I’m guessing this free image I found online is made by AI. I do my best to avoid AI generated stuff, not because I’m a luddite, but because my crunchy-granola-tree-hugging self has issues with how everyday use of AI might be damaging our environment. But this post isn’t about that. I just saw a post on the socials about Substack now checking with readers if they think the newsletter writers are human or AI. You can read more about that here.

I don’t know how to assure you that I am really the one writing these posts. Do I leave in my typos and misspellings? (Note that even some English majors never took a keyboarding class and are awful spellers.) Do I not use em dashes (which my college comp teacher taught me to love), or do I add lots of superfluous details that AI is likely to water down? There are several articles online on how to recogize AI writing and make one’s writing less like AI.

I’ve been fighting AI in my students’ writing for a few years now. The essays don’t fulfill all the requirements I make for an essay to get a C because my students who are poor essay writers are also bad at writing prompts for AI. I have a feeling many students are having AI do their paraphrasing for them since it’s great at that, and I probably don’t catch it. The AI “checkers” available are not fool-proof, so it comes down to my beliefs against my students’ word. Deans tend to favor students. I’m going to give up fighting that fight and grade what I’m given.

I was talking about this recently in a writing group I’m in, and a retired high school teacher was aghast. “You’re just grading a machine?!” I guess I am. When I was in college, students wrote each other’s papers from time to time, or fraternities and sororities kept banks of papers students could recycle. Just as that was hard to catch and prove, today’s students will sometimes get away with turning in work written by someone/something else. It’s just going to happen more often now.

“But there’s handwritten work students can do, and they can show their drafts,” I’ve heard. I can guide students through the writing process, but I’ve never been able to manage portfolio writing (where students show all their process and revision from start to finish) because I get overwhelmed. I’m not going to ask students to handwrite their work. Their handwriting isn’t easy to read. In the “real world” people don’t handwrite notes for reports and emails. Also, research writing requires time that can’t be limited by a 50-75 minute class.

I really feel badly for my friends who teach creative writing at the college level, where they are seeing more AI work. Creative writing is supposed to be fun. Work yes, but the enjoyable kind. I’m getting back into publishing my own work, and the number of journals with notes in their submission guidelines that they don’t accept AI work is astounding. People aren’t cheating journals money since most creative writing outlets don’t pay, or pay minimally, so they must be doing it just to see their name online or in print. That saddens me.

I really enjoy all the in-person writing I get to do in my area. The Aurora Writing Workshop Group that meets monthly at the Aurora Public Library does a writing prompt and folks sometimes share what they just pulled out of their heads. Writers Anonymous that meets at the Geneva, IL Public Library does all prompt writing and sharing. I’ve been joining in Marty McConnell’s Rise and Write meetings where the online groups talks about a poem and then Marty leads us through questions that may lead to something creative. These kinds of groups remind me of the value of reaching into our brains to see what’s waiting there. Often it’s insightful, funny, and it’s always personal and human. The best kind of creative writing.

Upcoming Events

Aug 4: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Aug 4 and 18: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

Aug 8: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Steve Kowit’s In the Palm of Your Hand. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses poems we read aloud, does some prompts together that the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

Aug 21: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

Sept 17: Poetry Book Group in-person at Yellow Bird Books 7:00-8:00. This month we are discussing Maria Zoccola’s “Helen of Troy, 1993” which was named a Best Book the Year by The New Yorker, NPR, Electric Literature, and more. The poet will join us on Zoom to answer questions and read some poems!

June 4-6, 2027: 4th Annual Aurora Writers Workshop. Subscribe to the substack to learn about the faculty, the weekend, and stay in touch!

The third annual Aurora Writers Workshop is in the books! Every year I get anxious… What if people are unhappy with the weekend? What if something goes wrong? What if a faculty member gets carried away by a huge bird and there’s no one to teach their class?! I didn’t say my anxiety was rational, but whose is all the time?

Like the two years previous, this year was wonderful, magical, and open. By open, I mean that participants came open to the unexpected, to sharing themselves, to listening to others. They were open to the questions the faculty asked, open to being vulnerable right from the start, open to all the diversity the weekend brings.

We began with a keynote from Marcy Rae Henry. She read poetry, a bit of a story, a bit of a nonfiction piece. Then she launched into her talk on “Why Write.” She began by saying she didn’t want to be sappy or cliched, and she was anything but. I made notes on what she said like, “writing is how we process our Self,” “we can’t write the personal without the political,” and “we write to forget and to remember.” Her keynote’s finale was a talk with me about her writing process, her Buddhist spirituality, her ideas on intersections in genres and breaking apart poetic forms to make new ones, as well as question about writing about grief. So many foreshadowing connections were made to the classes on Saturday and our writing time on Sunday, down to her saying she gets inspiration from overheard conversations. We had a prompt on those already planned for Sunday morning!

Saturday morning was sunny and I welcomed folks in the Santori Library atrium and directed them to their classrooms. Sidney Cass arrived in their crafty splendor, a tie sewn to their vest, and ready to lead students through how to write about/through/into grief. Faisal Mohyuddin came in his striking white glasses to both teach his group about form, and then how grief, sadness, and war can lead people to break forms, to illustrate how shattered their worlds are. At the lunch break, as people wandred back to the atrium and I prepared to offer dining suggestions, several people were struck by how much was accomplished in just the first two hours, and how much they had to process.

Saturday afternoon, I got to join in Faisal’s group because I got all my chores done. I felt so lucky to be able to join in for a bit, as we read sample poems of how others had broken form, spent time writing our own drafts, and sharing aloud as we felt moved. I was struck by how strong people’s first drafts were, a mark to how well Faisal led us through the process he was illustrating and the examples he gave. I heard at the break after that Sidney’s class was the same with people writing, sharing, discussing some really hard topics around grief and grieving.

Then, we dined! We gathered in a private room at Craft Urban in downtown Aurora, and people brought in bags of books from their stop at Yellow Bird Books across the street. Karen, the owner, was generous in giving all participants a coupon toward a purchase during the month of June, and several people took advantage to get a book by one of the faculty, or something just for fun!

Before we ate, we got drinks and had shared appetizers as Faisal and Sidney read their work. Sidney read about half of her story “Grief Clause” (Published here in Ecotone Magazine if you want to read all of it), and Faisal read a selection from his books “Elsewhere: An Elegy” and “Displaced Children of Displaced Children.” While the day’s topics were heavy, conversation was light and there was a lot of laughter and fun.

Sunday morning brought us together at Society 57 for what I called a Prompt Carnival and Open Mic. I had prepared prompts from postcards and overheard conversation snippets I wrote down on slips of paper over the past year, as well as several games like Metaphor Dice, Writing Dice and Paint Chip Poetry. Everyone got a pastry, some coffee or chai, and settled in for a prompt session where we all sat quietly, just writing for about 40 minutes. Then almost everyone present read in the open mic, just sitting in an informal circle, passing the mic around. There were hugs, promises to come back next year, and comments on surveys that we will use to plan next year.

There will be a next year! Faculty is already lined up. In just a few months I’ll make reservations at Society 57 and Craft Urban. I’ll be looking for a new venue for Friday evening with a/c since the weather is so hit-or-miss these days.

I’ve already put away the sound system and mic stand, tucked all the supplies for the weekend into the box I keep in my office. My heart is full that there are so many people willing to come for the weekend, writers willing to share their talents as faculty, and that everyone genuinely has a good time.

Upcoming Events

June 9 and 23: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

June 13: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Steve Kowit’s In the Palm of Your Hand. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses poems we read aloud, does some prompts together that the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

June 18: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

June 24: RESCHEDULED Poetry Book Group in-person at Yellow Bird Books 7:00-8:00. This month we are discussing Teresa Dzieglewicz’s “Something Small of How to See a River.” The poet will join us on Zoom to answer questions and read some poems!

June 24: AWW particpant Monica K. Allen (she/her) is leading a Virtual Pandemic Poetry Reading & Community Discussion. She will read poems from her unpublished, second chapbook, Lost Souls. This date was chosen to honor the June birthday of her mother, Kathleen L. Sloan, who died from COVID-19 in December 2020. After the reading, Monica will facilitate a community-led discussion, topics tbd based on what the community wants. Discussion participation is optional and your presence for the entire event is requested.Event Time: 7:00-8:15pm CT (5:00-6:15pm PT / 6:00-7:15pm MT / 8:00-9:15pm ET). Registration will close at 5:00pm CT on the event day, and the Zoom link will be emailed to all registrants shortly afterward. Visit this link to register.

July 7: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

June 4-6, 2027: 4th Annual Aurora Writers Workshop. Subscribe to the substack to learn about the faculty, the weekend, and stay in touch!

This photo is probably too large to start an article, but maybe its size is commensurate with my joy that summer is coming around the bend, almost here, so close I can almost smell the flowers that will be here soon. Today I was out for a walk along the DuPage River, and while the air and breeze were a cool 60 degrees, the sun was warm on my back. The trees are leafed out, and soon there will be grasshoppers, tons of bees, and swarms of mosquitoes.

Also arriving in just a few weeks is the third-annual Aurora Writers Workshop. It’s filling up, but one seat is still available in the poetry track, and five fiction spots remain. My stress levels (Do I have everything lined up? Will it go well? What if there’s an epic flood?!) are rising a bit. I know it’ll be fine, but I think some stress means that I really want everything to be wonderful for all the participants and faculty.

