Looking for supportive feedback from like-minded writers? LitArts RI writing groups are creative groups of peers, built on trust and led by volunteer facilitators who actively participate in the group. Each group is organized around a genre or interest area and has its own cadence and structure. Participants hone their creative practice, share work and build long-term community connections together.

Before signing up, please review the group descriptions below to understand the format (accountability, critique, discussion, etc.) and schedule (weekly, monthly, etc.) of the group you are interested in. While you may participate in multiple groups, we suggest starting with just one or two to ensure your goals align with the group and that you can commit to attending regularly. Writing groups are for ages 18+.​

 

Participation in these groups is free and open to all. If you are able, we strongly encourage signing up for a monthly membership to support our programming if you are able. Your contribution goes a long way in allowing us to provide a safe and supportive environment to writers across our state.
 

All participants are asked to sign our Writing Group Participant Agreement and Terms of Use. If you are looking to resolve an issue within your writing group, we’re here to support—please contact Staff.

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Current Writing Groups​

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Accountability Writers Group
2nd Thursday of the month from 5:30-7pm at LitArts RI, 4th Thursday from 5:30-7pm off-site
The Accountability Writers Group is open to anyone working on a single project in any genre (i.e. novel, collection of poems, screenplay, etc.) who struggles to stay motivated without a deadline and someone (gently) holding them accountable to it. We will meet monthly to share our progress and set new goals for the next meeting.​  Join HERE!

 

Diverse Voices of Rhode Island

1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month from 11am-12:30pm, biweekly online
Diverse Voices of RI mainly critiques Fiction, Short fiction, Non-Fiction (including personal essays and memoir), and plays. Poetry may also be considered. And we foster the development of short/micro fiction through 25-minute writing sessions. Writers with experience in academic or non-academic workshop groups, a writing program, or prior publication experience preferred. Join HERE!

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Experimental Essay Writers Group
2nd Saturday of the month from 10am-12pm, monthly at LitArts RI
The Experimental Essay Writers Group is for writers of short nonfiction that bends conventions of genre and form. We welcome lyric essays, hybrid memoirs, essays that combine visual and textual elements, and any other creative forms you may invent. Meetings will focus on discussing group members’ works-in-progress, with each cohort incorporating additional activities to meet their members' interests. Writers of all experience levels are welcome.  CURRENTLY FULL, check back again soon!
 

Experimental Fiction Writing Group

1st Wednesday of the month from 6-8pm, monthly  at LitArts RI

The Experimental Fiction Writers Group provides a supportive community for writers of the experimental, marvelous, uncanny, fabulist, new weird, and magical realism. In this group, fiction writers are free to experiment with genre, point of view, structure, style, voice, or narrative timeline (think works by authors like George Saunders, Vajra Chandrasekera, Kelly Link, Max Porter, Jorge Luis Borges, and Akwaeke Emezi rather than traditional speculative works). We meet in person at LitArts RI once a month to build community while we participate in artist-led workshops, celebrate our progress, talk craft, stories, and share resources. Join HERE!
 

Guided Memoir Group: Writing Down the Bones

2nd  and 4th Saturdays of the month from 12:30-2pm, biweekly at LitArts RI

This guided memoir writing group explores the pivotal moments of adulthood—creative risks, relationships, environments, spiritual awakenings, and reinvention. Through prompts and timed writing sprints, participants generate fresh material for their memoir in a supportive writing community inspired by Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. Join the WAITLIST! 

Horror, Thriller and Weird Fiction Writers Group
Last Monday of the month from 6-8pm, monthly online
The Horror, Thriller and Weird Fiction Writers Group gets together for critique, discussion, and improvement of one's own horror stories, as well as free-for-all conversation on the genre. Join HERE!
 

Illustrated Storytelling Group
4th Wednesdays of the month from 6pm-8pm, monthly at LitArts RI
Writing group for authors who use visual mediums to tell their stories. Focus will be on comics, graphic novels, and manga but we welcome all types of illustrated books! Join HERE!

 

Meet Cute: Romance Authors Group
1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 6-8pm, biweekly at LitArts RI
Meet Cute is a group of writers who come together to better understand the machinations of romance. Our goal is to learn and grow together by digging into the craft, market, and world of genre romance. We provide a positive environment for learning, questions, and accountability. We are open to all sub-genres, all heat levels, and writers at any point in their journey from first words on the page to established careers. As this is a peer-led group, we do ask that members have a basic understanding of genre romance and have read genre romance books before joining. Join HERE!

