Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland, Inc.
The Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland offers monthly workshops and speakers, an annual conference, and special showcase events for members. Located in Baltimore.
Classes
Cave Canem
Cave Canem is committed to the discovery and cultivation of new voices in African American poetry. Offers an annual summer workshop/retreat, a first book prize, readings, and more. Located in Brooklyn, NY, but has strong DC ties. Also note: The Spring 2017 issue is the Cave Canem 20th Anniversary Issue.
DC Poetry Project
The DC Poetry Project is an online meetup group, sponsors monthly workshops and open mic nights. Free admission.
DC Poetry Workshop Group
Free weekly workshop led by Amanda Hickok. Meets Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial DC Public Library. Group discusses poems that have influenced members and comments on works in progress by members.
Delaware Literary Connection
The Delaware Literary Connection hosts readings, workshops, master classes, discussion groups, writing contests. Publishes a quarterly online newsletter. Annual dues. Coordinator, Barbara Gray.
Eastern Shore Writers’ Association
Headquartered in Easton, MD, the Eastern Shore Writers’ Association serves writers from the tri-state area of the Delmarva Penninsula. Hosts monthly meetings, mentorships, speakers, critique groups, and a journal, the Delmarva Review. Modest fees charged.
Federal Poets
The Federal Poets host an open monthly poetry workshop and publishe a semi-annual anthology of poems by members. “The oldest continuously active poetry group” in DC, founded in 1944. Hosted by Nancy Allinson. Members who are also associated with Beltway Poetry include: Dean Blehert, Judith McCombs, Miles David Moore, and Bonnie Naradzay.
Frostburg State University Center for Creative Writing
Located in Frostburg, MD, the Center for Creative Writing aims to serve Western MD, parts of PA and WV with workshops, readings, slams, exhibits, a library, and more. Sponsors an annual Small Press Festival, a One-Act Play Competition, the Nightsun Writer’s Conference, the Spring Into Writing Retreat, and workshops for youth.
Furious Flower
Located at James Madison University, Furious Flower Poetry Center is devoted to African American poetry, and serves the university, the Harrisonburg, VA community, and scholars nationally. Houses visiting poets, sponsors workshops, hosts an annual poetry camp for students in grades 3 to 8, produces videos, books and articles, and holds panels, seminars and conferences. Joanne V. Gabbin, executive director.
Hampton Roads Writers
Hampton Roads Writers runs a writing center in Virginia Beach, VA that offers workshops, readings, contests, critique groups. Hosts a annual two-day Fall conference with keynote speaker, workshops, breakout sessions, ten-minute agent pitches.
Hurston/Wright Foundation
Hurston/Wright
is a resource for Black writers. They offer workshops for teens and adults, an annual award for college writers, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards for new books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Knowledge Commons DC
KCDC hosts workshops and events in public spaces, taught by and for DC residents. Most classes last one month and are held in such locations as cemeteries, galleries, cafes, grocery stores, museums, and parks.
Maryland Writers’ Association
The Maryland Writers’ Association hosts classes and critique groups, readings, contests, an annual conference, and community outreach projects. Publishes bimonthly newsletter, Pen in Hand. Covers poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Based in Annapolis, with seven chapters offering smaller meetings in different regions of the state. Fees charged.
New Directions in Writing
New Directions in Writing is a three-year continuing education program for writers, clinicians, and academics who want to develop their skill in writing with a psychological perspective. Offers weekend seminars, and summer and winter retreats with themes that explore topics of psychological interest to stimulate participants’ writing, led by professional writing instructors paired with psychoanalyst faculty. Based in Arlington, VA, and sponsored by the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis.
Nightwriters
Nightwriters offers writing seminars in such locations as Napa Valley, CA, Isle of Mull, Scotland, and Tuscany, Italy. Also rents out a writer’s house in Ashland, VA with daily and weekly rates. Based in Bethesda, MD.
Novelty DC
Novelty DC offers fiction and nonfiction master classes and one-on-one consulting. Led by Mary Kay Zuravleff and Jenny Moore. Fees charged.
Playwright’s Forum
The Playwright’s Forum runs writers’ groups for playwrights, public and in-house readings at cooperating theaters and universities, a publishing program, and free theater ticket privledges for members.
Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild
The Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild is a nonprofit organization fostering the literary arts in southern coastal Delaware. Hosts workshops, discussions, readings, and the annual “Writers at the Beach: Pure Sea Glass” conference. Members volunteer at local schools and hospitals.
RhizomeDC
Rhizome DC is a nonprofit organization located in the Takoma Park DC neighborhood “dedicated to promoting creativity as a force for personal empowerment and community engagement.” Offers concerts, discussions, classes, youth programs and various “non-mainstream programming.”
Smithsonian Associates
The Smithsonian Associates offers classes, lectures, travel, performances on diverse subjects, including literary topics. Members get discounts on classes, Smithsonian Magazine, and other discounts.
The Muse Writers Center
The Muse Writers Center offers creative writing workshops for begins, advanced students and professionals. Fees charged. Located in Norfolk, VA.
Water Street Studios
Water Street Studios, located in Fredericksburg VA, offers workshops in book arts, visual art and creative writing for adults and youth. Holds exhibits, has a retail shop, and publishes the Fredericksburg Literary Review.
Writer House
Writer House is a non-profit membership organization that offers classes, writing space, and readings in the Charlottesville, VA area.
Writer’s Center
The Writer’s Center is a non-profit membership organization for writers. Workshops in all genres for beginning and experienced writers, led by local authors, in Bethesda and other area locations. Also offers readings (Sunday afternoons at 2:00 pm and occasional evenings; the Open Door Series usually has free admission), as well as performances, staged readings of plays, a visiting writers series, and an annual small press book fair. Publishes a newsletter and the biannual literary journal Poet Lore.
Writer’s Loft of Kensington
The Writer’s Loft of Kensington, operated by Dini Karasik, offers editing and consulting services, and creative writing workshops in memoir, fiction, poetry.