Speaking of faculty, Sidney Cass is going to be emailing their participant group about some things to plan ahead to make sure everyone gets the most out of their class. Faisal Mohyuddin is finishing his public school semester and getting excited to meet everyone in his group. I’ve been emailing with Marcy Rae Henry about her keynote and starting to plan my Q&A with her. It’s all coming together!

I’m also thinking of the relief I’ll feel when the weekend is over, how my own writing is sitting on a back burner while my dad visits and then the retreat starts. The anticipation is like waiting for that first refreshing jump into a river, lake or pool on a hot day of the summer. It’s so cool, buoyant, inspiring the way the body moves in water, and how words seem to come bubbling up after a retreat or conference. There’s a buzz and such joy after connecting with nature’s element of water or with other writers. I know that feeling I’ll have after the weekend is over will also be spreading among the participants.

I know some of you won’t attend this year’s AWW weekend, due to costs (I know…gas prices.), engagements, maybe inability to travel. I was just looking longingly at the Poetry by the Sea conference and wishing I were there, and hoping maybe next year I can attend, so I understand if you are feeling like you’re missing out. I hope you can make plans this summer for a weekend away with writing friends to write and share your work (I’ll be doing that for a week in Wisconsin with writing friends), or even to plan a whole day at home where you do nothing but write. Reading is important, too! Join your local library’s summer reading program, if it has one for adults. I’m lucky my local library does this. I really hope you’ll find a way to carve out some time to nurture your writing life as the days get longer and warmer.

Upcoming Events

Coming up Fast! The 2026 Aurora Writers Workshop! June 5-7

Classes are filling, so don’t wait too long…

Registration is open. Choose from one of two classes on Ssturday and get all the weekend events. Marcy Rae Henry is this year’s keynote speaker on Friday. Meg Cass is teaching fiction on “The Possibilities of Grief in Fiction.” Faisal Mohyuddin is teaching poetry on “When, How and Why to Break the Rules: Poetry as Resistance, Reclaimation and Renewal.” You’ll also get dinner included Saturday evening and aSunday morning generative writing practice and open mic. All that for $200! Check out the AWW website for schedule, FAQ, and course descriptions. There’s also a contact page where you can email any questions.

May 26: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

June 2: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

June 13: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Steve Kowit’s In the Palm of Your Hand. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses poems we read aloud, does some prompts together that the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

June TBD: RESCHEDULED Poetry Book Group at Yellow Bird Books 7:00. This month we are discussing Teresa Dzieglewicz’s “Something Small of How to See a River.” The poet will join us on Zoom to answer questions and read some poems!

June 18: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

I love collaboration… with a caveat. All the involved parties need to be on board. That’s why I hated group assignments in school. There was always someone who didn’t do the work, and that meant either everyone was dragged down, or someone had to do more work. Many times that someone was me. That was a big reason why I didn’t ask for help when I started AWW. What if someone didn’t keep their promise and something fell through the cracks?

After the second annual AWW, several participants came to me saying I shouldn’t have to do all the work alone and offering their help. I wanted to get 501c3 status, and that meant having a board, so I took those enthusiastic folks up on their offer. We now have a treasurer, so I don’t have to be alone in budgeting or worry about what happens to the money if something happens to me. We have a group of people willing to help with promotion, choosing applicants for scholarships, and proofreading the website. When I applied for an Illinois Arts Council operating fund grant this spring, a board member helped me since she had gone through the IAC grant process herself.

I’m very, very grateful for the board of AWW.

AWW also collaborates with the Aurora Public Library with our monthly writing group, and with Yellow Bird Books to hold a poetry book group. In this newsletter, we also promote other local writing groups, and they in turn promote AWW.

I got an email a few weeks ago from Tom at Exhibit B: A Literary Variety Show. They host readings in Chicago that blend literature and the arts. Tom explained that one of their members, James Stewart III is hosting a reading and Q&A at Yellow Bird Books to promote his new novel Defiant Acts. (Come to YBB on Saturday, May 16^th at 1:00 for the event.) I was taken by surprise when Tom wrote, “We love the work you’re doing in Aurora. You’ve enlisted so many wonderful writers for your workshops!” Wow. People are taking notice beyond the Fox Valley about the work AWW does!

I’ve always known that writing, while solitary, often takes community. It might be as small as the 2-3 people we ask to read our work, or as large as thousands of people writing reviews and sharing via word of mouth when a writer self-publishes. If a writer is so lucky as to get a formal publishing contract, there are editors, marketing gurus and cover artists in their community. Nearly every community, from small, rural towns to big cities like Chicago that host writing groups and readings. Community is important.

I’m proud of the community AWW has brought together and the way it continues to grow. I am already reaching out from this group to bring in new faculty members, new participants for the AWW weekend, and new ways to connect in the Fox Valley and beyond.

Upcoming Events

Coming up Fast! The 2026 Aurora Writers Workshop! June 5-7

Classes are filling, so don’t wait too long…

Registration is open. Choose from one of two classes on Ssturday and get all the weekend events. Marcy Rae Henry is this year’s keynote speaker on Friday. Meg Cass is teaching fiction on “The Possibilities of Grief in Fiction.” Faisal Mohyuddin is teaching poetry on “When, How and Why to Break the Rules: Poetry as Resistance, Reclaimation and Renewal.” You’ll also get dinner included Saturday evening and aSunday morning generative writing practice and open mic. All that for $200! Check out the AWW website for schedule, FAQ, and course descriptions. There’s also a contact page where you can email any questions.

April 25: Independent Bookstore Day… visit your local indie bookstore! Yellow Bird Books will be having local authors signing their books all day, including AWW past faculty Donna Vorreyer and participant Heidi Bell. Visit their Facebook page for a schedule of events!

April 27: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

May 5: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

May 9: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Steve Kowit’s In the Palm of Your Hand. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses poems we read aloud, does some prompts together that the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

May 16: James Stewart III is reading from his debut novel Defiant Acts at Yellow Bird Books in Aurora, IL at 1:00. A Waubonsie Valley High School graduate, James’ Aurora roots run deep. The book has been named one of Chicago Magazine’s “Required Reading” selections.

May 20: Poetry Book Group at Yellow Bird Books 7:00. This month we are discussing Teresa Dzieglewicz’s “Something Small of How to See a River.” The poet will join us on Zoom to answer questions and read some poems!

May 21: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

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I receive a newsletter from Two Sylvias Press called the Weekly Muse, and this week, they wrote about the difference between writing habits, routines, and rituals. I’ll quote the newsletter below:

Sitting in the same chair and opening your laptop immediately to a blank page can be considered a habit and runs largely on autopilot. Over time, your brain links a cue (the chair, the time of day, the blank screen) with writing, and the sequence becomes effortless. Habits arise from the “automatic pattern system” in your brain—it’s as if your body moves toward writing before your mind has a chance to argue.

A routine comes from your “executive control system” and requires more conscious steering than a habit. Your two-minute brain dump in your journal engages your brain’s planning and focus areas. Your journaling doesn’t happen on autopilot—it requires intention and activates the “task management” part of your mind.

When you turn on music, close your eyes, and take deep breaths before writing—you’ve entered the land of ritual. These actions treat the moment as a threshold (something deliberate and meaningful) where you move beyond “task management” into “mindfulness.” You are now activating your “executive control system” in addition to the areas of the brain responsible for self-awareness and emotional meaning. When writing involves ritual, you step into a different realm—fully engaging your imagination.

I’ve been bad at nurturing all three of these. I used to go most Saturday mornings to a coffee shop and that became a habit. I don’t think I have habits or rituals, aside from nice pens and journals to write in and preferring Word to Google docs and Pages. However, I am making a trip to Firefly Farms in a couple of weeks for a writing retreat, and that is a place where I have a habit of writing, having been a resident several times over the past decade. After taking care of the chickens (Firefly Farms is a working farm, and residents subsidize their low-cost housing with doing a chore or two), I usually get right to my desk. For lunch, I read a book on the porch swing while I eat my sandwich. I get back to my laptop after a quick walk or a nap, and the evenings are for reading again, before I tuck the chickens into their coop and myself into bed.

Writing retreats do have a way of becoming places and times where we really become writers. One has to apply, set aside time, and often there’s travel or some cost involved to motivate us to stay on task. When I go to Firefly Farms, I know I am there to write. I drive 9+ hours to get there, and I only bring things that are going to feed my creativity. I stay off my phone. It’s quiet and peaceful. There are lots of places like this, where writers and artists quietly go about their work during the day, and maybe socialize in the evening.

Other retreats, like the Aurora Writers Workshop, or conferences on writing, do something similar but with more socializing. We immerse ourselves in writing by talking about it, learning about it, generating ideas, finding new books to read. There’s the same intention, even if it feels like we don’t get much down on a page. It feeds us and inspires to go home and write more.

If you’ve never tried a retreat like the Aurora Writers Workshop, you should. AWW has built a community that comes back to the retreat weekend every year while adding new faces. Many of the participants are active in writing groups in the area, continuing that community beyond the first weekend in June in Aurora.

If you’re getting this newsletter far from northern Illinois, there’s likely a writing retreat/conference near you. Poets & Writers has a database of “Conferences and Residencies” under their “Find Your Community” tab. You can search by state and admissions cost. I think all writers need a habit, routine or ritual that expands beyond their office or living space, that gets them around other people being creative and engaged. I hope you’ll consider adding AWW to your sphere!

