Author: Nicole Phelon

Ana McCracken, Ames Writers Collective’s founder, read a short piece as part of the Page Street writers at this year’s Litquake in San Francisco.

The topic was “Welcome to Enlightenment.”

Listen to Ana’s reading here:




Litquake is San Francisco’s annual literary festival. Originally a single-day event, it now has a two-week run in mid-October, as well as year-round programs and workshops.

Litquake consists of readings, discussions, film screenings, and themed events held at hundreds of Bay Area venues, in an attempt to bring as many disparate types of literary art to as many people as possible. The festival now features over 100 events and around 600 authors, and draws over 21,000 attendees annually. In 2021, 96% of all events were free and open to the public.

Litquake’s diverse live programs are created with the aim of inspiring critical engagement with the key issues of the day, bringing people together around the common humanity encapsulated in literature, and perpetuating a sense of literary community, as well as a vibrant forum for Bay Area writing. They work to produce events that are accessible to all. Read more about Litquake here. Learn more about Page Street here.

In July we held the first Ames Writers Collective Swift Youth Writing Workshop, and it was a huge success!

It was fun, and challenging, and all of us learned so much from writing together.

Our writers were twelve kids ranging from 7th grade to 12th grade, and they wrote for five days to writing prompts. After each writing session the kids were gently encouraged to read their writing to the group. It took a bit for the kids to feel comfortable reading aloud, but in the end everyone read their freshly written pieces. Some of what the kids had to say:

“I did share my writing because I felt comfortable and knew I wouldn’t be judged.”

“I learnt by sharing with the group that I’m more confident than I thought.”

One thing that is truly awesome is that there was a nice mix of ages. The youth librarian suggested the age range and it worked exactly as he said it would. The success of this workshop demonstrates that we’re all filled with stories that want to be told. And stories cross divides.

The Swift Youth Writers Workshop was made possible by a Rotary Club of Ames Community Grant. The workshop was held in partnership with the Ames Public Library, which provided the Rotary Room and lunches from the summer lunch program for the group. A big thank you to the Rotary Club of Ames and the Ames Public Library, and a big shout out to Jessi Brock for co-facilitating with me!

Video – Writing Circle Wednesdays

If you are going through cancer treatment, or have completed treatment within the last two years, why would you want to be part of a weekly writing circle? What if you don’t think of yourself as a writer?

Writing Circle attendees can answer those questions better than we can! In this video, attendees explain how their weekly group is more than the sum of its parts, how it helps, and how much it means to them.

Our Cancer Writing Circle, held in partnership with the William R. Bliss Cancer Resource Center, offers those receiving treatment for cancer or those who have completed treatment within the last two years a safe space to connect, express themselves, and to feel heard. During sessions, participants write together from writing prompts, which inspire stories from their lives. Writers are gently invited to read their “fresh” writing, and each writer receives positive feedback from the group.