Cali Adeline's People Watching in the Desert
Cost: Free
Hear Cali Adeline chat about her debut novel People Watching in the Desert.
Cali will be in conversation with Elizabeth Becker, author of Moonlight Healers.
A funny and big-hearted novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Remarkably Bright Creatures, about a lonely young woman who prefers to observe the world rather than participate in it, and the seismic repercussions that follow when she steps out of her own bubble.
A conversation with LynDee Walker
Cost: Free
Book People favorite LynDee Walker returns with a fast‑paced and deliciously twisty new novel.
The Other Widow LynDee will be in conversation with RVA Bookstagram personality Alison Andrews of Instagram’s Bookish Beacon/groovin.thru.books
Commonwealth Poetry - Haiku Death Match
Admission: Free, bit.ly/cwptickets
Sign up: Participants register online
Doors: 2:00pm
Source
Bring your best 17-syllable musings and compete with them in a head-to-head poetry battle!
We are accepting up to 32 competitors to participate in a bracket consisting of best 2-out-of-3 matches. Winners, as decided by random judges, advance to the next round.
Submit and bring 12 pre-written haiku to ensure you have enough to make it to finals. Third place and championship matches will require poems written on the spot!
All who wish to be contestants must contact us through DM or email to participate and all haikus must be submitted to CommonWealth Poetry before midnight, July 22nd, to ensure the 17-syllable format is met.
Bring a friend and invite an enemy!
(Small) Prizes for top 3 finishers!
Bespoke Bookcraft: From Bare to Beloved
Admission: $65
For those who love a bit of mess, mystery, and the charm of time‑touched things, this class invites you into the enchanted world of altered books.
Guided by Nycol Chapman of WindBlown Sister, you’ll transform a humble bare book into a richly textured, one‑of‑a‑kind keepsake using vintage textiles, reclaimed materials, found treasures, and gentle aging techniques. Nycol offers approachable instruction for beginners and seasoned makers alike, with all materials—including your hand‑bound, tea‑stained book—provided.
You’ll leave with a finished book, a chunky 4.25 x 5.5", new skills, and a spark to wander further into the world of book arts.
“Layered Selves: Practicing Characterization”
Cost: $15
Register Here
Fiction & creative nonfiction writers will study examples of characterization and practice craft skills that seek to demonstrate the dynamic humanity of the people in our work.
Embody the Feeling: Deeper Description
Cost: $15
Register Here
Fiction & creative nonfiction writers will push beyond common references and instead practice a more embodied description in their work, generated through sensory-related guided prompts.
RVA Lit Crawl 2026
RVA Lit Crawl 2026 is sponsored and co-presented by James River Wrtiers! Save the date
Imaginative Projection: Beyond the Basic Facts
Cost: $15
Fiction & creative nonfiction writers will practice speculation and rumination in their work, pushing beyond the basic facts of their stories, and incorporating imaginative projection about roads not taken.
JRW Readings by Writers: Open Mic
Admission: Free
You don’t have to be a member to attend, but you do have to be a JRW member to read.
Listen as James River Writers members share their work—finished, in progress, or somewhere in between, and enjoy some refreshments while you’re there.
JRW Readings by Writers: Open Mic
Admission: Free
You don’t have to be a member to attend, but you do have to be a JRW member to read.
Listen as James River Writers members share their work—finished, in progress, or somewhere in between, and enjoy some refreshments while you’re there.
“Who Tells the Story *is* the Story: POV Tutorial”
Cost: $15
Fiction & creative nonfiction writers will come away from this generative point-of-view tutorial with a new and renewed understanding for how different perspectives can launch and sustain a narrative.
Jennifer Squared: Two Jennifers With Different Takes on Psychological Thrillers.
Cost: Free
Join us for a conversation between two award-winning authors, Jennifer van der Kleut and Jennifer Pashley, as they discuss their different takes on psychological thrillers.
The discussion will be moderated by John Copenhaver, award-winning author of Hall of Mirrors. Using van der Kleut’s new book, The Better Mother, and Pashley’s The House Guest, the two Jennifers will compare and contrast their different writing styles.
Poetry Life
Cost: Free
The Poetry Society of Virginia is partnering with Shelf Life Books to feature readings from a variety of poets from our area including: Poet Laureate Emerita Joanna Lee, Derek Kannemeyer, and poets from Rainbow Carnage and Youth Voices RVA.
Bespoke Bookcraft: From Bare to Beloved
Admission: $65
For those who love a bit of mess, mystery, and the charm of time‑touched things, this class invites you into the enchanted world of altered books.
Guided by Nycol Chapman of WindBlown Sister, you’ll transform a humble bare book into a richly textured, one‑of‑a‑kind keepsake using vintage textiles, reclaimed materials, found treasures, and gentle aging techniques. Nycol offers approachable instruction for beginners and seasoned makers alike, with all materials—including your hand‑bound, tea‑stained book—provided.
You’ll leave with a finished book, a chunky 4.25 x 5.5", new skills, and a spark to wander further into the world of book arts.
RVA Pub Club
Cost: FREE
Source
The Second official meeting of the RVA Pub Club, where authors and publishers gather to demystify the publishing process. We are excited to announce that this month we will be joined by special guest speakers Rachel McRady, author of Sunseekers, and Kristin Kisska, author of A Hint of Light
JRW Write-In @ Resist Booksellers
Cost: Free
Open to the public
Bring your preferred writing tools, grab a drink or a bite, and get some words written alongside fellow writers at Resist Booksellers in Petersburg!