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Upcoming Events

Coming up Fast! the 2026 Aurora Writers Workshop! June 5-7

Registration is open. Choose from one of two classes on Ssturday and get all the weekend events. Marcy Rae Henry is this year’s keynote speaker on Friday. Meg Cass is teaching fiction on “The Possibilities of Grief in Fiction.” Faisal Mohyuddin is teaching poetry on “When, How and Why to Break the Rules: Poetry as Resistance, Reclaimation and Renewal.” You’ll also get dinner included Saturday evening and aSunday morning generative writing practice and open mic. All that for $200! Check out the AWW website for schedule, FAQ, and course descriptions. There’s also a contact page where you can email any questions.

April 16 : DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

April 25: Independent Bookstore Day… visit your local indie bookstore!

April 27: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

May 5: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

May 9: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Steve Kowit’s In the Palm of Your Hand. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses poems we read aloud, does some prompts together that the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

May 16: James Stewart III is reading from his debut novel Defiant Acts at Yellow Bird Books in Aurora, IL at 1:00. A Waubonsie Valley High School graduate, James’ Aurora roots run deep. The book has been named one of Chicago Magazine’s “Required Reading” selections.

May 20: Poetry Book Group at Yellow Bird Books 7:00. This month we are discussing Teresa Dzieglewicz’s “Something Small of How to See a River.” The poet will join us on Zoom to answer questions and read some poems!

When I first started seriously writing, back in 1999, it was due to running a monthly open-mic at the community college where I was an adjunct. I figured since the open-mic was new to students, they might not be ready to walk up to the mic without someone else going first, so I always had a new poem I was willing to share to get us started. That got me writing regularly, but I wanted more feedback than just polite clapping, so I joined a writing group when I moved to Illinois in 2003.

That didn’t go as well as I hoped. Most of the folks were fiction writers who prefaced every piece of feedback with, “I’m not a poet, but…” The few poets in the group were new writers like me. We were all figuring things out. Luckily, one of those poets took me to an open-mic close to Chicago. I found poets who were willing to be honest in their feedback and were sometimes really helpful. Many of them had published in journals and had books under their belts, so I felt like I was learning from pros.

Wanting even more guidance, I applied to low-residency MFA programs in 2005. That was a really expensive way to get feedback and find books about writing, but it opened me up to other ways to learn like conferences, regional workshops and residencies. Unfortunately I learned about these middle-of-the-road methods that are MUCH cheaper than an MFA after I was already committed to the degree.

Around 2020, after getting that MFA and attending conferences like AWP, the Kentucky Women’s Writers Conference (now defunct), and Peter Murphy’s Cape May Poetry and Prose Getaway, I started making plans to start a weekend writing retreat in Aurora to serve people in the Fox River Valley and beyond. While writing groups, every-so-often classes at the library, and reading series were available in the area, there was nothing like taking a day-long course from a writer who is well-published and a great teacher. I didn’t want to spend time on the workshop format where everyone gets and gives feedback since there are already so many places to do that, but on delving into crafting and honing our work in new ways.

I also knew when I started the Aurora Writers Workshop that I wanted to keep cost down as much as possible. Many towns along the Fox Valley are not well-to-do, and I also knew some participants would be on fixed-incomes. I set tuition so that I’d break even… every dollar of tuition goes to paying faculty, for food for participants, and for running the website. That doesn’t leave room for much of anything else, but now AWW has a Board and ways to take donations as a 501(c)3 organization. I’m happy that this has allowed AWW to offer two scholarships to help people attend.

If you look at the scholarships, you’ll see there’s nothing that asks about income and no requirement to share writing samples. The AWW board decided we want to focus on people who just really want to attend, maybe to learn from this year’s outstanding faculty or maybe to expand their writing circle.

The Caroline Johnson Scholarship for a College Student is for a student any level of college, undergrad to grad school. We know many college students can’t afford extra costs and also that taking time off of work might be hard, so that scholarship covers AWW tuition and gives a small stipend to cover travel costs or missed work. The winner chooses either the poetry or fiction course. The deadline for that scholarship is March 31^st.

The Frank Rutledge Scholarship for a Poet is for anyone who wants to attend and take the poetry course/track. That scholarship covers AWW tuition only. The deadline is coming up fast on March 15^th.

To apply for either scholarship, go to www.aurorawritersworkshop.com/scholarships

If you’re wanting to help support either scholarship, just go to www.aurorawritersworkshop.com and click on the Donate button. Even small donations will help us to serve our writing community.

Lastly, this writing weekend only happens if folks register. I know many people wait until closer to the date, but please check out this year’s classes and consider joining us!

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I’m not including updates to the calendar this time, due to wanting to get this newsletter out. Check out the last newsletter for Fox Valley writing groups and writing events.

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What does a bald eagle have to do with good news? Well, I took this photo last July, on one of the hottest days of the summer in an estuary in New Jersey. I was with a friend and fellow writer, and we had the AC blasting in the car. I saw bald eagle in a tree, about 150 yards away from the road, and even though I knew I’d get more sweaty, and get more bug bites, I stood on the side of the road watching this poor, hot predator pant in the sun. I LOVE taking pics of front-facing birds. They make me laugh. I got back in the car and looked at the screen on the back of my camera, and came to this one. I started giggling, and my friend looked over at it. We both started roaring at the ridiculous look on this bird’s face. Is he talking? Lecturing? Burping? It was such a good release to just laugh.

That kind of laughter is hard to come by these days. July 2025 seems like a lifetime ago some days. I’ve had to curb my time on social media because my feed is just full of anger, sadness, and frustration. I read news headlines, but not whole stories. I’ve been stuck at home recovering from knee replacement surgery, and I’m watching PBS cooking and travel shows because anything that deals with current events or drama is just too much for me. So what is the good news?

People are writing. I’ve seen beautiful, heart-wrenching poetry that sums up how people are feeling and what they are seeing in our country. All my writerly groups are still meeting and doing work. Just last month, at the AWW monthly writing group, Maureen McKane, who has come to the weekend-long retreat for fiction, told us all that an essay she’d brought to us for feedback, and then revised, was accepted at Cimarron Review. A poet friend in Washington, Katy Ellis, emailed me asking me to read her forthcoming book for a review. I just finished reading her second book, Forty Bouts in the Wilderness, and she’s already got a new one coming. Another friend, AWW board member Heidi Bell, just won the Chicago Writers Association’s 2025 Book of the Year Prize for Traditional Fiction. Amazing.

I can’t avoid the news altogether, so I’ve been following Mr. Roger’s advice and looking for the helpers. People are standing in the freezing cold in Minneapolis 24/7 waiting for people to be discharged from ICE holding facilities. People’s phones and ids are taken from them when they are arrested, so the volunteers have burner phones, coats and warm clothes, and rides waiting to take them home. I have heard of people delivering groceries to their house cleaners, their construction employees, anyone who doesn’t feel safe leaving their homes. There is poetry in those actions if not beauty and love.

It’s hard to keep going with “normal life” some days. I have a to-do list of things for AWW. I need to advertise the weekend retreat so our classes fill. I need to spread the word about the two new scholarships we are offering (see below). I also need to file tax forms now that we have official 501(c)3 status. I’ll get them done, but I also need to take time to be thankful for what I have, for writing, and for silly photos of bald eagles.

NEWS:

Maureen McKane (AWW attendee) has a new book, Walters Way: A Coach, His Runners and His Race, a biography of an Aurora, IL hero. Pre-order it now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.com prior to the pub date of Feb. 9, 2026. Links to all three are on her website. Her book launch with Coach Wilbert Walters is at Aurora’s Santori Library on February 25 at 7:00pm, room 125/126.

Heidi Bell (AWW attendee and board member) won the Chicago Writers Association’s 2025 Book of the Year Award for Traditional Fiction. It’s an amazing book full ofmemorable stories.

Donna Vorreyer (AWW faculty 2023) has several readings for her latest book, Unrivered, including two in the Fox Valley. She’ll be at Water Street Writers in Batavia, IL, at the Water Street Studios, on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 7:00 pm. Then, March 18th, she’ll be at the Poetry Book Group meeting, held at Yellow Bird Books, Aurora, IL at 7:00 pm.

AWW now has TWO SCHOLARSHIPS. The Frank Rutledge Schoalrship for a Poet, and the Catherine Johnson Scholarship for a College Student. The Frank Rutledge scholarship pays the $200 tuition fee for a poet to attend the 2026 retreat weekend. The Caroline Johnson Schoalrship pays for $200 tuition and a $400 stipend for a college student to attend either the poetry or fiction track for the 2026 retreat weekend. To donate to either scholarship, or to apply, see the website.

Registration is currently open for the 2026 AWW retreat weekend, June 5-7, 2026. Our keynote speaker is Marcy Rae McHenry, Faisal Mohyuddin teaches poetry, and Meg Cass teaches fiction. Your $200 tuition includes the keynote, class of your choice, dinner and faculty reading, and Sunday generative gathering.

