Ames Writers Collective

2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Groups
2025-04-13 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on April 13th for the 2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Group held from 2 to 4 PM at the Ames Public Library. We are scheduled to meet in the P.E.O. room, but check monitors incase the location changes.

We supply notebooks, pens and other materials to prompt and inspire stories. This Sunday, Ana McCracken will lead the Swift Youth Writers group. She looks forward to writing with those of you who can join her.

Swift Youth Writers Groups are an Ames Writers Collective FREE community outreach program held in partnership with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Writers Collective community outreach programs are funded by grants and generous donors.

Join us! Happy Writing!

2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Groups
2025-05-11 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on May 11th for the 2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Group held from 2 to 4 PM at the Ames Public Library. We are scheduled to meet in the P.E.O. room, but check monitors incase the location changes.

We supply notebooks, pens and other materials to prompt and inspire stories. This Sunday, Ana McCracken will lead the Swift Youth Writers group. She looks forward to writing with those of you who can join her.

Swift Youth Writers Groups are an Ames Writers Collective FREE community outreach program held in partnership with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Writers Collective community outreach programs are funded by grants and generous donors.

Join us! Happy Writing!

Fifth Street Writers Grand Opening
2025-05-23 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago)
Submit a Piece to Read at the Grand Opening
The theme is Hit the Road Writing—New Beginnings Real or Imagined. Submit a piece of writing Here.
Event Details
Friday 05/23/2025 at 612 Fifth Street, Ames, IA

Doors open at 6:30pm
Program begins at 7pm
Selected writers will read submissions
Appetizers & drinks will be served
Guests can explore the space and sign up to be a member

Downtown Ames Art Walk
2025-06-05 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Ames Writer Collective Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, Iowa, 50014, United States
The Ames Writers Collective Fifth Street Writers is proud to participate in the Downtown Ames Art Walk 2025.
Join us and musicians, Liz Morse and Zachary Cosmos. We’ll provide a Poetry Postcard Collage booth for creativity and community camaraderie. Learn about Fifth Street Writers while you are visiting our space.

Tumbling Words: An Evening of Writing & Creative Self-Expression
2025-06-19 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago)
June 19 | 7–9 PM | The Dot Cafe
Join us for a low-pressure, high-vibe writing night built around connection, creativity, and handcrafted cocktails. Using poetry as a prompt, we’ll dive into Wild Writing, a fast, unfiltered practice that quiets the inner critic and gets words flowing.
Led by Ana McCracken, founder of Ames Writers Collective, this workshop invites you to write freely, sip slowly, and engage with a like-minded creative community. No writing experience necessary, just bring your curiosity.
Tickets include:

A handcrafted cocktail or mocktail

A journal and pen

A guided Wild Writing session

Post-workshop mingle + local handmade goods for sale

Presented in collaboration with The Dot, Lucky Star, and Ames Writers Collective.A portion of proceeds supports community writing programs through AWC.
Click here to buy a ticket.

Octagon Third Thursday Poetry Slam
2025-08-21 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, United States
The Octagon in partnership with the Ames Poetry Slam & the Ames Writers Collective is hosting its first ever poetry slam!
Come hear original work from local poets of all ages and styles. The event on Thursday, August 21st will begin at 5:30pm and poets will take the stage at 6:00pm. This is a free event, for attendees and poets alike. We prefer that poets sign up in advance at this link: Poet Registration. However we will allow same-day sign up at the event.
This event is held at the Octagon Center for the Arts at 427 Douglas Avenue, Ames IA 50010.
We hope you’ll join us, as a poet or a spectator, and support the poets in our community.

Octagon Third Thursday Poetry Slam
2025-08-21 17:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Octagon Third Thursdays, 427 Douglas Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, United States
The Octagon in partnership with the Ames Poetry Slam & the Ames Writers Collective is hosting its first ever poetry slam!
Come hear original work from local poets of all ages and styles. The event on Thursday, August 21st will begin at 5:30 and poets will take the stage at 6:00. This is a free event, for attendees and poets alike. We prefer that poets sign up in advance at this link: Poet Registration. However, we will allow same-day sign up at the event.
We hope you’ll join us, as a poet or a spectator, and support the poets in our community.

Okoboji Writers Retreat
2025-09-28 - 2025-10-01
Sept. 28 – Oct. 1 in Okoboji, Iowa
Join Founder Ana McCracken at the Okoboji Writers Retreat this Fall. The Okoboji Writers Retreat is a unique gathering on the shores of West Lake Okoboji filled with inspiration, creativity and community. Whether you’re polishing a manuscript or just getting started, you’ll find expert-led sessions, supportive peers and plenty of time to write in a beautiful lakeside setting.
Get the Early Bird Discount before July 15 by clicking Here!

