Join the fastest-growing writing community and get the professional mentorship, camaraderie, and tools to become a better writer.
Begins April 27
7 days
Our annual spring retreat features renowned authors, editors and professors — all from the comfort of your home. Individual tickets available.
I was writing, but like most of us, keeping it this secret off to the side. I heard Jay Z say recently, “You can only put so much paper in your pocket; eventually it's gonna turn into a book.” My pockets were full. But since attending the retreat, my life just felt electric. My non-creative family members or...
Being part of A Writing Room has helped me stay focused on building my writing habit. There's always someone around to help support me through silent writing sessions, self-guided classes, recordings from the retreat, daily writing prompts, open mic night, or posting work for feedback...
The community has been really welcoming and warm… I don't think I've ever written so much as I have since joining in September. It's just been so heart-warming and everything opened up for me since joining, my vision has been so clear. I organized the author site, which was so successful...
Part of my experience in this community has been this gentle spot to land that has allowed me to be braver in my writing and my creative life overall… I had this voice that said “you can't do it, it's not real, this is a waste of your time.” And since joining this community, I spoke my writing out to other people...
I'm already seeing changes, not only in my writing habits but also in the way I observe and react to everything around me. I am learning to prioritize and make time and space for my writing.
I found myself thinking, “Okay, I'm ready for writing feedback.” I was looking through community college offerings, looking in the library, writers groups, and then it struck me — I have what I need in A Writing Room, it's called Feedback Arena. And I just needed to be brave, to push that button to...
For me this community has been like that saying, “writing is an act of faith and not grammar.” I show up at the silent writing and I have no idea what I'm going to write. But once I go there with the energy in the group, it just shows up and even now when I say it, I can't believe that that's how it works…
For me the community was realizing I’ve been on this writing pilgrimage all my life… sometimes it's been great, sometimes it's been hard, but for a long time it was getting really difficult. And I'm going to write because I have to, it's in my blood. I have to do it. And then I turned a corner and...
Thank you all for creating this Collective for us! I am writing SO much more! The writing is also coming forth easier every time. It is now part of my routine. I am forever grateful.
A Writing Room got me writing again. I’ve written off and on for decades, but writing alone, I would taper off. The communal writing events, the daily prompts, and the opportunities to share help me to keep going. I went to the Marin retreat last year, and left it really excited. I found a routine, tried to...
WHAT A GIFT YOU ALL ARE TO ME!
Substack offers A LOT of guidance for creating our individual presence in their venue. One of
the suggestions is to list what people have said about your work in order to consider what...
Happy Thanksgiving all! I am super new here and am still finding my way around this site...but wanted to share with this group because you seem like the right people to celebrate this with :) (And I really wanted to celebrate with someone)). My first article will be in print as of tomorrow...
“You made your first $1,000 Karen Wesley Writes has made its first $1,000 in annual subscription Revenue.”
Just wanted to share that I was honored to be included in this new book Stronger Than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina that features essays and visual art from some amazing creators here and it's out now and all profits go to relief here in the WNC...
[A Writing Room] has been life-changing for me… I've written about 14 chapters of my first draft, and planned about another 15 chapters. I'm feeling very satisfied with my progress!
I was looking up my associate social work license number when I found this, under my name. I thank again Wendy Carr for encouraging me to write this story, and @Jacque Stonehocker for encouraging me to find a wider audience for it when I read it in Silent Writing...
Hey everyone! Happy to share my screenplay "Wrestling Giants" is a quarter-finalist in the Emerging Screenwriters competition!
I completed today my fourth week of participating in Jacob Nordby's Five Minute Club. I wrote on my novel for at least 5 minutes, usually more, 5 days out of 7. I find this practice keeps me actively engaged and keeps this writing project moving forward.
Hi Everyone... I am also part of the Hay House Writers Community. They have a contest twice a year for members to submit their proposals for a possible contract. Although I didn't win the contract, my proposal for my self-help memoir received an honorable mention!!! Now on to more agents...
You guys! This is getting REAL! 😁 My cover art came through yesterday and I'm thrilled with it!
I'm sooooo excited!!! I submitted one of my essays to The Big Brick Review and I learned today that I'm one of 10 finalists!!! Even if I don't make it to the final 5, this is the message from above telling me that my idea to devote this year to my memoir is the way to go. It's also telling me how much A Writing Room has...
Today, I finished the first draft of my novel. Seven months of sitting down to write, every morning, Monday through Friday. Some days, I wrote one paragraph, some days, I wrote six pages. I've never been more at peace. Thank you 'A Writing Room' for holding space for people like me.