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Peace can be hard to come by. I went to a spa yesterday which was supposed to be a retreat from noise, from chaos. It was not. It was packed with groups of friends who talked too loudly, or whose whispered conversations became an irritant. The locker room was so busy and packed, I couldn’t change before my appointment and had to leave a pile of jeans, sweater and shoes in the massage room. While all of this is definitely not a devastating problem, it felt emblematic of the season. Winter, which arrives tomorrow, is supposed to be a time of quiet. We seek that peace, but often we find noise, bustle, aggravations and an on-going buzz that won’t stop following us around.

To that end, I’ve been trying to read more. I can’t read with noise around me, (but I can write with it. Weird.) so I take my book to our front room. I make a mug of tea, turn on the light if it’s overcast like today, and snuggle in a blanket, preferably with a dog next to me. I’ve been reading novels and novellas and short stories. I’m reading more poetry, too, which makes me want to write more poetry, which is a bonus. On my table beside me is a journal and pen for those moments. Lately though, I’ve been aiming for an hour with fiction, just escaping from our world to some other place and time.

Reading makes us writers. Our inner quiet brings us words. The outer chaos brings us characters, plots, themes. We need all of it: the bustle and jostle and the quiet and calm.

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AWW has opened a new business account now that we have 501(c)3 status. (Thank you to Anna, our treasurer, for spending a couple hours at the bank with me!) We have plans for two scholarships that will open in the new year. Fundraising for those will start as soon as we have them posted.

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If you plan on attending next fall and desire a room right downtown within walking distance (about ½ a mile) of all the events, please do that early, even before you know you’ll register. Reservations can be made at the one downtown hotel, a Holiday Inn Express, here, or visit the FAQ page on the AWW website. You’ll get the corporte rate for booking through our link. There are other places to stay in the area, but the Holiday Inn is the only place downtown. It books early with weddings and events in the summer.

Dec 23: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

Jan. 6: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Jan 10: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Kim Addonizio’s book Ordinary Genius, chapters 13-14. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses writing around the chapter topics, does some prompts together, and also reads some poetry the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

Jan 15 : DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

Writing Prompt:

I was reading Leila Chatti’s book Wildness Before Something Sublime (I highly recommend the book) and came across this line: “What would I give back?” There are many ways to approach this. Does an object come to mind, like a holiday gift you didn’t want? Is it a time in life? Is it a part of your personality?

• Freewrite on anything or everything you’d give back. Write prose or a list.

• If you have a physical trait (I was told as a child I had big feet) or a physical object to return, make a metaphor out of it to write more about it. (Maybe my feet were skis that took me swiftly away from danger.)

• If you’re working on a character, what would that character want to give back? Why?

• Write a story about someone trying to give something back, but they can’t, no matter how hard they try.

• Try a form! Chatti invented a form called the Golden Hinge, where the words of the first line becomes the first words of the following lines, like this:

What would I give back?

Would I give back my smile, my chipped cup, the memory of the gun?

I cannot possibly choose just one thing.

Give it all back, back to the beginning.

Back to the time before the world was made to be broken.

That’s my poem, so you have to write one of your own!

“My people” is a phrase I’ve really come to love. As in, “I’ve found my people,” or “you should find your people.” A quick Google search of “find your people” comes up with articles on “how to” find your people. There are Reddit pages, Bible studies, an article in Stanford University’s magazine. Evidently, a faith-based author developed the phrase for her book Find Your People, but most of the iterations I’m familiar with have more to do with people who don’t fit the mold of “normal” in society: gamers, LGBTQ+ folks, autistic people, cosplayers, people who embody another era…. writers….

I have been lucky throughout my life to find groups of people who accept me as I am in all my quirks and strangeness. Girl Scouts, a hippie-esque environmental liberal arts undergrad college, English professors/co-workers, Episcopal churches, my many writing groups from poetry collectives to MFA students to small writing groups.

Finding my writing people led me to being a writer. First there were the writers and poets in my undergrad college who first published me in the college creative arts magazine and shared their work in classes. Then there were colleagues who heard me read at open mics and encouraged me to start publishing seriously. That lead to more writing groups, open mics, becoming friends with writers, my MFA where I made some of my best writer friends. I’m so blessed to have had all this from such a young age.

Part of the reason I started the Aurora Writers Workshop was to help others find their people. Last June, it warmed my heart to see those who were returning as second-timers greet each other and sit down to catch up. Past participants warmly brought newcomers into the fold, asked about what they write, who they read, what they hoped to learn over the weekend. I remember that the socializing was so boisterous, I had to use my “teacher voice” to get everyone’s attention. By the end of the weekend, everyone knew each other, and the socializing even more energetic and hard to interrupt.

I and two writers who have attended the AWW weekends started a monthly writers’ group at the downtown branch of the Aurora Public Library. We wanted to keep that feeling going and invite more people to experience it. I’ve been in some not-very-worthwhile writers’ groups in the past, the kind where no one is comfortable critiquing, so all writing is praised, or the kind where newcomers aren’t welcomed. Our monthly group has become a joy to attend with meaningful conversation, camaraderie, and critique grounded in kindness and writers wanting to grow. I look forward to attending every month.

Whether you can ever attend an AWW weekend, or our monthly writers’ group, I encourage you to find writers to chat with and share each other’s work. Check your local library for writing groups (that’s how I found my first one back in 2003) and classes. See if your local community college offers any classes. Attend a reading and talk to the organizers and authors who share their work. The more writers you meet, the more apt you are to find those who will be a good fit.

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Courses are posted for next year’s AWW, June 5-7! Meg Cass’ fiction course is now live, titled “The Possibilities of Grief in Fiction.” Faisal Mohyuddin’s poetry course is “When, How and Why to Break the Rules: Poetry as Resistance, Reclamation and Renewal.” Registration is $200 and includes all weekend events and dinner Saturday night.

AWW now has official non-profit status! Subsribe to this newsletter and follow us on Facebook for more information to come on scholarships and making donations.

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Nov. 20: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00-8:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group meets on the third Thursday of the month to write to a theme and then gather to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

Nov. 25: (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.comDec. 2: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Dec. 2: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Dec. 13: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Kim Addonizio’s book Ordinary Genius, chapters 13-14. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses writing around the chapter topics, does some prompts together, and also reads some poetry the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

If you’re looking for online literary readings, check out past faculty Donna Vorreyer’s Hundred Pitchers of Honey and Ruben Quesada’s Mercy Street Readings.

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My garden is withering. The zinnias are turning brown and are covered in powdery mildew. The milkweed pods are bursting their dry seams. The coleus are withering. Weeks ago, I stopped watering my hanging baskets, which I joked to my husband are now Halloween decorations, making our house look a little spooky. We know all the metaphors for fall as the advent of winter, the coming of death.

I’ve been mirroring this in life lately. A friend and AWW supporter, the poet Caroline Johnson died last week after a long better with breast cancer. It came as a shock, having just seen her recently, and enjoying all the pics people posted of her September book launch.

However, as death looms large, it still feels like summer here in northern Illinois. It’s in the 80s today, and I’m wearing shorts and a tank top. There are still some flowers blooming, marigolds and lantana. It’s come with a drought, though, leaving the soil as dry and hard as cement. Even that is a warning of death via global warming.I feel like I’m constantly being followed by sad trombones.

I’m trying to stay on the positive side of things, the reminder that after fall and winter comes spring. Even as my flowers are turning brown and papery, I[‘m collecting their seeds to plant next year. The milkweed in my native garden is spilling its frothy silk-covered seeds to the wind, where they may take hold in a field or someone else’s yard.

Next summer, we’ll have a toast to Caroline at dinner at the June AWW retreat. I’ll tell this story, so you might hear it again. When I first started spreading the news about the first AWW retreat, back in 2023, Caroline was emailing me early and often, asking when registration would open. Once classes were released, she’d email me asking which one I recommended… she had a hard time choosing. At least one of the years, she changed her mind after registering and asked me if she could switch. She just couldn’t decide over two courses that both sounded amazing. Caroline was a writer who wanted to learn and grow, not just see her name in print. And she wanted that for others, as a teacher at Morton College, a member of Poets and Patrons and the Illinois State Poetry Society. Caroline will continue to inspire me, as I hope to inspire others.

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Courses are almost ready for next year’s AWW! Meg Cass’ fiction course is now live, titled “The Possibilities of Grief in Fiction.” Faisal Mohyuddin’s poetry course will be up soon!

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Oct. 7: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, board room this time. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Oct. 11: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Kim Addonizio’s book Ordinary Genius, chapters 13-14. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses writing around the chapter topics, does some prompts together, and also reads some poetry the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

Oct. 14 (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

Oct 16: DeKalb Area Writers Group, 6:00 pm Sycamore Public Library. This writing group writees to a theme, and then gaathers to workshop. There’s a potluck before at 4:30. The prompt for this meeting is “Your character finds a receipt that places them in danger.” For more information, email dekalbareawritersgroup@gmail.com

Nov. 19: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books (in-person only) to discuss a book of poetry at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions! This time we’re reading and talking about CD Eslikson’s book Scream/Queen, which examines queerness, mental illness, and transgender identity through the lens of thrillers and B movies. T.

June 5-7, 2026: Our annual AWW retreat! Mark your calendars and look for more information in upcoming newsletters and our website.

The how part is pretty simple— if I want to write, I have to act like a writer. Writers read, and read carefully. I read books of poetry looking for lines or whole poems that move me, asking how the poet managed that turn of phrase, created the right metaphor. I also look at things I don’t like as much asking how I can avoid that in my own writing. I also hang out with other writers. I’m lucky that I have some really inspirational writing groups and writer friends in many genres. Hearing people read their work online or in person, workshopping my own and other people’s writing, and talking about writing also translates into me being inspired. I find myself writing lines of poetry as I go about my day, coming up with characters as I browse social media. Reading and spending time with readers gets my brain in the space where writing just arrives.

