The Writers Grotto
@thewritersgrotto.bsky.social
An inclusive community of writers providing cross-pollination, and insider expertise as well as classes and membership.
Rooted & Written Alumni Only! “Let The Body Sing: A Generative Workshop on Writing into Sex, Desire and the Body”
Sat., Jan. 24, 10am-12pm OR Sat., Jan. 31, 10am-12pm.
Jan 24 class : www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
Jan 31 class: www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#rootedandwritten
Sat., Jan. 24, 10am-12pm OR Sat., Jan. 31, 10am-12pm.
Jan 24 class : www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
Jan 31 class: www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#rootedandwritten
December 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Rooted & Written Alumni Only! “Let The Body Sing: A Generative Workshop on Writing into Sex, Desire and the Body”
Sat., Jan. 24, 10am-12pm OR Sat., Jan. 31, 10am-12pm.
Jan 24 class : www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
Jan 31 class: www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#rootedandwritten
Sat., Jan. 24, 10am-12pm OR Sat., Jan. 31, 10am-12pm.
Jan 24 class : www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
Jan 31 class: www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#rootedandwritten
✨ Dec 13! Candles in the Dark at Telegraph Hill Books.
An evening of resilience, joy, and brilliant readings from Grotto authors + Rooted & Written alums.
6:30–8:30pm. Free + festive. Join us!
#WritersGrotto #TelHiLit #LiveLit #BayAreaWriters
An evening of resilience, joy, and brilliant readings from Grotto authors + Rooted & Written alums.
6:30–8:30pm. Free + festive. Join us!
#WritersGrotto #TelHiLit #LiveLit #BayAreaWriters
December 6, 2025 at 7:09 PM
✨ Dec 13! Candles in the Dark at Telegraph Hill Books.
An evening of resilience, joy, and brilliant readings from Grotto authors + Rooted & Written alums.
6:30–8:30pm. Free + festive. Join us!
#WritersGrotto #TelHiLit #LiveLit #BayAreaWriters
An evening of resilience, joy, and brilliant readings from Grotto authors + Rooted & Written alums.
6:30–8:30pm. Free + festive. Join us!
#WritersGrotto #TelHiLit #LiveLit #BayAreaWriters
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
@janeciab.bsky.social talks to debut author Lauren Rothery about her novel, Television.
Lauren Rothery on Channeling Hollywood in Her Debut Novel
Lauren Rothery’s first novel offers up a trio of captivating voices from the ever-shifting cast of characters that is Hollywood, alternating perspectives in ingenious ways. She shifts between Verit…
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 8:30 PM
@janeciab.bsky.social talks to debut author Lauren Rothery about her novel, Television.
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
✴️ Lori Ostlund/@loriostlund.bsky.social is an absolute rock #star! We cannot wait to hear her share from her new #book "Are You Happy?" at Babylon Salon this Saturday, 12/6 @5:30pm! (Info above)
⭐⭐ Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly
www.publishersweekly.com/978166260302....
#writer
⭐⭐ Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly
www.publishersweekly.com/978166260302....
#writer
December 4, 2025 at 9:11 PM
✴️ Lori Ostlund/@loriostlund.bsky.social is an absolute rock #star! We cannot wait to hear her share from her new #book "Are You Happy?" at Babylon Salon this Saturday, 12/6 @5:30pm! (Info above)
⭐⭐ Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly
www.publishersweekly.com/978166260302....
#writer
⭐⭐ Here's the starred review from Publishers Weekly
www.publishersweekly.com/978166260302....
#writer
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
New anthology for my TBR just dropped on the staff picks shelf at Dog Eared Books in San Francisco!
We Will Rise Again edited by @drkarenlord.bsky.social @annaleen.bsky.social & @older.bsky.social - Speculative Stories & Essays on Protest, Resistance & Hope
(w/ @sentencebender.bsky.social cameo)
We Will Rise Again edited by @drkarenlord.bsky.social @annaleen.bsky.social & @older.bsky.social - Speculative Stories & Essays on Protest, Resistance & Hope
(w/ @sentencebender.bsky.social cameo)
December 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM
New anthology for my TBR just dropped on the staff picks shelf at Dog Eared Books in San Francisco!
