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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261008T183000
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SUMMARY:From Idea to First Draft
DESCRIPTION:How to take a piece from idea to first draft to submission ready.\nThis class is designed for writers of all levels to help them find the story tapping them on the shoulder right now so they can put it on the page and begin the process of getting it out in the world where it belongs. The first session will focus on germinating new ideas or further exploring existing ones through prompts and discussion. The second is finding joy and harnessing the power of revision. The third and final session focuses on next steps and sharing your work. Writers will leave the class with a start of a new piece of creative nonfiction\, memoir\, or hybrid work. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIn this workshop you’ll learn:\n\nGenerate an idea and Identify the story within it\nStructure\nPacing\nRevision\nConfidence to keep writing\nHow to love the process\nFind and Build Writing Community\n\nTime Requirements\n\nN/A\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nWriters at any stage of their writing journey.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/from-idea-to-first-draft/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:3 Sessions,All Levels,Nonfiction,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261017T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261024T120000
DTSTAMP:20260917T194935Z
CREATED:20260814T210312Z
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SUMMARY:A Beginner's Guide to Food Writing
DESCRIPTION:Turn your passion for food and history into prose!\nEveryone has a food history. Learn to write yours in this short\, two-week beginner course. In week one\, students will learn the basics about what food history is and the different ways that they can write about it. They will also delve into how to write and publish food history blogs and articles. In week two\, learners will explore the ins and outs of writing and publishing books and memoirs on food history. Students will finish the class with the knowledge and confidence to write and publish these four types of prose online and in print. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIn this workshop you’ll:\n\nGain knowledge about what is and how to use food history\nExplore different voices and writing styles in food history\nWrite food history blogs\, articles\, books\, memoirs\nLearn about publishing opportunities in food history\n\nTime Requirements\n\nTwo hours\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nThis workshop is designed for beginning writers interested in learning the basics about what food history is and how to write it.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/a-beginners-guide-to-food-writing/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:2 Sessions,Beginner Level,Nonfiction,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261017T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261024T123000
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T194529Z
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SUMMARY:Writing Marvelous Micros
DESCRIPTION:Write 4-6 micros (stories 300 words or less) of fiction or creative nonfiction that are both standalone pieces and linked — and that dive into lyricism and emotional complexity.\nDraft and develop a series of micros (stories of 300 words or less) that are both standalone and/or link into a larger whole. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIn this workshop you’ll learn:\n\nThe art of micro stories with a focus on structure\, concert detail and lyricism\, emotional complexity\, and thematic links.\n\nTime Requirements\n\n1-2 hour between the two sessions (students will be asked to write drafts to review in the 2nd class\, so\, there will be homework)\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nThere should be a strong interest in generative writing. This workshop will not cover the basics of creative writing\, so there should be writers with some experience (or more) in creative writing.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/writing-marvelous-micros/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:2 Sessions,Intermediate/Advanced Level,Mixed Genre,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261018T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261018T150000
DTSTAMP:20261006T173159Z
CREATED:20260901T175321Z
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SUMMARY:***CANCELLED*** Fiction Book Club w/ Hasan Dudar!
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes author Hasan Dudar to our monthly Fiction Book Club for a discussion of his debut novel\, Carryout\, at The Writer’s Center! Hasan is joined by Book Club Host\, Hannah Grieco. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online » \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nHasan Dudar is the author of the short story collection Carryout (University of Iowa Press). He is originally from Toledo\, Ohio\, and currently lives with his wife and daughter in Washington\, DC\, where he works in broadcast media. His fiction has appeared in Gulf Coast and Pinch\, among other places\, and was awarded the 2025 Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. A graduate of the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism\, Hasan’s reporting has appeared in various publications including USA Today\, Detroit Free Press\, The Toledo Blade\, Bloomberg News\, TRT World\, and Aljazeera America. In 2015\, he co-produced the award-winning documentary The Last of Little Syria\, which follows some of the last Arab American residents living in Toledo\, Ohio’s historic Arab enclave.\n \n\nAbout Carryout\nIn the late 1970s\, Ziad Idilbi\, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon\, marries Salma\, a Lebanese refugee escaping the war in Beirut. Resolving to start over for the very last time\, the couple opens a corner store in Toledo\, Ohio\, across from the General Motors factory\, where Toledo’s Arab community intermingles with the working class. Over the decades\, whether it’s bigotry (pre- and post-9/11)\, financial ruin\, or terminal illness\, the Idilbis find themselves on life’s outskirts\, attempting to build something new. \nAchingly poignant and slyly funny\, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid\, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma\, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parents’ corner store. As he grows up into a writer\, Walid’s gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa\, the eldest son\, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out\, while Nawal\, the only daughter\, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other\, the characters in Dudar’s exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom. \n\nAbout Book Club\nThis is no run-of-the-mill book club. Visiting writers will read excerpts\, join the discussion\, and answer your questions about craft\, process\, the publishing industry\, and getting advice for our own writing! We’ll hang and eat snacks with the authors and escape your doomscrolling. \nPoetry Book Club will meet on Zoom every second Wednesday of the month with a new poet. \nFiction Book Club will meet every third Sunday of the month in person at The Writer’s Center with a new author. \nCome build community and read amazing books that the Big 5 didn’t have the sense to publish! \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/fiction-book-club-w-hasan-dudar/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261019T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261019T210000