The motivation is the hard part. I know I have time, but I need motivation to use the time I have for being creative, not being on a screen playing games and doom scrolling. I was thinking yesterday about what I used to do before I had a smartphone. I watched a little more tv, but I read more and definitely wrote more. My most prolific writing time was 1999-2015, a time before I was so connected to my phone, which tells me every Monday how many hours day I averaged the previous week with my phone open. I finally found an app a couple of weeks ago that blocks out my social media, keeping me from doomscrolling all day. We’ll see how that pans out. I can say that I devoured a 625 page novel this week, finishing it in 4 days. I can’t remember the last time I did that. (It was Kelly Link’s The Book of Love in case you’re wondering.)

I’ll add that for my creative side that loves making art, I have an additional motivational obstacle… keeping my desk/table/space tidy enough to work at. Today’s task is to clean up this mess in order to be able to paint! Maybe this is also a metaphor for keeping my brain in writing mode. Maybe there’s a poem in this mess…

I’ve got a post going on the AWW Facebook page asking what keeps us from writing and how to overcome those obstacles. I’ll see what folks post and next time, make a list of things that might help all of us! And of course, all the things below might help you too!

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Aug 9: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Kim Addonizio’s book Ordinary Genius, chapters 13-14. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses writing around the chapter topics, does some prompts together, and also reads some poetry the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly on the second Saturday at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

Aug 19 (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

Sept 2: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

Sept 17: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books (in-person only) to discuss a book of poetry at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions! This time we’re reading and talking about Tiffany Hsieh’s book Pork Fluff, which documents being part of an immigrant family who moves from Taiwan to Canada.

June 5-7, 2026: Our annual AWW retreat! Mark your calendars and look for more information in upcoming newsletters and our website.

The second annual AWW weekend was a resounding success! We started with fellowship and connections at the keynote Friday and ended with some of us sharing our work on Sunday. Here are some highlights.

Friday’s keynote by Ruben Quesada was wonderful. He read some of his work and then spoke about writing being like shining a light in the darkness. One participant said, “He was warm, inviting, and inspiring. Loved his flexibility to maneuver between questions over his writing process, ideas on craft, and editorial experience.” He gave us prompts within his talk and encouraged us to write to inspire ourselves as well as audiences. I loved taking with him during the Q&A, and the rapport he built with us all in a short time was striking.

Saturday’s classes went over well, too! Kathleen Rooney’s course on flash fiction lead students through examples and then prompts. In the post-event survey, one person explained, “Kathleen's class on the short-short form was great! I loved the sample stories she used as a bridge to each prompt, and I loved the prompts themselves. I'm sure I will use what I learned in the class to generate some new work, which is what I was hoping for.” Allison Joseph’s “Code to the Ode” was also well-received. “Allison definitely brings the party. Her CODE for an ode, hints for writing an ode, the focus on celebration, and the wonderful reading examples really brought to life a form that could be seen as very traditional,” was a response from one writer.

Friday night’s dinner and faculty reading were a good way to end the day with some energy and relaxing. Some people visited Yellow Bird Books, one of our sponsors, and others had a cocktail on the patio at Craft Urban while I set up upstairs. The room got a little loud with all our conversations, but the food and drinks were good, and we all left pretty tired after a long day of writing and creating.

Sunday we capped off the weekend with a large group generative activity with Nick Markevicius and a casual, seated open mic. That format made everyone more comfortable and we’ll definitely keep it next year!

Soon, I’ll be posting about next year’s faculty and registration. I’m also going to doing some building on the AWW website, and this year I’ll be securing 501c3 status, so I can fundraise and hopefully start offering scholarships. As always, I take past participant feedback as I plan the next year’s events, so I’ll keep what’s working with small class sizes and dynamic faculty with strong teaching backgrounds, and tweak some things (more diet soda!) as I can. I’m excited about next year’s event already!

In the meantime, we still have our monthly writers group and the poetry book group. See the listings below for more ways to keep your writing momentum going!

Events Coming Up from AWW and Others

July 1: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We meet every first Tuesday to write from a prompt and share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

July 8 (meets every other Tuesday): Fox Valley Writers is a community dedicated to the idea of helping writers of all skill levels connect and grow with one another. Often cited as the writers’ group for those who don’t care for traditional writing groups, we use a combination of imaginative exercises, personal attention to each author’s needs, and positive, constructive feedback from peers to empower ourselves to create and share our best stories, memoirs, essays, and poetry. Our hybrid meetings are simultaneously in-person and live on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. at the following link, https://discord.gg/p78p4GH2 or in-person at Messenger Library, North Aurora, IL. Contact: Nik V. Markevicius, Facilitator, foxvalleywriters@gmail.com

July 28: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow has its next meeting centered on Kim Addonizio’s book Ordinary Genius, chaptersBLANK BLANK BLANK. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t joined before, since the group discusses writing around the chapter topics, does some prompts together, and also reads some poetry the leaders bring. It’s a really nice way to stay inspired and connected. Meets monthly at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room, immediately to the right when you enter the library, or online. See the link to their newsletter above for more info.

Sept 17: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss a book of poetry at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions! This time we’re reading and talking about Tiffany Hsieh’s book Pork Fluff, which documents being part of an immigrant family who moves from Taiwan to Canada.

June 5-7, 2026: Our annual AWW retreat! Mark your calendars and look for more information in upcoming newsletters and our website.

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There are no sci-fi writers on the faculty this year, just forward thinking writers who write about the past as present, about relationships, self, survival, and love in engaging prose and poetry.

And this is the quickest Substack Newsletter just to touch base and say it’s really happening. Again. I’m amazed it’s all coming together.

I’ve been stuffing folders, sending last-minute check in emails. We have a Saturday dinner menu set to accomodate everyone’s needs. We have really fun freebies like journals and my favorite pens for everyone! I’m like Oprah!

I took participants’ advice from last year and have tweaked things to make sure the weekend runs smoothly. We will be using microphones for those who are hard of hearing. I took out some filler from the schedule and fine-tuned the what-happens-when. So far, the weather looks cooperative for walking around downtown Aurora.

There are still a few spots left in the poetry class with Allison Joseph. Kathleen Rooney’s fiction class is full. Nik Markevicius is ready with a generative activity on Sunday. And Ruben Quesada is ready to dazzle us with his writing.

I’ve also go sneak peeks of who our faculty will be for next year, but that’s just for this year’s participants for now. I’ll share those after the weekend is over.

For now, send me some good vibes to keep everything straight and be where I need to be when I need to be there. If you’re coming this weekend, I’m excited to see you! If you’re not, I hope you’ll come next year!

I was at the New Orleans Poetry Festival this month to nuture my poetic brain and had such a lovely time. I learned about new poets, new poems, and new ways to address revision and generate writing. It was invigorating and wonderful. I saw old friends and met new ones. It also helped that everyday was blue-sky-sunny and 80 degrees. My friend and fellow poet, Donna Vorreyer, and I took some long walks, including along the LaFitte Greenway, where I took a picture of this mural on the walls of a public pool. I loved the colors and the message. Plus, it has books! Those words stuck out to me though, and I keep coming back to them.

Peace & Unity. Harmony. I need these in my life more than ever, and I’m sure you do, too. I’m finishing up my teaching semester, which is always stressful with lots of grading, panicking students, and everyone feeling pressure. The stress hangs in hallways, offices and classrooms, this feeling that the end is near, but getting to that end is like walking through chin-deep water while being chased by something with teeth. I’ve added to that a major renovation project at my home in which I am the main contractor, fanangling plumbers, an electrician, a handyperson AND ordering all the supplies myself. The frosting on my things-to-do-cake is all the sticky, goopy news of madness in the world. The cake has those annoying candles where when one tries to blow them out, they just light up again. I’m hoping they don’t full-on explode. I know I’m not the only person feeling all this, like everything is coming at us from all directions.

Peace & Unity. Harmony. I posted to Facebook last week that I’m so angry lately, that it feels like every time I turn around I get gut-punched by something I read or someone tells me about. Several friends chimed in that they are feeling the same way. Some gave me tips for dealing with it. Stay off news websites for a bit, remember there are lawyers and lawmakers and protesters all fighting, even if I can’t do those things right now. Being there for my students, for my family, for myself, and finding joy can be enough. Then, I saw a friend and small-business owner this weekend and chatted with her. The tariffs are going to wreak havoc on her beauty and self-care business, Mojo Spa. Cocoa butter is going to get very expensive. But, she’s working with our state’s national and regional lawmakers to try and find ways to get small businesses a break on credit cards fees, which are a constant bite. Anyway, she said she had been angry a lot too, but someone told her that every time we react with anger, it shocks our heart, and it can take a toll.

I came home and did a little research on that. I found a recent study by Columbia University faculty. When we get angry, or anxious, hormones constrict our blood vessels, leading to heart damage. Not only that, but we don’t instantly recover from a bout of anger or anxiety.

The researchers found that the anger group’s blood vessels became impaired in dilating in response to ischemia for up to 40 minutes after the emotional experience. '

“The effects in this study were transient,” Shimbo says. “But I speculate that a person who gets angry over and over again is building up cumulative injury to their blood vessels.”.

