Writer's Center

{{short description|Independent literary center in the district of Bethesda, Maryland, United States}} {{Infobox organization | name = Writer's Center | full_name = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = The Writer's Center, Bethesda.jpg | image_size = | image_alt =  | caption = Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland | map =  | map_size =  | map_alt = | map_caption = | abbreviation = | formation = {{start date and age|1976}} | founder =  | founding_location = | dissolved =  | merger =  | type =  | tax_id =  | registration_id =  | status = 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization | purpose =  | professional_title =  | headquarters = | location = Bethesda, Maryland, USA | coordinates =  | origins = | region_served =  | products =  | services = | methods =  | fields =  | membership =  | num_members_year =  | language =  | owner =  | secretary_general =  | leader_title =  | leader_name = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | leader_title5 = | leader_name5 = | board_of_directors = | key_people = | main_organ =  | parent_organization =  | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = | ror_id =  | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = | revenue_year = | disbursements = | expenses = | expenses_year = | endowment = | endowment_year = | funding =  | num_staff = | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | num_students = | num_students_year = | awards = | website =  | remarks = | former_name =  | footnotes = | bodystyle = }}

'''The Writer's Center''', founded in 1976, is an independent literary center headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2232.xml The Writer's Center Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629004208/http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2232.xml |date=2011-06-29 }}, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University</ref> The organization consists of about 2,500 writers, editors, small-press publishers, and other artists who support each other in the creation and marketing of literary texts.<ref name=home>{{Cite web |date=October 2025 |title=Home - The Writer's Center |url=https://writer.org/ |access-date=2025-10-02 |website=The Writer's Center |language=en}}</ref>

The Writer's Center hosts readings, literary events, and conferences; and offers an environment for writing groups to meet. It conducts hundreds of workshops a year, in various genres of writing, for participants who share their works-in-progress under the guidance of an experienced instructor who is also a published author.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.writer.org/ |title=The Writer's Center Official Website |access-date=2011-03-17 |archive-date=2011-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404071219/http://www.writer.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Sherri Dalphonse. “25 Places to Take Fun Classes in the DC Area—Cooking, Art, and More Where to go if you want to learn something new.” ''Washingtonian''. August 20, 2014. https://washingtonian.com/2014/08/20/25-places-take-fun-cooking-art-classes-dc/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260427010154/https://washingtonian.com/2014/08/20/25-places-take-fun-cooking-art-classes-dc/ |date=2026-04-27 }}</ref><ref>Rachel Cooper. “Best Washington DC Lectures, Films and Classes.” ''Trip Savvy''. June 26, 2019. https://www.tripsavvy.com/best-washington-dc-lectures-films-and-classes-1038820 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260113104825/https://www.tripsavvy.com/best-washington-dc-lectures-films-and-classes-1038820 |date=2026-01-13 }}</ref> It also sells books and literary magazines.<ref name=home/>

Its 12,200-square-foot (1,130 m2) headquarters is located in Bethesda; it also conducts events in Leesburg, Virginia; Arlington, Virginia; and at other locations around the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2232.xml The Writer's Center Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629004208/http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/ead/ms2232.xml |date=2011-06-29 }}, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University</ref>

The Writer's Center publishes ''Poet Lore'', the longest continuously running poetry journal in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.writer.org/page.aspx?pid=664 |title=Poet Lore Website |access-date=2011-03-17 |archive-date=2018-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222000051/http://www.writer.org/page.aspx?pid=664 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Albert H. Smyth, 1889. “A New Magazine: Poet-Lore.” Modern Language Notes. 4(3). 77–78.</ref><ref>Joanna Scutts. 2014. “Poet Lore still going strong at 125.” Poets & Writers Magazine. 42(5). 16–18.</ref> Materials from the center’s history—issues of ''Poet Lore'' and of the center's quarterly magazine ''The Carousel'', workshop brochures, and more—are maintained in the Special Collections Research Center of the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library at the George Washington University.<ref>The Writer’s Center Records. Identifier: MS2232. https://searcharchives.library.gwu.edu/repositories/2/resources/384. Retrieved 28 December 2024.</ref><ref>David W. McAleavey papers. Identifier: MS2051-UA. https://searcharchives.library.gwu.edu/repositories/2/resources/229 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130113343/https://searcharchives.library.gwu.edu/repositories/2/resources/229 |date=2023-11-30 }}. Retrieved 28 December 2024.</ref>

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the center is supported in part by The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland, and by grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tax Exempt Organization Search Details {{!}} Internal Revenue Service |url=https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919225301/https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/ |archive-date=2025-09-19 |access-date=2025-10-02 |website=apps.irs.gov |language=en}}</ref>

== Notable instructors == * Sandra Beasley * Richard Blanco * Brenda Clough * Nan Fry * Barbara Goldberg * Lee Gutkind * Rod Jellema * Stanley Plumly

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.writer.org/}} *[https://thewriterscenter.blogspot.com/ Writer's Center official blog]

{{Bethesda, Maryland}} {{Authority control}} {{coord|38|58|45|N|77|05|27.5|W|region:US-MD_type:landmark|display=title}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Bethesda, Maryland Category:Non-profit organizations based in Maryland Category:Writing circles Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1976 Category:1976 establishments in Maryland Category:Arts organizations based in Washington, D.C.