Party with writers this week

A Writers Party 2026: literary things happening online and in Philly

Hey, what’s up? Sorry if it seems like I just come on here to promote events. I have a few things up my sleeve, essay-wise, but this past month has been a little frantic (I moved house, went to AWP, stopped breastfeeding, got deposed for a lawsuit, I think that’s it). I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m trying to get through it. We’re almost there.

I need a semblance of mental clarity in order to write anything other than a listicle. Even typing this intro section has been a struggle.

God, do I ever stop complaining? A funny thought I had just now was, I bet to someone out there I’m that annoying old lady. That’s hella negative. Do other people shit talk themselves as much as I do? It’s a terrible habit.

deletes first three paragraphs I can’t believe it’s already time for A Writers Party 2026! We have a lot of stuff going on. If you’re new here, I and Josh Dale host a mini literary festival every year (since 2023) that is completely free and open to the public and happens online and in-person (in Philly). It’s our way of giving writers and artists a space to meet, perform, experience, and grow. We don’t do much. And we wouldn’t be anything without the folks who curate and host the workshops and panels. We just help bring people together.

Whether you join the online events, panels, and workshops, or make it to some of our in-person gatherings, I hope to see you this week. Please make sure you’re registered in advance for the online events! And if you’re planning to attend any of the in-person events, please RSVP so we know how many people to expect! Links are scattered below.

Wednesday March 18

• 6pm The Case For Grammar Now! at The Random Tea Room & Curiosity Shop

  A brief history of grammar from its prescriptive, Latinate context thru Chomsky’s universal proposition, to its contemporary significance. Join us for this robust, amusing workshop hosted by Chris Demento which will entertain, enlighten, and encourage critical thought about grammar and its application now, both for writers who think they dont want to be infected by rules, and for writers who perhaps seek “correctness” too faithfully.

• 8:30pm Masses of Metal online open mic

  Hosted by Josh Dale. Join us in worship with horns held high. Masses of Metal, a reading geared to the heavy metal spirit within. Join the clergy with up to 5 poems, 1-2 short stories, or up to 2 songs, sung or performed. Bandcamp/indie artists & bands are encouraged to bring physical/digital media. Costumes encouraged. Running playlist with requests. No gatekeepers, no bullshit, no harm done. The only rule: wear a band shirt.

Thursday March 19

• 7pm Poetry in Brief online reading

  Hosted by Rachel Turney, featuring Jhané, Claire Evans, Nicholas Grooms, Heather Kays, and Chris Kads.

• 8pm Our Unique Brains online panel

  Approximately 20% of the population identifies as neurodivergent. If you’re among this group, you’ve likely seen your writing benefit from your unique brain through hyperfocus, attention to detail, memory retention, thinking outside the box, and more. You’ve also probably experienced challenges to process and craft around these same skills and qualities. In this panel, genre-diverse writers with ADHD, ASD, OCD, and dyslexia share their strategies and routines, their wisdom and reflections. Featuring: Eshani Surya, Julian Shendelman, LindoYes, Elizabeth Austin, and hosted by Samantha Paige Rosen.

Friday March 20

• 5pm What Do My Abs Have To Say About It?! online workshop

  Hosted by Rosemary Carroll. Physical Techniques into Composition. We’ll begin with all-levels pilates, arranging and sequencing our bodies, and carry that practice into writing through guided prompts. By connecting movement to language-based composition, participants will explore how physical awareness informs creative process. Writers will develop micro-pieces to take with them and emerge with a new relationship to their physical form, their breath, and their imaginations.

• 7pm People Yell at You (a reading) at Neon Clown Dream Lounge

  Join us for this fun reading with Troublemaker Firestarter and ThirtyWest Publishing House. Featuring readers: Davi Schweizer, Amber Taylor, Alison Lubar, Josh Dale, Olivia Zarzycki, and James Milanesi.