My anger isn’t helping me, it’s hurting.

Peace & Unity. Harmony. I can make more room for peace in my life. I am taking a mindfulness course, and I need to use it ALL THE TIME, not just when I’m relaxing at the end of the day. I need to be aware of the unity in my life, how students at my college come together (they just held a march last week on campus and it was amazing), how my friends and family rally around me and each other, how people keep showing up to protests and trying to protect each other regardless of their citizenship or skin color. I need to keep writing. Or start again. And I need to read more poetry for the way it shines a light on the beauty in the world, and in the way it also shines a light on darkness.

Peace & Unity. Harmony. I didn’t set out this morning to write a newsletter on politics or health or even my remodeling projects. I wanted to tell you all how wonderful it is to be in the company of other writers, and how happy I am to bring a space to make that happen for people in and near Aurora, IL. It’s a weekend of peace and joy and discovery. We come together as writers and readers and learners. We find harmony as we sit around tables, facing each other to talk, listen, laugh, eat and drink. It’s really wonderful.

If you’re already joining us, I’m so glad! If you are thinking about it, there are spaces in the poetry class. If you’ve never written a poem, come try it out. If you’ve written thousands, you’ll find ways to create more. If you can’t swing a whole weekend, and you’re local, there’s our monthly writing group. If you just want to read and chat, there’s the bi-monthly poetry book group.

I hope you can throw away your stress cake, find ways to heal your heart (if you need to), and nurture the creative spirit in you!

Events Coming Up from AWW and Others

May 6th: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We write from a prompt, share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We meet every first Tuesday. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

May 10th: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow is offering a generative poetry group focusing on readings from Kim Addonizio’s Ordinary Genius. Poets meet to talk about writing, about what we’ve read, and then we’re trying to use tips and ideas from Addonizzio and other sources the leaders bring to us. Meet at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room.

May 16th : Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss Amorak Huey’s book Dad Jokes from Late in the Patriarchy at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions. This is a great group where we learn about poetic forms, talk about themes we find, and meet an author. Books can be ordered through the link above, or from Yellow Bird Books in person.

June 6-8, 2025: Our annual AWW retreat! There are still spots open in the poetry class with Allison Joseph. Dinner will be at Craft Urban in downtown Aurora. Registration and information is on the Aurora Writers Workshop website, and the weekend’s events will again cost $175.

Reading Prompt

I’m out of writing prompt ideas right now, but I’ll share some places to read great work!

• Past faculty member Donna Vorreyer and writer Rachel Bunting have started a new online lit magazine, Asterales. The second issue just went live, and both this and the first issue are great. Read it, and think about submitting some writing or art!

• If you need a new way to approach the news, visit New Verse News. I’ve been reading and sending work there for over a decade. The editors seek out poets who find creative ways to respond to what’s going on in the world.

• One of my favorite online literary publishers is The Adroit Journal. Often, poetry selections are included with audio of the poets reading their work, which I always enjoy.

I’m itching to get into my garden next week. Since I had rotator cuff surgery in September, I wasn’t able to clean up the veggie garden last fall or do some moving around of plants that would be better off in more sunny parts of the yard. You can tell from the picture above how lush the veggie garden was. Now it’s all brown stems and dead plants. I can’t call it neglect since I wasn’t physically able to do that work, but it still felt that way. I think that’s also a metaphor for my writing. I WANT to do more but teaching from September through May and our current life of uncertainty in the US have taken a lot of my brain space, hobbling me a bit. If I didn’t clean up the garden last fall because I couldn’t use my arm, I feel like I haven’t been writing because a large part of my brain is taken up with other things.

I can’t say I’ve been doing nothing though. Just as I was doing PT twice a week for 5.5 months after my surgery, I’ve also been trying not to let my writing and creativity atrophy. I’ve joined the Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow’s spring writing group that’s focused on writing poetry using Kim Addonizio’s Ordinary Genius. It’s nice to meet monthly with other poets who are dedicated to getting their writing going and in a group that’s not focused on workshopping. I haven’t been able to write as regularly as I’d like even with that group’s focus, but I feel more purposeful in drafting new poems. I’m still running the Poetry Book Group at Yellow Bird Books in Aurora. Every other month, a group of readers meet to discuss a book of poetry, and the author joins in to answer our questions. It’s made me read more poetry and do so more carefully and deliberately since I lead the discussion. Reading poems also inspires me to write, bringing me back to writing more.

My garden and my writing are going to get more of my time as the weather warms up and my teaching for the school year comes to a close. We are now half-way through the semester, and it’s all downhill from here. For those of you not lucky enough to spend nine months a year grading argumentative essays and research papers, this writing struggle might be a year-round issue. However, I hope that the longer, sunnier days ahead will allow you to reenergize your writing. Maybe joining a writers group local to you or getting a book like Addonizio’s to help you write more will help. There’s also the upcoming Aurora Writers Workshop retreat the first weekend in June to start your summer writing projects. Hint, hint!

AWW retreat registration is open!

The website is updated with our two courses and registration is open for the June 6-8 event! We will meet as a large group for Friday evening’s keynote with Ruben Quesada, Saturday’s dinner and faculty reading at Two Brother’s Roundhouse, and Sunday’s generative workshop with Nik Markevicius and participant open mic. You can choose one of two courses for Saturday’s four-hour class. Allison Joseph, a poet and creative writing professor from Carbondale, IL, will teach a class on all sorts of odes: “praise poems, anti-odes, curse poems, and poetic apologies.” Kathleen Rooney, a multi-genre author, professor and publisher, will teach a class on flash fiction: “tightly compressed forms that the techniques of fiction and the compression of poetry meet and merge to create exciting new modes of expression.”

The classes are capped at 12 participants, so don’t wait to register. This is a wonderful way to meet other writers, learn, write, and socialize with a small group doing great things! Learn more at Aurora Writers Workshop.

News from AWW and Others

March 8th: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow is offering a generative poetry group focusing on readings from Kim Addonizio’s Ordinary Genius. Poets meet to talk about writing, about what we’ve read, and then we’re trying to use tips and ideas from Addonizzio and other sources the leaders bring to us. Meet at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room.

March 19: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss Maya Marshall’s All the Blood Involved in Love at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions.

April 1st: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We write from a prompt, share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We meet every first Tuesday. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

June 6-8, 2025: Our annual AWW retreat! We will again have a poetry and fiction course, and dinner together at Two Brothers. Registration is open, and the weekend’s events will again cost $175.

Writing Prompt

Think about what holds you back from something you desire. It might be something you want for yourself or others or the world. It might be a physical object or something spiritual or mental. Once you have that desire and barrier in your head, answer the following questions. It might lead to a poem, an essay, or developing a character!

1. Where do you feel the desire in your body?

2. What color is the desire?

3. How long have you felt this desire?

4. If the desire is for something physical, what would it’s spiritual or mental counterpart be? If it’s for something spiritual or mental, what would it’s physical counterpart be? For example, if you want an apple, maybe that’s the body feeling sated. If you want happiness, maybe its physical embodiment is a sunflower.

5. When you reach the desire, how will you know?

6. What holds you back from reaching this desire? Is it something physical or mental? Desribe the barrier.

7. If the barrier is mental, what is it’s physical counterpart? If it’s physical, what would a mental comparison be? For example, if fear is a barrier, maybe that’s like a lion blocking your path. If distance is a barrier, maybe that’s like trying to imagine the future.

8. What will it take a battle, a compromise, or a hug to overcome the barrier?

9. Describe the battle, compromise or hug. Who is involved? What happens?

10. When you have battled, compromised or hugged, how will you reach the desire?

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But first… a clarification.

My husband just told me he got an email from the AWW Substack offering 20% off a “paid subscription” to the Aurora Writers Workshop Substack newsletter. I didn’t send that, or authorize it, or anything. This is a free newsletter. If you chose to dontate money when you subscribe, that money goes back into the AWW coffers to pay for faculty and a website, to reimburse me for buying food and making copies for the conference. I have not gone through the process to get 501c3 status yet, but I do not make any money off AWW. If you are a paying subscriber, thank you! Pleaase don’t think I’m soliciting subscription money. I am not.

Now for the news!!

It’s happening! The new faculty are all lined up for the June 6-9 weekend retreat!

For the cost of $175, you get to spend the weekend in Aurora, IL, attending the keynote/kickoff event Friday night, the 4-hour course you choose (fiction or poetry) Saturday, dinner and a faculty reading at Two Brothers Roundhouse (cash bar), and a generative writing activity and participant open-mic Sunday morning. In addition, Aurora will be a lively place with First Friday Art Crawl Friday night, the Farmers Market Saturday morning, and our fabulous Pride Parade on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, the main focus is a four-hour class with just 12 partcipants given by a well-published author who is also a wonderful teacher. You can choose from “The Code to the Ode” by Allison Joseph, in which you’ll spend time doing closer readings of poets who have mastered the form. Allison will lead discussions on “odes, praise poems, anti-odes, curse poems, and poetic apologies.” You’re sure to come out of the class with lots of inspiration on crafting your own poems. The fiction course is lead by Kathleen Rooney and titled "Flash in the Pan: What Every Writer Can Learn from Very Short Fiction.” Kathleen will give close readings of works as well as generative exercises.

