majors, Seema Reza, and John Vercher. The
- [Novel Year w/ Julia Phillips](https://writer.org/event/novel-year-julia-phillips/) - Write your novel with bestselling author Julia Phillips! This 10-month intensive class is open to writers working on a book-length work of fiction. It focuses on creating a propulsive story that is truly satisfying for the reader. Together, we’ll explore the different aspects of craft that help make a thrilling, fulfilling novel, including stakes, characterization,
- [Virtual Info Session for Novel Year w/ Julia Phillips](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-novel-year-w-julia-phillips/) - Meet Julia Phillips, instructor for our Novel Year workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. Info session free and open to all interested writers. About the Program Application Deadline: May 2, 2025 Workshop Dates:
- [Micro Memoir How-to](https://writer.org/event/micro-memoir-how-to/) - Write your life story as you lived it, one experience at a time. This interactive workshop teaches writers to distill a moment of change, conflict, contradiction, or mystery to its essence, so that the impact on the writer resonates profoundly with the reader. We will examine inspiring published examples to learn exactly how the writer moved and entertained us. Using the same tools with which we craft fiction, this workshop is an excellent learning environment for both genres. We'll conclude with a review of where to publish.
- [Sonnet Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/sonnet-crash-course-2025/) - What is special about the sonnet? Guided by an award-winning and internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, you’ll first read time-honored sonnets to see how and why they work. Next the class will write a group sonnet, and then -- with or without shortcuts -- you’ll start one of your own.
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news-2025/) - Become concise as news, precise as law. Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise,
- [Natural Meter Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/natural-meter-crash-course-2025/) - Strengthen your poetry by understanding how meter interacts with the natural rhythms of speech Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Here’s an opportunity to improve your ear for meter—a major element of poetic prosody—and to fine-tune your understanding of how it works. Guided
- [Writing Pop Culture Poems](https://writer.org/event/writing-pop-culture-poems/) - Explore the ways pop culture — movies, music, food, and famous people — inspire new poems. How can pop culture provide new and inventive ways to write poems, present complex truths, and provide an avenue into our deepest emotions? In this generative workshop, poet Courtney LeBlanc will provide examples that effectively, and creatively, weave pop
- [Writing Characters that Stick](https://writer.org/event/writing-characters-that-stick/) - Explore and practice the art of writing memorable characters. Whether you’re in the midst of your manuscript or just starting out, in this workshop you will develop your main (or a secondary) character through writing about them. We will start with exercises designed to ground your understanding of the character you choose. We will then
- [Juggling POV (Perspective)](https://writer.org/event/juggling-pov-perspective/) - Control perspective in your stories and avoid one of the most common reasons for rejection. Perhaps the most challenging fiction technique is Perspective. The Point of View plan that you choose for your story will often dictate its success. Learn to develop an effective and consistent POV that will enable readers to follow a story’s
- [Point of View and Narrative Voice](https://writer.org/event/point-of-view-and-narrative-voice-4/) - Find Your Narrator’s Voice. Do the multitude of Point of View options elude you? We will look at everything from the first person point of view to the editorial omniscient, as well as some of the less traditional points of view, to help you choose the best voice to tell your story. Learn at your
- [Writing as a Restorative Practice](https://writer.org/event/writing-as-a-restorative-practice/) - Learn how to navigate all phases of the creative process without giving up or burning out. As writers, it’s vital that we nurture our creativity through self-care so we can work with our natural rhythms and not against them. In this class, you will work through exercises that identify limiting beliefs, clarify needs and motivations,
- [The Nature of Poetry](https://writer.org/event/the-nature-of-poetry/) - Dive into poetry inspired by nature! In this 2-hour workshop we'll read and discuss nature inspired poems, but not the usual ones you might be expecting, these are nature poems that write about or are inspired by nature in a unique and different way. Participants can expect to come away with 1-3 new poems. In-person
- [Creating Backstory & Flashback Scenes](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashback-scenes/) - Add to your fiction-skill toolbox by learning how to create scenes from multiple time frames. Every character has a hidden history from before your story starts. Learn how to masterfully weave in details and experiences that enrich your characters and create believable motivation. Novelists, short story authors, and creative nonfiction writers will all benefit from
- [Micro Writing About Love](https://writer.org/event/micro-writing-about-love/) - Write 3 micro stories about love! Write micros (fiction or creative nonfiction) about love lost or found based on prompts that challenge the romantic ideal. Writers should expect to have 2-3 works of 250 words or less developed by the end of the workshop In-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center, 4508
- [Publishing Your Book for Children](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-book-for-children-3/) - The insider tips you'll need to write a marketable first book and get it into the hands of exactly the right gatekeepers in the publishing world! Having a children's book published in today's tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge
- [Bringing a Scene to Life](https://writer.org/event/bringing-a-scene-to-life/) - Turn lifeless scenes into page-turning moments with techniques that make your writing feel real and dynamic! A scene is an essential building block in any work of fiction. In this session, you'll learn tips and strategies for making the scene you see in your head come alive on the page so that your reader is
- [Whole-Brain Poetry](https://writer.org/event/whole-brain-poetry-3/) - Learn how our brains are wired for poetry, and use that knowledge to enrich your writing. “Whole-Brain Poetry” is an opportunity to explore some of the ways poetry interacts with the brain, and to enrich your writing with that knowledge. This includes but goes beyond the use of metaphor. Through writing exercises, close examination of
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-5/) - Have you always wanted to write a novel but didn't know where to start? This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-5/) - Edit your novel without an editor. Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise
- [Novel 101: How to Craft the Story](https://writer.org/event/novel-101-how-to-craft-the-story-2/) - Learn the building blocks of creating your own novel. Fans of fiction delight! If you've always wanted to create your own exciting novel then this is the class for you. The class offers the key concepts of plotting and pacing while delving into different genres. Beginners have the opportunity to share their works with the
- [Starting a Memoir](https://writer.org/event/starting-a-memoir-3/) - Beginning your memoir? Learn how to start off strong and stay on track! This popular class is for writers in the early stages of writing their memoir. Learn what you need to get off to a great start with this class led by an experienced writing coach and editor. Class includes practical discussion, lots of
- [You are Here: Poetry of Place and Identity](https://writer.org/event/you-are-here-poetry-of-place-and-identity/) - In this workshop, we will explore how place informs our perspectives as poets. How does a place inform our art? Use the lens of poetry and explore art across genres-- From Cowboy Carter to the Star Apple Kingdom-- to see how poetry can evoke different settings and speak to who we are in the moment.
- [Polishing Your First Draft](https://writer.org/event/polishing-your-first-draft/) - Review your manuscript with an editor's eye When the first draft is complete, the real work begins. You should not be your only editor, but you can be the first. Learn tips on how to tighten your prose, improve the immediacy and urgency of your work, identify plot holes, and more so that your work
- [How to Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/how-to-plot-like-a-pro-3/) - Think you can’t plot? Join us and we’ll show you how! You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a
- [Unclogging Your Brain](https://writer.org/event/unclogging-your-brain-5/) - Improvisation fearlessly puts you directly into the action and heart of the moment allowing your creative genius to ‘script’ on the spot in a judgement free zone. Prompts will spark memories, characters, and places, turning them into poems, scenes, dialogues, and stories. During ‘UnClogging’ you will likely come up with an ‘idea’ that you feel
- [Finding Your Authentic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-authentic-voice-3/) - Get out of your own way and let your inner voice, emotions, and instincts guide you as you freely express your unique truth and enhance your message. Look beyond your inner critic and tap into the flow of your limitless creativity, as you discover the powerful impact of your authentic voice. Learn how to identify
- [Building Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/building-conflict-tension/) - Creating conflict, emotion and tension into any story is crucial for its success; find out how to include them in any story you write! Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary fiction into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose
- [Introduction To Art Journaling](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-art-journaling-2/) - Learn how to combine words and art to create personal artistic journals. *No previous art experience necessary. This class will include different projects and techniques than the January 2025 session.* Using quotes, poems and/or personal reflections, students will combine words with easy to follow art techniques to create an art journal reflecting their own personal
- [Poetry Writing and Revision](https://writer.org/event/poetry-writing-and-revision-2/) - Craft new work and rebuild your relationship to revision For some poets, the most difficult part of writing is getting to the page, but for others, it is the act of revisiting those early drafts. This course will help students not only write new work with ease, but also return to those poems with a
- [Travel Storytelling in Words and Pictures](https://writer.org/event/travel-storytelling-in-words-and-pictures/) - The insider tips you need to make your articles, blogs, and photos stand out from the crowd! Travel isn’t about mileage, it’s about the personal experiences and stories that bring a journey alive. Don’t keep these to yourself. Peter Mandel, a nationally-known Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel journalist for The Washington Post, National Geographic, and The
- [Life Stories](https://writer.org/event/life-stories/) - Learn how your real-life story can depict what it means to be human. Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, letter to your granddaughter, or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life story writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Consider other people’s feelings without
- [How to Use Setting for Impact](https://writer.org/event/how-to-use-setting-for-impact/) - Learn the impact and versatility of setting. In this workshop we will learn to use setting as a map, as a structure for storytelling. Setting can be a situation, a tone, a time, an atmosphere, a relationship, and more. It can be as broad as a country, as small as a porch swing or bed.
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist-5/) - If you've been struggling to find the time, energy or inspiration to get your book written—this is the course for you! Can't find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just 8 weeks.
- [Four Weeks, Four New Speculative Stories](https://writer.org/event/four-weeks-four-new-speculative-stories/) - Launch your writing into new worlds with speculative stories, prompts, and feedback This four-week generative course features readings and prompts to help you create four new speculative stories. In the first part of each session, we’ll discuss published work you’ll have read ahead of time, which we’ll then use as inspiration to explore new ways
- [Creative Spirit: Infusing Your Writing with Energy](https://writer.org/event/creative-spirit-infusing-your-writing-with-energy-3/) - Unleash your creativity and overcome creative blocks as you learn to stimulate artistic expression and promote personal growth in your writing! Are you struggling to find your voice as a writer? Do you have a story to tell but feel stuck? Let’s face it. Writing can be a confusing and challenging process. Whether you are
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-4/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Students will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-4/) - Are you a pantser or a planner? Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for plotting their novels. Using the three-act structure as a map, we
- [How Grammar Makes Poems Powerful](https://writer.org/event/how-grammar-makes-poems-powerful/) - Revise for greater impact through the use—and abuse—of grammar. We know what the sentence means for prose, but what can it do for your poems? Whether or not we can name the parts of speech, our instinctive grasp of grammar, especially the sentence, offers us powerful tools for revision. Model texts by Ross Gay, Ada
- [Adding Humor to Any Story](https://writer.org/event/adding-humor-to-any-story/) - Learn how to add different elements of comedy to any piece of writing, making your stories more engaging, entertaining, and memorable. Want to make your writing more engaging and entertaining? In Adding Humor to Any Story, you’ll learn how to incorporate different elements of comedy into any piece—whether it’s a personal essay, a blog post,
- [Writing Picture Books II](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-ii-3/) - Learn how to polish your picture book manuscript before submitting to an agent or editor. You’ve drafted your picture book, what’s the next step? Learn to revise and polish your picture book manuscript before submitting to an agent or publisher. A widely published author and an acclaimed illustrator will lead discussions in pacing, page turns,
- [A Writing Voice that Sells and Compels](https://writer.org/event/a-writing-voice-that-sells-and-compels/) - Create a writing voice agents and readers will find irresistible. Agents say it all the time. What sells a manuscript? A standout voice. Acquire the tools you need for developing a compelling voice of your own through the study of entertaining published examples and writing exercises designed to ignite your unique way of expressing yourself.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poets Luisa A. Igloria & Christina Pugh](https://writer.org/event/igloria-pugh/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Luisa A. Igloria and Christina Pugh for an enlightening discussion about their latest books. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage
- [$40 Pop Up! Embracing Radical Revision](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-embracing-radical-revision/) - Revision is one of the most intimate, but also one of the most daunting, parts of the writing process. For some, revision looks like tinkering—small edits here and there to sharpen a poem. For others, revision is measured and planned out, with numerous drafts accumulating throughout the process. Sometimes, our tried-and-true methods don't seem to
- [Book Marketing on a Budget](https://writer.org/event/book-marketing-on-a-budget-5/) - Your job isn’t over once you've published a book; it's just beginning and we'll go cover over 30 ideas that are budget friendly! You’ve written – or are writing your book – now fight for it! In this workshop we’ll focus on dozens of book marketing tips, with a close eye on budgets. From book
- [Rhythm and Sound in Your Poems](https://writer.org/event/rhythm-and-sound-in-your-poems/) - Enrich your poems with stronger rhythm and more colorful sound. How do poems feel and sound? This workshop gives participants practice in building rhythmic feel and colorful sounds to enrich their poems. What does the rhythm of the words in your poems add, whether you use meter or not? How much color can you add
- [Crafting Fiction: Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element-4/) - Let's demystify the craft of fiction writing! By studying basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their writing—be it stories or novels. This 7-week workshop will explore elements (characterization, setting, scene, etc.) one at a time and ask participants to practice them through in-class exercises. We'll also read published stories
- [Writing Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/writing-personal-essays-2/) - Turn your experiences into compelling stories! Journeys, relationships, hardships, love, and loss—these are just a few of the subjects personal essays explore. In this workshop we’ll examine essays from magazines, literary journals, and newspapers to illuminate the ways imagery, dialogue, scene, and crafting an “I” narrator transform a personal experience into a compelling story. You’ll
- [Intermediate Novel](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-8-cs/) - Let’s finish that novel you started! Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eight fundamental elements of the novel to help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your work-in-progress. From Concept to Conclusion, we will study the key components of a novel, with generative and evaluative
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-5/) - Bring your characters to life on the page. When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Freda Epum](https://writer.org/event/freda-epum/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of memoir! We’re joined by Freda Epum to discuss her new book, The Gloomy Girl Variety Show, which mixes memoir, poetry, and criticism. Freda is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-apr2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Building a Writing Process](https://writer.org/event/building-a-writing-process/) - Do you ever think to yourself: “Why is it so hard to get my ideas out of my head and onto the page?” This workshop offers a variety of techniques that help writers develop their ideas and break down barriers to writing. Whether you are a plotter or a pantser, neurotypical or neurodivergent, you will come away understanding your creative process on a deeper level so you can work with it and not against it. You will experiment with different approaches to idea generation, prewriting, outlining, drafting, and revising so when you get stuck, you can reach into your toolbox and try another method. Writers will come away with a rough draft of a personal narrative and a new appreciation for each stage of the writing process.
- [Creating Your Book for Children](https://writer.org/event/creating-your-book-for-children/) - Having a children's book published in today's tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge on just the right advice from a pro. Do you need an agent? Should you connect with an artist? What about self-publishing? In an exclusive one-session workshop, nationally-known author Peter Mandel will pass on the insider's tips writers need to know in order to create a marketable first book and get it into the hands of exactly the right gatekeepers in the publishing world.
- [Creative Spirit: Infusing Your Writing with Energy](https://writer.org/event/creative-spirit-infusing-your-writing-with-energy-2/) - Unleash your creativity and overcome creative blocks as you learn to stimulate artistic expression and promote personal growth in your writing!
- [What Is a Prose Poem?](https://writer.org/event/what-is-a-prose-poem/) - Charles Simic once observed that “The prose poem has the unusual distinction of being regarded with suspicion not only by the usual haters of poetry, but also by many poets themselves.” What is it about the prose poem that has, on the one hand, so many readers and writers scratching their heads and, on the other, so many contemporary poets flocking to the form? In this workshop, we will try to define exactly what a prose poem is and how it differs from flash fiction, literary prose, and free verse with the line breaks removed. We will also discuss why, If you’ve never written a prose poem, you might want to try your hand at a form that has puzzled and attracted so many.
- [Poetry & Public Memory with Jennifer Keohane, Steven Leyva & Joseph Ross](https://writer.org/event/poetry-and-public-memory/) - How do we memorialize heroes in public spaces? How do we honor specific stories within our national story? Come join a conversation about these important questions with two poets and a scholar whose work engages with these crucial questions. Featuring Jennifer Keohane, Steven Leyva, and Joseph Ross. Book signing and light reception to follow. FREE
- [Writing the Truth: Lessons in Nonfiction Writing](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-truth-lessons-in-nonfiction-writing-2/) - The workshop will allow beginners and intermediate writers to learn the essentials of nonfiction writing in different formats and lengths. We’ll work on magazine-style writing, book-length narratives, and first person essays, among others. We’ll read from noted works to glean insights and examine the research and reporting skills needed to write nonfiction.
- [Opening Art Reception for Within the Process by Ruth Lozner & Kenzie Raulin](https://writer.org/event/lozner-raulin/) - The Writer’s Center is pleased to present WITHIN THE PROCESS, a exhibition of visual storytelling by collaborators Ruth Lozner and Kenzie Raulin, on display in the Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery April 24 - June 25, 2025. The artists will also be in the Gallery on Monday, May 5, 1-3pm to meet guests and answer questions
- [Novelist Natalia Theodoridou Virtual Book Launch in Conversation w/ Rory Power](https://writer.org/event/natalia-theodoridou/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by author Natalia Theodoridou to discuss his new novel, Sour Cherry. Natalia is in conversation with bestselling author Rory Power. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern We encourage you to
- [Indie Press Publishing Panel](https://writer.org/event/indie-press-publishing/) - Why publish with an independent press? There are many paths to publication, so why choose an independent press? What are the benefits and drawbacks? What is the scope of your reach and will your book be read? Authors Varun Gauri and Len Kruger join Washington Writers Publishing House Co-Presidents Caroline Bock and Jona Colson to
- [$40 Pop Up: Tugging the Tow-Lines in Memoir](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-tugging-the-tow-lines-in-memoir/) - Is there a memoir or story in you that is begging to be told? In this multi genre workshop you'll be given carefully chosen prompts intended to tug on the emotional tow lines of memory and pull up what's down there. We will have several timed writing sessions followed by optional feedback for quick supportive
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Karen Russell](https://writer.org/event/karen-russell/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize finalist Karen Russell to discuss her new novel, The Antidote. Karen is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [The Survival Power of the Lyric Poem](https://writer.org/event/the-survival-power-of-the-lyric-poem-2/) - When you’re in the middle of writing a poem that is fully inspired, it isn’t a poem at all, but a light in blindness, a splintered house in a whirlwind, with a gaping door, but you find your way through it. It is only afterwards that it becomes anything like a poem, when you’re telling it to yourself and to someone else. This workshop is open to all levels of poetry writers, all topics, with only one requirement: write from the heart, and nearly everything works, if only from the head, almost nothing works: it takes both.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Sarah Fawn Montgomery on Writing and Disability, Chronic Illness, and Neurodivergence](https://writer.org/event/sarah-fawn-montgomery/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by Sarah Fawn Montgomery to discuss her new craft chapbook, Nerve: Unlearning Workshop Ableism to Develop Your Disabled Writing Practice. Sarah Fawn is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Marita Golden](https://writer.org/event/marita-golden/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by Marita Golden to discuss her new book, How to Become a Black Writer: Creating and Honoring Black Stories That Matter. Marita is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer's Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [How to Write a Thriller](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-thriller/) - An overview that demystifies and deconstructs how it’s done -- from the mere germ of an idea all the way through the creative process, with an eye on getting a finished book into the hands of potential fans. We'll discuss the necessary components that make up a thriller, and look at how to tap into your subconscious
- [Publish Now! A One-Day Conference @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/publish-now/) - Learn the ins and outs of publishing, make connections, and build your writing career! Publish Now is a one-day conference for writers interested in learning more about all the ways you can share and publish your work. You’ll attend up to 4 panels featuring experts in all aspects of the writing and publishing cycle. Topics
- [A Tribute to the Life and Poetry of Elisavietta Ritchie](https://writer.org/event/elisavietta-ritchie/) - A gathering for writers, friends, and family members to share their memories of Elisavietta and favorite poems from her collected works. Open to the public.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Alicia Ostriker](https://writer.org/event/alicia-ostriker/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Alicia Ostriker to discuss her collection, The Holy & Broken Bliss. Alicia is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and
- [$40 Pop Up! Synopses That Don't Suck](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-synopses-that-dont-suck/) - Agents hate reading synopses—and you hate writing them. Learn to create concise, dynamic summaries that get the job done. Participants will: Study the key elements of a strong synopsis, including capturing stakes, character arcs, and resolutions. Compare before and after examples to identify common pitfalls and how to fix them. Draft a flash synopsis in
- [UnClogging Your Brain](https://writer.org/event/unclogging-your-brain-4/) - Prompts will spark memories, characters, and places, turning them into poems, scenes, dialogues, and stories. During 'UnClogging' you will likely come up with an 'idea' that you feel compelled to expand on, or perhaps be re-inspired to continue an unfinished work later. Find new perspective and confidence!
