EVENTS
Each year, the GWC hosts more than 100 events, including monthly open mics, readings year-round, and Fish Tales, our popular storytelling showcase. All are welcome, always.
Browse upcoming events using the calendar, or scroll to see a full listing below.
Looking for workshops or writing groups? Click here.
Scroll Down for List Layout of Upcoming Events
Learn more about: Fish Tales Reading Series Charles Olson Lecture
Open Mic Night
Bring your words & get heard! Join us for an open mic night at the GWC.
Featured Poet: Deborah Schwartz
Deborah Schwartz teaches in the English Department at Bunker Hill Community College and lives with her family (wife and dog) in East Boston. Her latest poetry collection, Wind of the House, Voice of the Stream, of the Dream That you Dream, While We Turn You Around, “interweaves the most pressing issues of the day—immigration, run-amok capitalism, and the climate cliff on which we live,” (Ellen Doré Watson, author of pray me stay eager) while begging “questions about the role of witness in the face of pervasive violence.” (Kelly Fordon, author of I Have the Answer.)
Her 2019 poetry collection, A Girl Could Disappear Like This, “offers a generous semi-surrealist’ commentary on a host of grand topics as well as a carefully curated display of personal ones. Bold, funny and intensely female, Schwartz navigates oceans, skies, and bodies with curiosity and tenderness.” (Diane Wald, author of The Warhol Pillows .) The collection won finalists with Carolina Wren Press, Elixir Press, and Inlandia Press, and was highlighted at Brilliant Light Publishing as one of the recommended poetry books of the year.
Bordighera Press Reading
Join us with Laurette Folk, Carla Panciera, and Julia Lisella!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Playwriting with Peter Littlefield
July 12th- August 16th | Playwriting Workshop
The Gloucester Writers Center is thrilled to welcome Peter Littlefield back to 126 E. Main Street for his wildly popular 6-session playwriting course this summer!Join Peter for the last three Sundays of July and the first three Sundays of August as he leads this instructive, generative course, based on his years of experience in the NYC theater scene, opera, and in film production.This workshop is open to all experience levels but limited to 7 spots. Make sure you reserve your seat today!
Wilderness: Henry David Thoreau and the Making of An American Theology
Join us at the UU Church (10 Church St., Gloucester, MA.) for a reading & discussion with author Lydia Willsky-Ciollo.
Free & Open to the Public
Through his love of nature, Thoreau developed a distinctly American theology of the wild. In Wildness, author Lydia Willsky-Ciollo traces Thoreau’s post-college years and his time at Walden Pond, as he evolved from hopeful writer to observant theologian. The focus of Thoreau’s theology—wildness itself— reflects a distinctly American set of tensions: progress vs. tradition, wilderness vs. civilization, and the individual vs. society. While remaining critical of dogma and institutions, he hoped his readers would pick up the pen where he left off and write their own theologies of wildness.
Lydia Willsky-Ciollo is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of American Studies at Fairfield University. She was raised in Bedford, Massachusetts and spent her summers in Lanesville with her grandparents, Robert and Lee Natti. As an American Religious Historian, she specializes in the 19th century with a focus on the religious thought of Unitarianism and Transcendentalism. In addition to Wildness, Lydia is author of American Unitarianism and the Protestant Dilemma.
Playwriting with Peter Littlefield
July 12th- August 16th | Playwriting Workshop
The Gloucester Writers Center is thrilled to welcome Peter Littlefield back to 126 E. Main Street for his wildly popular 6-session playwriting course this summer!Join Peter for the last three Sundays of July and the first three Sundays of August as he leads this instructive, generative course, based on his years of experience in the NYC theater scene, opera, and in film production.This workshop is open to all experience levels but limited to 7 spots. Make sure you reserve your seat today!
Lecture: Thomas Jefferson & the Beginnings of Democracy in Anglo-Saxon England with Richard Rosenfeld
Historian and author Richard Rosenfeld, whose book American Aurora: A Democratic-Republican Returns was named “Best History Book” by the Los Angeles Times in 1997, challenges a centuries-old understanding of where Anglo-American democracy began. Starting with Thomas Jefferson’s 1776 proposal for the Great Seal of the United States—which honored the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa as founders of England’s democratic traditions—Rosenfeld argues that Jefferson and generations of historians got the story wrong.
This thought-provoking lecture offers a fresh perspective on the origins of democratic government and previews a presentation Rosenfeld will deliver at University of Cambridge this fall.
