Tony Smith and Kathleen Harris host an open mic afternoon for writers of prose. Writers of fiction, essays, memoir, and other forms of prose are welcome to share their work. Each reader will have a strict ten-minute time limit. Hosts recommend that you practice your piece before showing up to know you are within time.…

Tony Smith and Kathleen Harris host an open mic afternoon for writers of prose. Writers of fiction, essays, memoir, and other forms of prose are welcome to share their work. Each reader will have a strict ten-minute time limit. Hosts recommend that you practice your piece before showing up to know you are within time.…

Tony Smith and Kathleen Harris host an open mic afternoon for writers of prose. Writers of fiction, essays, memoir, and other forms of prose are welcome to share their work. Each reader will have a strict ten-minute time limit. Hosts recommend that you practice your piece before showing up to know you are within time.…

Discover the importance of complexity in character development in fiction. Come prepared to share your favorite characters from fiction — books, movies, and/or TV — with the goal of identifying common features of good characters, one of which is complexity. We’ll look at Robin Hemley’s essay, “Sympathy for the Devil: What to Do About Difficult…

Embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth by joining this writing intensive dedicated to crafting one’s own spiritual memoir. Writing Your Spiritual Memoir is an unparalleled opportunity to delve deeply and unearth the profound experiences that shaped you and your spiritual beliefs, then weave them into a compelling written narrative. Our facilitators…

Congratulations on writing a first draft of your novel! This class provides helpful approaches to evaluate and revise your manuscript with a focus on plot and character development. We’ll consider how to deepen the characte arc by analyzing the protagonist’s needs, desires, wounds, and the internal and external conflicts that deter or promote growth and…

This two-part workshop invites adults with various levels of writing experience to explore the uncanny, spooky, and horrific. We will read samples from impactful authors, use a series of short exercises to stimulate our creative brains, and help each participant begin to craft a spooky story of their own. Reading samples will include excerpts from…

This two-part workshop invites adults with various levels of writing experience to explore the uncanny, spooky, and horrific. We will read samples from impactful authors, use a series of short exercises to stimulate our creative brains, and help each participant begin to craft a spooky story of their own. Reading samples will include excerpts from…

Join us for a special event featuring award-winning novelist Toya Wolfe. Toya will share new work and take questions from the audience. A light reception will follow. Toya Wolfe grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes on Chicago’s South Side. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. Her writing has appeared…

Now in its 10th season, Great Lakes/Great Books meets the first Thursday of the month September – May to discuss books that have the Great Lakes as setting or subject matter or that are related to water and/or the Great Lakes region. All are welcome, whether you have read the book or not! The selection…