Charlotte Writers Club

Last week I received an email message from Barbara (Bay) Yager, the President of the Charlotte Writers Club, with the following re message: “Charlotte Writers Club’s 2026-2027 Season.” Her email sparked my curiosity about the evolution of the word season, so I did a little research. The word can be traced back to the Old French agricultural term seison, which means sowing or planting. From there, the word evolved to encompass the particular time of the year when it is best to plant certain crops.  This gave rise to the now four familiar divisions on the year, but the focus was still on how these divisions relate to agricultural activities.  In time, the term came to be associated with non-agricultural activities that were tied to particular seasons, such as the connection between baseball and summer. By the late 19^th century, the term baseball season was in widespread use in the United States.  In the 20^th century, the meaning of term season expanded to include a recurring series of related events, such as performances or even television episodes, that take place over the course of a defined timeframe although not necessarily within one calendar season, and that brings us to the “Charlotte Writers Club’s 2026-2027 Season.” 

I informed Bay that I would be happy to share information about the Charlotte Writers Club’s upcoming season.  She provided me with the following details about their season: 

Writing may happen alone, but writers don’t have to go it alone. At the Charlotte Writers Club, we believe writers grow through exchanging ideas, learning from others, and being part of a creative community.

In September, our third-Tuesday monthly meetings at Providence United Methodist Church begin with Meagan Church, instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mad Wife, discussing empathy and compelling characters. The season also features Carol Baldwin on historical fiction, Sharon Kurtzman, author of The Lost Baker of Vienna, on transforming family stories into fiction, literary agents Jamie Chambliss and Kaitlyn Katsoupis reading first pages of unpublished manuscripts, award-winning essayist Patrice Gopo in conversation with Dave Collins, PhD, and poet Juanita Kirton on writing as a communal act. We close the season with UNC Charlotte’s Mark West, Kimmery Martin, and Jay Ward exploring the question, Should Writers Be Advocates?

Our Saturday workshops give writers the opportunity to dig more deeply into craft and publishing. Sarah Archer leads two sessions, one on mastering the Hero’s Journey and another on querying literary agents; bestselling author Meagan Church explores creating compelling characters; Tiffany Grantham leads a writing inspiration session, Lisa Williams Kline, Gilda Morina Syverson, and Ann Campanella offer a conversation about book publishing; Lisa Otter Rose leads a hands-on workshop on creating a book of prompts; and poet and playwright David Radavich leads our six-week Poet’s Table seminar for poets working toward publication.

Beyond meetings and workshops, CWC offers critique groups, Open Mic events, a Saturday virtual writing salon, beta readers, and contests. Together, these programs create opportunities to learn from other writers, develop new skills, share work, and find a writing community.

Our new season begins in September. Whether you are beginning to write, polishing a manuscript, or already published, there is a place for you at the Charlotte Writers Club—Where Writers Connect.

For more information about the Charlotte Writers Club, please click on the following link:  https://charlottewritersclub.org

I thank Bay for the information about the CWC’s latest season. For over a century, the club has provided its members with a supportive environment to share drafts of stories, poems, and essays.  Through its sponsorship of contests, the club has created opportunities for members to celebrate each other’s creative endeavors.  By bringing in accomplished writers as speakers and workshop leaders, the club has facilitated the sharing of writing and publishing tips that members can use in order to achieve their own successes as writers. All in all, the Charlotte Writing Club has shown how writers can work together to build a community. This sense of community helps explain why the Charlotte Writers Club is such a Storied Charlotte institution, for the importance of community never goes out of season. 

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word club as “an organization of people with a common purpose or interest, who meet regularly and take part in shared activities.”  This definition applies perfectly to the Charlotte Writers Club (CWC). Since Adelia Kimball founded the club in 1922, the CWC has provided Charlotte-area writers with opportunities to meet regularly with other writers and to engage in writing-related activities. Like many cultural organizations, the CWC kicks off its season of programming in September.  Curious about CWC’s upcoming programs, I contacted Barbara (Bay) Yager, CWC’s current president, and asked her about the club’s plans for its 2025-2026 season.  Here is what she sent to me:

For over a century, the Charlotte Writers Club has welcomed storytellers at every stage of their writing journey—beginners to experts—and in every form—poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and beyond. We are a community where writers share their expertise with the curious, where beginners and published authors learn side by side. This season, September through May, our programming reflects two central themes: honing your writing craft and navigating the path to publishing.

