The Writers Guild at Bloomington is an association of writers committed to mutual support and the professional development of their craft. Its mission is to foster interaction among writers as well as other artists, educators, and the Monroe County public, thereby enhancing the vibrancy of the arts and the writing community in the greater Bloomington area.
Events Calendar
The Writers Guild at Bloomington is pleased to announce:
THE RYSER SCHOLARSHIP
Annual support for a writer from South Central Indiana to pursue excellence
by attending a formal workshop or conference in the craft of writing.
The scholarship rotates yearly between a high school junior or senior, a Language Arts Teacher, and a Writer’s Guild member of any experience level. Our 2019 Ryser Scholarship recipient, Jan Tilley, is a Guild Member whose tuition to the 2019 IU Writers’ Conference was paid by the scholarship.
The 2020 Ryser Scholarship will be awarded to a High School junior or senior student in Monroe County, Brown County,
Lawrence County or Owen County.
——————————————————-
Joan Ryser taught American and European literature, creative writing, grammar and composition at Bloomington High School South for 44 years, where she was a beloved mentor for budding writers and avid readers.
When Joan passed away in 2017, she left instructions with her family that instead of flowers, memorial contributions be made to a local organization that promotes writing and literacy. The Writers Guild at Bloomington received the resulting donations and established the Guild’s first scholarship award. The Writers Guild has set up a continuing plan for the award, committing 5% of all membership fees and event proceeds in order to create ongoing support for writers to build their craft.
——————————————————
The Ryser Scholarship provides $350 towards of a formal workshop or conference in the craft of writing. Events in Indiana include:
- IU Writers Conference — Bloomington
- Indiana Writers’ Center, A Gathering of Writers — Indianapolis
- Midwest Writers Workshop – Ball State University, Muncie
- Writing for Your Life Spiritual Writers’ Conference — Indianapolis
- Women Writing for (a) Change workshops – Bloomington
The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2020.
For further information please contact: ryseraward@writersguildbloomington.com
Writers Guild Spoken Word Series
WE WILL RE-BOOK THIS FOR A LATER DATE.
Stay Healthy Everyone!
Writers Guild sponsors a talk and film at IU Cinema
The Writers Guild was awarded a creative collaboration grant, and is sponsoring “Neither Memory Nor Magic,” a film about the Hungarian Poet Miklós Radnóti, who died in the Holocaust (the Shoah). 
Of special interest will be Mr. Perez’s talk on Friday March 27, 4 p.m. IU Cinema
The Film “Neither Memory Nor Magic” Friday March 27, 7 p.m.
Tickets for the film are available at the IU Auditorium box office.
Parking in the Jordan Lot is free on weekends, unless there’s a MAC extravaganza. There is also parking in the Wells Library Parking Lot. https://cinema.indiana.edu/about/visiting-guests/visitor/hugo-perez .
Also see the essay about Miklós Radnóti, Hugo Perez and the film in the current issue of The Ryder.
CANCELLED THIS MONTH.
WE WILL HAVE OUR TWO GUEST READERS AT A LATER DATE.
STAY HEALTHY EVERYONE
The Sunday Poetry Reading & Open Mic
Karen George is author of five chapbooks, most recently an ekphrastic collaborative chapbook, Frame and Mount the Sky (Finishing
Line Press, 2017), and two poetry collections from Dos Madres Press, Swim Your Way Back (2014) and A Map and One Year (2018). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Adirondack Review, Louisville Review, Naugatuck River Review, Sliver of Stone, and Still: The Journal. She received grants from Kentucky Foundation for Women and Kentucky Arts Council, and holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. She reviews poetry at Poetry Matters blog: http://readwritepoetry.blogspot.com/, and is co-founder and fiction editor of the online journal, Waypoints: http://www.waypointsmag.com/. She retired from computer programming to write full-time. She lives in Florence, Kentucky, and enjoys photography and visiting museums, historic river towns, mountains, parks, and gardens.
JL Kato is a former newspaper copy editor and former poetry editor of Flying Island. The Indiana Center for the Book designated his 
first book, Shadows Set in Concrete, as 2011’s Best Book of Indiana for poetry. He once accidentally plowed into Dan Quayle’s midsection. Kato lives in Beech Grove.
Third Sunday Write Virtual— Sunday April 19, 2020
Ryser Scholarship Awarded
The Writers Guild at Bloomington is delighted to announce
that Hanh Tam Bui is the recipient of the 2020 Ryser Scholarship.
Hanh is a student at Bloomington High School South where she is a member of the Writing Club.
It also happens that the namesake of the scholarship, Joan Ryser, was an English teacher at BHSS.
Hanh will be attending A Gathering of Writers workshop at the Indianapolis Writers Center.
She will attend in March of 2021.
Congratulations Hanh!
IU presents online via Zoom:
Community Conversation Hour | The “Chinese Virus”: COVID-19 + Anti-Asian Racism
Click HERE to register
Zoom log-in information and meeting password will be sent via email upon registration.
How is this association connected to a long history of “yellow peril” fears in American culture and beyond? What can we do, both individually and collectively, to create solidarity and communal uplift in a time of anti-Asian hostility and other widening social divisions? Please join the College Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Asian American Studies Program to explore these questions and their far-reaching impacts.
Our conversation will feature a reading by poet Lisa Kwong and selected works from the Asian American Studies Program Physical Distancing Creativity Showcase.