- [Fiction Intensive with C Pam Zhang](https://writer.org/event/fiction-intensive/) - Find new depths to your writing in a radical, anti-workshop workshop with award-winning writer C Pam Zhang! This course is for advanced fiction writers who want the rigor of an MFA program combined with a radically humanist approach to thinking about work-in-progress as truly in progress: malleable, thrillingly alive with potential, and containing the seeds
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Memoirist Patricia Coral](https://writer.org/event/patricia-coral/) - The Writer’s Center and The Inner Loop present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by Patricia Coral to discuss her celebrated memoir, Women Surrounded by Water. Patricia is in conversation with Chet’la Sebree, poet, essayist, and board member of both The Inner Loop and The Writer's Center. Women Surrounded by
- [Writerly Happy Hour](https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour/) - Join us for cocktails at No Kisses Bar to mingle with friends of The Inner Loop, The Writer's Center, DC Writers Room and PEN/Faulkner! Register here »
- [$40 Pop Up! Sentence Variety Primer](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-sentence-variety-primer/) - Learn 3 concrete techniques to enhance sentence variety in your prose. Typically, when we talk about sentence variety, we talk about the grammatical structure of a sentence. If a string of sentences all have similar structures, then we can switch up the grammar in a couple to make things more interesting. But simple grammar is
- [David C. Metz Reading & Discussion with J. Morris](https://writer.org/event/david-metz/) - The Writer's Center welcomes David C. Metz for a reading and discussion to celebrate the release of his debut short story collection, Nick and Lorraine Were Lovers. David is in conversation with author and TWC instructor J. Morris. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. David C. Metz was born and raised in Illinois and
- [Amsterdam Quarterly Reading](https://writer.org/event/amsterdam-quarterly-2025/) - The Writer's Center welcomes contributors to Amsterdam Quarterly for a reading in celebration of the latest issue. Readers include Claudia Gary, AQ editor Bryan R. Monte, Jim Ross, and Karin Chastain Turner. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. About the Readers Claudia Gary is a poet, editor, essayist, health science writer, visual artist,
- [Search Party: Find Your Writing Group](https://writer.org/event/search-party-feb2025/) - Looking for a writing group? We want to help you meet other interested writers! The Writer's Center and The Inner Loop invite you to Search Party, a social event connecting writers to other writers interested in forming/joining a writing group. Simply show up, fill out a nametag with your genres and other areas of interest,
- [Memoir Year with Nicole Chung](https://writer.org/event/memoir-year-with-nicole-chung/) - Write your memoir with bestselling author Nicole Chung! This intensive workshop is open to writers working on a memoir or memoir-in-essays. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in lively craft discussions, reflections, and exercises designed to help you identify key ideas and themes you want to explore in your work. If you have an idea
- [So, You Want to Write a Book?](https://writer.org/event/so-you-want-to-write-a-book/) - Do you feel called to write a book? Is there something important that you have always wanted to say but need help organizing the ideas in your mind? No matter where you are in the process, this class will you create a concrete plan to bring your book ideas to life. Learn how to develop themes, structure and outline key concepts, discover your authentic voice, revise and prepare for publication, and about different publishing routes. No preparation is needed and no materials are necessary.
- [Vulnerability in Personal Storytelling](https://writer.org/event/vulnerability-in-personal-storytelling-3/) - Each of us has the power to look at our lived experiences to find meaning and wisdom that we can transform however we want: into art, into lifestyle, into legacy. In this workshop, you will learn how to view creative vulnerability as generosity, and how to offer up your humanity through story as a gift to yourself and others. We will address questions such as: How do I write about sensitive topics without doing harm to myself? How do I know when I'm oversharing? How do I turn a raw journal entry into a piece for publication? You will come away from this workshop with perspective on your unique storyteller type and how grasping it can build courage, as well as best practices for taking care of yourself as you do this introspective work.
- [Virtual Info Session for Memoir Year with Nicole Chung](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-memoir-year-with-nicole-chung/) - Meet Nicole Chung, instructor for our Memoir Year workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. Info session free and open to all interested writers. About the Program Application Deadline: March 14, 2025 Workshop
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Karen Rigby](https://writer.org/event/karen-rigby/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Karen Rigby to discuss her new collection, Fabulosa. Karen is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [POSTPONED: Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Em J Parsley](https://writer.org/event/em-j-parsley/) - POSTPONED: This event has been postponed. We'll contact all registrants when a new date has been set. Thanks for your understanding! The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Em J Parsley to discuss their debut novella, You, From Below. Em J is in conversation with Zach
- [CANCELLED - Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2025a/) - CANCELLED: The Open Mic has been cancelled this week because of the snowy/icy conditions. We'll see you on Feb 26! Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.
- [The Poem As Prayer & Conjuring](https://writer.org/event/the-poem-as-prayer-conjuring/) - In this workshop we’ll read and discuss work by poets who invite the spiritual and metaphysical into the world of their poems—poets who wield language, story, and lyric as deftly as a wand. We’ll look at poems that pray and poems that argue, poems that don’t shy away from naming what they want. And we’ll spend some time writing our own poems together, too. No prior experience is required for this workshop—all that’s needed is a sense of fun, curiosity, and a little bit of faith in the magic of language.
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news-4/) - Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise, be concise and choose strong verbs. (Plus a Speak Like the News skill: avoid “uptalk?”) Emulate the vivid news examples you’ll see in this workshop, and you’ll strengthen your writing voice with lively, engaging news style. At 7 sharp, we’ll critique TheWallStreetJournal.com, seeing how to communicate your main point in just a few words. To cover as much ground as possible, we’ll have just a few writing exercises and most of them will take less than a minute each.
- [How to Write Compelling Scenes](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-compelling-scenes/) - The building blocks of any short story, novel, memoir, or work of creative nonfiction are scenes. Each one has its own beginning, middle, and end and moves readers another step toward resolution. Elements discussed in this fast-paced, half-day class will include Perspective, Setting, Emotion, Action, Dialogue and Exposition—as well as the most effective types of scene openings and endings. Students who master the skills of scene building will gain confidence in their craft and learn how to avoid creating weak story segments that can result in bland and uninspiring stories.
- [Natural Meter Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/natural-meter-crash-course-4/) - Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Here’s an opportunity to improve your ear for meter—a major element of poetic prosody—and to fine-tune your understanding of how it works. Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day workshop includes scansion of well-known poems, writing exercises, and, if you like, close examination of a poem you’ve drafted prior to class. You’ll leave with new insights about improving the auditory qualities of all your poems and prose.
- [Reading Your Work Out Loud](https://writer.org/event/reading-your-work-out-loud-3/) - Spend an evening practicing and learning about the art of public speaking. This in-person coaching session will give you the opportunity to bring your voice– and self– to the words you’ve written. You’ll learn how to become a more genuine and effective communicator of your work, which will in turn fuel a more authentic writing process and outcome. You’ll leave the workshop with an experience of camaraderie, community, and a more deeply rooted sense of your creative and expressive self. Please have on hand a number of pieces you’d be comfortable sharing during the meeting. There will be a break; please also bring a snack and water.
- [How to Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/how-to-plot-like-a-pro-2/) - You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a well-conceived story around a main character and central conflict, while paying attention to pacing, can make the difference between a finished, publishable manuscript and an abandoned work-in-progress. Plotting provides a safety net that never robs the author of the joy of writing, and always reduces revision time. Think you can’t plot? Join us for this course, and we’ll show you how!
- [Book Publishing 101](https://writer.org/event/book-publishing-101/) - This class pulls back the curtain on the ins and outs of publishing by walking participants through the component parts of the publishing industry. From the role of literary agents to the dreaded query letter to what an editor’s job is to the different types of publishers (big 5, indie, small press, vanity press, self-publishing) to how authors are paid, this jam-packed class takes a practical approach that will focus on the business side of writing with lots of time for Q&A. Whether you want to know how books come to exist or are simply curious about how this notoriously opaque industry works, this class is for you. Please note: This class will touch on what query letters are and the purpose they serve but this is not a class on how to write query letters.
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-4/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise your own novel without the assistance of a professional editor.
- [Immigrant Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/immigrant-writers-mixer-feb2025/) - Join us at The Writer’s Center for an informal gathering with other immigrant writers. It’s the perfect opportunity to network and share stories. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. A limited number of attendees will have the opportunity to read a 5-minute work they
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-sep2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-jun2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-mar2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-dec2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-aug2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-may2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-feb2025/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-oct2025/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-apr2025/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-feb2025/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [$40 Pop Up! On Dialogue](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-on-dialogue/) - Conflict, voice, and pacing infuse dialogue with aliveness on the page. How do we make it look effortless? In this one-hour class, we will discuss tools for effective dialogue: rhythm, subtext, word choice, active language, and verbal and physical reactions. We’ll consider what characters say to each other and what they keep hidden. And, how
- [Playwriting: Revision](https://writer.org/event/playwriting-revision/) - Students’ full-length play scripts will be the focus of our weekly critique sessions & the inspiration for lessons & exercises in playwriting. Each week, a small group of writers will gather to discuss each other’s plays, with brief lessons or exercises inspired by the writers’ own form & content, questions & preoccupations. This is a fully responsive playwriting course, creating an atmosphere that compassionately challenges each writer to seek out all the possibilities of their own (& each others’) writing.
- [The Complete Playwright](https://writer.org/event/the-complete-playwright-2/) - Dig into the full spectrum of playwriting with lectures & exercises on process, form & technique that will help develop your individual approach to writing for performance. Over eight weeks, we’ll explore playwriting in a wide range of forms: from realism & adaptations to immersive theatre, musicals & verbatim plays. In-depth sessions on writing dialogue, crafting character & dramatic world-building will help writers interrogate new ideas & begin to find their unique style. You’ll come away with a full understanding of the playwright’s tools & techniques, as well as new connections with fellow scriptwriters.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Dorsía Smith Silva](https://writer.org/event/dorsia-smith-silva/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by poet Dorsía Smith Silva to discuss her debut full-length collection, In Inheritance of Drowning. Dorsía is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events
- [Elements of Speechwriting](https://writer.org/event/speechwriting/) - Between the formality of a State of the Union address and the immediacy of a TED talk, there’s the daily world of leadership communications. Whether you’re writing speeches and remarks, or seeking to expand your writing talents, this three-part workshop will help you capture a leader’s unique POV.
- [Fiction I: The Engines That Power a Story](https://writer.org/event/fiction-i-the-engines-that-power-a-story-2/) - There are many different engines that power our stories. Plot, character, voice, form, and place are all tools we can use to hook a reader and drag them along for the ride. We will discuss one element of fiction each week while reading works by contemporary writers such as Ottessa Moshfegh, Amber Sparks, and Rion Amilcar Scott, and discussing the different ways these professionals use their writing tools. Each week will include craft readings, a short lecture, and generative writing exercises that will be good for beginning writers as well as those who are returning to the page and hoping to think more deeply about their craft. You will leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of your own writing voice and the tools necessary to make your fiction sing. There will be two short stories (5-12 pages each) and two craft readings (1-5 pages each) to prepare for class each week as well as a short 15 minute-1/2 hour writing exercise. Note: No meeting March 25.
- [Making Your Characters Matter](https://writer.org/event/making-your-characters-matter/) - At the core of every good tale is a character with whom the reader wants to spend time. Discover how to move beyond the superficial and cliché, crafting characters who invite the reader to explore the human condition. Illustrations and exercises will help you uncover your character's inner values (in memoir, that character is you) and present them in ways that are integral to your story. We will examine effective techniques for depicting character yearning, physical description, and internal conflict and come to understand what influences reader empathy. This workshop will benefit those writing a novel, short story, or memoir.
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-3/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Students will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a great half-day session for the beginning long-form fiction writer, or for the more experienced author in need of a quick strategy brush-up.
- [Know Your Competition](https://writer.org/event/know-your-competition/) - For your book to succeed, you must know which books you are competing against. In this interactive workshop, we will look at resources for locating comparable and competing titles, discuss the difference between comparable books and competing ones and how each can help you, analyze comparable and competing titles, and look at how to use that information to inform your writing as well as in your proposal or query letter. Attendees will walk away with an in-depth understanding of one more piece of the book-publishing puzzle.
- [What Sound Effects Can Do for Your Poems](https://writer.org/event/what-sound-effects-can-do-for-your-poems/) - Assonance, consonance, alliteration, internal rhyme—they’re often called “sound effects,” and they are among the most basic and essential tools that all poets should know how to use. This workshop will focus on how certain vowel or consonant sounds can be used to evoke or underscore emotion in a poem, and how sound effects can help you convey your poem’s “message” in a subtle, convincing way.
- [Virtual Info Session for Fiction Intensive with C Pam Zhang](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-fiction-intensive-with-c-pam-zhang/) - Meet C Pam Zhang, instructor for our Fiction Intensive workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Recording now available!  About the Program Application Deadline: February 1, 2025 Workshop Dates: February 10, 2025 – December 15, 2025 Cost:
- [POSTPONED: Essayists Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers & Adrienne Su Reading & Discussion](https://writer.org/event/rogers-su/) - POSTPONED: This event has been postponed. If you registered for the event, we'll let you know when a new date has been selected. Thanks for your understanding! The Writer’s Center welcomes essayists Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers and Adrienne Su for a reading and discussion of their new essay collections, moderated by Sandra Beasley. Book signing and
- [Writing To Heal](https://writer.org/event/writing-to-heal/) - Writing to Heal is exactly as the title suggest a class to inspire healing of your heart.
- [Publishing Your Op-ed](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-op-ed-2/) - This workshop will help you sharpen and develop your viewpoint, learn how to structure an op-ed, and close the deal by making an effective pitch to editors.
- [Crafting Fiction: Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element-3/) - By studying basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their writing—be it stories or novels. This 7-week workshop will explore elements one at a time and ask participants to practice them through in-class exercises. We'll also read published stories to help us understand how writers regularly employ these elements. Class members will begin to put the elements together, too, as they start a story. You’ll leave the workshop with the tools you need to write wonderful, authentic fiction.
- [Show, Don't Tell](https://writer.org/event/show-dont-tell/) - Are you tired of hearing "show, don't tell" in your creative writing workshops? Now's the time to do something about it! In this one session workshop, we'll cover a variety of devices you can use to make the feelings of the people you're writing about come to life. After seeing examples from published authors, we'll do some writing exercises so you can practice these approaches in your work. Writers of all genres are welcome!
- [Building Suspense in Short Fiction](https://writer.org/event/building-suspense-in-short-fiction-2/) - How do you get your characters out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, or out of one situation into the next? This class covers moving your characters across space and over time without an over-dependence of narration and exposition. We will look at examples of prose where movement, both temporal and spatial, are handled well. We will also do some in-class writing where we’ll apply the techniques we learn through example, discussion, and lecture.
- [Persona Poem Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/persona-poem-crash-course-2/) - In the Persona Poem, or Dramatic Monologue, the poet writes in the voice of another real or imagined person—or even an inanimate object. Guided by a widely published author of persona and other poems, you will read and discuss several time-honored examples, then start new ones of your own. You may find unexpected insights, expanding your poetic range in the process.
- [Creating Perspective (POV)](https://writer.org/event/creating-perspective-pov/) - Perhaps the most challenging fiction technique is Perspective. The Point of View Plan that you choose for your story will often dictate its success. Learn to develop an effective and consistent POV that will enable readers to follow a story’s progress and avoid confusing “head hopping” that often condemns an otherwise good story to rejection. Give your fiction a professional edge and increase your publication chances.
- [Short Story II](https://writer.org/event/short-story-ii-2/) - This workshop centers on your work. Through careful reading and guided discussion we will explore each student piece for its secret aims, visible strengths, and areas of needed development. We will talk about the role of feedback in a writer's process, and how reading sharpens our skills. These seven weeks should further your understanding of key craft elements, and, more importantly, equip you with new ideas, skills, and hope.
- [Narrative Poems](https://writer.org/event/narrative-poems/) - Do you want to tell personal or public stories in poems instead of prose? Narrative poems can be based on the real - drawing on personal experience, current events, or historical – or the imagination – keeping close to our world or creating myth or fable. In this course you’ll begin to learn how to structure narrative in poetic form, and bring stories of different kinds alive in the heightened language of poetry. You’ll practice creating both personal and fictional narrative poems that evoke human life and feelings using real and made-up stories.
- [Storytelling from Scratch](https://writer.org/event/storytelling-from-scratch/) - In this workshop you'll learn how to craft engaging stories from scratch, even when you're starting with no clear ideas. Through interactive exercises and creative techniques, we'll explore how to tap into your imagination, develop characters, and build narratives that captivate any audience. Whether you're a novice writer or simply looking to sharpen your storytelling skills, this workshop will equip you with the tools to transform a blank page into a powerful story. Participants will need simply a writing utensil and paper, or their computer.
- [Love / Anti-Love Poems](https://writer.org/event/love-anti-love-poems/) - Explore both love and anti-love poems using a diverse collection of poetry that explores the topics in new and unexpected ways. Participants can expect to write 1-3 new poems in this workshop. Live video conference: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. You can view brief tutorials on using the platform here.