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SUMMARY:Reading Your Work Out Loud
DESCRIPTION:Practice sharing your story and yourself\nSpend 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. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/out-loud-with-jennifer-hamady/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:1 Session,All Levels,Fiction,Mixed Genre,Nonfiction,Poetry,Professional Writing,Stage and Screen,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261020T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T210000
DTSTAMP:20260929T190652Z
CREATED:20260814T210313Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T190652Z
UID:10005398-1792522800-1793134800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Introduction to Art Journaling
DESCRIPTION:Learn how to combine words and art to create beautiful and unique personal artistic journals.\nUsing 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\, 8×8 or larger. All other art materials used in class will be provided by instructor.  *No previous art experience necessary. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIn this workshop:\n\nStudents will have time in class to explore their own writing using prompts\, poems\, quotes\, and/or personal narratives.\nClass will include instruction in basic art and design principals.\nStudents will have a chance to try a wide variety of art supplies and techniques.\nAt the end of class\, students will have basic knowledge and skills to continue their art journaling practice.\n\nTime Requirements\n\nN/A\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nThis class is for all writers who want to explore and combine an artistic element to use in their personal journals.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/introduction-to-art-journaling-5/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:2 Sessions,All Levels,Mixed Genre,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261020T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T210000
DTSTAMP:20260929T191235Z
CREATED:20260814T210313Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T191235Z
UID:10005399-1792522800-1794949200@writer.org
SUMMARY:Reading like a Writer: Imitation as Generative Writing
DESCRIPTION:Don’t just read great poetry\, use it as a tool to push your work.\nWe all read for pleasure\, but a writer also reads to learn. It feeds a writer’s writing practice. In this generative workshop\, each week we will become familiar with the work of an established poet as a means to examine elements of craft and draft their own poems. This course also includes an optional workshopping element to receive feedback from your peers and the instructor. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nTime Requirements\n\nN/A\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nWriters looking to engage with contemporary poetry and create their own poems.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/reading-like-a-writer-imitation-as-generative-writing/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:5 Sessions,Beginner/Intermediate Level,Poetry,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261023T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261023T200000
DTSTAMP:20260917T144008Z
CREATED:20260720T133013Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T144008Z
UID:10005326-1792782000-1792785600@writer.org
SUMMARY:An Evening of Tributes to Tobias Wolff
DESCRIPTION:A Free Fitzgerald Festival Event Co-sponsored with The Writer’s Center\nThe F. Scott Fitzgerald Festival and The Writer’s Center present a reading in tribute to legendary author Tobias Wolff. Featuring multiple award-winning author Richard Bausch\, award-winning novelist Varun Gauri\, PEN/Faulkner winner Mahreen Sohail\, plus concluding remarks by Wolff. \nFREE and open to the public. RSVP required below. \n\nTobias Wolff is the author of the memoirs This Boy’s Life (1989) and In Pharaoh’s Army (1994)\, and he has also written novels and short story collections\, including Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories (2008). His novel The Barracks Thief (1984) won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in September 2015. Wolff is the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor of English\, Emeritus\, at Stanford\, where he lives with his wife Catherine. They have three children and four grandchildren. \nRichard Bausch is the author of thirteen novels\, among which are Hello to the Cannibals (2002)\, Thanksgiving Night (2006)\, Peace (2008)\, Before\, During\, After (2014)\, and Playhouse (2023). His ten collections of short fiction include The Fireman’s Wife (1990)\, The Selected Stories of Richard Bausch\, in The Modern Library (1996)\, The Stories of Richard Bausch (2003)\,Wives & Lovers: 3 Short Novels (2004)\, Something is Out There (2010)\,Living in The Weather of the World (2017) and\, most recently\, The Fate of Others (2025). His multiple honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship\, the Award in Literature Academy of Arts and Letters\, the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award\, the 2004 PEN/Malamud Prize; the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for his novel\, Peace; and the Rea Award for Achievement in the Art of Short Fiction. In addition\, his work has been adapted for three full length feature films. He has been with the Writing Program of Chapman University in Orange\, CA since 2012. \nVarun Gauri’s debut novel\, For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus\, was selected for NPR’s Books We Love 2024\, chosen as a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Winner in Adult Fiction\, and won the 2024 Carol Trawick Fiction Prize. While at the World Bank’s research department\, Varun led studies on social policy and behavioral economics in dozens of countries around the world\, and his academic work was covered in The New York Times\, The Economist\, Le Monde\, The Hindu\, and The Guardian. Varun now teaches at Princeton University and serves on the board of The Writer’s Center in Bethesda\, MD. \nMahreen Sohail was born in Islamabad\, Pakistan. Her debut story collection\, Small Scale Sinners\, won the 2026 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College\, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar\, and was a Writing Fellow at A Public Space and a Charles Pick Fellow at the University of East Anglia. Her work has appeared in Granta\, The Kenyon Review\, Pushcart Prize XLII\, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington\, DC. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/tobias-wolff/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261025T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261025T140000