Matthew Henry and Hannah Larrabee
Join us on Friday, July 24th, as we welcome Matthew Henry and Hannah Larrabee to the Gloucester Writers Center! The reading will begin at 7PM
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Playwriting with Peter Littlefield
July 12th- August 16th | Playwriting Workshop
The Gloucester Writers Center is thrilled to welcome Peter Littlefield back to 126 E. Main Street for his wildly popular 6-session playwriting course this summer!Join Peter for the last three Sundays of July and the first three Sundays of August as he leads this instructive, generative course, based on his years of experience in the NYC theater scene, opera, and in film production.This workshop is open to all experience levels but limited to 7 spots. Make sure you reserve your seat today!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Playwriting with Peter Littlefield
July 12th- August 16th | Playwriting Workshop
The Gloucester Writers Center is thrilled to welcome Peter Littlefield back to 126 E. Main Street for his wildly popular 6-session playwriting course this summer!Join Peter for the last three Sundays of July and the first three Sundays of August as he leads this instructive, generative course, based on his years of experience in the NYC theater scene, opera, and in film production.This workshop is open to all experience levels but limited to 7 spots. Make sure you reserve your seat today!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Playwriting with Peter Littlefield
July 12th- August 16th | Playwriting Workshop
The Gloucester Writers Center is thrilled to welcome Peter Littlefield back to 126 E. Main Street for his wildly popular 6-session playwriting course this summer!Join Peter for the last three Sundays of July and the first three Sundays of August as he leads this instructive, generative course, based on his years of experience in the NYC theater scene, opera, and in film production.This workshop is open to all experience levels but limited to 7 spots. Make sure you reserve your seat today!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Story Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Fish Tales: FIESTA!
Tickets are on sale now for Fish Tales: FIESTA!
Come hear seven talented storytellers — Tom Aiello, Amy Clayton, Mike Diliberti, Rosalie Lentini, Joe Palmisano, Anita Pandolfe Ruchman, and Joe Sanfilippo — tell their true Fiesta stories about the traditions, ceremonies, competitions, spirit (and fun!) of this treasured anchor to Gloucester’s rich history.
We will be joined by special musical guests jazz vocalist Rhiannon Hurst, accompanied by three-time Grammy nominee Adria Smith.
Ticket proceeds will help the Gloucester Writers Center continue to bring free and low-cost readings, lectures, workshops, open mics, and storytelling to the community.
Presented at The Cut, 177 Main Street, Gloucester. June 21: showtime at 8 pm, doors open at 7 pm. Reserved seating: $40-$60.
Tickets are selling fast! Get yours today: https://thecutlive.com/pages/events/fishtales-true-stories-told-live
Photo of six-time Greasy Pole champion Matza Giambanco by Roger Ward
Literary Walk with Phil Storey
Join raconteur Phil Storey on his famous literary walk through downtown Gloucester! Phil will share information, rumor, and gossip about Gloucester’s most well known writers!
Daniel Bouchard and Elizabeth Young
Join us at the Gloucester Writers Center as we welcome Daniel Bouchard and Elizabeth Young to Gloucester. Both will read from new books of poetry.
Poetry Reading with Daniel Bouchard and Elizabeth Young
Join us for a poetry reading!
Daniel Bouchard
Razor Zigzag is Daniel Bouchard’s fifth book. Chris Nealon wrote of it “Bouchard’s
rhythms straddle the ease of everyday speech and the compressed speed of silent
curiosity, so the poems shimmer from phrase to phrase and line to line.” Marcella
Durand said, “This is the true rebellion of Bouchard’s powerful work: that while others may scream ‘everything in poetry/ is failure by default,’ the poet will witness, the poem will resist.”
Elizabeth Young
Elizabeth Marie Young, a Boston-based poet and educator, is the author of the poetry collections An Inventory of Almost Everything (Subpress) and Aim Straight at the Fountain and Press Vaporize (Motherwell Prize Winner, Fence Books) as well as Translation as Muse: Poetic Translation in Catullus’s Rome (U Chicago Press), a book about the ancient Roman understanding of lyric translation and literary creativity.
Phil Storey's Literary Walk Begins Again!
We are very pleased to announce that noted raconteur Phil Storey will start up his Literary Walk on select weekends again this summer.
These tours of Gloucester's historic downtown and through the sordid history of the many writers connected to Gloucester are funny, entertaining, and informative -- a great combinaton!
First up will be May 30th. As in previous years, it begins at 10:00AM at 80 Main Street.
Night At Jalapeno's
Join us on May25th from 4pm until close at Jalapeno's in Gloucester! Jalapeno's is donating 10% of all sales to the Gloucester Writers Center that evening, eat in or take out. This is a wonderful opportunity for the GWC community to celebrate all of our many accomplishments.
At the end of the night, we will pull a raffle winner for the production of Bad Books by the Gloucester Stage Company.
Poetry Reading with Clay Ventre and Danielle Jones
Join us for a poetry reading with Clay Ventre and Danielle Jones!
Poetry Reading with K. Prevallet, Patrick Barron, and River 瑩瑩 Dandelion
Join us for a Poetry reading with K. Prevallet, Patrick Barron, and River 瑩瑩 Dandelion!
Milo Todd Workshop: Writing Exercises For Character Development
Join Milo Todd as he discusses character development. This workshop will be full of writing exercises to help writers unlock the ideas they have for their characters.
Poetry Open Mic Night
Join us for Poetry Open Mic Night! Snacks & conversation, open to all.
Bring Joy back Into Poetry Workshop with Crystal Condakes.
According to Leo Tolstoy: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This suggests that to write about happiness is to generalize, thus losing identity. But certain contemporary poets are flying in the face of this statement (that can read more like advice for poets).