- [Comedy & Humor Writing](https://writer.org/event/comedy-humor-writing/) - Develop your comedy writing skills while defining your style and voice in a fun, supportive and interactive class. This course is for anyone interested in learning more about the comedic arts and what makes something funny on the page and on the stage – (there is a difference!) We will create and share a humorous personal or short story, try our hand at some one-liners and jokes, study the works of comedians and learn some tricks of the comedy trade that you can incorporate into your writing, social media, speeches and conversations. Feel free to bring your own pieces to punch up and we will also create new material. Open to students of all levels. No homework. No prep.
- [Writing About Mental Health Topics in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-mental-health-topics-in-fiction-2/) - Write about mental health with intention. Along with general guidelines, examples from popular media will be reviewed so you can learn how to avoid clichés and dig deeper into what shapes people’s various experiences with mental health. Participants will apply psychological concepts to plot and character development.
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension-4/) - Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary fiction into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy—you can learn techniques for drawing readers into your tales through action, dialogue, setting details, and plot twists that make your work stand out from the crowd. Join us and leave with ideas to apply to your stories.
- [Finding Your Poetic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-poetic-voice-2/) - Writing poems is discovery on paper, and good poems surprise and delight the poet as much as anyone. In this workshop you will try on a variety of styles and forms on the way to finding your own poetic voice. We will read poems together and use them as starting points for your own work, both in and out of class. The goal is for you to come away from the class with a portfolio of favorite poems--poems discovered in reading, discovered in writing. Required text: A Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver.
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-3/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for plotting their novels. Using the three-act structure as a map, we will explore the basic components of a novel's plot.
- [The Role of Time in Your Story](https://writer.org/event/the-role-of-time-in-your-story/) - Enrich your writing by revisiting the past through the protagonist's eyes in the present. Master the joy of interrupting narrative time with a triggered flashback. Learn how a character's "personal life" may be embedded in "public life." Practice using a timeline to visualize the significance of a milestone event--the stepping stones leading up to it and its consequences. Discover the difference between the zoomed-in time of a scene and the zoomed-out time of a summary.
- [Opening Art Reception for You Don’t Know Me by Beatrice Hamblett](https://writer.org/event/beatrice-hamblett/) - The Writer’s Center is pleased to present “You Don’t Know Me,” a solo exhibition of photographs and stories by DC photographer Beatrice Hamblett, on display in the Center's Joram Piatigorsky Gallery March 6-April 18. FREE & open to the public. Light refreshments provided. "You Don’t Know Me" introduces viewers to a cross-section of people—fisherman, hunters,
- [Beatrice Hamblett Artist Talk for You Don’t Know Me](https://writer.org/event/beatrice-hamblett-artist-talk/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes photographer Beatrice Hamblett for an artist talk on “You Don’t Know Me,” a solo exhibition of photographs and stories, on display in the Center's Joram Piatigorsky Gallery March 6-April 18. FREE & open to the public. Light refreshments provided. "You Don’t Know Me" introduces viewers to a cross-section of people—fisherman, hunters,
- [Best of Delmarva Review Reading](https://writer.org/event/best-of-delmarva-review/) - You're invited to a reading celebrating the release of The Best of Delmarva Review anthology. Eight authors will read from their prose and poetry, featuring “the best of the best” from the review’s 550 published authors over 16 years. The readers include: Ethelbert Miller, Sue Ellen Thompson, Kim Roberts, Fran Abrams, Sepideh Zamani, Susan Bucci
- [Poetry of the Erotic](https://writer.org/event/poetry-of-the-erotic-2/) - For many poets, writing poems about sex can feel intimidating and difficult. Yet for as long as there's been poetry, there have been poems that celebrate the joys, mysteries, and chaos of erotic connection. This workshop offers an opportunity for poets to write their own poems with Eros at the center, as well as read and study poems featuring a wide range of poets of color, and queer and trans poets. In this workshop we'll ask ourselves questions like: How can poems about sex gesture toward even larger considerations than sex itself? What might we learn from poetic traditions that blend erotic poetry and spiritual poetry? How does Eros locate the body both within itself, while transcending the self? By the end of this workshop, students can expect to leave with new poems and new insights into their own poetic process. Students should plan to come to the first workshop with a favorite poem by another poet, to share with the group.
- [Turning Memories Into Transformational Stories](https://writer.org/event/turning-memories-into-transformational-stories-2/) - How have your ups and downs, wins and losses shaped your life? Whether you want to write privately or wish to publish, identifying the turning points and themes in your life is an important first step in memoir writing. In this workshop, participants will reflect on the transformational seasons in their lives and associate stories and themes to each one. We will explore the dynamics of character development and narrative arc, and learn techniques to capture universal meaning through personal experiences. You will come away with a timeline technique to uncover life themes and storylines, a bank of memories to serve as writing prompts, and tips for starting a memoir journaling practice.
- [A Matter of Time: Verb Tenses in Poetry](https://writer.org/event/a-matter-of-time-verb-tenses-in-poetry/) - Should all lyric poems take place in the present? If you’re writing a narrative poem about something that happened a while ago, do you have to use the past tense? Verb tenses are something that most of us learned in grade school but haven’t thought much about since. For a poet, being able to identify the various tenses isn’t the point; it’s knowing how to choose the right tense for a poem and knowing when to shift it. This workshop will examine some of the approaches that poets have used to control and manipulate the passage of time in their poems, with an emphasis on how verb tenses can be used to add immediacy, introduce tension, or bring a poem to life.
- [How to Write Poems and Flash Fiction](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-poems-and-flash-fiction/) - Explore two genres in one generative afternoon. After some fun warm-up exercises to get the creative juices flowing, we’ll use a no-fail process for writing poems—including a love poem for Valentine’s Day. You’ll be able to circumvent the analytic brain and give creativity a chance to thrive in flash fiction, too. There will be opportunities to read your writing to a supportive group. Expect to receive positive feedback that points the way toward your writing talents. When you leave, you’ll have at least three of your own poems or pieces of flash fiction, or a mixture, to take with you. Although this workshop focuses on two specific genres, any writer will find that it can help unleash their creative urges. Please bring your favorite writing implements to this Zoom workshop.
- [Fabulous First Pages](https://writer.org/event/fabulous-first-pages/) - These days, readers and agents often won't read past the first page of a book if it's not grabbing their attention. This means your first page is the most important page of your entire manuscript -- no pressure or anything!In this workshop, we will look at four things a first page should do to get and keep reader attention. We will study examples from recent bestselling and award-winning novels in various genres, breaking down how and why these first pages work so well. We will then give constructive feedback to student first pages. By the end of the workshop, students will have the tools to write fabulous first pages and feel confident that their manuscript grabs a reader’s attention from the very beginning. Students should have at least a first chapter (if not more) of a manuscript or work-in-progress and be prepared to share the first few pages for critique.
- [Book Marketing On A Budget](https://writer.org/event/book-marketing-on-a-budget-4/) - You’ve written – or are writing your book – now fight for it! In this workshop we’ll focus on dozens of book marketing tips, with a close eye on budgets. From book launches, social media, blogging and podcasting, to writing press releases, creating Amazon Author’s pages, and connecting with publicists, we’ll fill your head, and notebook with ideas; over 30 of them! If you think writing a book is exciting, wait until you feel the thrill of professionally promoting it!
- [Villanelle Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/villanelle-crash-course-2/) - Some of your favorite poems may be villanelles, whether you know the form or not. Guided by an internationally published author of villanelles, sonnets, and other metrical poems, you’ll first read time-honored villanelles to see how and why they work. Next the class will write a group villanelle, and then, with or without shortcuts, you’ll start one of your own. You'll leave with at least one new (draft) or improved villanelle, as well as insights about how writing poetry in form can unlock deeper meaning and enhance everything you write.
- [big things in small packages](https://writer.org/event/big-things-in-small-packages/) - Short poems can reverberate in the mind and memory like a pebble dropped in a lake. Let’s look at some powerful short poems together to come up with strategies for writing our own little gems, and then write them! This workshop is appropriate for both experienced poets and for intrigued people who aren’t poets yet. There will be a 2 page handout provided for the first class.
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-4/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Learn what Kathryn Johnson's Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We'll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use to complete their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Become the dedicated author you've always dreamed of being. (Ideal for writers who don’t have 8 weeks to dedicate to the Extreme Novelist course.)
- [Introduction to Art Journaling](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-art-journaling/) - In this class, students will learn how to combine writing (poetry, quotes, personal reflections, etc., with art materials to create an artistic visual journal. Each week, students will work with various art media (paints, collage, stencils, stamps and more) to create different journal spreads. At the end of the sessions, participants will feel comfortable with art techniques to continue with their art journal practice. Students should bring to class a journal of their choice to work in-preferably at least 8 1/2x11 in size containing either watercolor or mixed media paper, (these can be found at most art and craft stores or ordering online). Instructor will provide all other supplies to try out and use in their journals. A $5 material fee can be brought to the first class.
- [Poetry for the End of the World (and other hard times)](https://writer.org/event/poetry-for-the-end-of-the-world-and-other-hard-times/) - In this workshop, writers will consider end-times poems both ancient and contemporary in order to find their own voice for lamenting hard times. Students will let this work inspire new approaches to their own work in order to generate 2-3 new poems and ideas for moving forward in this tradition.
- [Show and Tell Intensive](https://writer.org/event/show-and-tell-intensive-3/) - A dynamic workshop on the single most important skill any writer can have. Skilled writers make readers feel and intuit precisely what they want them to by using the technique of showing writing. No other element of craft promises this immediacy and power to bring a work to life. This is how to make a flat passage sing, how to gain your readers’ trust and emotional participation. Through exploration of compelling published examples, exercises, lively discussion, and inspiring instruction, you will learn to elevate your stories to submission-quality prose.
- [Fiction Writing for the New Year](https://writer.org/event/fiction-writing-for-the-new-year/) - This multi-part generative fiction class will give your writing a jolt of inspiration. Participants will read a selection of stories by both well-known and emerging writers weekly. Each session will combine lively class discussion of the stories and dedicated writing time using prompts inspired by the readings. There will be a range of stories from realism to the uncanny to the weird, and we’ll look at a range of different story structures and styles. Whether you’re hoping to jumpstart your writing goals or want to embrace creative energy for the year, join this supportive and playful writing class. Please note: this is a generative workshop only; participants will not be reading/submitting work for feedback/critique.
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist-4/) - Can't find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just 8 weeks. Students receive the encouraging guidance of professional writing coach Kathryn Johnson. Each author will commit to an aggressive writing schedule and learn the tricks pros use to create a productive working environment and meet their deadlines, despite life’s distractions. Classes will include accountability and progress reports from each student, troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture on some aspect of the fiction craft, and the opportunity to submit portions of the work-in-progress to the instructor for individual feedback and guidance. (Note: This is not a work-shopping course. Further information will be sent to registered students, in advance of the first class.)
- [Starting a Memoir](https://writer.org/event/starting-a-memoir-2/) - This class is for writers in the early stages of writing their memoir. Learn what you need to get off to a great start with this class led by an experienced writing coach and editor. Class includes practical discussion, lots of helpful tips, and some in-class exercises designed to offer clarity, direction, and inspiration as you move forward with your memoir. We’ll cover issues of time management, staying organized and motivated, good resources, and managing those inner critics. You’ll leave class with realistic goals and a clear map forward.
- [Structure Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/structure-your-novel/) - Do you have a book-length work of fiction that you can’t find the time to finish? Are you stuck at a key point in a manuscript you’ve poured your whole heart into? Do you feel like your novel is missing something, but you can’t quite figure out what? Don’t struggle alone! In this Intermediate/Advanced-level class, you’ll learn how to structure your novel through generative exercises that will help you determine how to make the best decisions about point of view, tense, character development, world-building, and more.
- [10 Prompts to Kickstart Your Writing in the New Year](https://writer.org/event/10-prompts-to-kickstart-your-writing-in-the-new-year/) - This workshop is designed to inspire you to deepen your writing with emotional weight. By examining your response to a variety of visual and musical prompts, including painting, sculpture, photography, short films, and music videos, we’ll learn to notice underlying emotions. Since everything we create is a representation of something larger, we’ll practice translating your feelings to the page so that they can live in your characters and resonate with readers. Participants will leave with fresh ideas for their memoir and fiction and the confidence to move beyond surface-level writing.
- [Intermediate Novel Writing: The 8 Cs](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-writing-the-8-cs-2/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eight fundamental elements of the novel to help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your work-in-progress. From Concept to Conclusion, we will study the key components of a novel, with generative and evaluative exercises along the way. Written lessons, curated online resources, and targeted exercises (along with instructor and peer feedback) will help guide you as you continue to draft your novel. (Note: This course is a good follow-up to Tammy Greenwood’s Intro to the Novel workshop.)
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-4/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of the other novelistic elements, and we will examine the challenge of creating and integrating these various elements into a cohesive and credible whole. Participants will explore the main character(s) in their novels-in-progress.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-apr2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-mar2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-mar2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2025b/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Writerly Happy Hour](https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour-2/) - Join us for cocktails at No Kisses Bar to mingle with board, staff, and friends of The Inner Loop, The Writer's Center, and PEN/Faulkner! Reserve your spot »
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2025a/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Creating Backstory & Flashbacks](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashbacks-2/) - Every character has a hidden history from before your story starts. Learn how to masterfully weave in details and experiences that enrich your characters and create believable motivation. Novelists, short story authors, and creative nonfiction writers will all benefit from these twin skills. You’ll see your writing grow in sophistication and depth.
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-4/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc.) but the emphasis will be on discovering the writing process that works best for each writer. Online lessons with exercises, readings, and curated resources as well as the opportunity to submit and receive feedback from the instructor (and peers) on excerpts from your novel.
- [Writing Picture Books](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-3/) - Learn how to write a picture book from a successful author of thirty award-winning books for children. Each session will begin with a short discussion of an aspect of writing for children, including story openings and arcs, characterization, plot/pacing, rhythm/sound, and marketing. Suggested readings, prompts, and feedback on in-class writing will inspire and guide writers in the class. By the end of the workshop, participants should have written and/or revised part or all of a picture book and have a better sense of how to create one in the future. Feedback will be offered on in-class exercises only rather than workshopping writing done outside of class.
- [Advanced Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/advanced-nonfiction/) - Master the craft of writing nonfiction. This advanced class will go beyond the basics of nonfiction writing to provide an extra focus on fleshing out characters, incorporating a narrative voice, and developing more sophisticated tools for narrative storytelling. In-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD. Time requirements
- [Writing Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/writing-personal-essays/) - Journeys, relationships, hardships, love, and loss—these are just a few of the subjects personal essays explore. In this workshop we’ll examine essays from magazines, literary journals, and newspapers to illuminate the ways imagery, dialogue, scene, and crafting an “I” narrator transform a personal experience into a compelling story. You’ll generate new material each week through in-class exercises, plus receive in-class feedback on your draft.
- [$40 Pop Up: Publish or Procrastinate? How to Know When Your Manuscript is Ready](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-publish-or-procrastinate-how-to-know-when-your-manuscript-is-ready/) - How do you know when it’s time to send your manuscript to an agent or publisher? How do you decide if it is ready or if it needs more work? Many writers struggle with deciding if their book is truly ready for the world or if they’re just avoiding the next step. This workshop will
- [Writing Characters: A Generative Workshop](https://writer.org/event/writing-characters-a-generative-workshop/) - Each writer can expect to leave this course with new work and a new or enhanced awareness of essential craft elements of character development that they can use in their current and future works-in-progress.
- [$40 Pop-Up! 7 New Ways to Visualize Plot](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-workshop-7-new-ways-to-visualize-plot/) - The story arc is ubiquitous—and often useful—in analyses of plot, but it's only one way we might look at forward progress and the growth/release of tension within a narrative. In fact, the ubiquity of the story arc can limit how we consider our large-scale narrative structures. In this workshop, we'll consider several original variations on
- [How—and Where—to Pitch Your Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/how-and-where-to-pitch-your-personal-essays/) - Personal essays are perhaps the genre that has the largest array of publication possibilities—literary journals, newspapers, magazines, alumni publications, and more all publish this form. That’s the good news! The challenge: finding the right publications for your story, along with submission guidelines, pay rates, and style preferences. In this workshop, you’ll learn where to find writer’s guidelines for popular newspaper and magazine essay columns (many with tips from the editor), how to create a submission plan to increase your success, and the pros and cons of submitting essays to newspapers and magazines vs. literary journals. By the end, you’ll have a list of resources and actionable tips to move your submissions forward. Give that essay on your hard drive (or in your journal) a chance to be published.
- [Finish Your Novel!](https://writer.org/event/finish-your-novel/) - How great would it feel to finish your novel? Have you been working and reworking the beginning of your book but can’t seem to move past a certain point? In this one-day workshop, we’ll talk about the different road-blocks writers face and practical tips for overcoming them. After a discussion about what’s holding you back, you’ll create a loose outline, make a plan for finishing your novel, set deadlines, and learn ways to hold yourself accountable to your goals. You may even find another member of the workshop to be your accountability partner. If you’re ready to finally type "the end," this class is for you.
- [Lindsey Van Wagner Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/lindsey-van-wagner/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE book launch event! We’re joined by Lindsey Van Wagner to discuss her new book Spirit Vigilante: Telling My Truth to Help you Live Yours. Lindsey will be in conversation with Amy Freeman, The Writer's Center's very own development director, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. You can purchase
- [$40 Pop Up: Plotting the Short Story Collection](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-plotting-the-short-story-collection/) - Participants will discuss the practicalities of developing the bones of a short story collection. The group will be invited to share details about their own projects and work together to plot next steps.
- [Creative Spirit: Infusing Your Writing with Energy](https://writer.org/event/creative-spirit-infusing-your-writing-with-energy/) - Are you struggling to find your voice as a writer? Do you have a story to tell but feel stuck in the creative process? Let’s face it. Writing can be a confusing and challenging process. Whether you are a beginner or have been writing for years, chances are you go through ups and downs—sometimes you have so much to write about that you can hardly get it on the page fast enough, and other days you blankly stare at your computer screen unsure of where to start. No matter your beliefs, spirituality and open-mindedness can play a critical role in the creative process if we allow it and nurture it. In a safe and supportive space, reintroduce your childlike wonder around creativity so you can write freely, authentically reclaim your power, and uncover your true gifts. Unleash your brilliance and honor the impact of your stories, lessons, and innermost thoughts. Tap into a higher source of inspiration, whether viewed as the highest self, inner wisdom, or any other entity. You will walk away with efficient ways to set intentions for different writing projects, stay in the present, trust your process, set healthy boundaries, and follow signs and intuition. You will have the information necessary to create a sacred space and ritual for your writing practice, motivating you to enrich your content and deepen your message.
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news-3/) - Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise, be concise and choose strong verbs. (Plus a Speak Like the News skill: avoid “uptalk?”) Emulate the vivid news examples you’ll see in this workshop, and you’ll strengthen your writing voice with lively, engaging news style. At 7 sharp, we’ll critique TheWallStreetJournal.com, seeing how to communicate your main point in just a few words. To cover as much ground as possible, we’ll have just a few writing exercises and most of them will take less than a minute each.
