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March 4, 2022

Help Us Bring Great Writers to Door County! Help Us Bring Great Writers to Door County!
Join Our Members Only Group! Join Our Members Only Group!

A Note from the Directors' Desks

On March 7, 1982, then President Ronald Reagan declared that “Women’s History Week” would be officially declared each year.

I was four months old at the time.

As Women’s History Week turned into Women’s History Month over the next forty years, I reflect on how far we’ve come and how much work there is yet to do.

Elevating the voices of women and spending time with their words is one of the best ways to celebrate this 2022 Women’s History Month. 

Five years ago, in January 2017, I ventured to Washington D.C. to participate in the Women’s March. While there, I witnessed a number of speakers and events that altered my perspective on the role of women in this country and on this planet. One speaker, though, is seared into my brain: 6-year-old Sophie Cruz. At the time, she had recently made headlines to squeeze past the security detail of Pope Francis to hand him a letter about her parents. You see, Sophie and her little sister were both born in the US, but both of her parents were undocumented immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, who at the time, stood to be deported. 

She stood on the stage at the Women’s March with her family next to her. She wore a tiny red coat. She had braids in her hair. She was courage personified. She smiled and spoke in clear, clarion-bell words: 

“We are here together making a chain of love to protect our families. Let us fight with love, faith and courage so that our families will not be destroyed. I also want to tell the children not to be afraid because we are not alone. There are still many people that have their hearts filled with love and tenderness to snuggle in this path of life. Let’s keep together and fight for the rights.

I couldn’t help then - and now - to be overcome with gratitude for her bravery. Thousands of people stood before her, and she risked everything to fight for her family and for all families. I came home to Wisconsin with her message in mind. I carry it still as we watch Ukraine’s women both flee for their lives and stand up to fight against autocratic tyranny. Indeed, women hold up half the sky. 

Here at Write On, we celebrate
women’s voices every day. It is a piece of our work and our value set that I am most proud of. From the youngest readers and writers in our community to our most sage seniors, we are committed to supporting those ready to find their voices.

Sometimes the
hardest part of writing is simply having the courage to write down our truths.

Let’s all take our advice from sweet Sophie: be brave; you are loved. 

Let’s write.

Warmly,

Important Information: Our First Conferences

MARCH 18 & 19 @ Sturgeon Bay High School

THE YOUNG WRITERS CONFERENCE: 

This conference  is for middle school and high school students who want to explore writing as a creative outlet. Sessions will include poetry, fiction, journalism, song writing, plays, and writing for games/digital media.

The conference will consist of three keynote presentations with Wisconsin Poet Laureate
Dasha Kelly Hamilton, internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Cathy Grier, and award-winning children’s author John Coy. Between keynotes, students will have the opportunity to work with established writers in small, interactive groups on a variety of subjects.

Slated faculty: Julialicia Case, John Coy, Myles Dannhausen, Jr., Cathy Grier, Mauricio Kilwein Guevara and Janet Jennerjohn, Dasha Kelly Hamilton, Sarah Hammond, Mike Orlock,  Alex Paniagua, LaurA! Force Scruggs, Kim Suhr, Angie Trudell Vasquez, and Liza Wiemer.




MAY 13 - 15 in Fish Creek, WI

THE HEALTH & HEALING CONFERENCE:

Sign up before the early bird discount ends on March 11!

Our first-ever Health & Healing Conference will be an experience that welcomes all who are interested in paths of health and healing.

With
multiple tracks for writers and non-writers alike, theres something for everyone!

Click to learn more about
workshop offerings including navigating trauma, holistic support, writing to heal, neurodivergence, word medicine, and much more.

💫 Learn More, Register, & Save 💫

Calling All Memoirists & Playwrights

MARCH 14 @ 10 - 11 a.m.

WRITING MEMOIR:
Coffee and Conversation with Writers-in-Residence Judith Adrian and Nancy Fishman

Are you interested in writing a memoir but uncertain where to begin or how to proceed? Have you already started the process and want to share what you have discovered along the way?


Join writers-in-residence Judith Adrian and Nancy Fishman, both writers of fiction and nonfiction/memoir, for a conversation about the process of starting or continuing your memoir.

This program is free and is open to all. The program will be presented in-person at the Writing Center. No registration is required.



MARCH 29 @6:30 - 8:30 p.m.


THE PLAYWRIGHT’S STUDIO: Four Workshops Led by Richard Gustin

In this series of
four workshops, participants will be taken through a process of discovery aimed at fostering their unique voices.

No matter what your writing background may be — just starting out, frustrated genius, or working wordsmith — this is the
workshop for you. We will tap your inner resources and challenge preconceptions, working together to discover new paths of understanding in our writing.

Throughout the month, we will explore the development of character,
scene work, monologue, and ensemble building. We will grow together in confidence, creativity, and passion for the complexities of life. This class is appropriate for writers of all ages.

🤩 Register Now 🤩

A Hybrid Class For Poets

MARCH 31 @ 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

WRITING THE CATASTROPHE: Four Classes Led by Donna Hilbert


We all carry them: stories of loss and regret so overwhelming and painful we can’t find an entry point from which to write, yet we can’t put the stories behind us. Sometimes, we nurture the illusion we might write one Big Poem and be done with it. I have found that the Big Poem plan seldom works. The past two years have added burdensome new stories to the difficult ones we already carry.

In the four sessions of
Writing the Catastrophe, our strategy will be to examine one anecdote, dream, memory, or “telling detail” at a time, with the aim of writing a suite of short poems on weighty subjects. We will do generative exercises and look at exemplary poems.

This is a hybrid class. Participants may join in person or online via Zoom.

✨ Save Your Seat ✨

Join the Club in April: Great Lakes / Great Books

Great Lakes / Great Books is a monthly book club discussing works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that have the Great Lakes as a setting or as subject matter.

This month’s selection is Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff.

📚 Learn More 📚

Write On on the Road

Visit us at the 2022 AWP ConferenceWe’ll be at the Book Fair, Booth 631.

Artistic Director Jerod Santek will be on the panel, Beyond the Statement: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Literary Organizations, Thursday, March 24, 12:10 - 1:25 pm, Room 118BC, Pennsylvania Convention Center.

If you are a former writer-in-residence or presenter or student, stop by and say HI!

If you are interested in finding out more about
our writers’ residency program, master classes, conferences, and other opportunities, we would love to chat with you!

✏️ Discover the Conference ✏️

Sponsor a Young Writer in Our Community

It isn't too late to give the gift of writing to a student in our community.

CLICK HERE to learn how you can sponsor a student's attendance at our Young Writers Conference - March 18 & 19!

Help feed students' creative and educational passions for a lifetime!

Visit our website or contact our Managing Director, Lauren Ward, for more information.

Call:
920-868-1457
E-mail 
Write On, Door County's Managing Director
🤩 Sponsor a Student! 🤩

Upcoming Events

              
📖 See all Events 📖

Thank You Program Sponsors

Join us at the Writing Center! Come spend time in our growing library, find a cozy spot to write, walk the trails, or consider signing up your book or writing group for a Write On membership and get your own reserved time. The Atrium and Classroom are open - space may be limited when classes and events are taking place.
Copyright © 2022 Write On, Door County, All rights reserved.


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