Our monthly meetings, held the third Tuesday of each month at Providence United Methodist Church, feature distinguished authors, editors, and literary professionals. Nationally recognized memoirist Judy Goldman opens the season in September with What’s the Big Idea?, followed by booksellers Sally Brewster of Park Road Books and Katie Mitchell of Trope Book Shop, who will share what authors should know from booksellers. Other months include novelist Kim Wright Wiley on story structure, Andrea Hurst and Lydia Caudill on what agents want, and poet David Radovich on shaping poems for publication.

Complementing the meetings are our Saturday workshops, where participants can roll up their sleeves and apply new tools directly to their work. Offerings include Melinda Ferguson on memoir, Misha Lazzara on the importance of setting, Sarah Archer on plotting versus pantsing, Barbara Presnell on the narrative arc, and Irene Honeycutt on writing with grief. Workshops conclude in May with a candid discussion of the publishing gamut featuring three accomplished authors, Lisa Williams Kline, Gilda Morina Syverson, and Ann Campanella.

Beyond meetings and workshops, CWC provides year-round connections. Writers can join critique groups by genre, participate in monthly virtual writing salons hosted by Tiffany Grantham, or test new work at our popular open mic nights at Mugs Coffee. In the Student Enrichment Program for middle and high school students, we offer monthly virtual writing salons, creative writing workshops, and student contests. Our annual contest series, including the Ruth Moose Flash Fiction opening on September 1st, Poetry, and Elizabeth Simpson Smith Short Story competitions, helps writers aim high.

Our new season begins on September 1. Let CWC be part of your journey. Visit the website for all our event details, whether you’re learning, publishing. or connecting, we look forward to meeting you and hearing your story. More information on these events can be found at https://charlottewritersclub.org/events/

I thank Bay for providing me with this information about CWC’s plans for its new season.  I also commend the Charlotte Writers Club for playing such an important role in the history of Storied Charlotte over the past 103 years.

A few weeks ago I received an unexpected email message from Barbara (Bay) Yager, the President of the Charlotte Writers Club, informing me that I had been “selected to receive an award from the Charlotte Writers Club” in recognition of my “contributions to both our organization and the greater literary community.” She asked me if I could attend one of their upcoming events in order to accept the award in person, and of course I agreed to do so. Last week, Bay presented me with the club’s inaugural Advocate Award during their May meeting, and she gave me an opportunity to share a few remarks. In my comments, I talked about how my work in Charlotte’s literary community has much in common with the work of the Charlotte Writers Club. 

During her presentation, Bay mentioned that I have been involved in Charlotte’s writing community for over 40 years, but that’s not nearly as long as the history of the Charlotte Writers Club. Adelia Kimball founded the Charlotte Writers Club in 1922, which was a golden year in literary circles.  James Joyce’s Ulysses and T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land both came out in 1922.  Two classic works of children’s literature—The Velveteen Rabbit by Margert Williams and Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting—also appeared in print in 1922.  The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing in 1922, which was when Harcourt, Brace and Company published Claude McKay’s poetry collection titled Harlem Shadows. William Faulkner’s The Great Gatsby didn’t come out until 1925, but the novel is set in the summer of 1922.   Given the importance of 1922 in the history of literature, it was an auspicious year for Adelia Kimball to start a club for Charlotte’s burgeoning community of writers.

Throughout its long history, the Charlotte Writers Club has fostered a sense of community among its members.  Part of this sense of community is tied to place.  The club has always celebrated its connections to Charlotte. It has frequently partnered with other Charlotte organizations, such as the public library.  In fact, the club’s first meetings took place in what was then called the Carnegie Library, now known as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. 

The club’s commitment to community transcends geography.  From its very beginnings, the club has provided its members with a supportive environment to share drafts of stories, poems and essays.  Through its sponsorship of contests, the club has created opportunities for members celebrate each other’s creative endeavors.  By bringing in accomplished writers as speakers and workshop leaders, the club has facilitated the sharing of writing and publishing tips, which members can use in order to achieve their own successes as writers.  For over a century, the Charlotte Writers Club has shown how writers can work together to build a community and in the process, support and promote each other.  

When Bay presented me with their Advocate Award, she handed me a plaque that includes the following phrase: “For supporting, uplifting, and advocating for writers and the literary arts.” Well, as I see it, these words also apply to Adelia Kimball and all of the other people who have made the Charlotte Writers Club such a Storied Charlotte institution.