- [Writing Linked Memoir-Micros](https://writer.org/event/writing-linked-memoir-micros/) - Develop one or more linked micro memoirs (short, short stories of 250 words or less). Lean into the lyrical and use poetic techniques to enhance your writing. Write to guided exercises and prompts to connect your micro memoirs to your larger life themes. Ultimately, a generative workshop with time to write, reflect, and share your work.
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-3/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Learn what Kathryn Johnson's Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We'll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use to complete their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Become the dedicated author you've always dreamed of being. (Ideal for writers who don’t have 8 weeks to dedicate to the Extreme Novelist course.)
- [test test test](https://writer.org/event/test-test-test/)
- [BIPOC Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/bipoc-writers-mixer-dec2024/) - Calling all BIPOC writers in the DMV! Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to meet new writers, make new friends, and share your love of the written word. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend,
- [How to Publish](https://writer.org/event/how-to-publish/) - Do you want to get your writing published (in literary journals and as books), but don't know where to start? Are you already publishing but want to publish in more competitive markets? In this workshop we'll learn about the business of submitting to editors of literary journals and presses. We'll also discuss tips for finding appropriate markets for your writing.
- [Rhonda Zimlich Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/zimlich/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Rhonda Zimlich for a reading and discussion to celebrate the release of her novel, Raising Panic. Rhonda is in conversation with Melissa Scholes Young. Book signing to follow. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Rhonda Zimlich teaches writing at American University in Washington, DC. Her writing focuses on history,
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Hayden Casey](https://writer.org/event/hayden-casey/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Hayden Casey to discuss his debut story collection, Show Me Where the Hurt Is. Hayden is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Poet Ori Z. Soltes Reading](https://writer.org/event/soltes/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Ori Z. Soltes for a reading from his new collection of poems, My Life as a Dog: Poppy Poems. Funded by the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, the collection of 25 poems (accompanied by a smaller number of drawings) responds to, reflects on, resonates from, and reconsiders the poet's small
- [Creative Journaling: Words + Art](https://writer.org/event/creative-journaling-words-art/) - Have you ever wanted to create art along with your writing--but felt you lacked skills or direction? Participants begin with personal-writing prompts, which then become the basis for mixed-media art pieces. The co-leaders are an author and an artist who love the process of creative discovery and, through specific strategies, can help you to explore and shape your material. The work created may become part of an ongoing unique memoir, a creative journal, or individual pieces.
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction with Marguerite Sheffer](https://writer.org/event/marguerite-sheffer/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Marguerite Sheffer to discuss her debut story collection, The Man in the Banana Trees. Marguerite is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Nonfiction with Talia Lavin](https://writer.org/event/talia-lavin/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by Talia Lavin to discuss her new book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America. Talia is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer's Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Julie Castillo Reading & Discussion](https://writer.org/event/julie-castillo/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Julie Castillo to celebrate the release of her novel, Long Man's Pillow. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. A lifelong story-lover and professor of anthropology, Julie Castillo has a passion for stories that explore social problems and global issues. She gravitates toward post-apocalyptic, dystopian, and survival stories that explore
- [Zahid Rafiq in Conversation with Emily Fridlund](https://writer.org/event/zahid-rafiq/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by Zahid Rafiq to discuss his debut story collection, The World With Its Mouth Open. Zahid is in conversation with Emily Fridlund, Booker Prize finalist author of History of Wolves. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Nonfiction with Luke Sutherland](https://writer.org/event/luke-sutherland/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by Luke Sutherland to discuss his award-winning nonfiction chapbook, Distance Sequence. Luke is in conversation with Emily Holland, author and Editor of Poet Lore. Distance Sequence is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes the
- [Speculative Nonfiction: A New Lens!](https://writer.org/event/speculative-nonfiction-a-new-lens-3/) - This generative class will help you explore the personal stories from the lens of "What if?" We’ll walk the line between nonfiction and fiction, using prompts and exercises to write new drafts of speculative literary nonfiction. Be ready to try prompts and exercises you’ve never tried before, to stretch in new ways, and to examine what it means for a story to be true. Each week, participants will read short works of speculative nonfiction, practice new craft techniques, and generate a new draft! We’ll explore the literary publications that accept and publish this genre of work, learn new editing tools, and finish the class with three or more completed drafts ready to edit and submit!
- [Novelist Paraic O’Donnell in Conversation with Editor Masie Cochran](https://writer.org/event/paraic-odonnell/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by author Paraic O’Donnell to discuss his new novel, The Naming of the Birds. Paraic is in conversation with his editor at Tin House, Masie Cochran. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all
- [Poets Anjum Choudhary & Carlota Roby in Conversation with Sistah Joy](https://writer.org/event/choudhary-roby/) - Join us for an inspiring evening at The Writer's Center as we celebrate two remarkable local authors, Anjum Choudhary and Carlota Roby, during their book presentation event. Anjum Choudhary, a celebrated poet originally from Dubai, will present her second book, The Silent Hummingbird. Known for her raw and emotive writing, Anjum's verses explore the depths
- [Intermediate Novel Writing: The 8 Cs](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-writing-the-8-cs/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eight fundamental elements of the novel to help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your work-in-progress. From Concept to Conclusion, we will study the key components of a novel, with generative and evaluative exercises along the way. Written lessons, curated online resources, and targeted exercises (along with instructor and peer feedback) will help guide you as you continue to draft your novel. (Note: This course is a good follow-up to Tammy Greenwood’s Intro to the Novel workshop.)
- [Virtual Info Session for Memoir Intensive with Raquel Gutiérrez](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-memoir-intensive-with-raquel-gutierrez/) - Meet Raquel Gutiérrez, instructor for our ten-month Memoir Intensive workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. Info session free and open to all interested writers. About the Program Application Deadline: November 12, 2024
- [Writing Picture Books II](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-ii-2/) - You’ve drafted your picture book, what’s the next step? Learn to revise and polish your picture book manuscript before submitting to an agent or publisher. A widely published author and an acclaimed illustrator will lead discussions in pacing, page turns, storyboarding, and visually dramatic storytelling. During this hands-on workshop, writers will be editing their own manuscripts and enhancing their skills as picture book creators.Bring your questions and two double-spaced copies of a picture-book manuscript that you’ve revised. Workshop may most benefit those who have taken Writing Picture Books or another picture book class.
- [Immigrant Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/immigrant-writers-mixer-dec-2024/) - Join us at The Writer’s Center for an informal gathering with other immigrant writers. It's the perfect opportunity to network and share stories. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. A limited number of attendees will have the opportunity to read a 5-minute work they
- [Playwright’s Collaborative Presents: An Evening of Short Play Readings](https://writer.org/event/playwrights-collaborative/) - Join us for an evening of short amusing plays by local playwrights and discussion over wine and cheese. The Playwrights Collaborative is coming back with their first reading of the post-Covid era. Free admission, no registration required. The Playwrights MARILYN BENNETT is a playwright and actor in the Washington, DC area. Her play, Man on
- [Jim Beane Book Launch in Conversation with Dana Cann](https://writer.org/event/beane-cann/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Jim Beane to celebrate the release of his debut novel, The Deadening, published by Mandel Vilar Press/Dryad Press. Jim is in conversation novelist Dana Cann, author of Ghosts of Bergen County. Book signing and light reception to follow. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Jim Beane is a native Washingtonian,
- [Writing and Publishing Across Multiple Genres with Afabwaje Kurian, Alonzo Vereen & Tricia Elam Walker](https://writer.org/event/writing-and-publishing-across-multiple-genres/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes three celebrated authors — Afabwaje Kurian, Alonzo Vereen, and Tricia Elam Walker — for a panel discussion on writing and publishing across multiple genres. Moderated by Aaron Hwang. FREE & open to the public. Register below. Afabwaje Kurian received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her short fiction has appeared
- [Introduction to the Craft and Beauty of Poetry](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-the-craft-and-beauty-of-poetry/) - This workshop is for writers looking to begin, or deepen, their exploration of poetry with a focus on craft. Each session is devoted to one aspect of craft—imagery, line, form, voice, etc.—and begins with a chance to share your work aloud (not workshop). Participants learn by discussing great poems, reading short, engaging chapters, and doing fun weekly assignments. One session will be devoted to revision, and one to workshop. Please bring a copy of The Poet’s Companion by Addonizio and Laux to the first class. Note: No meeting November 30.
- [Rock Creek Park: Your Wild Home](https://writer.org/event/rock-creek-park-your-wild-home/) - Class will start with a ramble through the northern floodplains of Rock Creek Park to observe natural phenomena with naturalist, author, and poet Melanie Choukas-Bradley. After an intermezzo to travel to The Writer's Center, poet and popular poetry instructor Ann Quinn will lead the class in a poetry workshop in a room filled with art that evokes Rock Creek's forests. Note: the class will begin at Rock Creek Park. Specific directions will be emailed to registrants.
- [Travel Writing for Fun and Profit](https://writer.org/event/travel-writing-for-fun-and-profit/) - Ever wonder if your taste for interesting travel and off-the-beaten-track destinations could lead to publication — and maybe even a new career? Peter Mandel, a nationally-known adventure travel journalist for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and National Geographic Kids, will deliver the inside scoop on how to shape your own travel experiences into easy-to-compose blogs, posts, and articles that you can publish yourself—or sell to newspapers, magazines and websites. The author of ten books, Mandel will weave in instruction with slides of his most extreme travel assignments: surviving a coup in Ecuador, visiting a 'city' of penguins at the South Pole, fishing for piranha on Brazil's Rio Negro, floating in the Goodyear Blimp, sailing on an Arctic icebreaker, camping in the African bush, and kayaking to the Statue of Liberty.
- [The Writer's Life: Living, Thriving, Succeeding](https://writer.org/event/the-writers-life-living-thriving-succeeding/) - In this workshop we'll tackle the tough rarely-discussed issues of creativity, competition, finding your unique voice, success, community and getting paid. Please bring something to take notes on.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Book Launch & Conversation for People and Trees](https://writer.org/event/people-and-trees/) - The Writer's Center welcomes Plamen Press and the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center for the launch of Plamen's latest publication, People and Trees, by Azerbaijani writer and playwright Akram Aylisli, translated by Katherine E. Young. The event will feature Young, as well as journalist and Caucasus regional expert Thomas de Waal. The panel will be
- [Author talk with Myriam J. A. Chancy](https://writer.org/event/author-talk-with-myriam-j-a-chancy/) - Join us for a live, in-person author talk with Myriam J. A. Chancy. She will discuss her novel, What Storm, What Thunder, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. Open to the public, and free! Myriam J. A. Chancy’s What Storm, What Thunder was named a best book of the year by NPR, Kirkus,
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Essayist Hanif Abdurraqib](https://writer.org/event/hanif-abdurraqib/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of the personal essay! We’re joined by National Book Award finalist Hanif Abdurraqib to discuss his new book, There’s Always This Year. Hanif is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Advanced Fiction Workshop](https://writer.org/event/advanced-fiction-workshop-3/) - Deep reading and insightful questions are the hallmarks of this course. If you have previous workshop experience and are far along on your fiction journey, this 6-week workshop might be for you. The ideal class consists of writers who craft their own stories, are open to feedback, and read the work of others with a nurturing, supportive, and analytical eye. Participants in Advanced Fiction Workshop come in with a basic understanding of point of view, character, and narrative tension. We explore such questions as: Does your story hook readers in? Do your characters live and breathe? If this kind of active feedback sounds appealing, please apply by submitting the first fifteen pages (double-spaced, 12 pt. font) of a piece of fiction you’ve written to laura.spencer@writer.org by September 30, 2024. NOTE: Please do not register for the course prior to being accepted.
- [Writing About Mental Health Topics in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-mental-health-topics-in-fiction/) - Infuse mental health themes into your fiction with accuracy and intention! Examples from popular media will be reviewed so you can learn how to avoid cliches and dig deeper into what shapes people's various experiences with mental health. Participants will develop a character outline based on psychological concepts and re-write a passage created by the instructor using psychologically-informed content.
- [Writing Picture Books](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-2/) - Learn how to write a picture book from a successful author of thirty award-winning books for children. Each session will begin with a short discussion of an aspect of writing for children, including story openings and arcs, characterization, plot/pacing, rhythm/sound, and marketing. Suggested readings, prompts, and feedback on in-class writing will inspire and guide writers in the class. By the end of the workshop, participants should have written and/or revised part or all of a picture book and have a better sense of how to create one in the future. Feedback will be offered on in-class exercises only rather than workshopping writing done outside of class.
- [Turning Memories Into Transformational Stories](https://writer.org/event/turning-memories-into-transformational-stories/) - How have your ups and downs, wins and losses shaped your life? Whether you want to write privately or wish to publish, identifying the turning points and themes in your life is an important first step in memoir writing. In this workshop, participants will reflect on the transformational seasons in their lives and associate stories and themes to each one. We will explore the dynamics of character development and narrative arc, and learn techniques to capture universal meaning through personal experiences. You will come away with a timeline technique to uncover life themes and storylines, a bank of memories to serve as writing prompts, and tips for starting a memoir journaling practice.
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel-2/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Students will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a great half-day session for the beginning long-form fiction writer, or for the more experienced author in need of a quick strategy brush-up.
- [International Poetry Panel Discussion](https://writer.org/event/international-poetry/) - The Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain, The Writer’s Center, and Poet Lore present a panel discussion on international poetry and poetry in translation, featuring Spanish poet Javier Adrada de la Torre and poets/translators Nancy Naomi Carlson, Patricia Davis, and Heather Green. FREE and open to the public. RSVP below. Javier Adrada de la
- [Writing Creative Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-creative-nonfiction-2/) - Over the course, we will be reading and writing in several sub-genres of creative nonfiction, including memoir, essay, literary journalism, and the epistolary form. The class focuses on generating new material, offering feedback to peers, revising pieces, and finally researching markets for the placement of work.
- [Mapping Strategies for Story Structure](https://writer.org/event/mapping-strategies-for-story-structure-2/) - There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for story structure. Let’s discuss a plan that is right for you. We’ll brainstorm the strengths and weaknesses of your specific story’s destination and the journey along the way. Is there a rich narrative and character arc, a strong point of entry, appropriate placement of flashbacks, a transformative and resonant ending, and will a reader care? We will play with maps, sketches, diagrams, and understand the importance of revising your initial plan as your story takes on a life of its own. Bring your specific idea for a short story, memoir, or novel.
- [How to Write Micro Memoir](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-micro-memoir-2/) - Write your life story as you lived it, one moment at a time. This interactive workshop teaches writers to distill a moment of change, conflict, contradiction, or mystery to its essence, so that the impact on the writer resonates profoundly with the reader. We will examine inspiring published examples to learn exactly how the writer moved and entertained us. Using the same tools with which we craft fiction, this workshop is an excellent learning environment for both genres. We'll conclude with a review of where to publish.
- [Novelist Wayne Karlin Reading & Discussion with Marc Steiner](https://writer.org/event/wayne-karlin/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Wayne Karlin for a reading and discussion of his latest novel, The Genizah. Wayne is in conversation with Marc Steiner, radio host and multimedia producer. FREE and open to the public, RSVP below. Wayne Karlin has published eight novels, a collection of short fiction, and three non-fiction books. He has
- [Novelist Tara Campbell Reading & Workshop](https://writer.org/event/tara-campbell-2024/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Tara Campbell for a reading from her brand new novel, City of Dancing Gargoyles. Following the reading, she'll lead a mini workshop to invite participants into her creative process. Come ready to write and invent new cities of your own! FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Tara Campbell is
- [Book Launch & Discussion with Sharon Darrow & Marianne Murphy](https://writer.org/event/darrow-murphy/) - The Writer's Center welcomes author Sharon Darrow and illustrator Marianne Murphy for a book launch celebration of their new book, Rainbow a Poem. Sharon Darrow (sharondarrow.com) was a member of the faculty of the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, Vermont College of Fine Arts, from 1997 to 2019. She is the award-winning
- [Researching and Writing your Family History](https://writer.org/event/researching-and-writing-your-family-history/) - Historian/biographer Ken Ackerman shows the nuts and bolts of investigating our family trees, going back generations. He will describe how to use archives, interviews, internet sources, family records, and memories and piece together a multigenerational story. The class is perfect for memoirists, biographers, or people interested to learn where they came from, or how to organize their family knowledge for children or grandchildren.
- [Latine Heritage Through a Literary Lens](https://writer.org/event/latine-heritage-2024/) - The Writer’s Center presents an informative and inspiring symposium addressing the subject of Latine heritage in literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing workshops followed by a panel discussion. Featured writers include Erick Acuña, María Fernanda, and Maritza Rivera, moderated by Ofelia Montelongo. The symposium concludes with a reception for all attendees. All events
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Ruben Quesada](https://writer.org/event/ruben-quesada/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by former Poet Lore Guest Editor Ruben Quesada to discuss his new collection, Brutal Companion. Ruben is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Brent Ameneyro](https://writer.org/event/brent-ameneyro/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Brent Ameneyro to discuss his debut collection, A Face Out of Clay. Brent is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual
- [Is Traditional Publishing Right for You?](https://writer.org/event/is-traditional-publishing-right-for-you/) - Explore all the traditional publishing options available to you to determine if this publishing path is right for you. We begin by discussing our goals for publishing a book, then evaluate our assets. We then look at the traditional publishing paths (Big 5, medium, small press, academic) and discuss what you need to succeed on this path. We also look at resources for finding agents and publishers, which will be essential to landing a traditional book deal. By the end of the class, attendees will know what to expect if they pursue a traditional book publisher.
- [Building Suspense in Short Fiction](https://writer.org/event/building-suspense-in-short-fiction/) - Creating suspense involves more than leaving questions unanswered; a lot of it has to do with dramatic irony. But hanging questions are a great entryway into building tension, as are using irony, temporality or the movement of time, and narrative delay. In this workshop, students will learn how to build and sustain tension, writing beyond a surprises similar to literary clickbait. Also, we'll explore how the audience is as much a part of creating suspense as the writer.
- [How to Plot Like a Pro](https://writer.org/event/how-to-plot-like-a-pro/) - You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a well-conceived story around a main character and central conflict, while paying attention to pacing, can make the difference between a finished, publishable manuscript and an abandoned work-in-progress. Plotting provides a safety net that never robs the author of the joy of writing, and always reduces revision time. Think you can’t plot? Join us for this course, and we’ll show you how!
- [Is Self-Publishing Right for You?](https://writer.org/event/is-self-publishing-right-for-you/) - You have many options for publishing your work. Which one is best for you and your book? In this class we will explore self-publishing, hybrid, and alternative routes to publication: collaborating with a nonprofit and work-for-hire. We will set goals and evaluate the assets we bring to the publishing process to see how those affect available options for publishing. Attendees will walk away knowing what it takes to succeed in these varied and exciting routes to publication.