River City Poets - Small Group Poetry Critique
Revision Exercises: Fiction Writing
Cost: $15
Source
Fiction writers will practice 3-4 quick revision experiments with their own drafts or story ideas. A completed story is not mandatory but you should have a clear story idea in mind to play with.
Peace in My World Activity & Storytime with Syeda Mleeha Shah
Cost: Free
Source
Join us at Book People for a children’s Storytime and creative peace-building activity centered around Syeda Mleeha Shah's picture book Peace in My World on Saturday, June 20th at 1PM.
Short Story Intensive: One Day Workshop
Cost: $55
Source
This one-session workshop class is for fiction writers (new or long-term) looking to try out the workshop experience, get fresh feedback on their work, and make new connections in the process. Students will submit and read each other’s work prior to class.
Live In Da Garden - Feature + Poetry Open Mic
Love donation: $10
Doors 7PM
Third Fridays
Hosts: @__SunflowerMo @fortheloveofrickey
Music by: @nickgeorgethepoe
JRW: UNEXPECTED WARRIOR: Amanda Jones is THAT Librarian | An Online Advocacy Discussion with Meg Medina
Admission: $5 registration fee will be donated to Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship
*Virtual, via Zoom
This discussion brings Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian, an activist, and the author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America to share about her unexpected journey to becoming a leading voice for intellectual freedom and anti-censorship. She will be in an online conversation with Newbery Medalist and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Meg Medina, Amanda will talk about how the book banning landscape has changed over the last few years, the wider implications of these book bans, and what part we can all take in countering censorship in our own communities.
British Baking For American Kitchens with Noreen Adedeji
Noreen Adedeji is going to bring samples from her new cookbook “London Oven.” Join us after hours for afternoon tea. Noreen will talk through the recipes, what makes them 'British' and share some anecdotes, personal stories and baking tips. Delicious!
Freewriting Intensive: Fiction Writing
Cost: $105
Source
Instructor: April Sopkin
In this two-day intensive, we break down specific craft elements (POV, time management, characterization, etc), and then use what we’ve learned in progressive writing prompts that seek to help us delve deeper and complicate our initial ideas.
Essay Workshop: One-Day Intensive
Admission: $55 + $5 supply fee
Instructor: April Sopkin, Weinstein Room
This one-session workshop class is for new or long-term writers looking to try out the workshop experience, get fresh feedback on their work, and make new connections in the process. We'll submit and read each other's work prior to class.
Strangely Spoken - Poetry Open Mic Night
Admission: Free
Sign up: 6:30pm
Second Fridays
Strangely Spoken: A Night of Open Mic Poetry. Bring your poems. We’ll see you at the mic.
Experiments in Generating Quickly: Short Fiction Workshop
Admission: $105
Instructor: April Sopkin, Darkroom
*Class is on Tuesdays, 6/9-6/23
Participants engage with on-the-spot experimental prompts, workshop short drafts, and come away with a new and renewed skill set for their creative process.
River City Poets - Small Group Poetry Critique ONLINE
Admission: Free
Second Mondays
Post your poem (up to one page in length, 12 pt font) by 6:30pm and leave feedback for fellow poets (REQUIRED!) anytime between then and midnight. Complete instructions for sharing are posted at the top of each week's thread. (If you've ever joined us in the past for online critique, you're already a member and can find us under your Google Group listing.
Writing Social Club: A Generative Gathering
Admission: $105
Instructor: April Sopkin, Weinstein Room
*Class is on Mondays, 6/8-6/22
For all forms, genres, & levels! We’ll write, workshop, talk about craft, share resources, learn how to submit our work, and more. Come work in company and meet new folks.
Richmond Dream History Tour - Museum District
Cost: FREE
Surrealist History Walking-Tours of Richmond Neighborhoods: A mix of poetry & foolishness to reinvent the mythos of the city.
Mathias Svalina, writer & deliverer of The Dream Delivery Service, will lead walking tours of Richmond neighborhoods, identifying sites of imaginary & unreal historical events, places where what did not or could not have happened happened.
Be prepared for 1-2miles of walking. Rain or shine. Free or donation or whatever. No registration, just show up & look for a guy with a bullhorn.
Book People - Book Launch: Covenant City
Admission: Free
Doors: 1:00pm
Local favorite Tony Gentry is back with a satirical novel that sounds all too realistic: “Covenant City” is a sharp-edged satire of a dystopian future we may very well be spiraling into.
Tony will be in conversation with Katy Munger, author of “Monkey See Monkey Do”
Fast Experiments: Fiction & Nonfiction
Cost: $15
Instructor: April Sopkin
Writers will run their story or essay ideas through a series of prompts meant to challenge their common instincts.
JRW - Readings by Writers: Open Mic
Admission: Free
You don’t have to be a member to attend, but you do have to be a JRW member to read.
Listen as James River Writers members share their work—finished, in progress, or somewhere in between, and enjoy some refreshments while you’re there.
Imitation as Instruction: A Writing Exercise
Cost: $15
Instructor: April Sopkin
Using a surprise text, we’ll practice the moves of another writer in order to understand the mechanics behind creative choice. This is about skill growth and intentionality.