DTSTAMP:20260929T191341Z
CREATED:20260814T210314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T191341Z
UID:10005401-1792929600-1792936800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Managing Queries with QueryTracker
DESCRIPTION:Make querying agents easier and more efficient!\nQueryTracker 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 look at cool features that are a little harder to find: pasting in agency/agent notes\, flagging agents by priority\, and setting alerts for when closed agents become open. We’ll also discuss other resources like Publisher’s Marketplace. Coupons for a free year of premium QueryTracker membership will be provided for up to 10 attendees. Bring your laptop to follow along. \n\nIn-person class: This workshop will take place at The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh St\, Bethesda MD. \n\nIn this workshop you’ll:\n\nLearn how to search for literary agents who fit your work\nLearn how to prioritize agents for “tranches” of submissions\nOrganize your notes on agents for easy retrieval\nIncorporate data from other resources like Publishers Marketplace\n\nTime Requirements\n\nNo prep except for bringing a laptop\n\nMaterials\n\nAll reading materials will be provided.\n\nWho should take this workshop?\n\nThis workshop is for authors beginning\, or resuming\, the agent query process for book manuscripts.\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this workshop\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/managing-queries-with-querytracker/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:1 Session,All Levels,Publishing,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261025T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261025T170000
DTSTAMP:20260805T201109Z
CREATED:20260805T201109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T201109Z
UID:10005333-1792936800-1792947600@writer.org
SUMMARY:Search Party: Find Your Writing Group
DESCRIPTION:Looking for a writing group? We want to help you meet other interested writers!\nThe 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\, and mingle. You can: \n\nVisit themed tables for specific genres.\nFollow our guide to ask a few useful questions.\nCollect names and contact information on a handy form provided to all registrants.\nEnjoy complimentary refreshments!\n\nFREE and open to the public. RSVP below. \nSuggested donation of $10 at the door. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/search-party-oct-26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261026T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261026T200000
DTSTAMP:20260902T153254Z
CREATED:20260902T153254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T153254Z
UID:10005438-1793041200-1793044800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Daniel Nayeri Book Release
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center and Politics and Prose welcomes writer Daniel Nayeri for a reading from his new book\, This Is a Door. Daniel is in conversation with poet and Events Director at The Writer’s Center\, Brandon Johnson. \nThis is a PAID event. Your ticket to this event includes a copy of This Is a Door.  Buy your ticket using this link \n\nDaniel Nayeri is an award-winning author of children and teen fiction\, including most recently\, The Teacher of Nomad Land. After being born in Iran and immigrating to Oklahoma\, Nayeri attended NYU. He currently lives with his family in New Jersey. \n  \n\nA groundbreaking hero’s journey from National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner\, Daniel Nayeri! A young boy\, a mouse\, and a dog set out to find their purpose in this fairy tale adventure told in an innovative visual format that offers a one-of-a-kind reading experience. \nThis is the tale of a boy named Nothing the Younger\, who lives in a city on the mountaintop of a far-off and long-lost country. Everyone calls him Ing\, and while he has no parents\, he does have two friends: a dog\, Pöppy\, and a mouse\, mOmO. When King Cyrus calls for a hero to find and defeat the Giantess ravaging the countryside\, the king’s son\, the Wander Prince\, answers the call and Ing decides to follow. Along the journey\, Ing (and his friends) must traverse the Land of the Dead\, survive an encounter with the terrifying wimmelworm\, and discover the truth of his mother and father . . . so that he may find what he’s been seeking all along―his best purpose. \nThe text on each page snakes\, climbs\, jumps\, and explodes into shapes and forms that unravel the story. This Is a Door is full of fun surprises and poignant musings that flip the classic hero’s journey on its head―all in an artistic and inventive package that is a wonder to behold. \n\nBuy your ticket using this link\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/daniel-nayeri/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T200000
DTSTAMP:20261006T203634Z
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UID:10005453-1793124000-1793131200@writer.org
SUMMARY:A Conversation & Reading with Petra Hůlová and Alex Zucker
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Czech literature\, Petra Hůlová\,  and her longtime translator Alex Zucker for a reading and conversation about her provocative new novel\, The Long Version.Hůlová and Zucker will read from the novel and discuss the ideas behind the book\, contemporary Czech literature\, and the unique relationship between an author and her translator. The conversation will be moderated by poet and translator Katherine E. Young.  \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP using this link>>> \n\nPetra Hůlová is the recipient of several of Czechia’s most important literary honors\, including the Magnesia Litera\, Josef Škvorecký Award\, and Jiří Orten Award. She lives in Prague and is a regular commentator on current events in the Czech press. \nAlex Zucker is an award-winning translator of Czech literature whose translations include works by Zuzana Říhová\, Magdaléna Platzová\, Jáchym Topol\, Bianca Bellová\, Petra Hůlová\, Tomáš Zmeškal\, Patrik Ouředník\, and others. \nKatherine E. Young is an award-winning poet and literary translator and the author of the poetry collections Woman Drinking Absinthe and Day of the Border Guards. She translates writers from Azerbaijan\, Kazakhstan\, Russia\, and Ukraine. In 2026\, Young and Azerbaijani writer Akram Aylisli were jointly awarded the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Literature Prize for her translation of Aylisli’s People and Trees. \n\nAbout The Long Version\nCan a woman wake up one day and say “#MeToo” 20 years after the fact? Or is “#MeToo” a right reserved for the younger generation? \nIn her early fifties\, Czech author Sylvie Novak looks back on her successful career. As she embarks on a tour to promote her book of feminist essays–which she’s not convinced has captured the nature of gender inequality–her teenage daughter Judita finds her journals from her youth\, discovering the intimate relationship she had with a much older writer. Judita is convinced the experience scarred her for life\, whereas Novak considers her daughter’s views to be ignorant and absolutist\, however critical she is towards the deep-seated machismo of Eastern European dissident cultures. Meanwhile\, the man she loves has found a new\, younger object of desire\, leaving Novak to reflect on the decline of her sex appeal. \nIn The Long Version\, we become spectators of Novak’s tightrope walk\, balancing between the old generation and the new\, love and desire\, and above all the myriad interpretations of the past. Like Hůlová\, Novak seeks not to lay blame or win sympathy\, but to explore the shifting meanings of feminism at a time of polarized thinking and\, perhaps\, discover a path towards reconciliation. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/petra-hulova/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261028T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261028T210000