- [Show and Tell Intensive](https://writer.org/event/show-and-tell-intensive-2/) - A dynamic workshop on the single most important skill any writer can have. Skilled writers make readers feel and intuit precisely what they want them to by using the technique of showing writing. No other element of craft promises this immediacy and power to bring a work to life. This is how to make a flat passage sing, how to gain your readers’ trust and emotional participation. Through exploration of compelling published examples, exercises, lively discussion, and inspiring instruction, you will learn to elevate your stories to submission-quality prose.
- [Writing From Memory](https://writer.org/event/writing-from-memory-2/) - Memory is rarely objective truth, but it tells an important story that affects our identities and the legacy we pass down through generations. Work with an award-winning memoirist to understand different types of memory and how life stories are built from them. Examine examples of memoir to learn ways to translate memory fragments into a narrative on the page. Then participate in exercises to unlock distant memories and describe them using all five senses. Participants will come away with the beginning of a new piece and the tools to continue to write from memory.
- [Storytelling Workshop: Unleash Your Narrative Power](https://writer.org/event/storytelling-workshop-unleash-your-narrative-power/) - In this workshop, you'll gain the tools and techniques to craft engaging and powerful stories. Through interactive activities and collaborative exercises, you'll learn the essentials of story structure, develop compelling characters, and create immersive settings. Our workshop will guide you in plotting your story, writing dynamic scenes, and refining your narrative skills. Whether you're a novice or an experienced writer, this workshop will provide valuable insights and practical strategies to help you bring your stories to life.
- [Life Stories Intensive](https://writer.org/event/life-stories-intensive-2/) - Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, letter to your granddaughter, or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life story writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Consider other people’s feelings without allowing this to censor your experience or keep you from writing. Learn to identify your story's essence, the truth it reveals, and to engage the reader through fictional techniques. Participants will leave inspired to begin or improve a work-in-progress.
- [Public Speaking Fundamentals](https://writer.org/event/public-speaking-fundamentals/) - As creators and creatives, we long to share our work, yet are often thwarted by fear and uncertainty. Join performance coach and therapist Jennifer Hamady to learn how to alleviate your apprehension and generate fantastic public deliveries. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the practical tools to modulate and project your voice, expand your confidence, presence, and impact, and connect authentically with your audience. You may also have the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned; please bring a poem, article, or piece of writing– yours or someone else’s– to work on with the group if time permits.
- [The Haunting of Grief](https://writer.org/event/the-haunting-of-grief/) - In our six weeks together, we will also explore what remains lingering before, during, and after death: How does society view death, how does a community grieve, and how do we, as a collective, approach such a vulnerable topic? Throughout our time together, we will read poems from Victoria Chang, Eduardo C. Corral, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Ocean Vuong, Susan Nguyen, jj peña, and Yanyi, among others. We will discuss form, white space, imagery, the speaker’s voice, and ultimately, what is at risk in each poem.
- [Beads on a String: Organizing a Poetry Manuscript](https://writer.org/event/beads-on-a-string-organizing-a-poetry-manuscript/) - Poets who are putting together their first chapbook or full-length book often agonize over what they can do to make their manuscript grab the attention of an editor or contest judge. But there is no one approach to arranging a sequence of poems that is inherently superior. Instead, it has more to do with gaining some perspective on your own work and identifying the themes, images, and impulses that certain poems share. In this workshop, we will gather advice from a number of successful poets and then take a close look at how a Pulitzer Prize-winning volume was put together.
- [Writing the Killer Query](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-killer-query/) - If you want your novel to be traditionally published, sooner or later you will need to write a query letter and plot synopsis of your story. Learn how to develop an effective pitch for literary agents, the most effective ways to encapsulate your plot to create an effective showcase for your story, and where to find legitimate agents to represent you and your book. This instructor has submitted and sold dozens of novels to major publishers using these same techniques.
- [How to Create Backstory and Flashbacks](https://writer.org/event/how-to-create-backstory-and-flashbacks/) - Every character has a hidden history from before their story starts. Learn how to masterfully weave in details and experiences that enrich your characters and create believable motivation. Novelists, short story authors, and creative nonfiction writers will all benefit from these twin skills. You’ll see your writing grow in sophistication and depth.
- [Writing Remarkable Characters in Short Fiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-remarkable-characters-in-short-fiction/) - This two-hour workshop will focus on creating remarkable point-of-view characters in your short fiction. It will include instructor insights, prompts, and time for the participants to write and share their work in a nurturing, generative workshop.
- [Vulnerability in Personal Storytelling](https://writer.org/event/vulnerability-in-personal-storytelling-2/) - Each of us has the power to look at our lived experiences to find meaning and wisdom that we can transform however we want: into art, into lifestyle, into legacy. In this workshop, you will learn how to view creative vulnerability as generosity, and how to offer up your humanity through story as a gift to yourself and others. We will address questions such as: How do I write about sensitive topics without doing harm to myself? How do I do my story justice? What techniques can I use? How do I turn a raw journal entry into a piece for publication? You will come away from this workshop with perspective on your unique storyteller type and how grasping it can build courage, as well as best practices for taking care of yourself as you do this. introspective work. On the first day, writers will receive instruction and start a rough draft of a personal story. On the second day, they will share their work and receive feedback.
- [Novel 101: How to Craft the Story](https://writer.org/event/novel-101-how-to-craft-the-story/) - Fans of fiction delight! If you've always wanted to create your own exciting novel then this is the class for you. The class offers the key concepts of plotting and pacing while delving into different genres. Beginners have the opportunity to share their works with the class while also building confidence in their craft. Short homework assignments will encourage practice outside of assigned class hours. Students will leave with an evolved sense of fiction and the tools necessary to continue writing their own story.
- [Boot Camp for Writers](https://writer.org/event/boot-camp-for-writers-2/) - Classes begin with a short warm up exercise followed by a prompt for a longer piece. Participants will then focus on specifics like effective beginnings, creative prose, and strong conclusions. Participants will also learn how to avoid common grammatical and usage errors that can distract from their message. This workshop will focus on both craft and technique and is designed for participants of all backgrounds who are looking to take their writing endurance and skills to the next level. Participants will have the start of several narrative pieces by the end of the class.
- [Structure Your Book!](https://writer.org/event/structure-your-book/) - In just three sessions we explore different ways to structure a novel, memoir, or non-fiction book, through exercises and examples. Starting with your idea, you’ll learn about expectations, different and divergent ways to both generate and organize all those ideas! You’ll leave with a plan and a scaffold for your book!
- [Flash Fiction Workshop](https://writer.org/event/flash-fiction-workshop/) - What is flash fiction? How can you write it? Let’s use these five weeks to explore some new styles, write at least FIVE new stories, workshop them, and figure out where they go to be published! You’ll leave the workshop with five new stories and some ideas of where to send them! Textbook: Flash Fiction America 2023 (foreward by Danielle Evans).
- [Wisdom, Joy, Gratitude—giving and receiving through Poetry](https://writer.org/event/wisdom-joy-gratitude-giving-and-receiving-through-poetry/) - Reading and writing poetry is soul-work. Each class will include discussion of inspiring poems, guided free-writes, and sharing. Between classes you will have life-enhancing reading and journal assignments. Our last class will be a formal and friendly workshop to celebrate the gifts we have shared throughout the course. Note: No meeting November 28.
- [Publishing Your Op-ed](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-op-ed/) - This workshop will help you sharpen and develop your viewpoint, learn how to structure an op-ed and and close the deal by making an effective pitch to editors.
- [CANCELED - Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2024-1/) - CANCELED: tonight's Open Mic @ The Writer's Center has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. We'll be back for the next regularly scheduled Open Mic on September 25. We're sorry for any inconvenience. See you soon!
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist & Memoirist Sofia Samatar](https://writer.org/event/sofia-samatar/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by Sofia Samatar to discuss her new book, Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life. Sofia is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist-3/) - Can't find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just 8 weeks. Students receive the encouraging guidance of professional writing coach Kathryn Johnson. Each author will commit to an aggressive writing schedule and learn the tricks pros use to create a productive working environment and meet their deadlines, despite life’s distractions. Classes will include accountability and progress reports from each student, troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture on some aspect of the fiction craft, and the opportunity to submit portions of the work-in-progress to the instructor for individual feedback and guidance. (Note: This is not a work-shopping course. Further information will be sent to registered students, in advance of the first class.)
- [Writing Song Lyrics](https://writer.org/event/writing-song-lyrics/) - This course starts the participant on the practice of putting words together with music. Writing a song lyric requires matching syllables in words with melody notes to be sung in time over a rhythm. We all practice the results of the lyricist's trade whenever we sing a song we know, but in this course we'll look into how those choices are made, and get some practice at generating our own lyrics. There will be 30-45 minutes homework exercises between course meetings, and we will go over everyone's results before moving on in the text (which is provided). By the end participants will have generated a lyric for a familiar existing song, and at least one lyric which can be set by a composer to produce a complete work.
- [Crafting Fiction: Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element-2/) - By working through basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their writing--be it short stories or novels. This 7-week workshop will explore the elements of fiction one at a time and ask participants to practice these elements through in-class writing exercises. We will also read published fiction--a story per week--to see how experienced writers regularly employ these elements. You'll leave the workshop prepared to write a wonderful work of fiction.
- [Immigrant Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/immigrant-writers-mixer-sep2024/) - Join us at The Writer’s Center for an informal gathering with other immigrant writers. It's the perfect opportunity to network and share stories. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. A limited number of attendees will have the opportunity to read a 5-minute work they
- [Dr. Laura H. Kahn Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/laura-kahn/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Dr. Laura H. Kahn to celebrate the release of her book, One Health and the Politics of COVID-19, published by Johns Hopkins University press. Dr. Kahn will be in conversation with investigative reporter Emily Kopp. For almost 15 years, Laura Kahn, a physician, was a research scholar with the Program on
- [Washington Writers’ Publishing House Award Winner Reading & Reception](https://writer.org/event/wwph-2024/) - The Washington Writers’ Publishing House celebrates the 2024 winners of its annual fiction, poetry, and nonfiction contests! Varun Gauri will read from the Carol Trawick 50th Anniversary Fiction award-winning novel For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus. Chanlee Luu will read from the Jean Feldman Poetry award-winning The Machine Autocorrects Code to I. Megan Doney will read
- [The Survival Power of the Lyric Poem](https://writer.org/event/the-survival-power-of-the-lyric-poem/) - Throughout the centuries, the lyric has had revelatory power evoked through both beauty and pain. When you’re in the middle of writing a poem that is fully inspired, it isn’t a poem at all, but a light in blindness, a splintered house in a whirlwind, with a gaping door, but you find your way through it. It is only afterwards that it becomes anything like a poem, when you’re telling it to yourself and to someone else. This workshop is open to all levels of poetry writers, all topics, with only one requirement: write from the heart, and nearly everything works, if only from the head, almost nothing works: it takes both.
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-sep2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [Doing the Work: Panel Discussion w/ Nick Rees Gardner, Ian S. Maloney, Tobias Carroll & Andrew Bertaina on Jobs in Fiction](https://writer.org/event/doing-the-work/) - In his essay, "Get a Job," Benjamin Percy states that "Your way of seeing the world bends around your work." Percy goes on to give an example of a farmer whose sense of time depends on the height of corn, whose sense of place is created by the fields that surround him. Join authors Nick
- [Advanced Personal Essay](https://writer.org/event/advanced-personal-essay/) - This workshop is for writers who have a good understanding of what a personal essay is, are open to exploring further the many forms a personal essay can take, and are already working seriously in the genre. The focus will be participants’ writing, supplemented with assigned readings. Participants will workshop two essays (or drafts of the same essay, if they prefer). The class is designed for self-contained essays, not book-length memoirs. To be considered for admission, please submit an essay or excerpt of no more than five double-spaced pages to laura.spencer@writer.org by September 9. Note: No meeting on November 2.
- [$40 Pop Up! Getting Ready for Submission Season!](https://writer.org/event/40-pop-up-getting-ready-for-submission-season/) - Many literary journals are about to open back up for submissions after their summer breaks, so now is the perfect time for a submission tune-up! For writers who are new to the submission process or more experienced writers who want to learn how to improve their odds of acceptance — this class will teach you
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Kenzie Allen](https://writer.org/event/kenzie-allen/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Kenzie Allen to discuss her debut collection, Cloud Missives. Kenzie is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [A Reading & Conversation with Novelists David Ebenbach & Clifford Garstang](https://writer.org/event/ebenbach-garstang/) - The Writer's Center welcomes authors David Ebenbach and Clifford Garstang for a reading and discussion of their new novels. Book signing to follow. FREE and open to the public. RSVP below. DC writer David Ebenbach is the author of ten books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, including his new novel Possible Happiness. He lives with his
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news-2/) - Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise, be concise and choose strong verbs. (Plus a Speak Like the News skill: avoid “uptalk?”) Emulate the vivid news examples you’ll see in this workshop, and you’ll strengthen your writing voice with lively, engaging news style. At 7 sharp, we’ll critique TheWallStreetJournal.com, seeing how to communicate your main point in just a few words. To cover as much ground as possible, we’ll have just a few writing exercises and most of them will take less than a minute each.
- [An Evening of Tributes to Jesmyn Ward](https://writer.org/event/jesmyn-ward/) - A Free Fitzgerald Literary Festival Event Co-sponsored with The Writer’s Center The F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, Inc. and The Writer’s Center present a reading in tribute to two-time National Book Award-winning novelist Jesmyn Ward, addressing the Festival’s theme of “Writing the Hard Stories.” Featuring American Book Award-winning author Susan Muaddi Darraj, MacArthur Fellowship awardee Kiese
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Paul Jaskunas in Conversation with Leeya Mehta](https://writer.org/event/paul-jaskunas/) - The Inner Loop and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Paul Jaskunas to discuss his new novel, The Atlas of Remedies. Paul is in conversation with author Leeya Mehta. The Atlas of Remedies is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. The Inner Loop cultivates and promotes
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-3/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise your own novel without the assistance of a professional editor.
- [Setting Intensive](https://writer.org/event/setting-intensive/) - In this workshop we will learn to use setting as a map, as a structure for storytelling. Setting can be a situation, a tone, a time, an atmosphere, a relationship, and more. It can be as broad as a country, as small as a porch swing. At its best, setting becomes a character in and of itself. In short, setting is the most versatile and under-utilized of all the elements of craft. This interactive and dynamic workshop will give you the means to improve both your fiction and nonfiction stories.
- [Finding Your Authentic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-authentic-voice-2/) - Look beyond your inner critic and tap into the flow of your limitless creativity, as you discover the powerful impact of your authentic voice. Learn how to identify limiting beliefs, deconstruct doubt, and write compelling pieces to foster a special connection with your readers. In a safe and supportive space, reintroduce your childlike wonder around creativity so you can write freely, reclaim your power, and uncover your true gifts. Unleash your brilliance and honor the impact of your stories, lessons, and innermost thoughts. Walk away feeling empowered with fresh awareness, confidence in your writing, and practical tips to stay inspired and let your art flow freely. Note: No meeting November 30.
- [The Art of the Rewrite](https://writer.org/event/the-art-of-the-rewrite/) - The best writing is REwriting. In this session, you'll learn practical ways to put your manuscript on a flab-burning diet so that your copy is tight, trim, and hot -- and all without even having to step onto a treadmill.
- [Natural Meter Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/natural-meter-crash-course-3/) - Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Here’s an opportunity to improve your ear for meter—a major element of poetic prosody—and to fine-tune your understanding of how it works. Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day workshop includes scansion of well-known poems, writing exercises, and, if you like, close examination of a poem you’ve drafted prior to class. You’ll leave with new insights about improving the auditory qualities of all your poems and prose.
- [Point of View and Narrative Voice](https://writer.org/event/point-of-view-and-narrative-voice-3/) - Do the multitude of Point of View options elude you? We will look at everything from the first person point of view to the editorial omniscient, as well as some of the less traditional points of view, to help you choose the best voice to tell your story.
- [Persona Poems](https://writer.org/event/persona-poems/) - Persona poems allow the poet to step into someone else's shoes, or the shoes of an object, an animal, a force of nature. This workshop will play with persona poems by reading examples in class and then following the prompts provided! Participants can expect to write 3-4 drafts of poems.
- [Book Marketing on a Budget!](https://writer.org/event/book-marketing-on-a-budget-3/) - You’ve written – or are writing your book – now fight for it! In this workshop we’ll focus on dozens of book marketing tips, with a close eye on budgets. From book launches, social media, blogging and podcasting, to writing press releases, creating Amazon Author’s pages, and connecting with publicists, we’ll fill your head, and notebook with ideas; over 30 of them! If you think writing a book is exciting, wait until you feel the thrill of professionally promoting it!
- [High-Octane Grammar](https://writer.org/event/high-octane-grammar/) - In this one-session workshop, Ken Ackerman shares his own secrets to get the most out of wordsmithing, using simple rules of grammar to energize your writing like a fine-tuned engine. This workshop includes a refresher on grammar essentials, strong verbs, and sharp sentences to make your writing sing.
- [UnClogging Your Brain](https://writer.org/event/unclogging-your-brain-3/) - Prompts will spark memories, characters, and places, turning them into poems, scenes, dialogues, and stories. During 'UnClogging' you will likely come up with an 'idea' that you feel compelled to expand on, or perhaps be re-inspired to continue an unfinished work later. Find new perspective and confidence!
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension-3/) - Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary fiction into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy—you can learn techniques for drawing readers into your tales through action, dialogue, setting details, and plot twists that make your work stand out from the crowd. Join us and leave with ideas to apply to your stories.
- [My Life, One Story at a Time](https://writer.org/event/my-life-one-story-at-a-time/) - The goal in this ‘Guided Autobiography’ workshop is to capture your life experiences in six short pieces of autobiographical writing (true stories) for those who will survive you—or for yourself later in life. Knowing that you are writing not for publication but to set the record straight (in your own mind, if nothing else) may liberate you, allowing you to frankly explore your life choices and experiences. Write a two-page (500-word max) story to bring to the first session, to read aloud, to introduce yourself to others in the group—about a turning point in your life, or a time when you made a choice that changed your life. The emphasis here is on storytelling— making yourself and important friends and family characters in your stories. There is no “literary critiquing”—so you can relax enough to tell your story frankly, and find your natural voice.
- [Writing Vignettes](https://writer.org/event/writing-vignettes/) - We will write short vignettes in narrative form, lyric form, and persona. A vignette is an episodic piece of writing describing a person or a moment in time. Generative writing exercises will be shaped by Bhanu Kapil’s The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers, as well as poems by artists Dionne Brand, Sarah Ghazal Ali, and Nikky Finney. Participants will leave with twenty vignettes about pivotal moments or years in history or the writer's life.
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel-2/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for plotting their novels. Using the three-act structure as a map, we will explore the basic components of a novel's plot.