Saturday March 21

• 11am All That Surrounds Us online workshop

  Hosted by Meg Carter. Poems of Place In this generative workshop, we’ll read and write poems that meditate on the places that have shaped our identity. We’ll write about our immediate surroundings, practicing the poetic act of noticing, and the places that we often return to in memory, exploring the longings that tether us to them. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to engage in close reading and discussion of poetry and will be provided with multiple writing prompts.

• 1pm Blogs Against the Bullshit at Lot 49

  An interactive workshop led by William T. Hazard where participants will learn how to make their own RSS-compatabile blogs. While much of the internet today has been enclosed within corporate platforms, not all of it has. The internet was built on open protocols that nobody owns, not on privately owned platforms, and those protocols are still freely available, there to be used.

  In this workshop, we'll take a look at how to use them to create a blog that is available to a wide audience and convenient to access but isn't beholden to fascists. We'll focus on the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) protocol, and by the end, you'll have the tools you need to create an RSS-compatible blog with HTML, CSS, XML, markdown, and shell scripting. While all these acronyms and coding language names might sound scary to some, please don't worry – this workshop will be geared toward beginners, much of the code will be provided for you, and as long as you've got a macOS, Windows, or Linux computer, you should be able to get up and running just fine, even if you have no prior experience with coding.

• 3pm Queering the Legend online workshop

  Hosted by Alison Lubar and Sean Hanrahan. Everyone's gay! Well, many people are, including mythological figures and legends that haven't all had their coming-out moment. Open to writers of all levels through a generative workshop to write about the queerness of our legends, whether they're the Headless Horseman or Aphrodite herself. Expect to leave with an expanded view of LGBTQIA+ identity as well as the beginnings of your next writing project(s)!

• 7pm Oscillations release party at The Perch

  Come celebrate the inagural issue of Oscillations, the Ghost Harmonics literary magazine. We'll have a reading featuring John Pinto, Emmet Lewis, PJ Lombardo, Robert David Carey, Matthew Klane, Yuyi Chen, Will Newman, Audrey Lee, Cody Roggio, Katie Bennett, Alexandra Naughton, Lauren Holguin, and more. Plus, free author headshots by Jay Shifman, and Found (Yourself in Poetry) interviews by Hanah Davenport. Hosted by Ghost Harmonics and Bring A Blanket Reading Series.

Sunday March 22

• 11am Wanted—Artist Support Clinic online workshop

  Hosted by Rosemary Carroll. In this workshop, we write classified ads for our art lives. Or intellectual autonomy. This workshop invites writers to focus on their psychic, socio-emotional, and material needs as artists. Through guided prompts, participants will reflect on what they are seeking —and translate those needs into classified ads written as haikus, micro-poems, or short experimental listings.
  Drawing on the queer history of personal and classified ads—particularly from publications such as Country Queer and On Our Backs—the workshop explores how advertising desire and need has functioned as a tool for survival, mutual aid, connection, and structure-building.
  Writers will leave with a series of poetic classifieds and a renewed sense of how language can be used to articulate desire, ask for support, and imagine more sustainable and liberatory art lives. Fun stuff.

• 1pm Collage & Poetry at Philly Typewriter

  This lightly guided workshop explores both poetry and collage through multiple techniques, ripping and writing!

• 3pm Found Footage: Cinematic Writing from the Body online workshop

  Hosted by Jillian Luft. Welcome to Found Footage: Cinematic Writing from the Body! Join us for a unique experience where you will learn how to use the body as lens to document sharp, sensory-loaded scenes that leave an indelible impression on your reader.

• 7pm A Writers Party Closing Reception at Philly Typewriter

  Join us for the final event of A Writers Party 2026 on Sunday, March 22 at Philly Typewriter! We’ll have a cool open mic hosted by Krystle Griffin, plus featured performances by Baylor, The Green Wheel, KA.DAY.SHA, and Found (Yourself in) Poetry by Hanah Davenport!

How does that all sound?