DTSTAMP:20251216T171644Z
CREATED:20251216T171644Z
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UID:10005134-1793214000-1793221200@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION: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. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-oct2026-2/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261029T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261029T203000
DTSTAMP:20260901T183634Z
CREATED:20260901T161954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T183634Z
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SUMMARY:Richard Hoffman Book Release
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Richard Hoffman for a reading from two New and Selected collection\, Each Child a Disappearance and Mundus et Infans. Richard is joined in conversation by poet Richard Smith. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nRichard Hoffman is the author of seven books of poetry: Without Paradise; Gold Star Road\, winner of The Barrow Street Press Poetry Prize and the Sheila Motton Book Award from The New England Poetry Club; Emblem; Noon until Night\, which received the 2018 Massachusetts Book Award for Poetry; People Once Real; and his most recent\, Each Child a Disappearance: New & Selected Poems\, and Mundus et Infans: Selected Suites\, Sequences\, & Series. His other books include the memoirs\, Half the House and Love & Fury; Interference and Other Stories\, and the essay collection Remembering the Alchemists. He is Emeritus Writer in Residence at Emerson College and Nonfiction Editor of Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices. \nRichard Smith’s first book\, Not a Soul but Us\, is a narrative in sonnets about the plague pandemic in mid-14th-century England. It won the 2021 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize and was released in 2022 by Bauhan Publishing. Bauhan also recently published his second book\, Beyond Where Words Can Go\, about a group of Tudor-era monks before\, during\, and after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Richard is a psychologist with a clinical practice in Washington\, D.C. \n\nAbout Each Child a Disappearance\nSpanning the years 1972–2025\, Each Child a Disappearance gathers Hoffman’s most celebrated poems alongside new and previously uncollected work. This volume includes selections from Without Paradise; Gold Star Road; Emblem; Noon until Night; and People Once Real as well as powerful new poems confronting grief\, violence\, ecological collapse\, democracy’s fragility\, and the obligations of witness. Many of Hoffman’s most widely taught and anthologized poems appear here\, along with late work of profound spiritual and emotional clarity. \nAbout Mundus et Infans\nWhere the first volume presents individual poems\, Mundus et Infans collects Hoffman’s long-form suites\, sequences\, and serial poems—book-length arcs of thought and feeling in which he explores myth\, memory\, art\, philosophy\, and history at scale. These extended works map the structures beneath experience: the stories we inherit\, the archetypes we repeat\, and the imaginative frameworks through which we make meaning. Together they offer a sustained meditation on childhood\, catastrophe\, and the lifelong labor of consciousness. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/richard-hoffman/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T143000
DTSTAMP:20260924T135243Z
CREATED:20260915T173256Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T135243Z
UID:10005445-1793451600-1793457000@writer.org
SUMMARY:Lessons and Inspiration from a Literary Life
DESCRIPTION:Reframe your understanding of the joys\, purpose\, struggles\, and successes associated with being both a writer and a member of the wider literary community.\nIn a presentation that spans my 40+-year career as a writer and literary advocate\, I will share the hard-earned insights that have informed and inspired my life and work. Together\, we’ll explore everything from balancing writing and work in late stage capitalism to membership in (and service to) the literary community. After the presentation\, I’ll answer questions from attendees\, who will also be able to sign up for one-on-one consultations at a later date. \nThis presentation and discussion is intended for anyone living a literary life in 21st century America: writers at all career stages\, editors\, and students of writing.
URL:https://writer.org/event/lessons-and-inspiration-from-a-literary-life/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:1 Session,All Levels,Fiction,Kid Lit,Mixed Genre,Nonfiction,Poetry,Professional Writing,Publishing,Stage and Screen,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261105T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261105T193000
DTSTAMP:20260713T155457Z
CREATED:20260713T155457Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260713T155457Z
UID:10005323-1793899800-1793907000@writer.org
SUMMARY:LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer
DESCRIPTION: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. \nFREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required below. \nAttending? We encourage you to become a member of The Writer’s Center for only $65/year »
URL:https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-nov26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261107T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261107T210000
DTSTAMP:20260910T182300Z
CREATED:20260812T193805Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T182300Z
UID:10005337-1794074400-1794085200@writer.org
SUMMARY:50th Anniversary Celebration
DESCRIPTION:This year The Writer’s Center turns 50!\nNo writer succeeds alone. For fifty years\, The Writer’s Center has been a place where writers gather\, learn\, revise\, encourage\, and inspire one another. This anniversary celebrates the relationships that make writing possible. \nFor three hours\, we’ll look back on our history with a building-wide scavenger hunt and a reading from each decade of the organization and the current Compass Fellow and Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow\, Xochi Quetzali Cartland. \nWith a buffet\, books\, and booze\, we’ll reminisce on the community that made possible our past fifty years. \nCan’t attend? Donations in celebration of our Golden Year may be made using the following link » \nReaching fifty years is an outstanding achievement\, but heck\, we’re just getting started. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/50th-anniversary/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T203000
