Cost: $15

Instructor: April Sopkin

Using summer as inspiration, nonfiction writers will practice imaginative projection and thoughtful retrospection in their personal storytelling. Let’s be dreamy, playful, inventive!

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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.

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Admission: Free
Sign up: 6:pm

First and fifth Thursdays

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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.

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Cost: $15

Instructor: April Sopkin

Writers will run their story or essay ideas through a series of prompts meant to challenge their common instincts.

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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”

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Admission: Free

First Saturdays

Poetry workshop followed by an open mic
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Admission: Free

Doors: 6:00pm

Hosted by DJ Jay Dion
1st and 3rd Sundays

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Admission: Free

Sign up: 7:30pm

First Saturdays

Open mic
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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Love donation: $10
Doors 7PM

Third Fridays
Hosts: @__SunflowerMo @fortheloveofrickey
Music by: @nickgeorgethepoe

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Cost: $55
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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.

Cost: $15
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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.

Admission: Free
Sign up/Doors: 6:30pm

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4th Mondays

Bring up to 10 copies of a single poem (one page or less in length, 12 pt font) to pass around the group. All are welcome, regardless of experience level or style of writing. Find us somewhere in a big corner table at Sine Irish Pub.

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.

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Admission: Free

Sign up: 5:30pm

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Admission: Free

Sign up: 5:30pm

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Admission: Free, bit.ly/cwptickets 
Sign up: Participants register online
Doors: 2:00pm
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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!

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source