Writers' Family Reunion Returns!
TIME: Friday night Mixer and Open Mic: October 27, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. CST and Saturday, Writers' Family Reunion: October 28, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. CST
PRICE: Early bird price: $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, October 11. After Wednesday, October 11: $35 for members, $50 for nonmembers. Become a member here.
LOCATION: Sabine Street Studios, 1907 Sabine Street, Houston, TX 77007 (map)
LEVEL: All levels
PRICE: Early bird price: $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, October 11. After Wednesday, October 11: $35 for members, $50 for nonmembers. Become a member here.
LOCATION: Sabine Street Studios, 1907 Sabine Street, Houston, TX 77007 (map)
LEVEL: All levels
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The Writers' Family Reunion is a weekend event designed to help you find your writing community and successfully navigate life as a writer. Along with opportunities to meet local writers, attending writers will have the opportunity to discover fantastic local literary resources and participate in workshops, roundtables, and panels All levels and all genres are welcome. At WFR you can form new friendships while deepening your knowledge of writing craft and the publishing industry.
Your ticket will include:
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We have a studio in Sabine Street Studios!
We need art for the walls!
Announcing the Writespace Artist in Residence Program
Application is open 9/1/23 - 11/1/23. Residency starts 1/1/24.
Writespace is seeking artists to collaborate for our new studio location at Sabine Street Studios. The Writespace artist-in-residence program supports a local artist by displaying their work in the Writespace studio for a period of 6-12 months. Artists residents receive a free consultation with a Writespace editor of their biography and artist statement. Artist residents are also invited to host a workshop on a topic of their choosing suitable for writers.
Application is open 9/1/23 - 11/1/23. Residency starts 1/1/24.
Writespace is seeking artists to collaborate for our new studio location at Sabine Street Studios. The Writespace artist-in-residence program supports a local artist by displaying their work in the Writespace studio for a period of 6-12 months. Artists residents receive a free consultation with a Writespace editor of their biography and artist statement. Artist residents are also invited to host a workshop on a topic of their choosing suitable for writers.
Our Next Workshop
The Illusion of Reality: Writing Realistic Dialogue
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INSTRUCTOR: Juan Fernando Villagomez
TIME: Saturday, September 23, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, September 17. After Sunday, September 17: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. Become a member here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 When we read good dialogue in a book, we often praise it for its realistic-ness. In real life though, people are long-winded. We are boring. We stammer. We waste our breath talking about things that don’t matter. Our speech is speckled with “ums” and “likes” and other filler words and sounds. A faithful rendering of a “real" conversation will pull your reader out of the story, and good luck getting them to come back. When we talk about “realistic” dialogue, we are talking about dialogue that meaningfully deepens our characters, that builds tension, that pushes the story forward. Drawing on craft essays and contemporary examples of dialogue in fiction and non-fiction works, we will learn how to distill our characters' speech to its most essential components and maximize its effect. |
Photo by Evgeny Matveev on Unsplash
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View all our upcoming workshops.
Our Next Event
September Reading and Open Mic!
Come hear and be heard! Bring bug spray!
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TIME: Friday, September 29, 7–9:30 p.m. CST
LOCATION: Antidote Coffee, 729 Studewood St, Houston, TX 77007 (map) FEATURING: Kristina Koutsoudas COST: Free for members. $5.00 for nonmembers. Become a member here. REGISTRATION: To become a reader sign up here. Sign-ups are open to all and on a first come, first served basis. Please note that you must arrive before 7:00 p.m. to get a snack and get situated, thanks! Buying a ticket does not sign you up to read. Signing up to read does not buy you a ticket. You must buy a ticket AND sign up to read. You must sign up here to read! Come out and listen to our featured readers and read yourself! Please note that you will need to arrive before 7:00 p.m. to get a seat. Accessibility: Street parking will be necessary. Fully accessible coffee shop. |
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
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What people are saying about our workshops:
"I hadn’t written poetry in more than 6 months. Not because I didn’t have anything to say—but rather, the opposite: I have too much to say, and not enough time to say it. That’s the beauty of short-form poetry—and I can think of no one better than Dr. Kendra Leonard to be your guide into this world.
If you’re like me—an unpracticed, imperfect poet who doesn’t know anything about the mechanics of sonnets or limericks—it can feel super intimidating to step into a poetry workshop. But Dr. Leonard made me feel anything but intimidated. She is kind, encouraging, and takes a gentle, question-led (rather than feedback-led) approach to workshopping poetry.
What’s truly amazing is that she’s helped me turn short-form poetry into a habit. I’ve written a poem every day since taking her workshop. Often, I don’t have a big block of time to sit down and journal out all my thoughts and feelings. Dr. Leonard’s workshop showed me that I can be just as expressive through short-form poetry, and in a fraction of the time.
I’m really excited to take her workshop on ekphrastic writing."
—Ynes Freeman, on Kendra Preston Leonard's Writing Short: Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand
If you’re like me—an unpracticed, imperfect poet who doesn’t know anything about the mechanics of sonnets or limericks—it can feel super intimidating to step into a poetry workshop. But Dr. Leonard made me feel anything but intimidated. She is kind, encouraging, and takes a gentle, question-led (rather than feedback-led) approach to workshopping poetry.
What’s truly amazing is that she’s helped me turn short-form poetry into a habit. I’ve written a poem every day since taking her workshop. Often, I don’t have a big block of time to sit down and journal out all my thoughts and feelings. Dr. Leonard’s workshop showed me that I can be just as expressive through short-form poetry, and in a fraction of the time.
I’m really excited to take her workshop on ekphrastic writing."
—Ynes Freeman, on Kendra Preston Leonard's Writing Short: Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand
All donations made to Writespace are tax-deductible.
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Writespace is a Houston grassroots literary arts nonprofit whose mission is to embrace and celebrate our city’s diversity by providing the type of high-quality training available through Master of Fine Arts creative writing programs at a fraction of the cost to writers of all genres, with a focus on providing programming for underserved communities and scholarships for low-income writers. |