DTSTAMP:20260924T204452Z
CREATED:20260924T201520Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T204452Z
UID:10005449-1794337200-1794342600@writer.org
SUMMARY:John DeDakis Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes writer John DeDakis for a reading from his new book\, Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living. John is joined by writer Austin S. Camacho. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nJohn DeDakis is a former editor on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” DeDakis\, a former White House correspondent\, is the author of six traditionally published novels in the award-winning Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. DeDakis is a motivational speaker\, podcaster\, one-on-one writing coach\, manuscript editor\, and regularly teaches novel and memoir writing at The Writer’s Center\, and other literary centers\, bookstores\, and writers’ conferences nationwide and abroad. He is also a Grief Educator\, certified by world-renowned grief expert David Kessler of Grief.com. John’s newest book is Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living. Website: www.johndedakis.com \nAustin S. Camacho is the author of eight Hannibal Jones mysteries\, five Stark and O’Brien international thrillers\, the detective novel Beyond Blue\, and the urban thrillers True Target and Mirror Target. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies and he is featured in African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study\, is a past president of the Maryland Writers Association\, and one of the creators of the Creatures\, Crimes & Creativity Con. \n\nAbout Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living\nIn Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living\, Writer’s Center teaching artist\, writing coach\, award-winning novelist\, and former CNN editor John DeDakis delivers a candid coming-of-age memoir shaped by the upheaval of the 1960s when assassinations\, the Vietnam War\, and a nation in turmoil rerouted his life. Along the way\, DeDakis interviews Alfred Hitchcock\, covers Ronald Reagan\, and works beside Wolf Blitzer—while privately grappling with spiritual doubt\, his sister’s suicide\, and the devastating loss of his youngest son to addiction. In unflinching prose\, DeDakis traces his evolution from hedonistic impulsivity to hard-won integrity. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/john-dedakis/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261111T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261111T210000
DTSTAMP:20251216T171816Z
CREATED:20251216T171816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T171816Z
UID:10005135-1794423600-1794430800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION: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. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-nov2026/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261114T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261114T200000
DTSTAMP:20260813T143725Z
CREATED:20260730T184805Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T143725Z
UID:10005329-1794679200-1794686400@writer.org
SUMMARY:Ole Blue Claw: Tales from the Crustier Side of Maryland Anthology Launch
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes the Ole’ Blue Claw Maryland Anthology for a reading a celebration of a new anthology featuring twenty-three distinctive works\, a mix of flash and short fiction\, by writers from across Maryland. \nJoin Maryland writers Preston Ford\, Greta Ehrig\, Ritchie Porter\, Rhonda Zimlich\, Cathy Tsang\, and Theodore Carter for a reading of their anthologized work and to meet the editors as we celebrate Maryland storytelling. \nFree and Open to the Public. \n\nAbout Ole’ Blue Claw\n\n\nAn Anthology of Place-Based Fiction\n\n\n\n\nOle’ Blue Claw is the brainchild of Diana Friedman\, Kim Gallagher Moses and Phil Hearn\, three graduates of the Johns Hopkins University Master of Arts in Writing Program. Our desire was to capture the diversity and little-known wonders of the Old Line State of Maryland\, including its crustier side. As long-term residents of the state\, we are proud to have filled the pages of Ole’ Blue Claw with engaging\, place-infused stories and vibrant\, idiosyncratic\, memorable characters whose personality quirks and clashes swell the heart of our readers and of course\, ole’ blue claw himself\, the Old Line State’s most infamous decapod crustacean. With support from the Maryland State Arts Council\, we were able to compensate 23 Maryland authors whose work appears in Ole Blue Claw and commission a Maryland cover artist to create original artwork. \n\n\n\nTheodore Carter is the author of several books including Stealing The Scream\, Frida Sex Dreams and Other Unnerving Disruptions. His fiction has appeared in The North American Review\, Pank\, Necessary Fiction\, and elsewhere. He’s a staff writer for Daily Art Magazine. You can see his street art out and about in Washington\, D.C.  \nGreta Ehrig earned an MFA in Creative Writing from A.U.\, where she was Editor of Folio literary journal and a Lannan Fellow.  Her poetry has appeared in numerous publications\, including: Southern Poetry Review; Beltway Quarterly; and Mid-Atlantic Review.  Her songwriting has been recognized by the Bernard-Ebb and Mid-Atlantic Song Contests.  She has received support from Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County; Maryland State Arts Council; and National League of American Pen Women.  In 2024\, Greta was nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize for poetry.  She teaches piano and songwriting at Montgomery College. \nPreston Ford is a teacher with a life-long interest in creative writing. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University\, he has lived throughout the South and now makes his home near the nation’s capital. Ford is the author of Quarter Moon: A Novel of the American South (A Thousand Candles Press\, 2023) and numerous short stories\, some of which can be found in the collections Impressions in Half-light (Outskirts Press\, 2009) and Days of Unease (A Thousand Candles Press\, 2024). He plays chess\, writes\, and worries about the state of the world in his spare time.  \nRitchie Porter lives in Silver Spring\, MD\, and is the father of two boys\, not two girls. After acting in the D.C. region for a number of years\, he transitioned to teaching and now instructs theater and directs at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac. In his spare time he plays music\, acts and writes short fiction and plays. He would like to thank the editors of the Ole Blue Crab for taking a chance on his story\, and for their expert and caring guidance. \nCathy Tsang is a Chinese American who grew up in Florida. She has been published in newspapers and magazines. This is her first time being published in a book. She loves reading cozy murder mysteries\, historic fiction and tries to find time to write while taking care of two young children. She resides with her family in Rockville\, Maryland. \nRhonda Zimlich teaches creative writing and serves as the Director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at American University in Washington D.C. She writes about intergenerational trauma and the unbreakable spirit of youth. Her debut novel\, Raising Panic\, won the Steel Toe Books 2023 Book Award for prose. She was awarded the 2020 Literary Award in Nonfiction from Dogwood\, earning an honorable mention in Best American Essays. She received the 2021 Fiction Award from Please See Me\, and the 2024 Nonfiction Award from Barely South Review.. Other works have appeared in Brevity\, Past-Ten\, American Writer’s Review\, and more.www.rhondazimlich.com \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/ole-blue-claw/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T203000
