For more than ten years the Indiana Writers Center has partnered with The Indianapolis Public Library to present classes and events at The Indianapolis Public Library with Indiana writers that are free to the public.
Check back for additional classes and events at The Indianapolis Public Library. Also watch for our monthly events blog.
Classes & Events at The Indianapolis Public Library
2021 Schedule
Indy Author Fair: Meet an Author, Be an Author
Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 11:00 am – 3:30 pm
Indianapolis Public Library
40 E Saint Clair St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Join fellow writers for a day devoted expressly to Indiana’s talented authors. Writing workshops led by experts from the Indiana Writers Center will occur from 12:30 pm -2:30 pm. The IndyPL Author Fair will take place from 11:00 am-2:00 pm and will feature more than 40 up-and-coming authors representing a wide variety of writing styles and genres available to sign and sell their books.
The Indiana Writers Center will present six different creative writing classes during the IndyPL Author Fair:
12:30-1:30 | Riley Room
Elements of Fiction
John F. Allen
12:30-1:30 | Knall Room
Writing for Wellness
Dominique Weldon
1:15-2:15 | Goodrich-Houk Room
Memoir Writing
Barbara Shoup
1:15-2:15 | CBLC
Worldbuilding in YA
Saundra Mitchell
2:30-3:30 | Riley Room
How to Self-Publish: What You Need to Know to be an Independent Author
John F. Allen
2:30-3:30 | Knall Room
Journaling Practice for Self-Care
Dominique Weldon
For IMCPL’s 2021 Summer Reading Program, the IWC presents four writing workshops:
Discover an Imaginary World through Speculative Fiction
John F. Allen
Get ready to explore the fantastical in your writing. This introduction to writing speculative fiction will cover aspects of futurism, slip-stream, sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and horror stories. Learn how to plot, create settings and characters, and build an imaginary world.
Monday, July 12, 6:00-7:30 PM, Lawrence Branch
Monday, July 19, 6:30-8:00 PM, Spades Park Branch
Saturday, July 24, 2:00-3:30 PM, Wayne Branch
Monday, July 26, 5:30-7:00 PM, East 38th Street Branch
Saturday, July 31, 1:00-2:30 PM, Southport Branch
Discover Your Moments
Barbara Shoup
The act of writing is one of discovery. Join award-winning author and Indiana Writers Center’s Writer-in-Residence Barbara Shoup to write about your life and discover yourself and your moments. (Memoir writing)
Thursday, July 8, 2:00-3:30 PM, Garfield Park Branch offsite at Books and Brews, 3808 Shelby Street, Suite 1, Indianapolis, IN 46203.
Monday, July 12, 5:30-7:00 PM, West Indianapolis Branch
Saturday, July 24, 11:00-12:30 PM, Decatur Branch
Thursday, July 29, 2:00-3:30 PM, Warren Branch
Discover the Unspoken through Poetry
Alessandra Lynch
This class will offer prompts to help you write about urgent issues in your life. Part of the workshop will involve loose sketching and working with clay. (You do not need to be a visual artist or to have any art experience to participate!) Most of the workshop will invite you to write freely and safely, play with shapes and color, and create a handful of burgeoning poems.
Friday, July 23, 11:00-12:30 PM, Pike
Saturday, July 24, 11:00-12:30 PM, Nora
Discover the Self that Speaks in Creative Nonfiction
Ania Spyra
“You cannot write a single line w/out a cosmology” Diane di Prima wrote in her famous “Rant.” You need to know who you are and what you believe before you can write; this is especially true for nonfiction writers who create a character out of their own selves, whether it is to convey someone else’s story or their own. In this generative session, you will engage in several dynamic, self-defining writing exercises to discover who the self that speaks in your writing is, and what she wants to say.
Please do this free Personal Values test ahead of the session.
Monday, July 26, 4:00-5:30 PM, Brightwood
2020 Programs
For IMCPL’s Summer Reading Program 2020 the IWC presented four virtual writing workshops:
Memory Workshop with Barbara Shoup
Your Life as a Poem with Lydia Johnson
Drawing Out Story with Jessica Reed
Bullet Journaling for Writers with Sarah Ginter
Writing My Way through the Pandemic
For Spirit & Place Festival, IWC and IMCPL have partnered to offer free virtual writing workshops: “Writing My Way through the Pandemic” with Angela Jackson-Brown and Ashley Mack-Jackson. Participants from these workshops and from the Indianapolis community are invited to submit their written works for the anthology, What Was and What Will Be: Life in the Time of COVID19, edited by Barbara Shoup.
There are two options to join the free workshop:
Writing My Way through the Pandemic – Saturday, September 12, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST
Writing My Way through the Pandemic – Saturday, October 3, 9:30-11:00 a.m. EST.
One State/One Story Community Read
Book discussions with a writer! Join IWC and IMCPL to discuss the novel The Year We Left Home as part of The Big Read. All events are held virtually. Check with the local branch for registration details.
Thursday, October 1, 10:30 a.m., Warren Branch
Wednesday, October 7, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Franklin Branch
Saturday, October 10, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Nora Branch
2019 Programs
Indy Author Fair: Meet an Author, Be an Author
Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 11 AM – 4:30 PM
Indianapolis Public Library
40 E Saint Clair St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Join fellow writers for a day devoted expressly to Indiana’s talented authors. Writing workshops led by experts from the Indiana Writers Center will occur from 11:15-4:30 p.m. The Indy Author Fair networking event with more than 40 up-and coming Indiana authors takes place from 11:30-2:00 p.m.
Lead-up event: Elizabeth Mosier at the Central Library – 10/29, 6:00 pm
Schedule for Meet an Author, Be an Author Day:
11:00 Doors Open
11:15-12:15 Knall Room/ Get Started – Tracy Line
11:30-2:00 Simon Reading Room: Indy Author Fair- Networking with more than 40 authors
Workshops – First Sessions
12:30-1:45 Knall Room/So You Want To Write A Novel – Barbara Shoup
12:30-1:45 Goodrich-Houk Room/Self-Publishing – Rob Kent
12:30-1:45 Learning Curve Arena/Memoir Writing – Lyn Jones
12:30-1:45 CBLC: The Writing Life Panel – Sarah Layden, Maurice Broaddus, Saundra Mitchell
Workshops – Second Sessions
2:00-3:15 Auditorium: Children’s Books Panel – Maurice Broaddus, John David Anderson, Saundra Mitchell
2:00-3:15 Knall Room/Flash Fiction Workshop – Sarah Layden
2:00-3:15 Goodrich-Houk Room/Social Media and Marketing – Rob Kent
2:00-3:15 Learning Curve Arena/Memoir Writing – Barb Shoup
2:00-3:15 CBLC: How to Start a Writing Group – Ebony Chappel, JL Kato, Kristin Carson, Joyce Brinkman
3:30-4:30 Auditorium/Ask a Writer – Barbara Shoup