I’ve already written about our keynote speaker, Ruben Quesada, in earlier newsletters, but I just heard him last night at a poetry reading. He is very personable, and his poetry speaks to a wide range of readers. I think everyone will enjoy hearing him read some of his work and speak about why he writes poetry. I’ll also be doing an interview with him on his work and publishing, and you’ll be able to ask questions, too!

Aurora is on the edges and at the heart of this weekend of writing. From the river that flows through the center of downtown, to the restaurants you can visit for lunch on Saturday (a couple of people picnicked by the river last year), to the shops (including our very own indie bookstore Yellow Bird Books), partcipants last year really enjoyed walking the city and meeting people. I LOVE my city for its murals, walking/biking paths, and all the people I’ve befriended. I’m so excited to share it with you if you are unfamiliar, or just enjoy your company as we go back to our favorite spots.

Information on hotels (there’s a Holiday Inn Express right downtown), the schedule, and FAQs are on the website, and you can also reach out through the “Contact AWW” box at the bottom of the website homepage. I really hope you’ll join me!

Events Coming Up from AWW and Others

February 4th: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We write from a prompt, share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We meet every first Tuesday. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

February 8th: The Drink and Draft Poetry Roadshow is offering a generative poetry group focusing on readings from Kim Addonizio’s Ordinary Genius. We just met for the first time, and it was wonderful. Poets meet to talk about writing, about what we’ve read, and then we’re trying to use tips and ideas from Addonizzio and other sources the leaders bring to us. Meet at 9:30 am at the Batavia Public Library conference room.

March 19: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss a book of poetry TBA on at 7:00 pm. The poet will join in on Zoom to read a couple of poems and answer our questions. We’ve had three meetings so far and all of them have been wonderful, with the poets being so excited to chat with us. Title to come…

June 6-8, 2025: Our annual AWW retreat! We will again have a poetry and fiction course, and dinner together at Two Brothers. Registration will open at the end of January, and the weekend’s events will again cost $175.

Writing Prompt

I’m thinking about judgement, given all the news I’ve been hearing lately about national and international court cases, prisoner releases and sentence commutations, who people give a pass and who they don’t when it comes to crime. As a poet, I’m drawn to Aileen Cassinetto’s “There Are No Kings in America,” which is a commentary on judgement and our national history. I have a few friends who name To Kill a Mockingbird as their favorite novel, a story which centers injustice.

Here are some ideas to consider in a journal or draft:

• How do you want to be judged for actions you’ve taken in life? This might be specific or an overall look at life. If you don’t want to think about yourself, consider a character you’re working on in fiction. How do they want to be judged?

• Judgement comes from many places. Make a list of the ways we judge, who gets to judge, what we are judged for. Let the list be its own piece, or take something form the list that sparks an idea and write more about it.

• Read Cassinetto’s poem and choose one image from it that stands out to you. Write a reaction to it, or use it to start your own poem.

In case we haven’t met…

My name is Kristin LaTour, and I’m a writer who has lived in Aurora, IL since 2004. I’ve published lots of poetry, including a full-length collection, What Will Keep Us Alive from Sundress Publications in 2015. I’m also writing short stories and am working on a historical novel. I’ve taught college-level freshman composition for many years, as well as literature courses. I founded AWW to bring more opportunities to writers in the Fox Valley to learn and grow their craft. I love that there are a lot of writing groups in the Fox Valley area, but having a writing retreat with well-published faculty who have expereince teaching seemed like a gap I could fill. I love planning, socializing, and showing off my city! I also love baking, art, naps and animals of almost any kind. I am not always good at proofreading.

I went home for a visit last week. “Home” means a lot of places to me. I live in a lovely house in Aurora, IL with my husband, two small doggos, and a grumpy cockateil, and that’s my home. However, I grew up in Tucson, AZ, leaving for college in 1990, and that’s still “home,” too. When I was a kid, my dad and mom packed up the car or truck every couple of years to drive my sister and I from Tuscon to northwestern Ohio, where they grew up, they said we were going “back home.” We all have a lot of places we come from. Hometowns, our colleges, the places we’ve worked. Some folks only have one home. Sometimes I think having just one home would make my life less complicated, especially when it comes to deciding where to travel. Do I go somewhere new, or somewhere that holds a place in my heart? Last week, I needed to go back to the Sonorn Desert. Not wanted, needed. I needed to smell it, feel the sun, taste some Sonoran food, hear the birds and the desert sand under my shoes, look everywhere and see mountains.

The desert has played a big role in my poetry. It seeps in through many cracks. I recently wrote a sestina while I was sitting by a lake in Indiana, a poem that started to be about the waves I was watching, but it quickly shifted to the contrast of the desert where I grew up. I can’t get away, even though I’ve lived away from Arizona much longer than I lived in it. I love that my mind keeps swinging back there, like a bird tht gently swerves and changes direction with the wind.

As we end the year, many of us will look back over the past 12 months, getting photo reminders of the year’s memories on our phones, receiving holiday cards our family friends design with pictures of their events. We think about where we came from, where we might be heading. We write goals, tell stories, think about how our plots might unfold.

As you end the year, I hope you are writing, even if it’s just a list of good things that happened to you last year. If you’re working on a project, from a novel to a short piece just reminding yourself of a memory, I wish you joy in the work. It is work, but writing can be the best kind, feeding our minds and hearts. Be well.

Registration will open at the end of January for the next AWW retreat weekend…

The website is updated, the dates are set for June 6-8, and I’m just waiting on the class descriptions! Our keynore will be from Ruben Quesada on Friday night. Our fiction faculty will be Kathleen Rooney and poetry will be lead by Allison Joseph. I’m keeping registration at $175, and it will include all the events, and dinner Saturday evening. I hope to see some new and returning faces!

Donna Vorreyer (2024 poetry faculty), completes second year of reading series

Donna started the online poetry reading series, A Hundred Pitchers of Honey, in 2022, and finished her second full year of the series this month. All the readings are recorded and can be seen on the HPH YouTube Chanel. You can subcribe and watch new episodes as they are posted, or follow one of the social media accounts as new episodes are scheduled and announced, Follow the series on X or Blusky at @hphseries or on Instagram at @hphreadingseries. 2025 will have four readings, one a quarter. Congratulations on two years of HPH, Donna!

Events coming up from AWW and others…

January 7: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We write from a prompt, share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We meet every first Tuesday. We’ve been hosting about 7-10 writers each month and it’s been a wonderful group.

January 15: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss The Under Hum, co-written by Simone Muench and Jackie White, on Wednesday, Jan. 15th at 7:00 pm. You can order a copy through Yellow Bird and have it delivered to you, here. Jackie and Simone will join us for part of the discussion to read and answer questions. Bring something warm to drink, and enjoy some good company as we talk about these poems!

June 6-8, 2025: Our annual AWW retreat! Check out the website for our keynote speaker and faculty bios. Class descriptions will be listed soon. We will again have a poetry and fiction course, and dinner together at Two Brothers. Registration will open at the end of January, and the weekend’s events will again cost $175.

Writing Prompt

The photo that started this post is of Baboquivari Peak in southern Arizona. It’s the most sacred place of the Tohono O’Odham tribe, and with no wonder. It’s sheer rock face makes it unaccesible to all but the best rock climbers, and it stands out for miles across the desert, coming in and out of view as one drives around nearby mountain ranges.

What is your most sacred space? What does it feel like to be there? What makes it so special to you and others? What is it comparable to? If you’re working on fiction, what is your main character’s sacred space? How did it come to be so special? Is it accessible or inaccessible? Is it even a physical place? What conflicts arise in getting there, or leaving it?

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Fall is hard time for many of us. The shortened days, time change, cooler temps, elections, school ramping up, holidays coming fast and furious. How do we find time to feed our minds and hearts with writing?

I’ve been reading more, or trying to. I’m reading novels that are fun, like Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens, where in a small Indian village, the women are killing their abusive husbands and standing up for themselves. The violence wasn’t fun, but watching how women of different background bound together, overcoming caste, age and old hurts, was wonderful. I’m reading poetry too, including Cynthia Marie Hoffman’s Exploding Head, which is a memoir in verse of her struggles with OCD. (see events below for a chance to discuss Cynthia’s book)

I’m also attending the AWW Writing Group that meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 at the downtown Aurora, IL pubilc library. I’ve been making myself write something new, usually a poem, to bring. It’s forcing me to get some writing done on what I forsee as a new collection of poems on Gen X.

However, with grading college freshman essays, the rain that’s been intermittent, and ongoing issues with my right arm from shoulder surgery back in September, making myself sit down to write is difficult. I’ve made my office more functional (cleaned off my desk) but even that doesn’t always do the trick. I get itchy to move, or to nap, or to just play with my phone.

I hope you are finding ways to energize your writing prctice as we head into winter. Write for yourself, for your own desire and satisfaction, Write a journal entry, or even the same word over and over again just for the beauty of it. Words nourish us. Be well.

Events coming up from AWW and others…

November 20: Join AWW and Yellow Bird Books to discuss Cythina Marie Hoffman’s book Exploding Head on Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 pm. You can order a copy through Yellow Bird and have it delivered to you, here. Cynthia will join us for part of the discussion to read and answer questions. Bring something warm to drink, and enjoy some good company as we talk about her poems!