DTSTAMP:20261006T200556Z
CREATED:20261006T200556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261006T200556Z
UID:10005451-1794942000-1794947400@writer.org
SUMMARY:The Sum of Its Parts: Readings and Discussions from Three Anthologies
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes editors\, poets and prose writers featured in recently published anthologies from Bordighera Press\, June Rose Press\, and Motina Books to read from those anthologies and to discuss the publication process. Books will be available for sale and signing. Get started on your holiday shopping! \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nAbout Al di là del mare / Across the Sea\nThis bilingual anthology of Italian and Italian American poetry is a bridge across place\, language\, culture\, and history. Along with 15 poets\, we journey from one side of the sea to the other\, and discover the resonances of memory\, desire\, and inner landscapes that cannot be contained by any border. \nAbout Places on the Way\nWhat makes the idea of a cross-country road trip so compelling? The open road is possibility. The continent is vast\, the destination beside the point. It’s about presence and place\, the intersection of lives and landscapes\, experience and connection. This book translates that big-sky spirit of freedom and discovery into a journey in another mode: poetry. The hundred poems gathered here are full of grit and kitsch and wisdom\, longing and soul and local flavor. To come along on this ride is to dance on a New York City rooftop at sunrise\, commune with saguaros and ancient bristlecone pines\, visit ghost towns and the world’s tallest barber pole\, and meet an indelicate Floridian inner-tube guide named Jerry. Across these pages are roadside motels and tourist traps\, cars set on fire and driven off cliffs\, moonshine and deviled eggs and gestures toward the infinite. A poetic cross-section of a wide and complicated country\, this collection ranges from shorelines to cornfields\, over mountains and canyons and deserts and the highways in between\, exploring as it does the larger meaning of departure and return\, rootedness and movement\, liminal spaces and home places. There’s harmony and mess here\, grief and joy\, lost loves\, found selves\, and this is something poetry can do: remind us where we’ve been and where we’re going\, how the places we inhabit shape us\, what we’ve left behind and what we’re bringing\, all of us travelers. \nAbout What Are You Waiting For? \nThis poignant collection of essays\, poetry\, and artwork invites readers to reconsider what it means to wait. We all know the small\, everyday waits-waiting for a plane to arrive\, the workday to end\, or a doctor to open the exam room door. But the writers\, poets and artists in this collection explore this everyday human experience- at once universal and wholly unique– in deeper and varied ways. They write about waiting for a loved one to succumb to a terminal illness; waiting for heartbreak to soften; waiting for a child to grow up-and then wishing they were small again. Throughout the book\, the theme of gardening emerges as a quiet metaphor for hope and patience. What will grow? And when? These twenty-nine contributors capture the essence of waiting through varied lenses and\, ultimately\, remind us: there can be richness and growth in the stillness\, in the space that lives between the now and what comes next. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/the-sum-of-its-parts/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261119T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261119T213000
DTSTAMP:20260814T210320Z
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SUMMARY:Writing Picture Books II
DESCRIPTION: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.
URL:https://writer.org/event/writing-picture-books-ii-6/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:1 Session,All Levels,Kid Lit,The Writer's Center,Workshop
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261114T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261114T160000
DTSTAMP:20260908T190236Z
CREATED:20260908T190236Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T190236Z
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SUMMARY:Poet Carolyn Joyner Book Release
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Carolyn Joyner for a reading from her debut collection\, Imagine His Mother Witnessing. Carolyn is joined in conversation by poets Joseph Ross and Abdul Ali. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nCarolyn Joyner is the author of Imagine His Mother Witnessing (2026) which considers themes of loss\, an epic battle with illness\, mother-son deep bonds\, and the sustaining power of art through our darkest hour. Joyner is a former WritersCorps instructor\, volunteer poetry workshop leader for the DC Public Library and River of Words community project\, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing from The Johns Hopkins University. She is a Cave Canem and Hurston-Wright Foundation fellow\, and has been awarded fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). \nJoseph Ross is the author of five books of poetry. Most recently\, Crushed & Crowned (2023)\, Raising King (2020)\, and Ache (2017). His poems appear in many publications including\, The New York Times Magazine\, The Los Angeles Times\, Poet Lore\, The Langston Hughes Review\, and the 2022 anthology\, WHERE WE STAND: Poems of Black Resilience. He has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations and won the 2012 Pratt Library / Little Patuxent Review Poetry Prize for his poem “If Mamie Till Was the Mother of God.” Recently\, Ross served as judge for the 2021 Ken Ebert Poetry Prize from Iris G. Press. He currently serves on the editorial team of The Skinny Poetry Journal and on the Poetry Advisory Committee at the Folger. \nAbdul Ali—poet\, writer\, scholar\, and nonprofit professional—is currently a doctoral student in American Studies at the University of Maryland. Mr. Ali is the founder and principal of The Ali Consultancy that provides strategy\, project management\, and capacity building from a storytelling lense. Mr. Ali has held distinguished teaching appointments at Johns Hopkins University\, Howard University\, and Goucher College. He is the recipient of the 2019 Ruby Grant\, from the Robert Deutsch Foundation. His debut collection of poems\, Trouble Sleeping\, won the 2014 New Issues Poetry Book Prize. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/carolyn-joyner/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261122T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261122T153000
