Octagon Third Thursday Poetry Slam

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.

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Member

Lee Anne Wilson

Lee Anne Willson retired from Iowa State University in 2014 but is still involved in research to understand the fate of the solar system. She is a founding member of the artist’s cooperative Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames where she runs the Fiber Arts Node and Origami Center.  Her main writing project is a memoir about being an astronomer, nearly done. She is also writing up family stories and is working on some ideas for fiction to entertain her granddaughters.

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In The Media News

Tumbling Words Event

Join us for Tumbling Words on June 19 at The Dot Café! Enjoy a fun and therapeutic evening of cocktails, mocktails, and creative self-expression through Wild Writing. No experience needed, just come ready to silence your inner critic and let the words flow. Your $35 ticket includes a handcrafted drink, journal and pen, a guided writing session with founder Ana McCracken, and a post-workshop mingle.

Spots are limited, get your ticket now before it sells out!

Click to sign up! 

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In The Media News

Generative Writing Workshop

Do you dream of writing “someday,” but don’t know where to start? Perhaps you already write, but you’re stuck.

Join this FREE monthly writing workshop for adults, which provides a safe space for writers of all stages and genres to generate stories inspired by poetry. We will read our stories to one another and share only positive feedback.

These workshops are inspired by the Amherst Writers & Artists Method, which believes that everyone is a writer, and the Wild Writing Method, which encourages writers to write as fast and as badly as you can to out-write the inner critic.

This workshop is held at the Ames Public Library from 10 to 12 PM upstairs in the PEO Room.

Presented by the Iowa Center for the Book and Ames Public Library in partnership with the Ames Writers Collective.

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In The Media News

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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In The Media News

Swift Youth Writers Workshop

The Ames Writers Collective is committed to Youth Outreach Programming.

FREE Writing Workshop for youth grades 6 to 12.

The Swift Youth Writers Workshops are designed to nurture creative writing and in-person connections among youth.

The 4th Annual Swift Youth Writers Workshop—a week-long writing workshop scheduled for June 23 to 27, 2025, from 10 AM to 12:00 PM at the Ames Public Library.

Click here to register.

Swift Youth Writers Workshop

The Ames Writers Collective is committed to Youth Outreach Programming.

FREE Writing Workshop for youth grades 6 to 12.

The Swift Youth Writers Workshops are designed to nurture creative writing and in-person connections among youth.

The 4th Annual Swift Youth Writers Workshop—a week-long writing workshop scheduled for June 23 to 27, 2025, from 10 AM to 12:00 PM at the Ames Public Library.

Click here to register.

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BOD

Sarah Lefeber

Sarah Lefeber is the Director of the Iowa State Daily Media Group, where she leads a nationally recognized student-run newsroom and creative agency. With 15+ years of experience in media, strategy, and leadership, she’s built her career on empowering young storytellers and building innovative, community-driven media. Sarah is passionate about using creative talents for good, with previous work at Americorps, international nonprofits, and national political and legislative sectors. In her personal life, Sarah is an aspiring poet and draws both peace and inspiration from nature and her dog Beau.

Art Write Now at the Christian Petersen Art Museum

“Art Write Now” invites writers of all levels to showcase the powerful connection between visual art and creative writing. Through this program, participants will explore how art can serve as a writing prompt—evoking emotions, triggering memories, and sparking conversations. Participants will draw inspiration from the exhibitions at the Christian Petersen Art Museum to create and publicly share poetry, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, or perform monologues and music.

The program will begin with a guided tour of the museum’s exhibitions, led by University Museums curator Alison Ranniger. Afterward, Ana Hays McCracken, founder of the Ames Writers Collective, will introduce the concept of “writing to writing prompts” that will connect writers to the exhibition through writing exercises, using the art around them as inspiration to craft meaningful responses. The combination of visual arts and literary exploration aims to create a space where participants can connect deeply with both the artwork and with one another, fostering creativity and dialogue.

Author Spotlight with John T. Price

Join the Ames Writers Collective & KHOI Community Radio Station for an evening with John T. Price—live at Fifth Street Writers on Thursday, October 9th at 7 PM.

This free community event features a reading, book signing, and conversation with John T. Price,  author of the novel, Goethe’s Oak–A Holocaust Story. Hosted in partnership with KHOI Community Radio, the evening celebrates literature, community, and creative storytelling.

About John T. Price: He is is the author of four creative nonfiction books: Not Just Any Land: A Personal and Literary Journey into the American Grasslands, Man Killed by Pheasant and Other Kinships, Daddy Long Legs: The Natural Education of a Father, and All Is Leaf: Essays and Transformations. He is the Regents/Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he directs the English Department’s Creative Nonfiction Writing Program, and is a faculty member in the Goldstein Center for Human Rights.

Visit KHOI to tune in!