Wah eeeeeeee! I came 8th in Round 1 of the NYC Midnight Short Story competition... MOVING through to round 2.... Wahoo…
About:
I was writing, but like most of us, keeping it this secret off to the side. I heard Jay Z say recently, “You can only put so much paper in your pocket; eventually it's gonna turn into a book.” My pockets were full. But since attending the retreat, my life just felt electric. My non-creative family members or non-creative friends and associates, they think it is crazy that I will take time to write here, that I'm sitting down and being intentional about writing each day. And I'm sure you all can absolutely relate to this. They don't understand why I would take time to attend this Zoom meeting and I tried to explain to them: for me, this community is in me. It's not something that's around me… this community was planted in me in September. So I'm taking it with me to be watered and I grow throughout the world. So it doesn't matter where I am. This community is all support and all love… the accountability, the gentle pushes and nudges as reminders that we're writing with purpose… it’s taught me to be more, to speak more, to write more, to be brave enough to share my work and for it to feel valuable. If you submit it to wherever and you get a no, that's just a no for that place. That's not a no for the entire world. So we're going to have a collection of nos, but all we need is just one yes. And A Writing Room is really your Yes. We're getting told yes all the time because you have people behind you just cheering you on.
I have been published THIS MORNING in a local Illinois-based newspaper and am SUPER EXCITED! These are my baby steps and it's because of [A Writing Room] that I even had the courage to do this so THANK YOU TEAM + COMMUNITY for the 'palms on my back' support you continually provide!
About:
Being part of A Writing Room has helped me stay focused on building my writing habit. There's always someone around to help support me through silent writing sessions, self-guided classes, recordings from the retreat, daily writing prompts, open mic night, or posting work for feedback or just an "attagirl!" It's amazing to have all this available in one place where I can build relationships and not be isolated in my work!
About:
The community has been really welcoming and warm… I don't think I've ever written so much as I have since joining in September. It's just been so heart-warming and everything opened up for me since joining, my vision has been so clear. I organized the author site, which was so successful and I've been so much braver because I know that I have people behind me that support my dream of writing. It's just been really helpful to me… I turned in my first submission last night, my very first short story submission to a contest… I’ve never felt heard, motivated or focused until I joined A Writing Room. This was a place where I felt like I belonged.
About:
Part of my experience in this community has been this gentle spot to land that has allowed me to be braver in my writing and my creative life overall… I had this voice that said “you can't do it, it's not real, this is a waste of your time.” And since joining this community, I spoke my writing out to other people for the first time, I never thought I would do that. I started writing poetry, which I never thought I would do. And I submitted it to some magazines, hopefully to get some sort of publication, which is wild for me. So I am really filled with gratitude for this community.
About:
I found myself thinking, “Okay, I'm ready for writing feedback.” I was looking through community college offerings, looking in the library, writers groups, and then it struck me — I have what I need in A Writing Room, it's called Feedback Arena. And I just needed to be brave, to push that button to submit my work, get the feedback there from people I’ve come to really treasure.
About:
For me this community has been like that saying, “writing is an act of faith and not grammar.” I show up at the silent writing and I have no idea what I'm going to write. But once I go there with the energy in the group, it just shows up and even now when I say it, I can't believe that that's how it works… all you have to do is show up. When I joined, it was like a seed was planted. And now it's up to me to protect it… I want to make it grow like a strong oak tree, so that it can support and spread over others… I have people in here who comment on substack and I feel like I know them even more now. Thank you very much.
About:
For me the community was realizing I’ve been on this writing pilgrimage all my life… sometimes it's been great, sometimes it's been hard, but for a long time it was getting really difficult. And I'm going to write because I have to, it's in my blood. I have to do it. And then I turned a corner and suddenly I found a group of fellow travelers that were not scary, but welcoming, and actually had nourishment and who needed what I had to give, and had what I needed to receive. And suddenly finding yourself still on that pilgrimage, but with other people on the road beside you... It’s been a totally unexpected surprise-birthday-party kind of a feeling. I’m so used to powering through life so suddenly being surprised by goodness and surprised by kindness and surprised by the beauty and the gift of all of you guys. I actually know some of my fellow pilgrims names and we communicate and we encourage each other and it's a very safe and good feeling.