- [From Idea to Script: A Beginner's Guide to Screenwriting](https://writer.org/event/from-idea-to-script-a-beginners-guide-to-screenwriting-2/) - Discover how to translate your passion for screenwriting into actionable skills. Every week students will build on the foundations of story, structure, character arcs, the do's and don'ts, industry standards, and the technical side of writing a script until they have a completed short screenplay that will be workshopped during the last weeks of class. We'll start with one page scripts, build to a three-page script, and finally five to ten page scripts for the final workshop. Please come to class with a few ideas you'd like to use to create a final script. Recommended, but not required reading: - Crafting Short Screenplays that Connect by Claudia Hunter Johnson - How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King - Story by Robert McKee - On Writing by Stephen King In Preparation: Watch your favorite films and take notes, make a list of questions, and notice anything that stands out or doesn't make sense to you. We'll discuss in class.
- [Reading Your Work Out Loud](https://writer.org/event/reading-your-work-out-loud-2/) - Spend some time practicing and learning about the art of public speaking. This in-person coaching session will give you the opportunity to bring your voice– and self– to the words you’ve written. You’ll learn how to become a more genuine and effective communicator of your work, which will in turn fuel a more authentic writing process and outcome. You’ll leave the workshop with an experience of camaraderie, community, and a more deeply rooted sense of your creative and expressive self. Please have on hand a number of pieces you’d be comfortable sharing during the meeting. There will be a break; please also bring a snack and water.
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel-3/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc.) but the emphasis will be on discovering the writing process that works best for each writer.
- [Crafting Your Life into Story](https://writer.org/event/crafting-your-life-into-story/) - Following a tried-and-true formula (“Once upon a time . . . . Then, one day . . .”), you will learn how to identify, begin, and structure an autobiographical story, whether fiction or non-fiction. Participants will finish the workshop with the plots of at least three new autobiographical works, a two-page beginning of a new essay, story, novel, or memoir, or a revised beginning of their work-in-progress. Participants should bring either paper and pen or a writing device.Part 1: Learn how to begin and structure your new work. Part 2 (two weeks later): Workshop the drafts (5 pages max.) of your new work.
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-3/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of the other novelistic elements, and we will examine the challenge of creating and integrating these various elements into a cohesive and credible whole. Participants will explore the main character(s) in their novels-in-progress.
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters-2/) - When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within the context of the other novelistic elements, and we will examine the challenge of creating and integrating these various elements into a cohesive and credible whole. Participants will explore the main character(s) in their novels-in-progress.
- [Journaling Techniques for Writing Memories](https://writer.org/event/journaling-techniques-for-writing-memories-2/) - This workshop is about the pursuit of insight through writing personal memories. Whether you currently keep a journal or want to start journaling to nurture a consistent writing practice, in this two-day workshop you will learn journaling techniques that help you recall significant memories and explore the meaning behind those experiences. We will explore how a memoir writer’s journal differs from a regular journal, how to get your memoir journal started, and how to work with your captured memories to create a single storyline.
- [Novelist K.E. Semmel Book Launch Celebration with Art Taylor](https://writer.org/event/semmel-taylor/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes back K.E. Semmel (who was TWC's Publications and Communications Manager about a decade ago!) for a reading and discussion of his debut novel, The Book of Losman, plus special guest Art Taylor, author of The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions. FREE & open to the public.
- [Latine Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/latine-open-mic-oct2024/) - Bilingual Open Mic for Latine writers! All Latine writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work in English, Spanish, or spanglish. Limited space (sign up below to ensure a spot). Readings begin promptly at 6. FREE and open to the public. Advance registration required to be a reader.
- [Short Fiction Intensive with R. O. Kwon](https://writer.org/event/short-fiction-intensive/) - Work with acclaimed author R. O. Kwon to revise your stories, generate new work, and prepare for publication. In this 10-month intensive class, we’ll workshop our short fiction, whether they’re stories or excerpts. Together, we’ll delve into fiction-writing possibilities, hopes, investigations, and leaps of faith. We’ll have time and space for everyone to workshop several
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision-2/) - Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise your own novel without the assistance of a professional editor.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Essayist Lilly Dancyger](https://writer.org/event/lilly-dancyger-2024/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of creative nonfiction! We’re joined by Lilly Dancyger to discuss her new essay collection, First Love: Essays on Friendship. Lilly is in conversation with Amy Freeman, essayist and Development Director at The Writer's Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Carolyn Hembree](https://writer.org/event/carolyn-hembree/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Carolyn Hembree to discuss her collection, For Today. Carolyn is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Mike Fu](https://writer.org/event/mike-fu/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Mike Fu to discuss his debut novel, Masquerade. Mike is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer's Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the
- [Creative Spirit: Infusing Your Writing with Energy and Inspiration](https://writer.org/event/creative-spirit-infusing-your-writing-with-energy-and-inspiration/) - Are you struggling to find your voice as a writer? Do you have a story to tell but feel stuck in the creative process? No matter your beliefs, spirituality and open-mindedness can play a critical role in the creative process if we allow it and nurture it. In a safe and supportive space, reintroduce your childlike wonder around creativity so you can write freely, authentically reclaim your power, and uncover your true gifts. In this workshop you will learn to facilitate a concentrated focus and tap into a higher source of inspiration, whether viewed as the highest self, inner wisdom, or any other entity. You will walk away with efficient ways to set intentions for different writing projects, stay in the present, trust your process, set healthy boundaries, and follow signs and intuition. You will have the information necessary to create a sacred space and ritual for your writing practice, motivating you to enrich your content and deepen your message.
- [Exercises to Improve Your Writing](https://writer.org/event/exercises-to-improve-your-writing/) - Not only will you learn from expert feedback in this workshop, you can continue to learn from this workshop even after it’s over. Exercises offered in this workshop are designed for repeated use in your practice at home—including some tailored to jump-start your inspiration.
- [Rock Creek Park, Your Wild Home - Panel Discussion](https://writer.org/event/rock-creek-park-your-wild-home-panel-discussion/) - Rock Creek is central to our community's quality of life. Join this panel discussion, moderated by Representative Jamie Raskin, to learn more about the connections between green space and our well-being. We will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the publication of Melanie Choukas-Bradley's "A Year in Rock Creek," which vividly illustrates the power of a
- [If the Forest Could Talk, What Would It Say? Symposium](https://writer.org/event/if-the-forest-could-talk-what-would-it-say-symposium/) - Rock Creek Conservancy presents a symposium, "If The Forest Could Talk, What Would It Say?," in conjunction with DC-based artist Sophia McCrocklin's exhibit in The Writer’s Center’s Joram Piatigorsky Gallery. Speakers include Sophia McCrocklin, Rock Creek Conservancy; Jeanne Braha, Executive Director of Rock Creek Conservancy; and more. Join us as we celebrate the beautiful yet
- [Faces of the Forest Opening Reception](https://writer.org/event/faces-of-the-forest-opening-reception/) - Rock Creek Conservancy presents the opening reception of "Faces of the Forest" by DC-based artist Sophia McCrocklin, on display in The Writer's Center's Joram Piatigorsky Gallery, September 12 – December 6, 2024. Join us as we celebrate the beautiful yet fragile forests of Rock Creek Park. Registration is not required, but we will send reminders
- [POSTPONED - Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-jul2024/) - THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. We will announce a new date soon. Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE &
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jul2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Find the Right Agent for You: Submission Package Workshop](https://writer.org/event/find-the-right-agent-for-you-submission-package-workshop-class/) - To get a book published by a traditional publisher, you need an agent. In this class you will learn how to research agents to find the right one for you. After studying sample query letters, you’ll write your own query to be critiqued by your classmates. We will also workshop everyone's opening pages and discuss topics such as conference pitch sessions, common query mistakes, and agent red-flags. By the end of the workshop, you will be ready to send query submissions to the agents of your choice. (Although you do not need to bring it to class, you should have a completed manuscript you are hoping to publish through traditional publishing.)
- [Troubleshooting Your Fiction](https://writer.org/event/troubleshooting-your-fiction-2/) - Revision is a dirty word to some writers. But you needn’t fear the challenges of polishing a manuscript before submission and publication. This fast-paced, half-day class focuses on the ten most common mistakes and concerns, often overlooked by authors before they send their story out into the world. Everything you do to your manuscript after the first draft is what makes the difference between a ho-hum story and a powerful tale that lingers in readers’ minds. Join us for a painless look at the major revision issues for fiction.
- [How to Write a Lot](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot-2/) - You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Learn what Kathryn Johnson's Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We'll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use to complete their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Become the dedicated author you've always dreamed of being.
- [How to Start a Compelling Story](https://writer.org/event/how-to-start-a-compelling-story/) - This workshop will teach writers how to capture readers' and agents' attention from the very first sentence and keep them turning pages. We will examine the way successful authors of both fiction and nonfiction draw us in, make us care, and create stakes in which we are immediately invested. By the end of this workshop participants will have created their own compelling story start upon which to build.
- [Writing Disability Intimacy](https://writer.org/event/writing-disability-intimacy/) - The Writer's Center presents a FREE virtual panel on the making of the new anthology Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire. We're joined by contributors to the anthology Ashna Ali, Gracen Brilmeyer, and Travis Chi Wing Lau. They are in conversation with fellow contributor Claude Olson, Office Manager at The Writer's Center. RSVP
- [More than Saints: Diana Rojas in conversation with Ofelia Montelongo](https://writer.org/event/diana-rojas/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Diana Rojas for a discussion of debut collection of novellas, Litany of Saints: A Triptych. Diana will be in conversation with Ofelia Montelongo, author and Writer's Center board member. FREE & open to the public. Register below. Diana Rojas' debut fiction Litany of Saints: A Triptych was published by Arte Público Press in
- [Ekphrasis & Inspiration Writing Workshop](https://writer.org/event/ekphrasis-workshop/) - ek•phra•sis (noun) ˈɛkfrəsəs. A literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art A free two-day, generative, in-person workshop 2 Sessions Saturdays, June 22 & 29 10:00am – 11:30am ET With so many resources for visual art in the DMV, including galleries, libraries, museums, and monuments, ekphrastic writing can awaken a recalcitrant muse.
- [Novelist John Vercher in Conversation with Chet'la Sebree](https://writer.org/event/john-vercher/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes John Vercher for a discussion of his acclaimed new novel, Devil Is Fine, in conversation with poet, essayist, and TWC board member Chet’la Sebree. FREE & open to the public. Register below. John Vercher lives in the Philadelphia region with his wife and two sons. He has a Bachelor’s in English from
- [Virtual Info Session for Generative Poetry Intensive w/ Jose Hernandez Diaz](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-generative-poetry-intensive-w-jose-hernandez-diaz/) - Meet Jose Hernandez Diaz, instructor for our Generative Poetry Intensive workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. Info session free and open to all interested writers. About the Generative Poetry Intensive APPLICATION
- [Virtual Info Session for Short Fiction Intensive with R. O. Kwon](https://writer.org/event/virtual-info-session-for-short-fiction-intensive-with-r-o-kwon/) - Meet R. O. Kwon, instructor for our Short Fiction Intensive workshop, and have all your questions about the program answered! The Writer’s Center staff will be on hand, too, to address any logistical questions. Register below to receive login information. Info session free and open to all interested writers. About the Short Fiction Intensive APPLICATION
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Essayist Heather Bartel](https://writer.org/event/heather-bartel/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of the essay! We’re joined by Heather Bartel to discuss her new essay collection, Exit the Body. Heather is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet S. Fey](https://writer.org/event/s-fey/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by S. Fey to discuss their debut collection, decompose. S. Fey is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Beth Konkoski Reading & Open Mic](https://writer.org/event/beth-konkoski/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Beth Konkoski for a reading from her award-winning short fiction collection, A Drawn & Papered Heart. Beth will host an open mic following her reading, celebrating the fact that the first time she ever read her work in public, it was at an open mic at The Writer's Center. FREE &
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Lauren Camp](https://writer.org/event/lauren-camp-2024/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Lauren Camp to discuss her new collection, In Old Sky. Lauren is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and Editor of Poet Lore, America's oldest poetry journal. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Susan Coll & Paul Goldberg Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/coll-goldberg/) - The Writer's Center welcomes novelists—and spouses—Susan Coll and Paul Goldberg for a book release celebrating their new books, featuring a reading and discussion on their shared writing life. FREE & open to the public. Register below. Real Life and Other Fictions is Susan Coll’s seventh novel. Her previous books include Bookish People; The Stager, a
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Amanda Shaw in Conversation with Majda Gama](https://writer.org/event/amanda-shaw-vcc/) - The Inner Loop and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Amanda Shaw to discuss her debut collection, It Will Have Been So Beautiful. Amanda is in conversation with award-winning poet Majda Gama. It Will Have Been So Beautiful is The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight.
- [How to Write a Novel](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-novel/) - A practical plan that takes you from the mere germ of an idea all the way through the creative process, with an eye on getting a finished book into the hands of potential fans. We'll discuss how to transform the nub of an idea into a book-length project, populated with interesting characters, a twisty-turny plot, snappy dialogue, and an interesting setting. We'll also look at strategies for finding an agent and marketing the finished product. You’ll come away from the class with the encouragement to begin and perfect your writing project.
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist-2/) - Can't find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just 8 weeks. Students receive the encouraging guidance of professional writing coach Kathryn Johnson. Each author will commit to an aggressive writing schedule and learn the tricks pros use to create a productive working environment and meet their deadlines, despite life’s distractions. Classes will include accountability and progress reports from each student, troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture on some aspect of the fiction craft, and the opportunity to submit portions of the work-in-progress to the instructor for individual feedback and guidance. (Note: This is not a work-shopping course. Further information will be sent to registered students, in advance of the first class.)
- [Creating Backstory & Flashbacks](https://writer.org/event/creating-backstory-flashbacks/) - Every character has a hidden history from before your story starts. Learn how to masterfully weave in details and experiences that enrich your characters and create believable motivation. Novelists, short story authors, and creative nonfiction writers will all benefit from these twin skills. You’ll see your writing grow in sophistication and depth.
- [Evoking Reader Empathy](https://writer.org/event/evoking-reader-empathy/) - Even when a story is skillfully written, it may not be enough to make the reader care. The key lies in the emotional impact your story has on readers — inviting them to not only invest in your characters, but to embark on an emotional journey of their own. We’ll discuss how to avoid cliché and heavy-handed moralizing; determine the most effective balance of internal thought, scene, and underlying tension; and discover how to let an object or image (your father’s watch, a specific place, work of art, etc.) carry the emotional weight of your story. Reading examples and short exercises will give participants the opportunity to experiment with creating empathy on the page.
- [Care and Feeding of a Writing Group](https://writer.org/event/care-and-feeding-of-a-writing-group/) - Six local authors discuss how a Writer’s Center workshop spun off into 25 years of monthly critique meetings, leading to numerous literary journal and anthology publications, awards, fellowships, and at least ten books. Former TWC board member Jim Mathews moderates. Jim Beane is a native Washingtonian, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a Virginia Center for the
- [BIPOC Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/bipoc-writers-mixer-aug2024/) - Calling all BIPOC writers in the DMV! Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to meet new writers, make new friends, and share your love of the written word. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend,
- [BIPOC Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/bipoc-writers-mixer-jun2024/) - Calling all BIPOC writers in the DMV! Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to meet new writers, make new friends, and share your love of the written word. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend,
- [The Poetics of Memoir with Jessica E. Johnson, Tyler Mills & Sarah Rose Nordgren](https://writer.org/event/poetics-of-memoir/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes memoirists Jessica E. Johnson, Tyler Mills, and Sarah Rose Nordgren for a roundtable discussion on the poetics of memoir. FREE & open to the public. Register below. Jessica E. Johnson (she/they) is the author of the book-length poem Metabolics (Acre Poetry Series), the chapbook In Absolutes We Seek Each Other (New Michigan Press), and the
- [American Identity Through a Literary Lens](https://writer.org/event/american-identity-through-a-literary-lens/) - The Writer’s Center presents an informative and inspiring symposium addressing the subject of American identity in literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing workshops followed by a panel discussion. Featured writers include Patricia Coral, Steve Majors, Eman Quotah, and Melissa Scholes Young. The symposium concludes with a reception for all attendees. All events are
- [On Words and Worlds: Three Poets on the Worlds That Shape Us](https://writer.org/event/on-words-and-worlds/) - Come celebrate the launch of Eileen Ivey Sirota’s newly released book, Watching from the Bleachers. She is joined by Ellen Cole (Notes from the Dry Country, Prognosis) and Claire McGoff (From These Outskirts). FREE and open to the public. Register below. Eileen Ivey Sirota is a psychotherapist, poet, and potter. Her poems have appeared in Calyx, District
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Lisa Ko](https://writer.org/event/lisa-ko/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by National Book Award finalist Lisa Ko to discuss her new novel, Memory Piece. Lisa is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via
- [How to Create a Compelling Voice](https://writer.org/event/how-create-a-compelling-voice/) - Agents say it all the time. What sells a manuscript? A standout voice. Acquire the tools you need for developing a compelling voice of your own through the study of entertaining published examples, a clear explanation and writing exercises designed to ignite your unique way of expressing yourself. You will enjoy a sense of excitement in this inspiring and instructive workshop as you successfully translate the voice in your head to the page.
- [How to Write a Key Scene](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-key-scene/) - A key scene is an essential building block in any work of fiction. In this session, you'll learn tips and strategies for making the scene you see in your head come alive on the page so that your reader is compelled to keep turning the pages, rather than turn out the light. Writing exercises will give class members a hands-on feel for how to add texture, dynamism, and drama to a story. The session also provides practical, hands-on guidance about the rewriting process. An added benefit: giving and receiving critical feedback. You’ll come away from the class with the creative muscle memory to write and revise with confidence.
- [The Power of Structure: Fixing your Table of Contents](https://writer.org/event/the-power-of-structure-fixing-your-table-of-contents/) - Join us for an immersive workshop where we'll guide you through the art of creating a compelling table of contents. In this hands-on session, you'll learn how to organize your ideas effectively, create a roadmap for your readers, and ensure your manuscript flows seamlessly from start to finish. Whether you're working on a novel, a thesis, or any other project, mastering the table of contents is key to captivating your audience. Don't miss this opportunity to refine your craft and take your writing to new heights.
- [How to Write a Stand-Up Comedy Act](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-stand-up-comedy-act-2/) - How do comedians come up with ideas? It all starts with finding the funny in your life and turning it into material. Learn how to recognize a premise, extract the humor and hone it into a stand-up act or funny story. We study comedians and styles and work on your unique voice in a fun and supportive class. This is for people who want to go out and try performing or just want to learn how to polish up their writing with wit and humor. No preparation or experience necessary.
- [Your First (or Next) Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-or-next-novel/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Participants will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a great half-day session for the beginning long-form fiction writer, or for the more experienced author in need of a quick strategy brush-up.
- [The Muddle in the Middle](https://writer.org/event/the-muddle-in-the-middle/) - This quick-take session focuses on ways to get yourself unstuck when a story’s middle gets thorny, or you lose your way. A relaxed, informative 90 minutes chockful of information from a multi-published author who often has to fight her way out of the middle of a manuscript…and onward to a completed novel. Loads of tips and tricks for you to take away!