 

Multilingual Writers Group

1st Saturday of the month from 12-2pm, monthly at LitArts RI

The Multilingual Writers Group seeks to offer community and feedback to those who write in more than one language. We will meet monthly to write and critique works in progress. Multilingual writers of all genres are welcome! Join HERE!

 

Persons Living with Disabilities Writing Group

3rd Saturday of the month from 11:30am-1pm, monthly  at LitArts RI

The Persons Living with Disabilities Writing Group seeks to offer community and feedback to writers who identify as living with a disability (visible or invisible) or are writing about experiences related to this topic. All levels of experience and genres are welcome. During these meetings, members are encouraged to share about their recent work and seek feedback from other group members in a safe, inclusive space. Join HERE! 

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Playwriting Lab

2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30pm, biweekly at LitArts RI

The Playwriting Lab is for playwrights looking for feedback on their scripts. We will meet twice a month to read submitted work aloud and discuss the material in a supportive environment. Join HERE!

 

​Poetry Writers Group

Sundays from 1:15pm-2:45pm, biweekly off-site

A group for seasoned poets to connect, critique, and learn through workshops, discussions on poetic devices, inspirations, and favorite writers. All poetry forms and genres are welcome in a flexible, introvert-friendly, safe space for creative expression. ​Join the WAITLIST!

 

Queer Writers Group

2nd Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8pm, monthly at LitArts RI
The Queer Writers Group is open to all LGBTQ+ writers working in any genre. We will meet on a monthly basis with the goal of cultivating a space for queer writers to discuss any and all aspects of the writing process. We are an LGBTQ+ affinity group for checking in and sharing monthly highlights from our lives—as well as doing some in-space writing. We are currently not a feedback/workshop group. During these meetings we hold optional accountability check-ins, casually converse about the writing and publishing process, as well as run a writing sprint with the option to share some of our writing. We are an in-person-only group, so please only sign up if you can commit to attending our monthly Tuesday meetings in the LitArts RI space. Join HERE!

 

Redefining Our Stories: Memoir Accountability Writers Group

2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 12:30pm-2pm, biweekly at LitArts RI
The Memoir Accountability Writers Group is a supportive space for memoirists seeking to stay motivated and inspired as they transform their personal stories into written works. Through regular group shares and mutual encouragement, members connect deeply, gain fresh perspectives, and nurture each other’s storytelling journeys. Join HERE!

 

Rhode Island Theatre Makers Roundtable

3rd Wednesday of the month from 6:30-8pm, monthly at LitArts RI
Theatre makers of all disciplines: playwrights, composers, actors, designers, and technicians are invited to meet once a month as a think tank to put our collective heads together. Our mission is to create a network that supports the work of local playwrights, to develop the means and methods of getting plays produced. There will be opportunities to have play readings and provide feedback; listen to guest speakers; meet actors; and learn about opportunities, venues, and the technical aspects of theatre. We will discuss how to overcome our collective obstacles together to strengthen our practice of making theatre, and bring the Rhode Island theatrical community closer together. Join HERE!

 

Screenwriters' Group

Last Thursday of the month from 6:30-8pm, monthly at LitArts RI

We will get together and help all writers get their scripts to be filmed. All levels of experience of the writer and stage that the script is in are welcome. We will also talk about films and the business. Other disciplines who wish to join us are welcome as well. Join HERE!

 

Short Story Writers Group

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 7-8pm, biweekly online

The Short Story Writers Group is for writers looking for a supportive community to develop their short story craft. We meet twice a month - with a focus on sharing of group submitted pieces and feedback. Additionally we look to support members wherever they are in their journey, whether that's providing prompts to inspire writing or recommendations on contests and publishing markets. Join HERE!

 

Writing Together at LitArts

Saturdays from 10-11:30am, weekly at LitArts RI

Writing Together provides everyone with a supportive and welcoming space to make progress on their writing journey. Bring anything you want to write on: laptop, journal, notepad, etc. We check in for 10 minutes, write independently for 40 minutes, and share out for 10 minutes. To be clear, we do not workshop submissions. We just write together in the same space. Join HERE!