About:
A Writing Room got me writing again. I’ve written off and on for decades, but writing alone, I would taper off. The communal writing events, the daily prompts, and the opportunities to share help me to keep going. I went to the Marin retreat last year, and left it really excited. I found a routine, tried to share with friends and family, but daily life kept breaking my routine, and some of the stuff I shared put holes in long-term relationships. I can’t say that I’m completely open to sharing everything here, but it’s working a lot better than when I was isolated. Part of writing is getting to know yourself and the world, but part is communication, and that was missing.
About:
WHAT A GIFT YOU ALL ARE TO ME!
Substack offers A LOT of guidance for creating our individual presence in their venue. One of
the suggestions is to list what people have said about your work in order to consider what
people will be drawn to your Substack. At first, this didn't make sense to me since I don't have
along history with Substack. How would I know? Then I thought of all of you.
Yesterday, I scrolled through many of your previous comments and encouragements. You have
boosted my confidence and helped me with my (Amie McNee) coronation process. I am grateful for each one of you.
About:
Happy Thanksgiving all! I am super new here and am still finding my way around this site...but wanted to share with this group because you seem like the right people to celebrate this with :) (And I really wanted to celebrate with someone)). My first article will be in print as of tomorrow @ I have a short piece being published in Get Griefy Magazine, available tomorrow on Amazon (should you be interested in looking for it). Cheers!
About:
“You made your first $1,000 Karen Wesley Writes has made its first $1,000 in annual subscription Revenue.”
About:
Hi all! Just wanted to share that I was honored to be included in this new book Stronger Than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina that features essays and visual art from some amazing creators here and it's out now and all profits go to relief here in the WNC. You can check out my substack for more info…
About:
I was looking up my associate social work license number when I found this, under my name. I thank again Wendy Carr for encouraging me to write this story, and @Jacque Stonehocker for encouraging me to find a wider audience for it when I read it in Silent Writing.
Announcing my newest book, the result of the September writing retreat!
About:
Hey everyone! Happy to share my screenplay "Wrestling Giants" is a quarter-finalist in the Emerging Screenwriters competition!
About:
Hi Everyone... I am also part of the Hay House Writers Community. They have a contest twice a year for members to submit their proposals for a possible contract. Although I didn't win the contract, my proposal for my self-help memoir received an honorable mention!!! Now on to more agents.
Also, I completed a guest essay/op ed article to honor all civil servants, including my late husband literally worked himself to death to keep the peace at the age of 54. I submitted it to the New York Times on Monday. They didn't take it, so I submitted to the Washington Post this morning.
Now trying to catch up with book camp!
About:
You guys! This is getting REAL! 😁 My cover art came through yesterday and I'm thrilled with it!
I submitted a haiku several months ago that's been chosen to be published in a book next year!
About:
I'm sooooo excited!!! I submitted one of my essays to The Big Brick Review and I learned today that I'm one of 10 finalists!!! Even if I don't make it to the final 5, this is the message from above telling me that my idea to devote this year to my memoir is the way to go. It's also telling me how much A Writing Room has helped me with the ongoing support, classes, groups, etc. that I can't even begin to count. Thank you to everyone!
About:
The beloved author of ten New York Times bestselling books, California Hall of Fame Inductee, and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Anne Lamott is a living literary legend. Anne partnered with A Writing Room at our very first retreat in 2022, and shortly after became a full-time artist in residence at A Writing Room.
She brings her passion, humor, and skill as a writer — and human — to this year's cohort, as well as a little “benevolent pressure.” Through her guidance, you will learn how to stop not writing and officially be able to call Anne a mentor who is in your corner.
Guggenheim Fellowship 1985
California Hall of Fame 2010
About:
If you Google “Greatest Living Authors, ” you will find Marlon James on almost every published list. He’s solidified himself as a true master of the writing craft. Marlon won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, making him the first Jamaican author to take home the U.K.’s most prestigious literary award.
James combines masterful storytelling with the brilliant skill of characterization and an eye for detail to forge bold novels of dazzling ambition and scope. We’ve tapped Marlon to lead our emphasis on the craft of writing to make sure you leave with new skills and tools you can apply immediately.
He is the author of the New York Times-bestseller Black Leopard, Red Wolf, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction in 2019. His novel A Brief History of Seven Killings won the 2015 Man Booker Prize. It was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction, and the Minnesota Book Award. It was also a New York Times Notable Book. James is also the author of The Book of Night Women, which won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Minnesota Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction and an NAACP Image Award. His first novel, John Crow’s Devil, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. James divides his time between Minnesota and New York.
