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2nd & 4th Write Together Tuesdays

JOIN ANA MCCRACKEN for
Write Together Tuesdays during the month of October

Open to Fifth Street Members, Community Writers &
Writers From Around the Globe!
Hybrid Write Together Tuesdays
at Fifth Street Writers (612 5th Street Ames)
& on Zoom from 3:30 to 5 PM CT

WHAT’S A Write Together? We briefly state what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. at the end, we share our successes and sign off. More information about Write Togethers can be found by CLICKING HERE.

To learn more about our host, Ana McCracken, CLICK HERE.

REMINDER: We meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.

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Author Nicole Baart & The Publishing Journey

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.

The Art of the Haibun with Katherine Larson

Join us for the “Art of the Haibun” with poet, Katherine Larson.

Katherine Larson is the author of two collections of poetry—Radial Symmetry (Yale University Press, 2011), selected by Louise Glück as winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets, and The Speechless Ones (Interlinea Press, 2016), recipient of the Vercelli International Civic Poetry Prize (former recipients include Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Adam Zagajewski). Her forthcoming book, Wedding of the Foxes (Milkweed Editions, 2025), is a collection of lyric essays. Larson’s work has appeared in numerous literary journals including AGNI, Alaska Quarterly Review, Blackbird, Boulevard, Crab Orchard Review, Kenyon Review, The Massachusetts Review, Notre Dame Review, Orion, Poetry, and Poetry Northwest and anthologized in Read America(s): An Anthology, Prentice Hall’s Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, and Firsts: 100 Years of Yale Younger Poets.

She is the recipient of a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, a Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Larry Levis Reading Prize, the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Poetry Prize, and the Foreword Indies Gold Medal in Poetry. She has taught in the Stonecoast MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine and the University of Arizona Poetry Center. She is currently active with organizations and artists dedicated to conservation and environmental education in the Sonoran Desert and Gulf of California.

TO REGISTER, click here! Cost: $25 adults.
Are you a Student? Choose “Student Ticket” & Enter “FREE” UNDER DISCOUNT CODE.

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

2025 Ames Artists’ Studio Tour at Fifth Street Writers

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.

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Join Us for Our Write Togethers

Join Us for Our Write Togethers
Open to Fifth Street Writers Members &
FREE to Community Writers
Working on a Writing Project

  • 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month (3:30 to 5 PM)
  • 1st Saturdays (10 to Noon)

What’s a Write Together?

1. Bring your laptop or whatever you write with to work on your creative writing projects—novels, memoirs, poems, project outlines, your to-do list
2. We have seating areas spread throughout the building at Fifth Street Writers that run the gamut from comfy club chairs to benches with tables, to larger tables with chairs—some tables are shared spaces
3. We’ll write in community for ~1.5 to 2 hours after sharing a brief comment about our creative project
4. We have wifi
5. We write, write, write in silence
6. Only RULES: Cell phones MUST BE SILENCED, as well as laptop “alerts.” No phone calls allowed in the building.

There’s plenty of street parking (metered) with a CyRide stop in front of our building at 612 5th Street in downtown Ames, Iowa. A few spaces are available in our front lot.

This event is FREE and open to all as part of the Ames Writers Collective Community Outreach Programming. Show up or click here Zoom links only good on Tuesdays. To ensure you always know about our Write Togethers, click here.

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1st Saturdays | Write Together at Fifth Street Writers

Join us at Fifth Street Writers on the 1st Saturday of each month from 10 AM to Noon. Together we’ll write in community on our writing projects.

What’s a Write Together?

  1. Bring your laptop or whatever you write with to work on your creative writing projects—novels, memoirs, poems, project outlines, your to-do list for the coming year if need be
  2. We have seating areas spread throughout the building at Fifth Street Writers that run the gamut from comfy club chairs to benches with tables, to larger tables with chairs—some tables are shared spaces
  3. We’ll write in community for ~2 hours after sharing a brief comment about our creative project
  4. We have wifi
  5. We write, write, write in silence
  6. RULE: Cell phones MUST BE SILENCED, as well as laptop “dings”

Each month, we’ll open our doors at 9:30 am. Grab a coffee or tea and mingle with fellow writers. There’s plenty of street parking (metered) with a CyRide stop in front of our building at 612 5th Street in downtown Ames, Iowa.

While the event is free and open to all, we’re asking everyone to pre-register because space is limited. To register, click here.

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In The Media News

Founder Ana Hays McCracken on Talk of Iowa

The Ames Writers Collective is thrilled to announce that our founder, Ana McCracken, will be a guest speaker on Talk of Iowa! Hosted by Charity Nebbe and presented by Iowa Public Radio, Talk of Iowa is a platform where Iowans come together to share ideas and learn from one another.

Ana will discuss the exciting plans for our upcoming physical space, Fifth Street, and how this new hub will serve as a vital resource for writers in Ames. She’ll also share how Fifth Street will help build connections within the Ames community.

Tune in to Ana’s session at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7th. You can listen live on News & Studio One (FM) or stream it online at ipr.org. If you miss the live broadcast, the episode will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and under “Latest Episodes” on Talk of Iowa.

We hope you’ll join us to hear Ana’s inspiring vision for the future of Ames Writers Collective!

1st Saturday Write Together at Fifth Street Writers

Join us at Fifth Street Writers on the 1st Saturday of each month from 10 AM to Noon. Together we’ll write in community on our writing projects.

What’s a Write Together?

  1. Bring your laptop or whatever you write with to work on your creative writing projects—novels, memoirs, poems, project outlines, your to-do list for the coming year if need be
  2. We have seating areas spread throughout the building at Fifth Street Writers that run the gamut from comfy club chairs to benches with tables, to larger tables with chairs—some tables are shared spaces
  3. We’ll write in community for ~2 hours after sharing a brief comment about our creative project
  4. We have wifi
  5. We write, write, write in silence
  6. RULE: Cell phones MUST BE SILENCED, as well as laptop “dings”

Each month, we’ll open our doors at 9:30 am. Grab a coffee or tea and mingle with fellow writers. There’s plenty of street parking (metered) with a CyRide stop in front of our building at 612 5th Street in downtown Ames, Iowa.

While the event is free and open to all, we’re asking everyone to pre-register because space is limited. To register, click here.

Categories
In The Media News

Swift Youth Writers Workshop Awarded Kiwanis Club of Ames Grant

The Ames Noon Kiwanis Club is pleased to announce support of  the Ames Writers Collective for the week-long Swift Youth Writers Workshop to be held June 24 to 28th at the Ames Public Library.

“As a nonprofit, we are excited to receive this grant which affirms to us that our programs for youth are worthy. Monies received will allow us to pay a facilitator to help facilitate this writing program for Story County youth,” said Ames Writers Collective founder, Ana McCracken.

“This request aligns with the Kiwanis mission to Improve the World one Child and One Community at a Time,” said John Core of the Ames Noon Kiwanis Club. “Specifically it serves the youth of Story County, providing access to arts and culture for all children.”

The Ames Writers Collective is thrilled to receive this award that supports its mission of creating healthy communities through the art of writing.