Join the Wisconsin Academy in partnership with the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, the Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, and the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission for Poetry & Pi(e) 2024. Join us for this incredible opportunity to hear readings by Wisconsin's current Poet Laureate, Nicholas Gulig, renowned poet and Academy Fellow Max Garland, and writer Elan Mccallum. 

This free, hybrid event provides a chance to enjoy poetry readings from three esteemed Wisconsin poets. In-person guests attending in Eau Claire will be able to enjoy scrumptious pies on Pi Day. 

Click here to register for either in-person OR virtual!

The best time for misbehaving is after the sun goes down, and the best place to hear tales with a tinge of naughtiness is at the CVWG’s Sound and Stories: After Dark edition. Join us at the Pablo Center at the Confluence on March 7th at 7:00 PM to hear five slightly scandalous, PG-13 (or so!) stories from local authors Eric Rasmussen, Alli Fine, Samantha Kobs, Tom Giffey, and Pam Anderson. And featuring live music by Pit Wagon! Be prepared to gasp, blush, and enjoy the thrills that only come under the cover of night!

Join Oxbow Writer’s Retreat participants for a free reading in the lobby at The Oxbow Hotel. Listen to brief and freshly written works composed by our writers throughout the day.

This December 14 at 7 PM, the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is continuing its annual tradition of bringing together musicians and writers to charm and delight our region’s citizens with wintery songs and stories. This year’s Sound and Stories “Joy To The Word” event will feature storytellers John Hildebrand, Elan Mccallum, Bonni Knight and Dalton Hessel alongside holiday tunes courtesy of The UKE Klub.  Bundle up, settle in, and get into the seasonal spirit among some of our region’s best musicians and storytellers! Hosted by B.J. Hollars.

Come join us to celebrate the release of issue #7! The evening will feature readings from a selection of issue #7 authors, music, and a cocktail crafted especially for the event by The Lakely's mixologists. Connect with local writers and learn more about the journal. We can't wait to see you there! Thank you to our co-sponsor, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

For more visit here.

Join Pulitzer-prize finalist Chloé Cooper Jones (Easy Beauty) and CV Writers Guild director B.J. Hollars (Year of Plenty) for a conversation on memoir writing, personal discovery, and writing toward unexpected revelations on the page. This is a virtual event.

This event is co-sponsored by the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Registration is available here: https://lephillips.librarycalendar.com/event/memoir

About the presenters:

Chloé Cooper Jones is a professor, journalist, and the author of the memoir Easy Beauty, which was named a best book of 2022 by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, TIME Magazine, and was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Memoir. She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Feature Writing in 2020. She is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant recipient, a Howard Foundation Fellow, and an Associate Professor of Writing at Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

B.J. Hollars is the author of several books, including Year of Plenty is forthcoming from the University of Wisconsin Press this spring.

It’s not easy to sneak away from daily life to attend a weeklong writers retreat.  But might you sneak away for a day?  Welcome to the 12-Hour Writers Retreat—a morning-to-night writing experience committed to supporting your work from idea to live reading!  On Saturday, Oct. 28, join 20 fellow writers for a fun (and food!) filled day at Forage.  Enjoy guided writing exercises, unencumbered freewriting time, a supportive workshop, and a final show featuring you!   

This retreat will be hosted by writer-in-residence Nickolas Butler.

Sign-ups begin in September.

Cost: $85.00

Join David Shih for a reading and conversation on the occasion of the publication of his book, Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments.

David Shih is a Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, where he has taught since 1999. He holds degrees from the University of Texas, the University of Oregon, and the University of Michigan. He has published in national outlets such as the New York Times, The New Republic, The Progressive, Slate, NPR’s Code Switch, Electric Literature, and Inside Higher Ed, and he has presented his ideas at local, state, and national levels, including NPR’s All Things Considered, WPR’s The Joy Cardin Show, and WNYC’s All In with Alison Stewart.

Books will be available for purchase.

This event is co-sponsored by the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

Welcome, writers, to our third-ever writers’ reunion! This is a low-key social hour for writers of all levels and genres (or just folks who want to chat with writers!). Buy yourself a beverage (non-alcoholic beverages are available as well) and learn more about our community of writers, or simply reconnect!

Join 12-Hour Writers Retreat participants for a live reading of their freshly written work! Hosted by writer-in-residence Amy Fleury.

Join Hmong writers and storytellers for an afternoon of literary arts! This event will feature an array of Hmong writers from our region. Hosted by poet S.Z. Putnam. This event will be held at the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association on 1320 W Clairmont Ave., Eau Claire, WI.

Join novelist Toya Wolfe for a reading and discussion from her debut book, The Last Summer on State Street.

This event is co-sponsored with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, ORSP, CRRJ, McIntyre Library, and the UWEC Center for EDI.

