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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
January 2020
Fiction and the Craft of Character (This seminar is full!)
Instructor: Bruce Holsinger $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 1/25/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm This seminar will address the making of human characters in fiction. Characters--believable, authentic, sympathetic--are the lifeblood of story. Who wants to read or keep reading a novel if we don’t care about the fellow human beings inhabiting its setting and guiding its plot? We’ll look at several examples of great characters, learn about the relationship between character and story structure, and try out some…
Find out more »February 2020
The Short Long Poem
Instructor: Christopher Kondrich $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/1/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Long poems marvel us with their expansiveness, but many short poems seem to have this quality as well. Their brevity belies their extraordinary breadth and scope. In this seminar, we’ll explore how to harness the expansiveness of long poetry for our more concise work. We’ll consider four poems—one each by Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Louise Glück, Srikanth Reddy, and Robin Coste Lewis—as examples and guides,…
Find out more »First Fridays Art Opening, “What’s left” by Kiel Posner
Join us for food, wine, and lively conversation as we celebrate the artwork of Kiel Posner. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Posner's first solo exhibition, "What's left," is a series of epoxy-covered T-shirt paintings. The title recalls the work required to perpetually sustain the home, while also acknowledging the responsibility to maintain ourselves. Kiel Posner is a mixed media sculptor based out of Richmod, Virginia. He is currently a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts fellowship recipient…
Find out more »Navigating the Query Trenches: Pitches, Pitfalls, and PitMad
Instructor: Emily Thiede $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/15/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm There’s a reason many writers describe querying as “going into the trenches,” but like any battle, it’s easier to survive the fight if you start with the right tools in your armory. In this course, we’ll explore resources for building (and narrowing down) a list of agents to query, and the pros-and-cons of non-traditional paths like twitter pitch contests, mentorship competitions, and writing conferences.…
Find out more »Beyond the Banana Peel: A Workshop on Writing Humor (This workshop is full!)
Instructors: Lisa Ellison and Debby Prum $80 Members | $87 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/22/20 | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm NOTE: Maximum number of students - 8 Quote: “If heaven exists, to know there’s laughs, that would be a great thing.” Robin Williams During this four-hour workshop, we will discuss the elements of humor, use improv exercises and film clips to demonstrate those elements and then give participants opportunities to write short humorous pieces. NOTE: Lunch break from 12:00-1:00 PM. Participants…
Find out more »Utopia and Dystopia: Writing Heaven and Hell
Instructor: Warren Rochelle $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/29/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm Utopia, the perfect society? Or, a planned, better one? Dystopia, a warning, a cautionary tale: if we don't stop doing .... there'll be hell to pay. We'll talk about utopia and dystopia, past and present, outline a statement of beliefs, then start individual stories set in the alternate world of these beliefs in action. Warren Rochelle lives and works in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he…
Find out more »March 2020
WriterHouse Winter Class Reading and Open House (CANCELLED!)
Join us for food and fun as we celebrate the writing created during the 2020 Winter Term. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry will be represented. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. Bring friends! Due to concerns about Coronavirus and out of an abundance of caution, WriterHouse has cancelled the Winter Class Reading. We want our writing community to enjoy continued good health! We hope to offer Winter Term students the opportunity to read during…
Find out more »April 2020
Picture Book Boot Camp (Online seminar)
Instructor: Hannah Barnaby $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/18/20 | 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm What makes picture books so magical? The alchemy of text and art creates a unique medium for a story, turning it into something more than just the combination of words and pictures. It might seem like a mystery, but writing picture books is far from impossible -- it just takes a special set of skills and a peek behind the curtain. Hannah Barnaby --…
Find out more »Propelled by Story, Constrained by Truth: Exploring the Boundaries of Narrative Nonfiction (Online seminar)
Instructor: Chris Register $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/25/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Narrative nonfiction authors face many decisions along their journey from proposal to print. Whether curating material for a historical snapshot, recreating conversations for a travelogue, or painting a scene for a memoir, the challenges are the same: where to begin, what to tell and leave out (and in what order), how much dialogue versus backstory to employ, and—of course—that elephant in the writing room: to…
Find out more »May 2020
Rabbit Holes and Easter Eggs: Writing Historical Fiction (Online seminar)
Instructor: Liza Taylor $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 5/9/20 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Liza Nash Taylor’s two forthcoming historical novels are set in 1925 and 1931. ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS, partially set in Keswick and Charlottesville, comes out August 18. IN ALL GOOD FAITH will follow in 2021. Liza will supply resources and discuss pitfalls, Easter eggs, and cheats for research techniques for setting, characters, and working with historical figures, as well as crafting period-appropriate dialogue and backgrounds.…
Find out more »WRITERHOUSE NEWS
Read the Winning Entries from the 2020 JMRL and WriterHouse Poetry Contest
JMRL and WriterHouse Announce Poetry Contest Winner! The poem, “Play a Note,” by Fred Everett Maus has been selected as this year’s JMRL-WriterHouse Poetry Contest winner. Joan Mazza was named runner-up for the poem “Elinor White Frost." Congratulations to...
April Weekly writing prompt
As part of the #TheWrite2Heal series of events, for the month of April WriterHouse established a weekly prompt to help our community maintain a writing practice in these challenging times. We hope that these prompts helped you channel your feelings in a productive...
2020 Write On! Summer Camps have been cancelled due to COVID-19
Creative Writing Camp for Kids Session I: Monday-Friday, July 6 - July 10, 2020 | 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.Session II: Monday-Friday, July 13 - July 17, 2020 | 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. SESSION ONE CAMPS: Grades 6-8: Writing Workshop with Erin James During this week, young...