Swift Literary Festival—Fall 2025
2025-09-28 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | Octagon Art Festival, 409 Douglas Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, United States
Join the Ames Writers Collective at our
4th Annual Swift Literary Festival
at the Octagon Art Festival
Sunday, September 28th from 10 to 4 PM

Stop by, mingle, buy books, and contribute to our Community Story. We look forward to meeting you on the 28th.
Stephen Brayton—Fiction, A Cold New Year
Tina Cho—Youth Lit, God’s Little Oceanographer
Kelli Fitzpatrick—Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers Declassified
Douglas Myeong’il Gentile—Lessons Learned at a Buddhist Monastery: Hwadu Slogans
Lois Kennis—Women’s Fiction, Rise on Eagles Wings
Deb Kline—Memoir, Forgetting to Remember
Ana McCracken—I Found Myself at Lake Okoboji | Discovering words, wonder, dreams, and inspirations (An anthology)
Linda Skeers—Youth Lit, Women Who Dared
Miles Tritle—Horror/Sci-fi, The Warning in the Woods
Elise Wayland—Fiction, Rivals to Lovers
Denise Williams—Romance, Just Our Luck
J. Susanne Wilson—Historical Fiction, The Death and Life of Iphigenia
2024 Contributors to the Swift Literary Festival Community Story

2025 Ames Artists' Studio Tour at Fifth Street Writers
2025-10-11 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, 50010, United States
2025 Ames Artists’ Studio Tour at
Ames Writers Collective Fifth Street Writers
612 5th St, ames
Writing & Spoken Word
SATURDAY ONLY
Designed to serve as a hub for writers, Fifth Street Writers provides a quiet and inspiring environment for writing while also offering a range of programs, classes, and special events tailored for writers of all ages and experience levels. This new space furthers the Ames Writers Collective mission to create healthy communities through the art of writing, while also supporting writers in the region.
During the studio tour, Fifth Street Writers will offer space and supplies for creatives to create poetry collage postcards and “Tumbling Words Wild Writing” sessions from 11 to Noon and 2 to 3 PM. We’ll supply a pen and paper.

Author Nicole Baart | The Publishing Journey
2025-11-08 11:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Ames Writer Collective Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, Iowa, 50014, United States
Nicole Baart | The Publishing Journey | A Publishing Talk & Workshop
Location: Ames Writers Collective, Fifth Street Writers
Saturday, November 8 | 11 AM – 12 PM: Nicole Baart, The Publishing Journey & book-signing
FREE and open to the public
Saturday, November 8 | 1 PM – 3 PM: Pitching Your Work
Publishing practicum workshop
Fee: $25 general admission, Fifth Street members receive a 10% discount, and Students Free. CLICK HERE to receive a discount code.
TO REGISTER for general admission, CLICK here.
Nicole Baart is the author of several novels, including Where He Left Me and Everything We Didn’t Say. The cofounder of a nonprofit and mother of five, she lives in Iowa with her family. Learn more at NicoleBaart.com.

This event is held in partnership with the Iowa State University MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment Pearl Holgrefe Visiting Writers Series.

2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Groups
2025-11-09 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on Nov 9th for the 2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Group held from 2 to 4 PM at the Ames Public Library. We are scheduled to meet in the P.E.O. room, but check monitors incase the location changes.

We supply notebooks, pens and other materials to prompt and inspire stories. This Sunday, Adela Solano Osmundson, a graduate of this program, will lead the Swift Youth Writers group. She looks forward to writing with those of you who can join her.

Swift Youth Writers Groups are an Ames Writers Collective FREE community outreach program held in partnership with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Writers Collective community outreach programs are funded by grants and generous donors.

Join us! Happy Writing!

2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Groups
2025-12-14 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-03-08 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-12 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Held monthly on 2nd Sundays, the Swift Youth Writers Groups are held from 2 to 4 PM at the Ames Public Library. We meet in the P.E.O. Room. These writing groups are open to youth grades 6 through 12. We supply notebooks, pens and other materials to prompt and inspire stories.
Swift Youth Writers Groups are an Ames Writers Collective FREE community outreach program held in partnership with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Writers Collective community outreach programs are funded by grants and generous donors.
Join us! Happy Writing!

2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Groups
2026-02-08 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on Dec 14th for the 2nd Sunday Swift Youth Writers Group held from 2 to 4 PM at the Ames Public Library. We are scheduled to meet in the P.E.O. room, but check monitors incase the location changes.

We supply notebooks, pens and other materials to prompt and inspire stories.

Swift Youth Writers Groups are an Ames Writers Collective FREE community outreach program held in partnership with the Ames Public Library. The Ames Writers Collective community outreach programs are funded by grants and generous donors.

Join us! Happy Writing!

2026 IPA Poetry Slam | Ames Qualifier
2026-02-26 18:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, 50010, United States
Poets! Join us for the 2026 IPA Poetry Slam Ames Qualifier!
Doors open at 6:30 PM! Qualifying event begins at 7 PM!
Bring your poems and be ready to compete! Click here to register.

Auditions | The EcoTheatre Lab
2026-03-29 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-03-31 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, 50010, United States
The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Auditions
March 29th and 31st
Auditions for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Auditions are open to the public, ages 18+. Please see ecotheatrelab.com for more information, and email ecotheatrelab@gmail.com with questions.

Rehearsals | The EcoTheatre Lab
2026-04-19 14:00 - 22:00, 2026-04-21 17:00 - 22:00, 2026-04-22 17:00 - 23:00, 2026-04-24 17:00 - 23:00, 2026-04-25 11:00 - 18:00, 2026-04-26 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-27 17:00 - 23:00, 2026-04-28 17:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago) and 3 more dates | Fifth Street Writers, 612 5th Street, Ames, 50010, United States
The EcoTheatre Lab Presents—In Our Backyard Rehearsals
Rehearsals for The EcoTheatre Lab’s new eco-play festival, In Our Backyard. Rehearsals are reserved only for participating artists. The festival is May 1st-3rd and is free and open to the public! Check out ecotheatrelab.com for more information!
