This is a monthly meetup that welcomes all writers to ask questions, connect with other writers, or simply have a dedicated time and place to work on their projects.

Local authors Lara Zielin and Margaret Alex Kourvo will be on hand to offer encouragement, answer questions, and point writers to resources.

These open houses complement the Emerging Writers Workshops. These events feature perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing and considerations of fiction and non-fiction writing.

This is a monthly meetup that welcomes all writers to ask questions, connect with other writers, or simply have a dedicated time and place to work on their projects.

Local authors Lara Zielin and Alex Kourvo will be on hand to offer encouragement, answer questions, and point writers to resources.

These open houses complement the Emerging Writers Workshops. These events feature perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing and considerations of fiction and non-fiction writing.

Writing is sometimes a lonely business, but it doesn’t have to be. This workshop will cover the basics of finding your literary tribe, whether online or face to face. Authors Lara Zielin and Alex Kourvo will show you how and when to share your writing, how to make deep online connections, and how to find (or start) a writer’s group that’s just right for you.

This is part of a monthly series of writing and publishing events called the Emerging Writers Workshops, featuring perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing. Considerations for fiction and nonfiction writing will be covered.

There will also be an opportunity for workshop attendees to meet up at the Traverwood Branch on Thursday, May 21 to discuss their works-in-progress. Both Lara Zielin and Alex Kourvo will be on hand to offer advice, tips and review. These open houses will be a wonderful time to meet your fellow writers and potentially create your own writing group.

Whether you’re a thorough plotter with a roadmap for each chapter, or you’re a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer, this workshop will cover the essential elements that every novel needs. Authors Alex Kourvo and Lara Zielin will show you how to open your novel with a bang, wrap up all the plot threads at the end, and make sure your middle never sags. They will also explain how to polish your prose and avoid the traps of tired text.

This event is part of a monthly series of writing and publishing events called the Emerging Writers Workshops, featuring perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing.

There will also be an opportunity for workshop attendees to meet up at the Traverwood Branch on Thursday, April 16 to discuss their works-in-progress. Both Lara Zielin and Alex Kourvo will be on hand to offer advice, tips and review. These open houses will be a wonderful time to meet your fellow writers and potentially create your own writing group.

This is a monthly meetup that welcomes all writers to ask questions, connect with other writers, or simply have a dedicated time and place to work on their projects. Local authors Lara Zielin and Margaret Alex Kourvo will be on hand to offer encouragement, answer questions, and point writers to resources. These open houses complement the Emerging Writers Workshops. These events feature perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing and considerations of fiction and non-fiction writing.

For the last year and a half, crowds have gathered each month in the early evening - in bars and venues around Ann Arbor. Around 7pm, it begins: three boisterous speakers geek out up front. What is this? Some secret club?

Nope! It's Nerd Nite Ann Arbor! And it's open to anyone and everyone who loves to learn or share what they love.

For the uninitiated, Nerd Nite (NN) has been described as “...like the Discovery Channel™…with beer!” Sounds fun, right? It is! NN is held monthly in 70+ cities, giving several folks the opportunity to give 18-21minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines. Imagine learning about everything from the science of the Simpsons to the genealogy of Godzilla. Fun stuff!

Doors open at 6:30, and speakers start at 7pm.

Nerd Nite welcomes 2015 with a roster spanning history, sound and action!

We all like a good story now and then, right? All the better if that story is something from our city’s collective past. Local history geek & author Patti Smith will take us on a tour of the Good the Bad and the Ornery in Tree Town’s past. Like the sound of that? Carl Engelke will expose us to different sounds — heroic trumpet fanfares — as he considers music and physics in the natural history of the trumpet.
Finally, who couldn’t use an extra boost of self-confidence? Martial arts trainer Sal Sanfratello will illustrate how direct action and experimentation may help us become a little more balanced and courageous in our everyday lives.

Ponder some of our past, consider your favorite fanfare, and take action — grab a beer and say hi to your fellow nerds!

Want to see past topics and a little more info? Check NNA2's site.

AADL is sponsoring this month's event, so there will be NO COVER!

Mark your calendars and spread the word! Any and all nerds (and non-nerds!) who love learning and having a great time are welcome to join us!

Author Jerry Dennis, best known as an award-winning nature writer, has branched out in two new directions: poetry and publishing. Jerry's first book of poems, A Daybreak Handbook, was published in 2014. Also in 2014, Jerry, his wife Gail, and illustrator Glenn Wolff established Big Maple Press, a small press dedicated to producing special editions exclusively available for sale through independent booksellers.

Dennis will discuss these new avenues in his career as well as his ongoing work with the Great Lakes. Dennis' book The Living Great Lakes was the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads selection in 2010. A selection of Dennis' books will be available for sale and signing at the event.

This is a monthly meetup that welcomes all writers to ask questions, connect with other writers, or simply have a dedicated time and place to work on their projects. Local authors Lara Zielin and Margaret Yang will be on hand to offer encouragement, answer questions, and point writers to resources. These open houses complement the Emerging Writers Workshops. These events feature perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing and considerations for fiction and non-fiction writing.

Let's face it, life in the twenty-first century rarely lends itself to the kind of care and attention that leads to great poems. (Henry David Thoreau fretted about the pace of mainstream life before we’d even begun traveling in cars or talking on the telephone!) We'll explore the sorts of atmosphere and habits-of-mind that will lead to your best poems ever. We'll focus on identifying what’s already working and learn some brand new approaches to the blank page. You'll generate new material and leave with resources to keep you going. Finally get tips for organizing your drafts and final versions, and submitting your work for publication. Regular speaker, Lara Zielin, will be joined by Alison Swan for this poetry writing and publishing workshop.

Alison Swan's poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in many publications, including Poetry in Michigan/Michigan in Poetry, a new anthology from New Issues Press; North American Review; TriQuarterly; and her poetry chapbooks Before the Snow Moon and Dog Heart (both Alice Greene and Company). Her book, Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes (Michigan State University Press), is a Library of Michigan Notable Book. Alison Swan earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and teaches in the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program at Western Michigan University. Her website and blog, Forage, can be found here

Take your readers into your fictional world by giving them a character to care about, a world to live in, and interesting conversations to listen to.

This workshop will cover these three important elements that pull readers into your stories and keep them there. Join authors Lara Zielin and Margaret Yang as they discuss how to write larger-than-life heroes, dynamic settings, and dialog that pops off the page.

This is part of a monthly series of writing and publishing events called the Emerging Writers Workshops, featuring perspectives from both traditional publishing and indie publishing.

There will also be an opportunity for workshop attendees to meet up at the Traverwood Branch on Thursday, February 19 to discuss their works-in-progress. Both Lara Zielin and Margaret Yang will be on hand to offer advice, tips and review. These open houses will be a wonderful time to meet your fellow writers and potentially create your own writing group.