We Will Rise Again edited by @drkarenlord.bsky.social @annaleen.bsky.social & @older.bsky.social - Speculative Stories & Essays on Protest, Resistance & Hope
(w/ @sentencebender.bsky.social cameo)
We Will Rise Again edited by @drkarenlord.bsky.social @annaleen.bsky.social & @older.bsky.social - Speculative Stories & Essays on Protest, Resistance & Hope
(w/ @sentencebender.bsky.social cameo)
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
💥 This Sat Dec 6, Babylon Salon proudly presents:
Susie Hara [Earthquake Shack], Lori Ostlund [Are You Happy?], Aimee Phan [The Lost Queen], & Kevin Smokler [Break the Frame]! Come out for drinks at The Sycamore at 5pm. Reading at 5:30. We'd love to see you! ❤️
Deets: www.babylonsalon.com
Susie Hara [Earthquake Shack], Lori Ostlund [Are You Happy?], Aimee Phan [The Lost Queen], & Kevin Smokler [Break the Frame]! Come out for drinks at The Sycamore at 5pm. Reading at 5:30. We'd love to see you! ❤️
Deets: www.babylonsalon.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:00 PM
💥 This Sat Dec 6, Babylon Salon proudly presents:
Susie Hara [Earthquake Shack], Lori Ostlund [Are You Happy?], Aimee Phan [The Lost Queen], & Kevin Smokler [Break the Frame]! Come out for drinks at The Sycamore at 5pm. Reading at 5:30. We'd love to see you! ❤️
Deets: www.babylonsalon.com
Susie Hara [Earthquake Shack], Lori Ostlund [Are You Happy?], Aimee Phan [The Lost Queen], & Kevin Smokler [Break the Frame]! Come out for drinks at The Sycamore at 5pm. Reading at 5:30. We'd love to see you! ❤️
Deets: www.babylonsalon.com
In this generative workshop, we'll turn your most celebratory, difficult, and hilarious moments of 2025 into narratives or poems that fit on a greeting card. Blank cards and art supplies provided. Led by Britta Stromeyer and Jessica Martinez. Tuesday, Dec. 16, 6-7:30 pm, San Francisco Public Library
December 3, 2025 at 6:37 PM
In this generative workshop, we'll turn your most celebratory, difficult, and hilarious moments of 2025 into narratives or poems that fit on a greeting card. Blank cards and art supplies provided. Led by Britta Stromeyer and Jessica Martinez. Tuesday, Dec. 16, 6-7:30 pm, San Francisco Public Library
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
Down in the Sea of Angels is one of @audiofilemagazine.bsky.social ‘s Best Audiobooks of 2025 in the SciFi amd Fantasy category! Congrats to the team @dreamscape-media.bsky.social and also voice actor Eunice Wong! I’m tickled.
www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobo...
www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobo...
AudioFile, Discover the World of Audiobooks
Explore great audio book listening with AudioFile recommendations and reviews. We help you find your next great audiobook. Independent reviews help you discover the best narrators, great listening, an...
www.audiofilemagazine.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Down in the Sea of Angels is one of @audiofilemagazine.bsky.social ‘s Best Audiobooks of 2025 in the SciFi amd Fantasy category! Congrats to the team @dreamscape-media.bsky.social and also voice actor Eunice Wong! I’m tickled.
www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobo...
www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobo...
Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories that are telling.
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6:00-7:30 PM PST
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6:00-7:30 PM PST
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
November 30, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories that are telling.
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6:00-7:30 PM PST
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6:00-7:30 PM PST
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
"I’m thinking about the bleached bones O’Keeffe collected as her symbols of the desert. I’m remembering that, like O’Keeffe, my parents initially came to the desert from the East Coast hoping for a kind of renewal." @jennyqi.bsky.social
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
Picking Up Bones - The Rumpus
“During all the years I’d lived in Las Vegas as a child, I’d felt like an animal trying to escape the harsh environs. In addition to the physical harshness, the desert represented, for me, the city’s ...
therumpus.net
November 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
"I’m thinking about the bleached bones O’Keeffe collected as her symbols of the desert. I’m remembering that, like O’Keeffe, my parents initially came to the desert from the East Coast hoping for a kind of renewal." @jennyqi.bsky.social
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
Thank you for this nomination. My story can be read here revolutionjohnjournal.wordpress.com/2025/03/13/m...