We’ll look at some poems by Ross Gay and Aimee Nezhukumatathil and take a look at the 50 happiest words and see what we can do about generating some joy and some new poems! Leave with new poems and some joyful prompts to take home. All levels welcome. Registration Required
Poetry Open Mic Night
Join us for Poetry Open Mic Night! Snacks & conversation, open to all.
Rockport International Poetry Festival
Rockport Poetry has consistently supported Poetry communities and poets on the North Shore for almost a decade.
As part of National Poetry Month, we host the annual ROCKPORT INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL April 17, 18, & 19, 2026,
Readings and presentations will be at the Rockport Community House, the Rockport Public Library and other venues throughout the town. Various poetry workshops will take place throughout the weekend. It opens on Friday evening April 17 with a reading by the First Poet Laureate of Massachusetts, Regie Gibson. On Saturday afternoon we will feature a bi-lingual poetry presentation by the acclaimed poet Jennifer Jean. An Open Mic will celebrate local and regional poetry talent. On Sunday morning poets from around the world will join together for an International Poetry Reading on Zoom.
There is also an International Haiku Contest! Submissions are currently open until the deadline of April 1st. Email RockportPoetry@gmail.com for details and contest rules. Winners will be announced by email on Sunday, April 19.
For local poets there is a Cape Ann Poetry Contest for residents of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea. There will be 5 divisions each having 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes. Contact RockportPoetry@gmail.com for further information.Throughout the year we partner with community organizations like the Gloucester Writers Center to offer a variety of poetry events
Poetry Open Mic Night
Join us for Poetry Open Mic Night! Snacks & conversation, open to all.
Poetry Reading with Wendy Drexler and Mary Buchinger
Join us for a poetry reading with Wendy Drexler and Mary Buchinger!
Wendy Drexler is a recipient of a 2022 artist fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her fourth collection, Harvest of What Remains, received honorable mention for the Paul Nemser Prize and was published in February 2026 by Lily Poetry Review Books. Her work has appeared in The Hudson Review, The Sun, and The Threepenny Review, among others. She was awarded the 2025 E.E. Cummings Prize from the New England Poetry Club, where she currently serves on the advisory board.
Mary Buchinger, author of eight poetry collections, including There Is Only the Sacred and the Desecrated (Paul Nemser Book Prize, Honorable Mention), Navigating the Reach (2024 Massachusetts Book Award Honors), and Virology, teaches at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston. Her work appears in AGNI, Plume, Salt Hill, Seneca Review, and elsewhere. www.MaryBuchinger.com
International Women’s Day
Join the Gloucester Writers Center and the Coalition to End Domestic Abuse as we celebrate International Women’s Day. Led by Nicole Richon Schoel.
Charles Olson Lecture
In the 2026 Charles Olson Lecture, James Cook will explore the ways that Gloucester has been a site of celebration, interrogation, explication, negation, and extension of Charles Olson’s work in the period from the near the end of the twentieth century (beginning with the Charles Olson Festival in August of 1995) through the first quarter of the twenty-first century.
Open Mic Night
Join us for Open Mic Night March 2nd with Bob Whelan! “Bring your words…Get Heard"
Poetry Reading with Rebecca Hart Olander and Heather Nelson
Join us with Heather Nelson and Rebecca hart Olander for a poetry reading!
Gerrit Lansing Love Fest
Come celebrate our friend Gerrit on his 98 Birthday at the
Gerrit Lansing Love Fest. Bring Gerrit a poem to read.
The Resurrection of Judy Rhines
The Resurrection of Judy Rhines, co-created by artist Gabrielle Barzaghi and playwright Peter Littlefield. Gabrielle drew some 20 dioramas on cardboard in which Judy Rhines – a legendary figure in Gloucester lore – goes on a walkabout in the Dogtown woods. Peter and Gabrielle worked out the narrative together with the drawings set up as a tour. Come on down and see the movie!
Fish Tales: Cape Ann Adventures
Fish Tales: CAPE ANN ADVENTURES will be available to livestream, free of charge!
Think storms, summits, dories, sailboats....when challenge meets determination, it's always a great story! Eight talented storytellers will recount their tales of adventure and misadventure on land and at sea. Hosted by GWC storyteller-in-residence Kevin Perrin at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 E Main Street, Gloucester.
Jim Dunn and Erik Lomen Present I Have a Poem For You
This new book gathers three of the poet Charles Shively's manuscripts in addition to a selection of previously uncollected work.
Edited and introduced by Jim Dunn and Erik Lomen, the book provides a fresh perspective on a committed anarchist who was important to the Gay Liberation Movement. Emma Goldman said she didn't want the revolution if she couldn't dance -- Shively's poems suggest there should be singing, too.
Reading & Conversation with Mark Hillringhouse
Mark Hillringhouse, poet, essayist, and photographer is widely published. He is a three-time recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship, a two-time recipient of the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award (2012, 2024), and a winner of the 2012 National Parks Calendar Photography Contest, among other recognitions. The author of Between the Frames (2012), a highly regarded book blending his poetry and photography, he has exhibited his work in many museums and galleries.