Derick Black (guitar, vocals) and 2020-2024 Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence Ken Szymanski (spoken word nonfiction) recreate the life of Mike Teclaw, a long-gone small-town cheesemaker and tavern owner. Teclaw is also Szymanski’s grandfather—one he never knew. Together, through interwoven gospel, blues, stories, and songs, Szymanski and Black will work to turn a tombstone back into a man.

Co-sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, and the Genealogical Research Society of Eau Claire.

How do real-world experiences translate to the creation of art—and stories, poems, and essays most of all? Join fiction writer Cathy Sultan, nonfiction writer Patti See, and poet Bruce Taylor for a panel discussion on how life experiences shape art, no matter what genre you’re in. Hosted by Eau Claire Writer in Residence, Ken Szymanski.

Co-sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 6:30M, April 13, 2023

Join Hmong writers and storytellers for an afternoon of live readings and stories of original works. Hosted by poet Suzie Putnam.

This event is co-sponsored with the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association.

How do young adult authors authentically explore the complexity of growing up? And how can their books help teenage readers find a home in the world beyond the page? In this virtual event, join young adult writers Ellen O’ Clover (Seven Percent of Ro Devereux) and Nicole Kronzer (The Roof Over Our Heads) for a candid discussion on what it takes to tap into the modern-day teenager through fiction, and how you can do it, too. A Q&A session will follow the conversation.

Free Registration Required:
https://ev8.perigonlive.com/4-evt168acbb8b5484b7f94c20a33...

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Nicole Kronzer is the author of Unscripted and The Roof Over Our Heads. Unscripted was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and was a Minnesota Book Award Finalist. Nicole is also a high school English teacher and former professional actor. She loves to knit and run (usually not at the same time). She lives with her family in Minneapolis.

Ellen O’Clover writes stories about finding your people, falling in love, and figuring it all out (or trying to, anyway). She studied creative writing at the Johns Hopkins University. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her reading fiction about big feelings, trying new recipes, or hiking. She lives in Denver with her rocket scientist husband and their perfect bulldog.

Listen as Max Garland reads from his new book of poetry, Into the Good World Again. The poems offer grace, resilience and healing remembrance in the unsettling times of the global pandemic. They not only reflect on the anguish and isolation, but also on the creative and restorative forces to be found.

Light refreshments will be served. Books will be available for purchase. Event is in the Riverview Room, Level 3.

ABOUT MAX GARLAND
Garland’s previous books include The Word We Used for It, winner of the Brittingham Poetry Prize, The Postal Confessions, winner of the Juniper Prize, and Hunger Wide as Heaven, which won the Cleveland State Poetry Center Open Competition. He has received an NEA Poetry Fellowship, a Michener Fiction fellowship, a Bush Artist Fellowship, inclusion in Best American Short Stories, and fellowships in poetry and fiction from the Wisconsin Arts Board. Garland is Professor Emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, served as Writer-in-Residence for the city of Eau Claire, and is the former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin.

Step right up and prepare to be wowed by songs and stories so shocking, so hilarious, and so heartfelt, that you’ll be left breathless.  This February 21, join storytellers Kaia Simon, Sheng Elizabeth Lor, Billy Felz and Garrett Denney for heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat entertainment like you’ve never experienced before.  Featuring musical artist Jerrika Mighelle.

To celebrate Chinese poetry and music, Xin Obaid--owner of Mingxin Chinese Art and Tearoom--is hosting an afternoon of Chinese-inspired readings and music at Artisan Forge Studios.

Featuring poet Fan Xiaoming, coming all the way from Taiyuan City, Shanxi, China, as well as Dr. Li Xiaohong, a Chinese poet who hails from New York.

Local writers Karen Loeb, Yvette Flaten, Jen Eddy, S.Z. Putnam and B.J. Hollars will also share original work and a favorite Chinese poem.

Chinese music will be provided courtesy of Wanwen Chen, Cixian Lu, and Nninsheng Huang.

This event is free and open to the public

This December 15 at 7 PM, the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is continuing its annual tradition of joining together musicians and writers to charm and delight our region’s citizens with their most wintery songs and stories. This year’s Sound and Stories “Joy To The Word” event will feature storytellers Ken Szymanski, Allyson Loomis, Nicole Kronzer and Justin Patchin, alongside holiday tunes courtesy of The UKE Klub, with special musical guest Derick Black

Come celebrate the sixth issue of Barstow & Grand with us! Featuring a dozen authors with writing in this edition, the evening promises to be an entertaining and welcoming gathering of the Chippewa Valley's literary community. Featuring musical guest Geoff Carter. Pick up your very own hot-off-the-presses issue!

Join beloved mystery writer Victoria Houston for a presentation titled “The Three Major Life Mistakes I’ve Made That Force Me To Write Fishing Mysteries”

Victoria Houston is the critically-acclaimed author of the Loon Lake Mystery series, whose titles include Dead Angler, Dead Creek, Dead Water, Dead Frenzy, among many others.  Her mystery series has been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and on NPR.

