December Work Room Registration

Hi all,

For December, Work Rooms will be running on Tuesdays at 5:30 PM and Fridays at 11:30 AM (eastern times), just for the first two weeks of the month, and then we will take a break. Registration links are at the bottom of this post.

In the meantime, please don’t ask me my thoughts about the impending Giving Tuesday, the day where non-profits send out a bazillion emails seeking donations. I am all in favor of asking for, and of course, making donations. I just personally don’t like the way donating has gotten lumped in with other capitalist made up frenzy days leading up to Giving Tuesday. To me, Giving Tuesday validates our culture’s sickness around money instead of challenging the way our society prioritizes and celebrates conspicuous excess over basic human needs.

Scrooge McNonprofit thoughts aside though, year-end donations, whichever day you give, are super important. I personally don’t like how it’s all tied to tax deductions, because so many of us just take the standard deduction because we can’t donate amounts that impact our taxes. But year-end is when non-profits receive the most, much-needed, support, and there are many great organizations to support.

Community writing is a tiny field and usually overlooked, even within the literary funding world. So here are a few of my suggestions of NYC community-based writing/literary programs that I care about and support. This is a tiny list, and not at all meant to be comprehensive, so sorry to my friends in the field if you’re not on here! (The names below are clickable links.)

Cave Canem: Dedicated to supporting Black poets/poetry, Cave Canem has had incredible impact, including recently putting together an important field study on Black Literary Arts Organizations.

Cento Lit: A new community literary space in Dumbo, launched by book publicist and amazing human, Katie Freeman.

Literary Freedom Project: Long-running, super impactful work building community in the Bronx centered around books, culture, and education. Their work is the real deal.

Teachers and Writers Collaborative: The OG: creator of the very first writers-in-the-schools programs, they now also bring creative writing workshops to elders, people with disabilities and others too. (Two former NYWC staff work there, so I know the quality of the work they do is high!)

The Kite: This organization brings creative writing and storytelling workshops to incarcerated youth and adults. There are few places that have as much impact as The Kite, and even fewer going inside Rikers Island and other dehumanizing institutions.

The Writers Room: Another groundbreaker, the longest running urban writing colony/space, which not only offers affordable writing space, but is a vibrant and supportive community for writers.

Sign up for December BHWA Work Rooms:

Tuesdays: December 2 and December 9, 5:30 to 6:30 PM Eastern Time. Registration

Fridays, December 5 and 12, 11:30 AM to 1 PM Eastern Time. Registration

If you don’t know, our Work Rooms are a virtual co-working space for writers. We gather, say hello, then get to our own work. At the end, there’s an option to check-in and share how that day’s session went. It somehow works. Feel free to invite fellow writers.