About:
It’s hard to think of a living writer who better embodies the literary American dream than Cheryl Strayed. Cheryl has enjoyed all the success an author could hope for, including her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film.
Additionally, her book Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar is based on her wildly-popular column and podcast “Dear Sugar,” which was developed into a Hulu original series.
Pushcart Prize
About:
Alex Elle is a New York Times Bestselling Author, wellness educator, and Restorative Writing teacher with more than a decade of experience. Her writing journey began as a personal therapeutic practice that evolved into a career centered on healing through journaling, self-study, and mindfulness.
Through her books, workshops, courses, and retreats, Alex helps others cultivate self-discovery and expand their capacity for joy, clarity, and meaningful connection. Her work is grounded in the belief that literature and language serve as powerful tools for both personal and collective healing.
About:
Hailed by The New York Times as “The Queen of Change,” JULIA CAMERON is credited with starting a movement in 1992 that has brought creativity into the mainstream conversation— in the arts, in business, and in everyday life. She is the best-selling author of more than fifty books, fiction and nonfiction; a poet, songwriter, filmmaker and playwright.
Commonly referred to as “The Godmother” or “High Priestess” of creativity, her tools are based in practice, not theory, and she considers herself “the floor sample of her own toolkit.” Her #1 bestseller, The Artist’s Way, has been translated into more than forty languages and sold over five million copies to date.
About:
Daniel H. Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including his latest, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human.
Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 46 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family.
Pink has received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Pratt Institute, Ringling College of Art and Design, and the University of Indianapolis.
Pink’s books have been selected as common reads for first-year students at George Washington University, Butler University, Texas State University, and other colleges. In addition, Oprah Winfrey gifted copies of his book, A Whole New Mind, to 4,500 graduates of Stanford University when she gave the school’s commencement address.
About:
Maggie Smith is the author of seven award-winning books: Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Lamp of the Body, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, and Good Bones, named by the Washington Post as one of the Five Best Poetry Books of 2017, Keep Moving, and Goldenrod.
Her most recent poetry collection, A Suit or a Suitcase, is forthcoming from Washington Square Press in 2026. The title poem of Good Bones was called the “Official Poem of 2016” by Public Radio International and has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Smith’s poems have appeared in the New York Times, Tin House, The Believer, The Paris Review, Kenyon Review, Best American Poetry, and on the CBS primetime drama Madam Secretary.
A Pushcart Prize winner, Smith has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Sustainable Arts Foundation.
About:
If you love to read, you’ve almost certainly loved a book that Jake Morrissey helped bring into the world. From Calvin and Hobbes to The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store to Bird by Bird, Morrissey’s taste has largely defined the modern bookshelf, and he has a deep love for making a writer’s work shine, even if his own influence is invisible.
An editor at Penguin and one of Writing Room’s industry experts, we’re deeply grateful to have Jake join us at Writers Rising to offer his unique insight gained through an editor’s lens.
A Weekend at Blenheim
About:
BJ Robbins started in publicity at Simon & Schuster and was later Senior Editor at Harcourt, before opening her Los Angeles-based agency in 1992. Her agency represents quality fiction, both literary and commercial, and general nonfiction, with a particular interest in memoir, biography, narrative history, pop culture, sports, travel/adventure, medicine and health.
BJ has led workshops at UCLA Extension, UC Irvine Extension, at the Community of Writers Fiction Workshop, and now inside the Collective. In her Ask An Agent series, she helps members edit their query letters through her unique agent lens.
About:
For more than a decade, Amie McNee has been creative coach to over half a million writers on her online platform, Inspired To Write, and through her podcast, Unpublished.
Her course Getting Published: From Self to Traditional is exclusive to A Writing Room only and charts all the ins and outs of both the self-publishing and traditional publishing worlds for our members. She regularly drops in for coaching sessions inside the Collective and offers in-person workshops at our San Francisco headquarters.
Regrettably, I am About to Cause Trouble
The rules, upheld by no-one
To Kill A Queen
We Need Your Art Book
Therapist and creative coach Emily Schreter (M.S.Ed, LMHC, LPC) regularly uses writing as a therapeutic tool to help clients reclaim their past and reimagine their future.
In our Ask A Therapist series, Emily will guide you through the power of writing as a therapeutic tool by focusing on a different methodology for writing each month inside the Collective.
About:
After a long career on the faculty at Pacifica, Dr. Jennifer Selig wrote the book Deep Memoir: An Archetypal Approach to Deepening Your Story and Broadening Its Appeal.