November 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Thank you for this nomination. My story can be read here revolutionjohnjournal.wordpress.com/2025/03/13/m...
Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories we tell.
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6-7:30 PM PST. Via Zoom.
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6-7:30 PM PST. Via Zoom.
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
November 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Being diverse helps us contextualize complex stories, ideas and narratives. The goal of this course is to keep race in mind without it detracting from the stories we tell.
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6-7:30 PM PST. Via Zoom.
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, from 6-7:30 PM PST. Via Zoom.
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
Thanks @pbspree.bsky.social for the shout out. I've loved reading your books all year. Books make great gifts! @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social @12x12challenge.bsky.social
Thinking about holiday gifts? A book gets read again and again. This week we feature gift pairings featuring books that had birthdays this year along with a companion present. #parents #grandparents @swildmansf.bsky.social #developthewritinghabit
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Thanks @pbspree.bsky.social for the shout out. I've loved reading your books all year. Books make great gifts! @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social @12x12challenge.bsky.social
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
New Essay on Substack: Understanding Demand Avoidance ✨
If you’ve ever struggled with similar patterns—or wondered why everyday conversations can feel like landmines—this essay is for you.
open.substack.com/pub/eleanorv...
If you’ve ever struggled with similar patterns—or wondered why everyday conversations can feel like landmines—this essay is for you.
open.substack.com/pub/eleanorv...
Demand Avoidance
Anxiety, control, or a high need for autonomy?
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:05 PM
New Essay on Substack: Understanding Demand Avoidance ✨
If you’ve ever struggled with similar patterns—or wondered why everyday conversations can feel like landmines—this essay is for you.
open.substack.com/pub/eleanorv...
If you’ve ever struggled with similar patterns—or wondered why everyday conversations can feel like landmines—this essay is for you.
open.substack.com/pub/eleanorv...
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
@janeciab.bsky.social talks to Iida Turpenen, the author Of Beasts Of The Sea, about exploring our relationship with the natural world through fiction.
Iida Turpeinen on Exploring Our Relationship With the Natural World Through Fiction
Iida Turpenen’s Beasts of the Sea, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston, is a rare first novel, drawing readers into intimate connection with a little-known species, the Stellar’s sea cow.…
buff.ly
November 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
@janeciab.bsky.social talks to Iida Turpenen, the author Of Beasts Of The Sea, about exploring our relationship with the natural world through fiction.
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
Tomorrow at San Francisco Public library- @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social nights- join us for a conversation on what it takes to drown the chatter and write stories. Session moderated by me. Come through!
November 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Tomorrow at San Francisco Public library- @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social nights- join us for a conversation on what it takes to drown the chatter and write stories. Session moderated by me. Come through!
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
I may have missed Treasure Hunt’s third birthday last week, but I had fun today setting up a real life treasure hunt for grandkids. illo. Estefania Razo @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 12:11 AM
I may have missed Treasure Hunt’s third birthday last week, but I had fun today setting up a real life treasure hunt for grandkids. illo. Estefania Razo @thewritersgrotto.bsky.social
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
We at PBSpree25 continue our November celebration of books that had birthdays this year. Here is Story Power! by Stephanie Wildman & Simon Wildman Chung, illustrated by Estefania Razo #librarians #teachers #developthewritinghabit! #rainbow @swildmansf.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
We at PBSpree25 continue our November celebration of books that had birthdays this year. Here is Story Power! by Stephanie Wildman & Simon Wildman Chung, illustrated by Estefania Razo #librarians #teachers #developthewritinghabit! #rainbow @swildmansf.bsky.social
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
While a departure from my usual writing, I'm happy to report that my debut crossword puzzle (co-authored with my son Ben Wildman-Tobriner) appears in today's LA Times. Here's a link, in case you like puzzles, too. www.latimes.com/games/daily-...