This program is co-sponsored by the Chippewa Falls Public Library and the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and will take place Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m. at the Chippewa Falls Public Library. Books will be available for purchase.  A signing will follow the presentation.

Join author Phong Nguyen for a reading and conversation from his newly released novel, Bronze Drum.  Set in 40CE, in the Au Lac region of ancient Vietnam, the book recounts how two daughters of a Vietnamese Lord overcome the oppressive rule of the Han Chinese by uniting an army of women to combat the encroaching regime.

Phong Nguyen is a writer of historical fiction (Bronze Drum), experimental fiction (Roundabout: an Improvisational Fiction), spinoffs (The Adventures of Joe Harper), alternate history (Pages from the Textbook of Alternate History), dirty realism (Memory Sickness) and more.  He teaches fiction-writing at the University of Missouri, where he is the Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing.

About the Book:

In 40 CE, in the Au Lac region of ancient Vietnam, two daughters of a Vietnamese Lord fill their days training, studying, and trying to stay true to Vietnamese traditions. While Trung Trac is disciplined and wise, always excelling in her duty, Trung Nhi is fierce and free spirited, more concerned with spending time in the gardens and with lovers.

But these sister's lives—and the lives of their people—are shadowed by the oppressive rule of the Han Chinese. They are forced to adopt Confucian teachings, secure marriages, and pay ever‑increasing taxes. As the peoples' frustration boils over, the country comes ever closer to the edge of war.

When Trung Trac and Trung Nhi's father is executed, their world comes crashing down around them. With no men to save them against the Han's encroaching regime, they must rise and unite the women of Vietnam into an army. Solidifying their status as champions of women and Vietnam, they usher in a period of freedom and independence for their people.

Vivid, lyrical, and filled with adventure, The Bronze Drum is a true story of standing up for one's people, culture, and country that has been passed down through generations of Vietnamese families through oral tradition. Phong Nguyen's breathtaking novel takes these real women out of legends and celebrates their loves, losses, and resilience in this inspirational story of women's strength and power even in the face of the greatest obstacles.

Co-sponsored with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

Join Maggie Ginsberg to discuss her debut novel, Still Life—a story of familial secrets set in small-town Wisconsin. Ginsberg will be joined by fellow novelist Nickolas Butler for a conversation on craft, writing about place, and how to keep readers engaged from the first page to the last. Q&A and book signing to follow.

Presenter Info: Maggie Ginsberg is an editor at Madison Magazine and a long-time award-winning contributor to city, regional, and national magazines. She grew up on the edge of the Driftless Region and spends her free time running Wisconsin's trails and reading books by her favorite authors, one of whom happens to be Nickolas Butler. Still True is her first novel.

Nickolas Butler was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and educated at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He is the internationally best-selling and prize-winning author of one collection of short stories and four novels. He lives in rural Wisconsin with his wife and their two children.

It's been a long summer, and we've missed ya! On Sept. 18 from 5-7 (just before Packers v. Bears kickoff!) join CVWG friends for a bit of fellowship at Modicum Brewing Co. Enjoy a drink with new and old friends alike! All are welcome!

If you are experiencing covid symptoms we ask that you please join us at a later time

On Saturday, May 7, at 1 p.m., as part of the River Prairie Festival Celebration of Art in Altoona, come listen to authors S.Z. Putnam, Ken Szymanski, Elan Mccallum, Dawson Jollie, Gustavo Barahona-López, Geoff Carter, and Emily Kassera read their work as they express why the arts matter in our world. Their words will be a recognition of the power of the arts to convey feelings, to think about our world in different ways, to remember tough times while celebrating our lives. Hosted by Julian Emerson.

In celebration of National Poetry Month and in collaboration with the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Eau Claire is hosting a showcase of local poets: Lopamudra (Lopa) Basu, Debbie Campbell, Max Garland, Jessi Peterson, UWEC students Dawson Jollie and Carlee Shimek, among others. These poets will be sharing original poetry on the theme of “Awakening.” This long pandemic has caused many of us to reflect, make changes in our lives, and awaken to new paths or thoughts. Awakening can a be spiritual, emotional, and even a physical realization.

In-Person: Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 421 S. Farwell St., Eau Claire, WI 54701

Online: Streamed live to UUC Facebook Page

To celebrate National Poetry Month, join visiting writers Abraham Smith and Mark Ehling, along with local poets Xin Obaid, Sara Bryan, Asha Sen, Alexander Zitzner, Katy Hackworthy, and Patricia Hawkinson, for an unforgettable evening at Artisan Forge. Featuring live music by Lee Mynett and visual art by Mindy Huntress.

OPEN MIC OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL! Bring a piece (4 minutes of fewer, please) to share!

Co-sponsored with Artisan Forge and the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.