After she joined one of our quarterly Author-Led Book Clubs (featuring her book), she joined the Writing Room staff to offer Live Editing sessions focused on memoir. Members have the opportunity to submit their writing for her review to help perfect and finish their manuscript.
Nautilus Gold Award
About:
Andrew Steiner is a fiction writer from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2022. His work has been featured in EPOCH, Grain Magazine, Palooka, Pithead Chapel, and Narrative, where an excerpt from his unpublished novel Let This Remain was a Fall Story Contest winner.
He is represented by Kristi Murray of The Wylie Agency.Andrew makes his living teaching English and creative writing. He’s taught at the University of Iowa, Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, Juniata College, Grand Valley State University, and Calvin University.
About:
Carly Vair is a horror and dark fantasy author and the in-house beta reader for A Writing Room. Her debut novel was recently acquired by a major publishing house, and she loves to help writers level up their work and navigate the path to publication.
A former journalist, her work primarily explores the history and haunted corners of small towns, the magic and malice of the natural world, and power in all its forms.
About:
English professor turned creative entrepreneur, Claire has built her life around one simple concept — examining the space between where you are and where you want to be. By deeply examining why we do (or do not) change, Claire is here to help you transform knowledge into action.
After building a global agency that helps entrepreneurs identify their zone of genius, she now supports writers who want to turn their ideas into finished pieces as co-founder of A Writing Room.
About:
Brad Aaron Modlin's internationally viral poetry has been experienced two million times, including in the Pushcart Prize, Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama, The Slowdown with Ada Limón, Brevity and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
He is The Reynolds Endowed Chair of Creative Writing/Associate Professor at University of Nebraska, Kearney, where he teaches undergrads and the master's program.
Cowles Poetry Prize
Cupboard Contest
About:
Erin Roberts is a speculative fiction writer, game designer, and narrative podcaster whose award-winning work spans short stories (Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, The Dark), interactive fiction (Choice of Games, Zombies, Run!), and tabletop RPGs (Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder).
A host of the Writing Excuses podcast, she’s known for her rich worldbuilding and character-driven storytelling. Erin has taught writing at the University of Texas at Austin, Southern New Hampshire University, and Gotham Writers Workshop. She’s also the recipient of the Speculative Literature Foundation’s Diverse Worlds and Diverse Writers grants and a Provost’s Early Career Fellow at UT Austin.
About:
As a literary agent, Eric has worked on New York Times bestselling and award-winning books. His recent novels include the YALSA Best Books for Young Readers selection Don’t Read the Comments and the anthologies Battle of the Bands.
Eric's latest novel, With or Without You, a rom-com about two teens working in rival cheesesteak trucks, was a Junior Library Guild selection. We're thrilled to welcome him to Writing Room as one of our industry experts.
Junior Library Guild Selection: For his novel "With or Without You" published in November 2023.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places selection: For his novel "With or Without You".
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection: For his novel "Don’t Read the Comments".
Bank Street Best Book selection: For his anthology "Battle of the Bands".
Read Across America selection: For his anthology "Battle of the Bands".
About:
Mary Berman is a Philadelphia-based author. Her debut novel, UNTIL DEATH, is forthcoming from Little, Brown, and her short work has been published in PseudoPod, Fireside, Cicada, and elsewhere.
She has taught fiction workshops at the University of Mississippi, the MetroWest Writers’ Guild, and the Philly-based nonprofit Blue Stoop.
About:
Jake Lancaster is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was awarded the Henfield Prize for Fiction. His short stories have appeared in The Common, TriQuarterly, Heavy Traffic, Forever Magazine, Adroit Journal, Bellevue Literary Review, Cutbank, and elsewhere.
He's a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Minnesota, where he lives with his family.
Henfield Prize
About:
Megan Febuary is a trauma-informed writing coach and the founder of the global storytelling platform and literary magazine For Women Who Roar.
Called a leading expert in creative recovery, Megan received her MA from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, where she focused her research on the body as a storyteller. She is the Author of Brave The Page: How Writing Our Hard Stories Brings Healing and Wholeness and the For Women Who Roar poetry collection.
About:
If you’ve ever wished you could break your creativity free from self-imposed limitations and negativity, Gay and Katie Hendricks can show you the way.
Their mission is to help create a world of deep intimacy, satisfying creativity, heartfelt appreciation, and wild play through their 40 books, the thousands of coaches they’ve trained, their seminars held around the globe, and even their appearance on Oprah. We’re delighted to bring their practice of conscious living and loving to A Writing Room.