Daily Crossword
Play the nation’s oldest newspaper crossword for free every day and challenge friends to beat your time.
www.latimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:15 PM
While a departure from my usual writing, I'm happy to report that my debut crossword puzzle (co-authored with my son Ben Wildman-Tobriner) appears in today's LA Times. Here's a link, in case you like puzzles, too. www.latimes.com/games/daily-...
thewritersgrotto
10m
The Storytelling To Perform class has been sharing, writing and telling stories and is making their debut at The Grotto on Friday, November 21, from 5 to 7 pm. Come join us!
10m
The Storytelling To Perform class has been sharing, writing and telling stories and is making their debut at The Grotto on Friday, November 21, from 5 to 7 pm. Come join us!
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 AM
thewritersgrotto
10m
The Storytelling To Perform class has been sharing, writing and telling stories and is making their debut at The Grotto on Friday, November 21, from 5 to 7 pm. Come join us!
10m
The Storytelling To Perform class has been sharing, writing and telling stories and is making their debut at The Grotto on Friday, November 21, from 5 to 7 pm. Come join us!
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
It’s on sale on Kindles for today only! Grab one if you’ve been meaning to and haven’t gotten around to it yet and you use a Kindle.
shorturl.at/rGWUH
shorturl.at/rGWUH
November 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
It’s on sale on Kindles for today only! Grab one if you’ve been meaning to and haven’t gotten around to it yet and you use a Kindle.
shorturl.at/rGWUH
shorturl.at/rGWUH
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
"I’d been researching and visiting San Francisco’s former cemeteries for months ... but this was the first time I felt like one of the city’s dead was trying to communicate with me."
nanditadinesh.substack.com/p/lights-up-...
nanditadinesh.substack.com/p/lights-up-...
lights up on Beth Winegarner
Grey Zones Spotlight: Act 3, Scene 1
nanditadinesh.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:19 PM
"I’d been researching and visiting San Francisco’s former cemeteries for months ... but this was the first time I felt like one of the city’s dead was trying to communicate with me."
nanditadinesh.substack.com/p/lights-up-...
nanditadinesh.substack.com/p/lights-up-...
Reposted by The Writers Grotto
#HopePit is tomorrow! See below for rules and follow @hopepit.bsky.social to learn more!
Open to WIPs and writing and other types of media featuring #hopepunk, #clifi, #solarpunk, #indigenousfuturism, and other "-punk" style media!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieDev
Open to WIPs and writing and other types of media featuring #hopepunk, #clifi, #solarpunk, #indigenousfuturism, and other "-punk" style media!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieDev
#Hopepit pitch/ promote
post up to 3 times Sun, Nov 9 (your time zone)
🌱
Use #Hopepit tag
we highly encourage: #Hopepunk, #CliFi, #IndigenousFuturism, #Solarpunk, and other #-punks, if applicable
🌞
any media, any stage, including:
#P : Published: drop links!
#SC : Seeking Collaboration/ Community
post up to 3 times Sun, Nov 9 (your time zone)
🌱
Use #Hopepit tag
we highly encourage: #Hopepunk, #CliFi, #IndigenousFuturism, #Solarpunk, and other #-punks, if applicable
🌞
any media, any stage, including:
#P : Published: drop links!
#SC : Seeking Collaboration/ Community
November 8, 2025 at 6:41 PM
#HopePit is tomorrow! See below for rules and follow @hopepit.bsky.social to learn more!
Open to WIPs and writing and other types of media featuring #hopepunk, #clifi, #solarpunk, #indigenousfuturism, and other "-punk" style media!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieDev
Open to WIPs and writing and other types of media featuring #hopepunk, #clifi, #solarpunk, #indigenousfuturism, and other "-punk" style media!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieDev
This class will give you the tools you need to have that difficult conversation you've been avoiding, whether it's in a professional or personal setting.
Wednesday, Nov. 12th, from 6-7:30pm PT. Via Zoom
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Nov. 12th, from 6-7:30pm PT. Via Zoom
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
November 8, 2025 at 2:09 AM
This class will give you the tools you need to have that difficult conversation you've been avoiding, whether it's in a professional or personal setting.
Wednesday, Nov. 12th, from 6-7:30pm PT. Via Zoom
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity
Wednesday, Nov. 12th, from 6-7:30pm PT. Via Zoom
www.writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
#writing #writingcommunity