December 3: Join AWW for our monthly writing group at the Santori Branch of the Aurora Public Library, room 305. We write from a prompt, share any work we’d like to get feedback on (or not, just share), from 7-8:30. We meet every first Tuesday.

January 23, 2025: Past faculty member Ananda Lima will join Hernan Diaz will chat about writing and their craft at the Newberry Library’s Writers on Writing series. In-person or Zoom.

June 6-8, 2025: Our annual AWW retreat! Check out the website for our keynote speaker and faculty bios. Class descriptions will be listed soon. We will again have a poetry and fiction course, and dinner together at Two Brothers. Registration will open in January, and the weekend’s events will again cost $175.

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There’s a lot of news! We have two programs starting this fall, and I can announce the dates and faculty for next June’s retreat!

First off, we are starting a writers group which will meet on FIRST TUESDAYS STARTING IN SEPTEMBER at the downtown Santori Branch Library at 7:00 pm. Come a little early to sign up if you’d like to share your work. This group is focused on feedback and growth, nurturing our writing and getting it to be the best it can be. This group is for all genre/any genre. We’re all readers and humans, so we can talk about any kind of writing. We may do a quick prompt to get things going each month. I’m really excited to have this group meeting in the space where we started working on our writing during the first AWW Retreat.

Next. also starting in September, we are partnering with Yellow Bird Books in downtown Aurora for a Poetry Book Group. We will meet at 7:00 in ODD MONTHS on the THIRD WEDNESDAY. This first group will meet September 18th to discuss Jessica Cuello’s Yours, Creature. You can order it online through Yellow Bird Books here.

In poet Donna Vorreyer’s review, she states, “In this luminous collection, Jessica Cuello tells the story of Mary Shelley through epistolary persona poems. Some of the well-known details of Shelley’s life are here: her mother’s death at her birth, her relationship with Percy Shelley that resulted in three lost children, her writing of Frankenstein during a rainy shut-in with Percy and other writers. But in Cuello’s meticulously researched and nuanced possession of Mary Shelley’s voice, the reader gets so much more than the facts. Yours, Creature is a full-fledged portrait of a woman who struggles with loss, loneliness, and love, poems that are both windows into the past and mirrors of the now.”

There’s a Facebook Event for September’s discussion here, and I’ve been posting some reading tips. This poetry book group will be welcoming to everyone. If you haven’t read a poem since high school, never “got” poetry, or you’re a poet yourself who reads widely, this group is for you. Kristin LaTour is leading the discussion, and she’s been teaching people how to read and enjoy poetry for decades. This group promises to create community and open doors for everyone’s enjoyment.

And for the big news, the faculty for the June 6-8, 2025 AWW Retreat is set! We’re still finalizing what everyone will teach, but I can introduce everyone to you.

Kathleen Rooney will teach a fiction course. Kathleen is prolific, versitile and dedicated to craft. You can read her extensive bio on her website (link above), but she is the founding editor of Rose Metal Press and Poems While You Wait, a group of poets who types poems on vintage typewriters at events in Chicagoland. She’s published three novels, won awards for her poetry, and also has a children’s book forthcoming. She teaches at DePaul University.

Allison Joseph attended the inagural AWW Retreat, and was excited when I asked if she would consider teaching the poetry section next year. Her writing history includes serving as poetry editor of Crab Orchard Review, the publisher of No Chair Press, and the director of Writers In Common, a writing conference for writers of all ages and experience levels. She’s published 16 chapbooks, and her full-length , award-winning collection, Confessions of a Barefaced Woman, was published by Red Hen Press in 2018.

Lastly, our keynote promises to be stellar. Ruben Quesada is a poet and teacher. He’s lived in Chicago for a decade, having been born and raised in LA by his Costa Rican immigrant family. His forthcoming collection, Brutal Companion, won the Barrow Street Editors Prize and will be released on October 15, 2024. He edited Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry, a Gold Medal winner from the Independent Publisher Awards. Quesada’s previous works include two chapbooks and the poetry collection Next Extinct Mammal. His writing has appeared in Best American Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, Seneca Review, Harvard Review and elsewhere. He teaches literature and writing in the low-residency MFA programs at Antioch University and Cedar Crest College.

Nik Markevicius will lead the multi-genre generative activity on Sunday. He’s attended Columbia College’s writing program, and leads the Fox Valley Writers group. He’s great at prompt-based leads for starting new writing.

I looked at the feedback from the surveys I received after the first retreat in June, and decided to stick with the 3-day format, with 4 hours for the sessions on Saturday. Everyone wanted to stick with the first weekend of June to take advantage of downtown Aurora’s First Friday events. We’ll again be at venues in downtown Aurora with dinner at Two Brothers Roundhouse.

Whew! That was a lot of news! I hope to see you at one of the groups that starts meeting this fall, and that you’ll mark next year’s retreat on your calendar. I’ll have more details on the classes in the next post! Go write!

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Hi! I’m Kristin LaTour, director and founder of the Aurora Writers Workshop. I’m excited to start a newsletter/Substack to keep participants, writers, and anyone interested, in the loop!

What a glorious first event! 21 participants gathered together in downtown Aurora, IL for a weekend of writing, learning, and community. While I was nervous how the wekened would go (would everyone get along? would the classes and talks be meaningful? would people be disappointed?) by the end of the first evening’s keynote, my worries washed away.

We gathered for food and conversation as everyone checked in and got their materials for the weekend. Meg Cass gave any opening keynote with a reading, a short talk on the topic of “Why Write?” and then she and I had a conversation before opening up to questions from the group. After the keynote, several of us wandered downtown Aurora for the First Friday events. We visited Yellow Bird books, where Meg signed copies of ActivAmerica (a couple of copies are still available!), had some drinks and food at French 75, and then bid good night to get ready for classes the next day.

The classes, from what I heard, were amazing. Ananda Lima, who is currently enjoying lots of press and reviews on her brand new short story collection, Craft, lead students through a session on “ways to make writing come alive on the page.” One participant said that they “loved Ananda’s approach, her insights, her attitude, and everything about it. I appreciated how… it became clear Ananda had spent a lot of time preparing.” Another explained, “I was with Ananda and she was fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed her sessions and her energy! I found her approachable, engaging, and well-versed on her subject matter. I loved the simple focus of her topic and thought she explored it well. I ordered her book, received it, and can't wait to read it.”

Donna Vorreyer’s class on writing love poems was also valuable. One poet in her class said they “really enjoyed the prompts and the sample poems. I feel I got a good start on two to three drafts, and some interesting ideas to explore further on the 1-2 drafts that didn't come as easily. I uncovered some old and vibrant memories with the beginning exercises that provided good fodder for writing. I really enjoyed hearing everyone else's feedback/interaction in the class, too.”

After the four-hour class sessions were done, with a two hour lunch break where partcipants got social time with their faculty or time to wander downtown, we reconvened for dinner and a faculty reading at Two Brother’s Roundhouse. Everyone ordered food from the menu (dinner was included in the tuition cost), and got a beverage to sit and talk and laugh with each other. I read from my novel-in progress on a young girl growing up around the whaling industry in Massachusetts in the mid- 1800s. Donna read from her books To Everything There Is and Every Love Story Is an Apocolypse Story as well as new work. Ananda wowed us with stories from Craft.

Sunday was low key, with me leading a large group exercise where everyone created a character using a name drawn from a bowl, and then people paired up and had their characters interact in a setting they also drew from a bowl. We ended with a participant open mic before heading to the streets for Aurora’s Pride Parade.

Throughout the weekend, there were already calls for the weekend to happen again in 2025. I am planning to keep it small, affordable and find the same quality faculty to bring new ideas to writers. There was also a lot of discussion on starting a new writers critique group, reading groups, anf other support for writers. I need to revamp the webpage, regroup, and get to planning!

Stay tuned for what’s coming, news from faculty and partcipants. If you partcipated in the first weekend, please stay in touch with what’s going on in your writing life! If you missed it, you’ll want to join next year…

NEWS and NOTES

It’s too soon for much news from participants, but Ananda Lima, our 2024 fiction faculty member, has been touring now that her book of short stories, Craft, is available! She’s been to the East Coast, and is now on the West Coast, reading, being interviewed, and garnering more reviews and accolades. Yay Ananda!

WRITING PROMPT

Whether it’s a poem, and essay or fiction, perhaps this prompt will get you going—

Think of a place you have been but don’t remember very well. Maybe it’s just an image, or a smell, or a sound that comes to mind. I’m thinking of eating an ice cream sundae when I was very small at a Friendly’s. The only thing I really reccall is there was a small plastic elephant at the bottom of my sundae, and that elephant came home with me and sat on the kitchen window for years. I don’t remember anything else.

Consider these questions:

• Why is this memory in your brain? What about it made it stick, do you think?

• What can you build around this memory, even if it’s made up? Who was there? What sounds/smells/sights/sensations would have been there that you can’t recall? How did you find yourself there?

• What would someone outside of this memory see of you? Maybe it’s someone at a different table, behind you, even above you. Maybe it’s an insect above or animal at the ground level.

• If you could have expereinced this moment at a different age, what would be different? I was around 4 when I found my elephant. If I had been 20, I probably would have had conversation with my family, I might not have ordered a sundae.

Cull through your writing and see what’s there. Maybe there’s a start of a poem, or insight into how a character you’ve been writing might think of something from their past. Maybe there’s an essay. Just write!

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