About:
As a teen dad, college dropout and ex-meth-head, Jack alchemized his origin story into art and emerged as a creative leader. Creator of the award-winning podcast Hello Humans and life-long advocate for recovery and mental health, Jack channeled years of artistic collaboration into his role as Creative Director and co-founder of A Writing Room.
He's designed every facet of the Writers Rising retreat with you in mind, ensuring each session is highly interactive and co-designed by you.
About:
To write is to give yourself a voice — and if you feel like no one is listening, Jen Pastiloff is here to say, “I’ve got you.” Thousands of people have seen themselves and recognized their own experience in her online essays, podcast, and book, On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real and Listening Hard, which recounts her journey through depression, shame, and rebuilding her family.
Her focus on authenticity, healing, and vulnerability, along with her unique teaching style, have seen her featured on Good Morning America, CBS News, New York Magazine.
About:
Anyone who identifies as a highly-sensitive person knows that a teacher can either be a lifeline or an obstacle in your path, and Judith Orloff’s heart for the creative is unmatched. An empath herself, the core of Judith’s practice is helping empaths and sensitive people tap into their creativity and intuition.
As a UCLA psychiatric clinical faculty member, she synthesizes conventional medicine with intuition and spirituality, which she writes about in her New York Times bestselling books, including her newest, The Genius of Empathy, which includes a foreword by the Dalai Lama.
Reader’s House Magazine Editor’s Choice Award of Literary Excellence
About:
If you’ve ever struggled to reach your artistic goals, chances are that Mark Matousek has helped someone just like you. Matousek’s Writing to Awaken method, which he offers at workshops internationally, has helped thousands of people around the world bring their creative visions to life.
A Writing Room partnered with Mark because his focus on self-exploration, personal growth, and spirituality will prompt you to explore your own gifts, challenges, and opportunities for creativity and passion.
Nominated for a National Magazine Award
About:
Kelly Fremon Craig is a screenwriter, director, and producer known for her poignant and witty coming-of-age stories. She studied English before launching her film career, and her breakout came with The Edge of Seventeen (2016), which she wrote and directed to critical acclaim.
In 2023, she adapted and directed Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, earning the rare approval of author Judy Blume for her thoughtful and heartfelt interpretation. We’re thrilled to invite her to A Writing Room to lead a brand new session, Characters & Conflict.
New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film
Detroit Film Critics Society Best Breakthrough
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Adapted Screenplay
About:
For anyone seeking an example of boldness and courage in creativity, look no further than Kemi Nekvapil. She’s one of Australia’s leading coaches, an author of three books (with one forthcoming) and a highly sought-after international speaker.
Nekvapil has studied leadership at The Gross National Happiness Centre in Bhutan and trained with Dr Brené Brown. Out of 350+ attendees, Kemi was also the winner of Writing Room’s Pitch Your Workshop event in 2023, so we’re thrilled to welcome her back as a presenter.
Reader’s House Magazine Editor’s Choice Award of Literary Excellence
About:
Lauren Sapala is an author, teacher, and speaker with a passion for helping intuitive personality types and sensitive creative people discover their own gifts and unique potential.
She has published four books for sensitive intuitives on writing, creativity, and life, and three novels, all part of a trilogy of autobiographical fiction.
About:
Ryan Spear is a certified mindful performance coach, wellness counselor and writer. Blending mindfulness practices and the pillars of mental performance mastery, he works with individuals and teams in 1 on 1 training camps, mental maintenance counseling and workshops.
His goal is to help clients develop skills to overcome the mental and emotional challenges that we encounter in the pursuit of goal achievement by remaining present and maximizing each moment.
About:
Laura is the author of the bestselling memoir We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life and Push Off From Here: Nine Essential Truths to Get You Through Life (and Everything Else).
Her work explores the intersection of addiction, recovery, emotional sobriety, and the complexities of relationships. She has written for The New York Times and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The TODAY Show, and more.
In 2020, she founded The Luckiest Club, a global sobriety support community, and she writes Love Story, a popular Substack newsletter about relationships, recovery, and emotional sobriety. She is currently working on her third book.
About:
The starving artist trope has long perpetuated the idea that stress and trauma are necessary for great art, but Lynda Monk is here to change that narrative. Monk thrives on guiding people through their healing journeys, helping them align with their true desires and discover their true life purposes.
Known for her profound insights into the therapeutic and life-changing power of journaling, she’s the author of several books on the subject and the Director of the International Association for Journal Writing.
Have more questions? We're here to help: support@awritingroom.com
