Blue Ridge Writers

Our Story: Past and Present
 

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•  1918: James Branch Cabell, a rather colorful character and author of some 50 books, co-founded the Virginia Writers Club (VWC).

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•  1991:  "Booton" Herndon established The Charlottesville Writers of the VWC, which became the first chapter of the VWC. Founding members included Rita Mae Brown, John Casey, Emily Couric, Ken Elzinga, George Garret, A.E. Dick Howard, Dan Jordan, Katherine Peaslee, Peter Taylor, and many more.​

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• 2007: We changed our name to Blue Ridge Writers (BRW).

BRW is a Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, with aspiring and published writers from the City of Charlottesville and counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange. Our enthusiastic and accomplished membership of some 50 writers welcomes writers from all levels—from beginners to seasoned, published professonals.

Writing colleagues join BRW to meet other writers and to develop and grow their writing muscles in a welcoming, mutually supportive, and rewarding environment. We believe that our individual writing experiences can enrich and benefit us all.

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BRW offers monthly critique sessions where participants share and receive valuable feedback on their work. We also offer the following: ​

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• The annual BRW Blue Nib Contest and Winners' Awards Presentation and Celebration

• A Lunchbox Reading Series, where participants are encouraged to share their work with colleagues and friends

• Workshops on—and tutorials about—a variety of topics, including:​

  • Creating story structure

  • Writing, editing, and revision

  • Publishing—self vs. commercial

  • Crafting compelling language

  • Offering the occasional writing retreat.

We welcome writers from every genre (i.e., fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc,), and offer expertise in—and opportunities for—publication. 

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