- [Crafting Fiction: Element by Element](https://writer.org/event/crafting-fiction-element-by-element/) - By working through basic craft elements of fiction, participants will build a strong foundation for their writing--be it stories or novels. This 7-week workshop will explore craft elements one at a time and ask participants to practice them through in-class exercises. Reading published fiction will also help us understand how writers regularly employ these elements. You'll also begin to put the elements together as you start a story. You'll leave the workshop with the tools you need to write wonderful, authentic fiction.
- [Tips for Revision from the Pros!](https://writer.org/event/tips-for-revision-from-the-pros/) - In this hands-on, active learning workshop, you will learn some of the various ways writers reshape, rethink, and "re-vision" their pieces. We’ll learn about and try out deep cutting, shifting style or point of view, switching up or mixing genres, and more! By the end of class, you’ll have a variety of revision techniques to try out so that you can choose the approach (or approaches) that will inspire you to take your writing forward.
- [Writing About Mental Illness](https://writer.org/event/writing-about-mental-illness/) - Whether you have experienced mental illness personally or have a loved one with mental illness, writing about it can help you process the challenges and inner conflicts while creating powerful narratives that reduce stigma and stereotypes. In the spirit of healing through storytelling, participants will write about how mental illness has directly or indirectly affected their lives. You will learn creative ways to practice self-discovery through writing and turn personal experience into art, and you will come away with two rough drafts in whatever genre you choose. For inspiration, we will read pieces by Elyn Saks, Bassey Ikpi, Mariah Hornbacher, and more. Please note, this is not a replacement for therapy. It’s an opportunity to explore a difficult topic through a creative lens.
- [Facing Your Writing Fears](https://writer.org/event/facing-your-writing-fears/) - Not only is writing a lonely process, it can be downright scary. And, when it comes to mustering the courage to share our work with others, fear can turn to terror. In this session we'll look at understanding what frightens us -- and how to get beyond those fears.
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Sydney Lea](https://writer.org/event/sydney-lea/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Sydney Lea to discuss his latest collection, What Shines. Sydney is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open
- [Second-Generation Immigrant Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/second-generation-mixer-may2024/) - Join us at The Writer’s Center for an informal gathering with other second-generation immigrant writers. It's the perfect opportunity to network and share stories. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. A limited number of attendees will have the opportunity to read a 5-minute work
- [Novelist Brooke Shaffner in Conversation with Héctor Vaca Cruz](https://writer.org/event/shaffner/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Brooke Shaffner for a reading and discussion of her award-winning novel, Country of Under. Brooke is in conversation with Héctor Vaca Cruz, documentary photographer and community organizer. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern. We encourage you
- [Poet Miguel Avero & Translator Jona Colson Reading & Reception for Aguas/Waters](https://writer.org/event/aguas-waters/) - The Writer's Center welcomes poet Miguel Avero and translator Jona Colson for a reading and reception for Aguas/Waters, published by the Washington Writers' Publishing House. FREE & open to the public. Register below. Miguel Avero, born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1984l, is a poet, narrator, essayist, teacher, and researcher. Co-founder of Orientacion Poesia and On
- [Writing Irony/Satire](https://writer.org/event/writing-irony-satire/) - Learn to write irony effectively. Irony and satire are the art of saying something without saying something. To understand irony and satire, we must understand why and how readers intuit particular meanings from our words. In this lecture, you will learn the specific history that gave rise to our modern understanding of satire and irony,
- [How to Tell Your Story](https://writer.org/event/how-to-tell-your-story-2/) - Join us for an hour as we discuss and learn different effective methods towards building and developing your story. This workshop is intended to help with all creative projects and how to navigate through ideas. This workshop will include a couple prompts to get the creative juices flowing, and some light lesson methodologies on ways
- [Opening Art Reception for Ekphrasis by Jeffrey Berg](https://writer.org/event/ekphrasis/) - The Writer's Center welcomes artist Jeffrey Berg for an opening reception for Ekphrasis, a collection of color pencil drawings and mixed media on paper. The exhibition will be on view in the Joram Piatigorsky Gallery May 23 - August 2, 2024. FREE & open to the public! Register below! Light refreshments provided. Artist Statement My
- [From Idea to Script: A Beginner's Guide to Screenwriting](https://writer.org/event/from-idea-to-script-a-beginners-guide-to-screenwriting/) - Discover how to translate your passion for screenwriting into actionable skills. Every week students will build on the foundations of story, structure, character arcs, the do's and don'ts, industry standards, and the technical side of writing a script until they have a completed short screenplay that will be workshopped during the last weeks of class. We'll start with one page scripts, build to a three-page script, and finally five to ten page scripts for the final workshop. Please come to class with a few ideas you'd like to use to create a final script.
- [Intermediate Novel: The 8 Cs of Novel Writing](https://writer.org/event/intermediate-novel-the-8-cs-of-novel-writing/) - Are you serious about writing a novel but struggling? This intermediate course will examine the eight fundamental elements of the novel to help you find the strengths and weaknesses of your work-in-progress. From Concept to Conclusion, we will study the key components of a novel, with generative and evaluative exercises along the way. Written lessons, curated online resources, and targeted exercises (along with instructor and peer feedback) will help guide you as you continue to draft your novel. (Note: This course is a good follow-up to Tammy Greenwood’s Intro to the Novel workshop.)
- [Ready, Set, Write! A Generative Fiction Workshop](https://writer.org/event/ready-set-write-a-generative-fiction-workshop/) - Join this two-hour generative writing session that will help you shake off your inner editor and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). If you’ve been uninspired in your creativity lately, feel like your work could use a jolt, or just want to give yourself dedicated writing time, this session is structured to encourage creativity and playfulness. A range of prompts, short reading selections, and class discussion—along with in-class writing time—will introduce different craft techniques, styles, and approaches that will pump up your inspiration and get the words flowing. By the end of the session, you’ll have the start for 4-5 new story drafts.
- [Poetry Vs. Trauma](https://writer.org/event/poetry-vs-trauma/) - Trauma can shut us down; writing poems can help free us to open up again. This workshop will present some of the many ways poetry has helped writers both heal trauma and prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome. Guided by an internationally published poet, you will explore the science behind this and learn a range of techniques, immediately putting several of them to use in drafting new work. The workshop includes reading and discussion of time-honored poems, close attention to emotional and sensory aspects of poetry, several class writing exercises, and feedback on poems for those who wish to share them. (Note: All sharing is optional. This workshop is not a substitute for therapy.)
- [Point of View and Narrative Voice](https://writer.org/event/point-of-view-and-narrative-voice-2/) - Do the multitude of Point of View options elude you? We will look at everything from the first person point of view to the editorial omniscient, as well as some of the less traditional points of view, to help you choose the best voice to tell your story.
- [Poetry of the Erotic](https://writer.org/event/poetry-of-the-erotic/) - For many poets, writing poems about sex can feel intimidating and difficult. Yet for as long as there's been poetry, there have been poems that celebrate the joys, mysteries, and chaos of erotic connection. This workshop offers an opportunity for poets to write their own poems with Eros at the center, as well as read and study poems featuring a wide range of poets of color, and queer and trans poets. In this workshop we'll ask ourselves questions like: How can poems about sex gesture toward even larger considerations than sex itself? What might we learn from poetic traditions that blend erotic poetry and spiritual poetry? How does Eros locate the body both within itself, while transcending the self? By the end of this workshop, students can expect to leave with new poems and new insights into their own poetic process. Students should plan to come to the first workshop with a favorite poem by another poet, to share with the group.
- [Plotting Your Novel](https://writer.org/event/plotting-your-novel/) - Whether you are an organized planner or a writer who flies by the seat of their pants, a novel still needs structure. In this workshop, participants will study the architecture of a novel and devise plans for plotting their novels. Using the three-act structure as a map, we will explore the basic components of a novel's plot.
- [Crafting Short Stories](https://writer.org/event/crafting-short-stories-2/) - In this workshop, participants will examine the qualities of good writing and good storytelling. After a recap on the constituent elements of short fiction, we will take a fresh look at contemporary and classic stories alike. Each week, writers will craft a new piece and offer feedback to fellow participants. By the course's end, writers will have workshopped several stories each and revised them with an eye toward publication.
- [Novel Year with Diane Zinna](https://writer.org/event/novel-year-april/) - Complete your novel and prepare for publication! Novel Year is an intensive, advanced workshop geared toward writers with either a draft of a novel ready for revision or a novel substantially underway, with at least 75 pages already written. Working with novelist Diane Zinna, ten participants will experience the rigor and structure of an MFA-level
- [The Writer’s Center LIVE! A Variety Show for Literature Lovers](https://writer.org/event/live/) - Readings! Live music! Antics! Beer! The Writer’s Center LIVE! is a celebration of literature that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Attendees are treated to 5 exceptional readings, plus a generous serving of tomfoolery. Featuring acclaimed writers Brandon Blue, Jillian Danback-McGhan, Chet'la Sebree, Michael B. Tager, and Malik Thompson. Hosted by Amy Freeman and Emily Holland,
- [Using the Tools of Fiction in Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/using-the-tools-of-fiction-in-nonfiction/) - Enrich your nonfiction with the powerful tools of fiction. Whether you are crafting an essay or writing a memoir, the tools of fiction can bring depth and suspense to your work. This class will cover four tools of fiction. Together we will examine contemporary examples of each tool used in nonfiction, and then we will
- [Psychoanalysis & Poetic Process: An evening of poetry and discussion with Judith Harris](https://writer.org/event/judith-harris-ppp/) - Washington DC native Judith Harris (judithharrispoet.com) is a nationally acclaimed poet and scholar, having taught at several DC universities and published poems in The Nation, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Slate, The New York Times blog, and many other widely read venues. Her research, like her poetry, explores "...a [certain] willingness in the poet to
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Tobias Carroll](https://writer.org/event/tobias-carroll/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Tobias Carroll to discuss his new novel, In the Sight. Tobias is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open
- [DIY Novel Revision](https://writer.org/event/diy-novel-revision/) - Edit your novel without an editor. Do you have a finished draft of a novel but don’t know what to do next? This workshop will take you through the revision and editing process step-by-step. From large-picture issues like plot and structure, characterization, etc… to line editing, we will look at what it takes to revise
- [Ronald Collins in Conversation with Carolyn Finney](https://writer.org/event/ronald-collins/) - Ronald Collins’s mind-opening book, Tragedy on Trial: The Infamous Story of the Emmett Till Murder Trial, is a long-overdue and indispensable account of the 1955 murder trial. This amazing book throws yet more logs on the raging fire of the judicial injustice that still permeates America's legal system. Like so many others, I thought I
- [Danny Lawless & Amanda Newell Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/lawless-newell/) - Plume, Poet Lore, and The Writer's Center welcome poets/editors Danny Lawless and Amanda Newell for a book launch celebration of their brand new collections, plus guest poets Leeya Mehta, Gloria Mindock, and Nancy Mitchell. Book signing and refreshments to follow. FREE & open to the public. RSVP below. Daniel Lawless is the author of The Gun
- [Latine Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/latine-open-mic-may2024/) - Bilingual Open Mic for Latine writers! All Latine writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work in English, Spanish, or spanglish. Limited space (sign up below to ensure a spot). Readings begin promptly at 7. FREE and open to the public. Advance registration required to be a reader.
- [Creative Courage and Self-Care for Writers](https://writer.org/event/creative-courage-and-self-care-for-writers/) - Learn how to navigate all phases of the creative process without burning out. As writers, it’s vital that we nurture our creativity through self-care so we can work with our natural rhythms and not against them. This workshop addresses the overlooked work of cultivating the discernment, mindset and habits necessary to sustain us through the
- [Write Like the News](https://writer.org/event/write-like-the-news/) - Become concise as news, precise as law. Lead with the future — not background — for lead-ership, especially in a crisis. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise,
- [Getting Your Poetry Published](https://writer.org/event/getting-your-poetry-published/) - Expand the audience for your poetry! This intensive one-day workshop will offer all poets—whether they have yet to submit their first poem to a literary journal or are ready to present a publisher with a book-length manuscript—hands-on advice on how to achieve their publishing goals. Participants will learn how to place poems in print and
- [How Poems Begin](https://writer.org/event/how-poems-begin/) - “Let us go then, you and I, where the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table...” Poets and poems are often remembered for their opening lines, but is there a “right” or at least a “better” way to begin a poem? In this workshop, we will explore some
- [Sonnet Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/sonnet-crash-course/) - What is special about the sonnet? Guided by an award-winning and internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, you’ll first read time-honored sonnets to see how and why they work. Next the class will write a group sonnet, and then -- with or without shortcuts -- you’ll start one of your own.
- [Poetics of a Queer Body](https://writer.org/event/poetics-of-a-queer-body/) - Learn about the Poetics of a Queer Body that are within you. Poetry allows us to express our most authentic voice. Whether it be imagining other lives we could be living or what it means to live as a queer individual. With all the headlines around our nation happening it is clear that our queer
- [How to Write a Lot!](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-lot/) - Build an invincible writing routine! You may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Learn what Kathryn Johnson's Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time, establishing a productive writing routine, and getting their stories written. We'll share methods EN Grads (and many professional writers) use
- [Show and Tell Intensive](https://writer.org/event/show-and-tell-intensive/) - Learning to dramatize, to write in a way that shows what happened rather than tells what happened, is one of the most critical skills a successful writer can possess. A tutorial workshop on the single most important skill any writer can have. Skilled writers make readers feel and intuit exactly what they want them to
- [big poems in small packages](https://writer.org/event/big-poems-in-small-packages/) - Write short, memorable poems! Short poems can reverberate in the mind and memory like a pebble dropped in a lake. Let’s look at some powerful short poems together to come up with strategies for writing our own little gems, and then write them! A handout will be provided before the 1st class. No formal workshop,
- [From Novice to Novelist](https://writer.org/event/from-novice-to-novelist/) - A bird's eye view of the novel-writing process Deconstructs and demystifies the novel-writing process for struggling and/or aspiring writers. We'll go all the way from getting the nub of an idea to getting your book into the hands of expectant fans. Along the way you'll learn how to stay organized, write in the voice of
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-apr2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-mar2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [Broadie Art Exhibit Opening Reception & Mural Ribbon Cutting](https://writer.org/event/broadie/) - Join us at The Writer's Center to celebrate our new exhibition of art by Broadie, plus the official ribbon cutting for his fabulous mural "Reading Time" on the rear and side of our building, created along with artists Tre Wilkes and Deborah Ann Browder. The mural has been generously funded by the Maryland State Arts
- [Writing the Truth: Lessons in Nonfiction Writing](https://writer.org/event/writing-the-truth-lessons-in-nonfiction-writing/) - Learn essential tools for powerful non-fiction writing in different formats. The workshop is designed for beginning writers looking to gain a footing in non-fiction writing of different length and format, from first-person essays to long-form magazine writing and book-length projects. Live video conference: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. You can
- [Book Promotion Through Podcasting](https://writer.org/event/book-promotion-through-podcasting/) - Podcasting is one of the easiest ways to get your book and your voice out there! Work with any publicist and they’ll tell you, “Want to get your book and your voice out there? Pay attention to podcasts!” In this workshop we’ll focus on how to prepare your pitch materials, how to get booked on
- [Submitting Your Children's Book for Publication](https://writer.org/event/submitting-your-childrens-book-for-publication/) - Get your butterfly ready to fly! What do Harry Potter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and your children’s book all have in common? They all began as unpublished manuscripts searching for the right home. While you may have written the next great children’s book, you may also find the submission process daunting and confusing. In this
- [Poets and Musicians](https://writer.org/event/poets-and-musicians/) - An afternoon of words and music, featuring poets V.P. Loggins and Stewart Moss and the glorious music of Ensemble Galilei members Ginger Hildebrand and Carolyn Surrick. FREE & open to the public.
- [Book Launch & Conversation about Heaven Has No Ground](https://writer.org/event/heaven-has-no-ground/) - Join us for a Cheuse Salon at The Writer’s Center to celebrate the launching of Czech author Hana Andronikova’s final novel, Heaven Has No Ground. Managing Editor at Plamen Press, Rachel Miranda, and the novel’s translator, Roman Kostovski, will discuss making Heaven Has No Ground’s English-language edition. Rachel Miranda has done extensive research on Hana
- [Revisiting Rhyme](https://writer.org/event/revisiting-rhyme/) - Why do so many poets shy away from rhyme? Maybe it’s because they’re afraid it will make their poems sound trite or old-fashioned. In fact, knowing how to rhyme subtly and skillfully can achieve quite the opposite. In this workshop, we will examine the many different rhyming strategies available to poets writing today. Discussing what
- [How To Write Micro Memoir](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-micro-memoir/) - Learn to tell your life story as you lived it, one moment at at time. Write your life story as you lived it, one moment at a time. This interactive workshop teaches writers to distill a moment of change, conflict, contradiction, or mystery to its essence, so that the impact on the writer resonates profoundly
- [Plot Like a Pro!](https://writer.org/event/plot-like-a-pro/) - Build a strong plot for any story with these fail-proof steps! You have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Novelist Karen Outen](https://writer.org/event/karen-outen/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by Karen Outen to discuss her "beautiful and haunting" debut novel, Dixon, Descending. Karen is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE
- [Amanda Shaw Book Launch with Sebastian Merrill and a Tribute to Sandra Beasley](https://writer.org/event/amanda-shaw/) - The Writer's Center welcomes poet Amanda Shaw for a book launch celebration of her debut collection, It Will Have Been So Beautiful (Lily Poetry Review Books), with Sebastian Merrill, followed by a tribute to Sandra Beasley, featuring poets Rekha Mehra, Sunu P. Chandy, and Susan Okie. Free and open to the public, register below. Amanda
- [Poetry Revision and Sequencing](https://writer.org/event/sequencing-poems/) - If you have a grouping of poems that you would like feedback on while identifying how particular innate qualities contribute to your own style, this workshop is for you! We will consider aspects of sequencing poems if they have the potential for a series, and discuss the importance of weaving, arcing, leaping, and linking together
- [Writing Picture Books](https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books/) - Learn the basics—from story structure to marketing—of writing picture books for children. Learn how to write a picture book from a successful author of thirty award-winning books for children. Each session will begin with a short discussion of an aspect of writing for children, including story openings and arcs, characterization, plot/pacing, rhythm/sound, and marketing. Suggested
- [Virtual Conversation with Memoirists Annie Liontas & Chloé Cooper Jones](https://writer.org/event/annie-liontas-chloe-cooper-jones/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes memoirists Annie Liontas (Sex with a Brain Injury) and Chloé Cooper Jones (Easy Beauty) for a virtual discussion of their latest books, disability, and writing. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public, all times Eastern. Get the books from your local
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Olatunde Osinaike](https://writer.org/event/olatunde-osinaike/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Olatunde Osinaike to discuss his debut collection, Tender Headed. Olatunde is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open
- [Jean K. Dudek Book Launch](https://writer.org/event/jean-dudek/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Jean K. Dudek for a book launch celebrating her debut novel, The Scent of Bright Light. Free and open to the public, register below. Jean K. Dudek is a Teaching Assistant at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. She received her Master of Theological Studies degree, with honors, with a concentration
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-feb2024/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Novelist Fazle Chowdhury Reading and Discussion](https://writer.org/event/fazle-chowdhury/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Fazle Chowdhury for a reading and discussion of his new novel, The Secrets We Live In. Free and open to the public, register below. Fazle Chowdhury has written several op-eds connected to Europe and the Middle East. He is the author of 9 books. His book Why Ukraine Matters was shortlisted
- [Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Sarah Ghazal Ali](https://writer.org/event/sarah-ghazal-ali/) - Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Sarah Ghazal Ali to discuss her celebrated collection, Theophanies. Sarah is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and editor of Poet Lore. RSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open
- [Travel Writing](https://writer.org/event/travel-writing/) - The insider tips you’ll need to turn your own travel experiences into easy-to-compose blogs, posts, and articles that you can publish yourself—or sell to newspapers, magazines and websites. Ever wonder if your taste for interesting travel and off-the-beaten-track destinations could lead to publication—and maybe even a new career? Peter Mandel, a nationally-known adventure travel journalist
- [Troubleshooting Your Fiction](https://writer.org/event/troubleshooting-your-fiction/) - How do you know your manuscript is ready to submit to literary agents or publishers? Find the flaws before they do! Revision is a dirty word to some writers. But you needn’t fear the challenges of polishing a manuscript before submission and publication. This fast-paced, half-day class focuses on the ten most common mistakes and
- [How to Write a Killer Query & Synopsis](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-killer-query-synopsis/) - Avoid queries and pitches that doom your book to instant rejection! If you wish to be published, sooner or later you will need to write a query letter and plot synopsis of your story. Queries are an essential tool for marketing your story—whether it’s short fiction (short story/novella) or book-length (novel). Learn how to encapsulate
- [Mapping Strategies for Story Structure](https://writer.org/event/mapping-strategies-for-story-structure/) - Consider exploratory questions, mapping exercises, tools, and techniques to discover where your story is going and how you will get there. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for story structure. Let’s discuss a plan that is right for you. We’ll brainstorm the strengths and weaknesses of your specific story’s destination and the journey along the way.
