Oct
5
Sun
First Sunday Prose Reading featuring Tanya Konerman and Rebekah Spivey @ The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe
Oct 5 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Celebrate Halloween with the Writers Guild!
First Sunday Prose Reading Series will feature writers Rebekah Spivey and Tanya Konerman who will read some of their spooky stories.  
Grab a cup of coffee and a treat at the Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe and settle in to the Halloween spirit!

Tanya Konerman is a children’s author whose picture book, Mud to the Rescue! How Animals Use Mud to Thrive and Survive, was released in May. Her ghost story for 9-12 year-olds, “Danger in the Dunes,” was chosen to represent Indiana in the anthology, The Haunted States of America (2024).

Rebekah Spivey studied creative writing and sociology at Indiana University. She has lived and worked on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. She is a lifelong writer and lover of words who has co-created and led a group called Poetry Detectives, an informal group that discusses poetry in a non-academic way in order to make the genre more approachable. She has a nineteen-year association with Women Writing for (a) Change, Bloomington, a group that supports giving every person a voice through writing. Rebekah has been a certified facilitator with Women Writing since 2013 and currently facilitates a semester-long virtual class. She has coordinated two Women Writing for (a) Change retreat on the Isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland. She also facilitates winter writing retreats for Women Writing.
Rebekah retired in 2012 from the Indiana Daily Student newspaper at IU after seventeen years as part of the professional staff. She has been a part-time senior editor for Holon Publishing, a self-publishing company since 2019. And is an editor for private clients. Rebekah published her first novel Marigolds in Boxes in September 2024. Her next novel Flight Plan is in the works.

First Sunday Prose Reading – Open Mic to follow!

The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe 615 W. Kirkwood Avenue

Oct
9
Thu
Writers Guild Spoken Word Series: STORMWASH Showcase @ Backspace Gallery
Oct 9 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9th @ 6pm EST

STORMWASH Showcase

OPEN MIC to follow
BEER & WINE available for purchase

A special showcase of poets published in STORMWASH: ENVIRONMENTAL POEMS Vol. 2, published by Seaker Press and edited by Hiromi Yoshida

Sponsored in part by the Bloomington Arts Commission and the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association.

Oct
26
Sun
Last Sunday Poetry & Open Mic featuring James Dorr and April Ridge @ Morgenstern's Bookstore & Café
Oct 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

The Writers Guild at Bloomington presents Last Sunday Poetry & Open Mic

featuring James Dorr and April Ridge

Open mic to follow


 


JAMES DORR
’s Avoid Seeing a Mouse and Other Tales of the Real and Surreal is a January 2024 release from Alien Buddha Press. Other books include his 2013 Bram Stoker Award® nominee for Fiction Collection, The Tears of Isis, Tombs: A Chronicle of Latter-Day Times of Earth, and his all-poetry Vamps (A Retrospective). Specializing in dark fantasy/horror with forays into mystery and science fiction, Dorr has been a technical writer, an editor on a regional magazine, a full-time nonfiction freelancer, and a semi-professional musician. He currently harbors a Goth cat named Triana, and counts among his major influences Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Allen Ginsberg, and Bertolt Brecht.

APRIL RIDGE lurks in the rural hilltops of Monroe County, akin to Mothman’s tomboy cousin, listening for hints of poetry on the wind. She enjoys horror films, the sordid affairs of 1920s circus performers, long walks in pitch black tunnels and the occasional waffle cone from Jiffy Treet. April prides herself on finding the perfect outfit in which to adorn the skeleton of the soul. She hopes to highlight the needs of poems in danger, on the run, escaping from the need to fit into one form or another, on their way to the freedom of epiphany. Her work has appeared sporadically in deep space, circling black holes until the dinner bell of eternal fame rings in its echoing chambers.

Emerging poets who need a supportive audience, and established poets who want to promote published works: Sign up for open mic! Your words are precious. The time limit per open mic participant is 3-5 min. depending on the number signed up (e.g. 3.75 min. if 12).

Arrive 20-50 min. before the 7pm program start time so you can:
– Sign up for open mic
– Meet and greet featured poets, and each other
– Purchase the store’s books and other gift items
– Order and enjoy cafe food and beverages

More information about the Writers Guild at Bloomington:
https://writersguildbloomington.com/

The Writers Guild at Bloomington is committed to fostering diversity, and welcomes members regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and ability.

7-8:30 PM (EST)
Morgenstern Books & Cafe (849 S Auto Mall Rd, Bloomington IN 47401)

Nov
2
Sun
First Sunday Prose Reading November 2025 @ The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe
Nov 2 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

First Sunday Prose Reading – Open Mic to follow!

The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe 615 W. Kirkwood Avenue

Nov
13
Thu
Writers Guild Spoken Word Series: featuring poets Mary Sexton and Lylanne Musselman @ Backspace Gallery
Nov 13 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13th @ 6pm EST

Featuring Poets Mary Sexton and Lylanne Musselman

OPEN MIC to follow
BEER & WINE available for purchase

 

Sponsored in part by the Bloomington Arts Commission and the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association.

Nov
15
Sat
Speaker Series: Aminatta Forna on The Power of Storytelling @ Monroe County Public Library Auditorium
Nov 15 @ 7:00 pm

Aminatta Forna

Award-winning author of several novels and the essay collection, The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion

Join the Writers Guild for a special event with celebrated author, Aminatta Forna when she presents “The Power of Storytelling” at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium on Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 7pm.

Book sales/book signing/and reception to take place next door at the Monroe County History Center after the talk.

Dec
7
Sun
First Sunday Prose Reading December 2025 @ The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe
Dec 7 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

First Sunday Prose Reading – Open Mic to follow!

The Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe 615 W. Kirkwood Avenue

Dec
11
Thu
Writers Guild Spoken Word Series: The Junky’s Christmas Radio Play @ Backspace Gallery
Dec 11 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11th @ 6pm EST

Featuring The Junky’s Christmas Radio Play

Extended OPEN MIC to follow
BEER & WINE available for purchase

 

Sponsored in part by the Bloomington Arts Commission and the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association.

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