DTSTAMP:20261013T174513Z
CREATED:20261013T174513Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261013T174513Z
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SUMMARY:Melanie Hatter Book Release
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes 1455 to celebrate the launch of 1455 first annual book contest winner Melanie Hatter. This event features a reading by the author followed by a Q&A with 1455 Executive Director Sean Murphy. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nMelanie 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 Weep for Me\, Stories of Love and Loss was released in 2015. Find her online at melanieshatter.com / @melanie_hatter \nSean Murphy is the founder of the non-profit 1455 Literary Arts and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He is the author of four poetry collections—The Blackened Blues (2021)\, Rhapsodies in Blue (2023)\, Kinds of Blue (2024)\, and Red\, White\, and Blues (2026). The short fiction collection This Kind of Man published in 2024\, and his memoir\, Please Talk About Me When I’m Gone\, won Memoir Magazine’s 2022 Memoir Prize. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net. Murphy also hosts the podcast and Substack Some Things Considered\, where he interviews best-selling authors\, acclaimed critics\, and celebrated musicians. Find him at seanmurphy.net \n\nAbout the Prize-Winning Book\nMelanie S. Hatter’s All the Pain We Endure follows Raebelle “Rae” Johnson\, a biracial massage therapist in Washington\, D.C.\, whose ability to glimpse the pain carried by others forces her to confront wounds of her own. Haunted by a volatile relationship with her father and wary of intimacy\, Rae finds herself drawn to Kai\, a martial artist whose own troubled past challenges her assumptions about love\, strength\, and vulnerability. As family tensions\, buried trauma\, and generations of racial pain converge\, Rae must decide whether the hurt she has inherited will continue to define her. At once a love story and an exploration of family\, race\, trauma\, and healing\, the novel asks what it takes to break cycles of pain—and to believe ourselves worthy of love. \nFind our more at https://1455litarts.substack.com/s/1455-books \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/melanie-hatter-book-release/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261205T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261205T153000
DTSTAMP:20261006T201708Z
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LAST-MODIFIED:20261006T201708Z
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SUMMARY:Manav Sachdeva Poetry Reading
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Manav Sachdeva for a reading from his collection\, Sufi’s Garland. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nManav Sachdeva Maasoom (also known as Maasoom Shah\, and MS Maasoom) is a poet\, diplomat\, chief international officer with McCann Kyiv\, and writes literature in Urdu and English\, with some contributions in Punjabi as well. His work is listed on Mr. Urdu Poetry website (mrurdupoetry.com). Manav Sachdeva Maasoom Shah was the New York City Luce Foundation and the United Nations Poet Laureate for 2015. His first book\, The Sufi’s Garland\, was published by Roman Books Kolkata in 2011. His second book\, Siyaah Shaam Ka Ikhtetaam (The End of a Very Dark Evening)\, is expected to go to press this year (2020). He studied Poetry and Policy Studies for his Master’s at Columbia University\, and at Harvard University Olympia Program in Comparative Literature\, Society\, and Culture through a full Kokallis Foundation Scholarship. Manav Sachdeva Maasoom Shah grew up in Ludhiana\, Punjab\, India till fifteen\, went to high school and undergraduate in California\, dropped out of a seven-year UCR-UCLA Biomed program for the love of poetry writing and social reform as a shock decision for a scion of doctors\, pursued love of literature and languages through an arduous journey at various universities and through various loans and scholarships (Ann Arbor—University of Michigan) and Harvard and Columbia. \n\nAbout Sufi’s Garland\nPublished in connection with the 150th birth-anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore\, India’s first Nobel Laureate\, THE SUFI’S GARLAND is a collection of poems on love\, religion and humanity. The stony hills of Afghanistan\, the land of the Taliban terror\, forms the backdrop and one has to listen to the Sufi’s muse to believe that this howling dry wind can also tune a music so soulful! It is a reader’s sojourn in a caravan to unfold the mysteries of life in an attempt to explore ‘a sufibhakt’s fonts in mass rapture with Bhagwan’s theatre’. As a tribute to Emily Dickinson\, Antonio Porchia and Rabindranath Tagore THE SUFI’S GARLAND is an utterly hypnotic read in its truest sense. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/manav-sachdeva/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261207T203000
DTSTAMP:20260105T202101Z
CREATED:20260105T202101Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260105T202101Z
UID:10005146-1796670000-1796675400@writer.org
SUMMARY:Cafe Muse Literary Salon
DESCRIPTION: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. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP on the Cafe Muse Website. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-dec-26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
GEO:38.97949;-77.090791
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T210000
DTSTAMP:20251216T171944Z
CREATED:20251216T171944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T171944Z
UID:10005136-1796842800-1796850000@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION: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. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-dec2026/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261212T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261212T153000
DTSTAMP:20260922T160421Z
CREATED:20260805T171135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260922T160421Z
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SUMMARY:Writer John Edwards Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes writer John R. Edwards for a reading from his debut memoir\, Polly: Takes Me on the Ride of her Life.  \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nJohn R. Edwards is a Navy veteran\, who retired as Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center deputy chief engineer\, then became a hip hop dance teacher and won three TV dance competitions and performed in two Michael Jackson Videos. He was awarded Los Angeles Magazine’s Environmental Publisher’s award and a White House Closing the Circle Award for reducing ozone depletion from rockets. He is the co-inventor of the Darwin Fish. His article on space debris earned an Air Force award. This bio-memoir is his debut Book. \n\nAbout Polly: Takes Me on the Ride of her Life\nIt all started with a simple question: “What about your mother?” \nAfter the death of his father\, John R. Edwards\, retired Navy veteran turned dance instructor\, had assembled a book outlining the life\, accomplishments\, and scientific publications of his father. Writing about his mother\, though\, had never occurred to him. They rarely got along\, and at first glance\, her life was simple—she was a nurse and mother. \nBut this one question began Edwards’s quest to discover the intricacies of his mother Polly’s life. Weaving in family history beginning in Denmark and Michigan to LA\, Edwards shares the story of Polly’s life—her travels\, her faith\, and her influence—showcasing from memories\, letters\, and journals that a person’s everyday life is rarely as simple as it first appears. \nPolly Takes Me on the Ride of Her Life is the story of one family’s heritage\, with Polly at the helm\, spanning from the Civil War to the surf era in Southern California\, transporting readers to yesteryears when family members were Civil War heroes\, area codes did not exist\, and World War II lingered in recent memories. \nAs Edwards retraces his mother’s journey\, he discovers that beneath years of conflict lay a deeper truth: The woman he struggled to understand had been shaping his life all along. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/john-edwards/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261213T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261213T183000
DTSTAMP:20261006T204406Z
CREATED:20261006T204406Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261006T204406Z
UID:10005454-1797179400-1797186600@writer.org
SUMMARY:Exile and Return: A Reading and Discussion
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes graduate students of the American University MFA Program for a reading and discussion of their findings this semester. These graduate students are joined by poet\, essayist\, translator\, musician\, and American University professor\, David Keplinger. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nAbout the Event\nIn this reading featuring ten graduate students of the American University MFA Program in Creative Writing\, a selection of poetry\, fiction\, and creative nonfiction will map the experiences of exile that sometimes foist upon our human psyche a vision of the totality. As members of AU’s craft course\, LIT 711\, “Creativity and Exile\,” these writers will share work that was the result of the inquiry around brokenness and the creative urge to repair\, understand\, and make whole again. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/exile-and-return/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20270205T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20270205T163000
DTSTAMP:20260909T163639Z
CREATED:20260908T170152Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T163639Z
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SUMMARY:The Writer's Center CraftCon - Now Accepting Panel Proposals!
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center CraftCon now accepting panel proposals!\nDo you have new ideas about the art and methods of writing that you can’t wait to share? If so\, The Writer’s Center is now accepting panel proposals for CraftCon\, a one-day virtual conference on the future of the craft of creative writing. \nWe’re looking for writers and/or educators with ideas for new approaches to the craft of writing in and across all genres. Panel proposals should highlight new conceptualizations of craft or new angles on the old standards. We’re also interested in panels that propose new approaches to creative writing pedagogy. In short\, we want topics that we haven’t quite encountered before. \nCraftCon offers a unique opportunity for writers to create and present rigorous panels\, build their CVs\, and refine their understanding of literary writing. \nPanel Details: \n\nPanels should consist of 3-5 panelists\, including a moderator.\nPanels will be scheduled for 60 minutes\, with the final 10 minutes open for audience Q&A.\nWe’re looking for presentations of topics that are artistically and academically rigorous\, including but not limited to literary analysis\, methods and pedagogy\, and historical context.\nWe want panels that advance how we think about craft.\nPanels that present diverse viewpoints are strongly encouraged.\nThis conference is not for discussions about publishing.\nPanels will be selected by qualified TWC staff and volunteers\, and will be evaluated based on merit and the specific needs of the conference.\nCurrent MFA students\, faculty\, and alumni are encouraged submit proposals.\nTo submit\, please complete the Google form\, linked below.\n\nSample Topics: \nThere’s no one topic/approach we’re looking for\, but we want new\, forward-looking ideas. We want topics that surprise us (and maybe surprise you\, too!). Here are a few sample panel titles that would get our attention: \n\nNew Shapes for Plots\nRecursive Writing for Forward Motion\nAlternative Models for the Creative Writing Workshop\n\nThe panel proposal should include: \n\nPanel Title\nOne paragraph describing the topic and scope of the panel.\nOne paragraph explaining how the topic is a new approach to craft or a new angle on a standard concept of craft.\nBios for all panelists (80-word maximum/each)\nModerator name and email.\n\nClick Here for the Panel Proposal Form »\n\nProposal Deadline: Monday\, October 26\nProposal Acceptances announced by Friday\, November 20\nAccepted panel moderators will be required to provide supplementary digital documents (to be distributed to attendees) that outline the basic information to be presented in the panel.\n\nPlease note that to participate\, accepted panelists will be required to register for the conference at the early-bird rate of $100. Submitting a panel proposal is free. \nHave questions? Email zach.powers@writer.org \n\nAbout CraftCon\nCraftCon brings together dozens of featured writers on 16 innovative panels that aim to advance the craft of writing and the methods used to teach it. This first-of-its-kind conference combines artistic and academic rigor\, investigating the practices\, history\, and pedagogy of literary craft. As an attendee\, you’ll encounter brand new conceptualizations of craft and new angles on the old standards. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of your own writing practice and\, hopefully\, come away feeling inspired to approach your work in fresh ways. \nConference Schedule\nFriday\, February 5\, 2027\nAll Times Eastern \n11am-12:15pm – Session A (Welcome & 4 Concurrent Panels) \n12:30pm-1:30pm – Session B (4 Concurrent Panels) \n1:45pm-2:45pm – Session C (4 Concurrent Panels) \n3:00pm-4:15pm – Session D (4 Concurrent Panels & Closing Remarks) \n\nEarly bird registration now open for The Writer’s Center CraftCon!\nRegister now for a $25 DISCOUNT through December 15. After that\, the total registration price will increase to $125. \nRegistrants will get live access for the 4 panel sessions (with 4 concurrent panels per session) and access to all 16 panel recordings. \nFull panel details will be posted to the website the first week of December. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
URL:https://writer.org/event/craftcon/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Advanced Level,Advanced/Master Level,Fiction,Intermediate Level,Intermediate/Advanced Level,Master Level,Nonfiction,Poetry,Workshop,Zoom
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END:VCALENDAR