- [Writing Rough Drafts](https://writer.org/event/writing-rough-drafts/) - Master techniques to stop overthinking and get words on the page! Do you ever think to yourself: “I have many creative ideas and stories to tell, but why is it so hard to get my ideas out of my head and onto the page?” This workshop helps you understand your creative process on a deeper
- [Creating Novel Characters](https://writer.org/event/creating-novel-characters/) - Bring your characters to life on the page. When writing a novel, we must know our primary characters inside and out. We need to understand their desires, motivations, and frustrations, their histories and their futures. This workshop will focus on the development of authentic characters. Participants will examine character as both autonomous and residing within
- [Use Poetic Technique to Improve Your Prose](https://writer.org/event/use-poetic-technique-to-improve-your-prose/) - Learn from analyzing poetry. Add poetry to your prose. Learn how to break down the structure of poems, how to embed these structures into prose, and how doing so can add vibrancy to your story and its tone. The session will feature an interactive lecture. By the conclusion of the session, participants will have composed
- [Short Story I](https://writer.org/event/short-story-i/) - Learn how to use form, structure, time, and more! Learn the finer crafts of the short story, with a focus on knowing your character and using form. This course will focus on the craft of the short story while reading short stories written over the centuries and looking at the form's development. From Poe to
- [Narrative Nonfiction: History, Memoir, and Biography](https://writer.org/event/narrative-nonfiction-history-memoir-and-biography/) - Build a solid, workable plan to reach the finish line on your book idea, from concept to execution to publication. Do you have an idea for a great nonfiction book? This workshop takes a strategic approach to nailing down the concept and producing a publishing-quality manuscript best positioned for success. Participants will examine each book
- [Reading Your Work Out Loud](https://writer.org/event/reading-your-work-out-loud/) - Practice sharing yourself and your story. Spend an evening practicing and learning about the art of public speaking. This in-person coaching session will give you the opportunity to bring your voice– and self– to the words you’ve written. You’ll learn how to become a more genuine and effective communicator of your work, which will in
- [Introduction to Poetry](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-poetry/) - Begin, or deepen, your exploration of poetry with a focus on craft. Each session is devoted to one aspect of craft—imagery, line, form, voice, etc.—and begins with a chance to share your work aloud (not workshop). Participants learn by discussing great poems, reading short, engaging chapters, and doing fun weekly assignments. One session will be
- [Second-Generation Immigrant Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/second-generation-immigrant-writers-mixer-feb2024/) - Join us at The Writer’s Center for an informal gathering with other second-generation immigrant writers. It's the perfect opportunity to network and share stories. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. A limited number of attendees will have the opportunity to read a 5-minute work
- [Disabled Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/disabled-writers-mixer-oct2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as disabled? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as disabled. RSVP required below.
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-nov2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-jun2024/) - Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend, too. FREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-oct2024/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-aug2024/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Women Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-may2024/) - Women writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all women writers from the
- [Virtual Book Launch and Publishing Q&A with Novelists E.A. Aymar and Lyn Liao Butler](https://writer.org/event/ea-aymar-lyn-liao-butler/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes novelists E.A. Aymar (When She Left) and Lyn Liao Butler (What Is Mine) for a virtual book launch celebrating their brand new novels, followed by a Q&A about writing and publishing genre fiction. Free and open to the public, register below. Get your copies! Order E.A. Aymar's novel » Order Lyn
- [Being an Active Literary Citizen](https://writer.org/event/being-an-active-literary-citizen/) - Ready to get more active as a writer and deepen your involvement in the DMV’s literary community? Writers of all genres can expand their circles in a variety of ways—from sharing their work with others to volunteering for literary events and organizations, to attending a writing conference. Learn what’s out there and build your confidence
- [Fiction I: The Engines That Power a Story](https://writer.org/event/fiction-i-the-engines-that-power-a-story/) - Tune up the engines that drive your fiction! There are many different engines that power our stories. Plot, character, voice, form, and place are all tools we can use to hook a reader and drag them along for the ride. We will discuss one element of fiction each week while reading works by contemporary writers
- [Breathing Life into Your Characters](https://writer.org/event/breathing-life-into-your-characters/) - Give your readers characters they will love...or love to hate! The cleverest plot in the world won’t hold a reader’s attention if your characters are flat, unrealistic, and behave like stick figures on the page. Learn how to choose, develop, and employ interesting characters that readers will want to follow through your stories. Students will
- [Finding Your Poetic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-poetic-voice/) - Try on a variety of styles and forms on the way to finding your own poetic voice! Writing poems is discovery on paper, and good poems surprise and delight the poet as much as anyone. In this workshop you will try on a variety of styles and forms on the way to finding your own
- [Publishing Your Book for Children](https://writer.org/event/publishing-your-book-for-children/) - The insider tips you'll need to write a marketable first book and get it into the hands of exactly the right gatekeepers in the publishing world! Having a children's book published in today's tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge
- [Life Stories Intensive](https://writer.org/event/life-stories-intensive/) - Learn how your real-life story can depict what it means to be human. Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, letter to your granddaughter, or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life story writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Consider other people’s feelings without
- [How to Develop Character](https://writer.org/event/how-to-develop-character/) - Transport your readers into your character’s head. As humans, we experience reality through particular states of mind. The same is true of characters in fiction, because fictional characters are written to evoke real human experiences. Elements of writing that guide readers through a sentence can also serve to guide readers through a character’s state of
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Writing with Jami Attenberg](https://writer.org/event/jami-attenberg/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by Jami Attenberg to discuss her new edited essay collection, 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, featuring writing advice from more than 50 accomplished authors. Jami is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist
- [Your First Novel](https://writer.org/event/your-first-novel/) - Writing a novel takes commitment, but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Learn how to generate a handful of plots to choose from, methods for effectively planning your story, and simple hacks for fine tuning your basic fiction skills. Students will initiate a flexible writing plan that will keep their writing flowing. This is a
- [How to Write a Braided Essay](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-braided-essay/) - This workshop will teach participants what a braided essay is and how to write one. By examining compelling published examples we will learn the component parts and experiment with writing our own.
- [Pitching and Querying: The Art of Selling Your Work!](https://writer.org/event/pitching-and-querying-the-art-of-selling-your-work/) - In this three-session workshop, we'll cover the basics of writing pitches and queries and then workshop them to refine them.
- [How to Write a Stand-Up Comedy Act](https://writer.org/event/how-to-write-a-stand-up-comedy-act/) - How do comedians come up with ideas? It all starts with finding the funny in your life and turning it into material. Learn how to recognize a premise, extract the humor and hone it into a stand-up act or funny story. We study comedians and styles and work on your unique voice in a fun
- [Presentación del libro de poesía de Juan Carlos Quintero Herencia, Minotauro en mar chiquita](https://writer.org/event/minotauro-en-mar-chiquita/) - El poeta y profesor de la University of Maryland, Juan Carlos Quintero Herencia presentará su libro de poesía, Minotauro en mar chiquita. Presentación a cargo de Lena Burgos-Lafuente, ensayista, compositora y profesora de Literatura, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature, SUNY Stony Brook.
- [Short Story II](https://writer.org/event/short-story-ii/) - Let’s write short stories! The focus of this workshop is on participants’ work. Each writer will submit at least one short story for constructive critique. In addition, we’ll read published stories, examine short story elements and techniques, and review short story markets and strategies for submitting work.
- [Book Marketing on a Budget](https://writer.org/event/book-marketing-on-a-budget/) - You’ve written – or are writing your book – now fight for it! In this workshop we’ll focus on over two dozen book marketing tips, with a close eye on budgets. From book launches, social media, blogging, and podcasting, to writing press releases, creating Amazon Author’s pages, and connecting with publicists, we’ll fill your head,
- [10 Prompts to Deepen Your Writing](https://writer.org/event/10-prompts-to-deepen-your-writing/) - This workshop is designed to inspire you to deepen your writing with emotional weight. By examining your response to a variety of visual and musical prompts including painting, sculpture, photography, short film, dance, and music video, we’ll learn to notice underlying emotion. Since everything we create is a representation of something larger, we’ll practice translating
- [Creating Conflict & Tension](https://writer.org/event/creating-conflict-tension/) - It's often said that without conflict there is no story. Strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary prose into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning pages. Whether you choose to write literary fiction, mysteries, family sagas, thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy—you can
- [Crafting Short Stories](https://writer.org/event/crafting-short-stories/) - In this workshop, participants will examine the qualities of good writing and good storytelling. After a recap on the constituent elements of short fiction, we will take a fresh look at contemporary and classic stories alike. Each week, writers will craft a new piece and offer feedback to fellow participants. By the course's end, writers
- [Point of View and Narrative Voice](https://writer.org/event/point-of-view-and-narrative-voice/) - Do the multitude of Point of View options elude you? We will look at everything from the first person point of view to the editorial omniscient, as well as some of the less traditional points of view, to help you choose the best voice to tell your story. Required Text: Point of View by Sandra
- [Christian McEwen & Richard Smith Reading & Discussion](https://writer.org/event/mcewen-smith/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Christian McEwen (In Praise of Listening) and Richard Smith (Not a Soul but Us) for a virtual reading and discussion of their latest books. Free and open to the public, register below to receive the Zoom login info. Christian McEwen is a freelance writer, workshop leader, and cultural activist, originally from
- [Starting a Memoir](https://writer.org/event/starting-a-memoir/) - This class is for writers in the early stages of writing their memoir. Learn what you need to get off to a great start with this class led by an experienced writing coach and and editor. Class includes practical discussion, lots of helpful tips, and some in-class exercises designed to offer clarity, direction, and inspiration
- [Memoirist Penny Guisinger in Conversation with Aaron Hamburger](https://writer.org/event/penny-guisinger/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes Penny Guisinger for a reading and discussion of her new book, Shift: A Memoir of Identity and Other Illusions. Penny is in conversation with author Aaron Hamburger. Free and open to the public, register below. Penny Guisinger is the author of Postcards from Here and the forthcoming Shift: A Memoir of
- [Virtual Craft Chat on Nonfiction with Elyssa Maxx Goodman](https://writer.org/event/elyssa-maxx-goodman/) - The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by Elyssa Maxx Goodman to discuss her new book, Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City. Elyssa is in conversation with Zach Powers, author and Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. RSVP below to receive login
- [Writing Trauma](https://writer.org/event/writing-trauma/) - Using the works of Annie Ernaux, writing about personal experiences with spareness of words, descriptions, and detachment can actually create a striking voice that is more powerful and emotional in its guise of simplicity. Writing with detachment does not necessarily mean a lack of feeling. In fact, the opposite.
- [A Reading with Poets Jubi Arriola-Headley, Kyle Dargan & Joseph Ross](https://writer.org/event/jubi-arriola-headley-kyle-dargan-joseph-ross/) - The Writer’s Center welcomes poets Jubi Arriola-Headley, Kyle Dargan, and Joseph Ross for a reading and reception. Hosted by Christina Beasley. Free and open to the public, register below. Jubi Arriola-Headley (he/him) is a Black queer poet, storyteller, first-generation United Statesian, and author of the poetry collection original kink (Sibling Rivalry Press), recipient of the
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-dec2024/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-nov2024/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jul2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-may2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-apr2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-apr2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [The Extreme Novelist](https://writer.org/event/the-extreme-novelist/) - Can't find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course, developed by the author of the book by the same name, will help you complete a rough draft in just 8 weeks. Students receive the encouraging guidance of professional writing coach Kathryn Johnson. Each author will commit to an aggressive writing schedule and
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-mar2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-mar2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-feb2024-2/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Open Mic @ The Writer's Center](https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jan2024-1/) - Prose, poetry, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. Sign-up starts at 6:45pm, and readings begin promptly at 7pm. Limited to 20 readers, so arrive early if you plan to read. Sponsored by Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry magazine.
- [Revising Your Poems](https://writer.org/event/revising-your-poems/) - Revising can be very intimidating territory for all of us, but in this workshop we will take a different approach from that of the cruel taskmaster that lives in many of our brains. Together, we will approach our poems as gardeners and not police, remembering that they are merely drafts—fertile soil for possible regenerations of
- [Introduction to Song Lyric Writing](https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-song-lyric-writing/) - We all have songs which have stayed with us our whole lives – which give us special feelings. This course will start you on the journey of using words to create those memorable feelings, and introduce you to the techniques songwriters have used in popular music over the last century. We'll cover the fundamentals in
- [Writing Creative Nonfiction](https://writer.org/event/writing-creative-nonfiction/) - Over the course, we will be reading and writing in several sub-genres of creative nonfiction, including memoir, essay, literary journalism, and the epistolary form. This class focuses on generating new material, offering feedback to peers, revising pieces, and finally researching markets for the placement of work.
- [Intro to the Novel](https://writer.org/event/intro-to-the-novel/) - This workshop will help you understand the process of writing a novel so you can get started putting pen to paper. The workshop will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. Participants will discuss many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc.) but the emphasis will be on discovering
- [Delmarva Review Authors Reading – 16th Annual Edition](https://writer.org/event/delmarva-review-authors-reading-16th-annual-edition/) - Delmarva Review announces nine authors to present a live reading celebrating the launch of the 16th annual literary journal. The authors, among 70 in the new edition, will read from their poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction. The reading will be followed by a reception with the authors and editors, all available to answer questions about
- [First Sentence, First Page](https://writer.org/event/first-sentence-first-page/) - This workshop will teach writers how to capture readers' attention from the very first sentence and keep them turning pages. We will examine the way successful authors of both fiction and nonfiction work draw us in, make us care and create stakes in which we are immediately invested. By the end of this workshop participants
- [Poets Donald Illich & Doritt Carroll](https://writer.org/event/illich-carroll/) - The Writer's Center and Poet Lore welcome poets Donald Illich and Doritt Carroll for a reading of their work. Free and open to the public. Register below. Doritt Carroll is a native of Washington, DC. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Main Street
- [Natural Meter Crash Course](https://writer.org/event/natural-meter-crash-course/) - Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Here’s an opportunity to improve your ear for meter—a major element of poetic prosody—and to fine-tune your understanding of how it works. Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day
- [How—and Where—to Pitch Personal Essays](https://writer.org/event/how-and-where-to-pitch-personal-essays/) - Personal essays are perhaps the genre that has the largest array of publication possibilities—literary journals, newspapers, magazines, alumni publications, and more all publish this form. That’s the good news! The challenge: finding the right publications for your story, along with submission guidelines, pay rates, and style preferences. In this workshop, you’ll learn where to find
- [Jack Gilbert Poetry Workshop](https://writer.org/event/jack-gilbert-poetry-workshop/) - In his most famous poem “Forgotten Dialect of the Heart,” Jack Gibert wrote “we have no word for strict pleasure” but isn’t that what poetry is? In this generative workshop, we’ll look at poetry through the lens of Gilbert’s life and work. Through a deep dive into Gilbert’s poetry, we will apply the principles of
- [Journaling Techniques for Writing Memories](https://writer.org/event/journaling-techniques-for-writing-memories/) - This workshop is about the pursuit of insight through writing personal memories. Whether you currently keep a journal or want to start journaling to nurture a consistent writing practice, in this three-hour workshop you will learn journaling techniques that help you recall significant memories and explore the meaning behind those experiences. We will explore how
- [The Mystery of Line Breaks](https://writer.org/event/the-mystery-of-line-breaks/) - Should it be as long as a breath, or should it end wherever there is a punctuation mark or a break in the syntax? In this workshop, we will look at different approaches to determining where a line ends and how the relationship between the sentence and the line affects the poem's impact on the
- [Latine Writers Mixer](https://writer.org/event/latine-writers-mixer-dec2023/) - Latine writers of DC! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too. See you there! FREE & open to all Latine writers from the
- [Getting Started: Creative Writing](https://writer.org/event/getting-started-creative-writing/) - This workshop is designed to inspire and encourage the participants to write what they have always longed to share. Each week they will write from a prompt, share what they wrote and bring to class the following week another piece to share. The class will explore a variety of genres from poetry, memoir, journaling, and
- [Finding Your Authentic Voice](https://writer.org/event/finding-your-authentic-voice/) - Look beyond your inner critic and tap into the flow of limitless creativity to discover the powerful impact of your authentic voice. Each session will begin with a general discussion on the themes for that week, followed by writing prompts, and reading work out loud.The class will discuss the process and what came up while
- [Freedom With Forms](https://writer.org/event/freedom-with-forms/) - Here’s an opportunity to shed any misconception that received forms are constricting. Inspired by Richard Moore’s “The Rule That Liberates,” we will do brief writing exercises that use the enchantment of meter and rhyme to liberate your deeper imagination. After exploring several traditional forms, we will experiment with creating improvised (nonce) forms. Participants may leave

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