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Get connected to Charlottesville’s writing community.
Here’s what some of our students are saying about WriterHouse:
“What I enjoy most about my experience with WriterHouse is the support of a writing tribe.”
“Sunny and comfortable. Glad there’s coffee!”
“I like the space and time dedicated to the effort of writing. I like the quiet.”
“I am just so glad WriterHouse exists. I am grateful to have a place to come and write and be around writers.”
“I am a huge WriterHouse fan. Thank you for fostering this unique community; it’s completely revolutionized what has otherwise been a relatively lonely hobby for me.”
“Great institution. Love the camaraderie, the exchange of knowledge, the feedback. No way I would have started writing in this way without WriterHouse.”
“WriterHouse is incredible–such an asset to this community.”
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FEATURED EVENTS
September 2019
“Lingering in the Margins” Poetry Anthology, Reading and Q&A
The River City Poets Anthology Lingering in the Margins grew from three women’s love of poetry. Their humble idea was to offer an opportunity for fledgling poets in their community to be published. Two years and two hundred poetry submissions later, Lingering in the Margins represents the unique voice of over 50 poets, both new and experienced, woven into a tapestry of perspectives. Readings from eight contributors will be followed by a discussion of how our creative spark became published book. Co-editors Joanna Lee, Judy…
Find out more »October 2019
Secrets to Writing Every Day – Tricks and Techniques
Instructor: Joan Mazza $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 10/12/19 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Whatever style of writing you do or hope to do, you can develop habits for writing every day and find the time to do so. In this seminar, we will discuss strategies to stay in your writing mind and make creative leaps. We'll talk about how to catch ideas and track them, and how as little as fifteen minutes a day can keep you…
Find out more »Putting Your Poor People in Peril! (Creating Realistic Characters Then Throwing Them to the Wolves)
Instructor: Elizabeth Massie $50 Members | $55 Nonmembers Saturday, 10/19/19 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Characters are the experiencers of a story. Without characters who act, speak, and think, there is no story. Without characters there is no problem to solve, difficulty to overcome, or adventure to have. This two-hour workshop will offer activities to get writers into the hearts, minds, and souls of their characters and then introduce characters into frightening situations to determine how they will react…or…
Find out more »Author Event with Clifford Garstang
Join author Clifford Garstang on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 12:30 PM as he discusses his writing career and his latest book, THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY, a novel about place, family secrets, and ghosts, published this spring by Braddock Avenue Books. WriterHouse will provide refreshments. Clifford Garstang is the author of a novel, THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY, a novel in stories, WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Award for Fiction, and a story…
Find out more »2019 Words and Wine Celebration
Art Gallery at Indoor Biotechnologies, 700 Harris Street (across from WriterHouse) Tickets: $50 per person Sponsorship*: Best Seller ($250), Pulitzer ($500), and Nobel ($1,000) It's time for Words and Wine, the signature annual fundraiser for WriterHouse, an organization whose mission is to promote the creation and appreciation of literature and to encourage the development of writers at all levels by providing affordable, secure workspace and meeting space, high quality writing instruction, and literary events for the public. Join us for…
Find out more »Getting Into Character
Instructor: Amanda Korman $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 10/26/19 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm What makes a story “unputdownable”? We know that propulsive plots are one way to keep your readers turning the page. But there are plenty of stories where the captivating factor is instead the intrigue of the characters themselves: the way their minds work, the way their particular sensibilities clash against one another. In this afternoon seminar we will discuss strategies for creating consistent, believable…
Find out more »Villanelle Crash Course
Instructor: Claudia Gary $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 10/27/19 | 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Improve your villanelle skills, or write your first one. Guided by an internationally published author of villanelles, sonnets, and other metrical poems, you'll first read classic and contemporary villanelles to see why they work. The class will write a group villanelle, and then, with or without shortcuts, you’ll write one of your own. Next you'll see how your new poem can be improved by…
Find out more »Meter Crash Course
Instructor: Claudia Gary $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 10/27/19 | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Improve your ear for meter, and fine-tune your understanding of how meter works in poetry. Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Do you know why listening for the natural rhythms of speech can strengthen your writing? Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day workshop…
Find out more »November 2019
Submission Bootcamp, Part I: Getting Noticed – Submitting Your Work
Instructor: Liza Taylor $30 Members | $32.50 Nonmembers Saturday, 11/2/19 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Note: The Submission mini-seminars may be taken separately or together, but you must register for each one individually. Here at WriterHouse we’re taught to be better writers, but it’s up to us to get our work out there and learn how to be writers in the world. So, you might be wondering, how will I know if I’m ready to try submitting? Liza will…
Find out more »Submission Bootcamp, Part II: I’ve Finished Writing My Book, Now What?
Instructor: Liza Taylor $35 Members | $38 Nonmembers Sunday, 11/3/19 | 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Note: The Submission mini-seminars may be taken separately or together, but you must register for each one individually. As they say at the Publisher’s Clearinghouse, “If you don’t enter, you can’t win.” Finding an agent for your manuscript is tough. This seminar will discuss preparing book manuscripts for submission, researching literary agents, writing and formatting a query letter and synopsis, submission strategies, and dealing…
Find out more »WRITERHOUSE NEWS
Unity Days Poetry Event
Unity Days Poetry Event to Highlight the Power of Writing to Heal On August 9, 2019, from 12:00-1:30 PM, WriterHouse, in partnership with The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative and the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, will host a free poetry writing event open to...
WriterHouse teams with City Clay for multi-media summer camps!
Writerhouse is joining with City Clay to host three summer camps offering children from 9 - 11 years old the opportunity to sculpt, write, and paint during the course of one week. All camps run Monday - Friday, from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm. Children will be dropped off...
Read the Winning Entries from the 2019 JMRL and WriterHouse Poetry Contest
We received an overwhelming response to this year's JMRL and WriterHouse Poetry Contest judged by Poet Laureate of Virginia, Henry Hart. We'd like to congratulate winner Ron Berube for his poem "A Differential Calculus of My Feelings" and runner-up Clay Moldenhauer...
