Dec. 8 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Come celebrate the talented poets, screenwriters, children's book authors, novelists and writers of all ages from Metro Detroit at the 2025 Detroit Writing Room Awards! Writers and photographers from the region applied to the awards, and our team of judges narrowed down the finalists in each category. During the ceremony emceed by DWR coach and Detroit Free Press columnist Neal Rubin, you'll find out who takes first, second and third in 9 different categories.

Guests will first enjoy a happy hour with beer, wine and apps. You'll get a chance to mingle with fellow writers and DWR Award judges who are award-winning authors, journalists and photographers as well as DWR and Coaching Detroit Forward coaches.

Plus! Attendees will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win the "Detroit Voices" publication featuring finalists, a Detroit Writing Room membership ($199 value), 2 tickets to Detroit Public Theatre's "Holiday Cabaret," and other prizes!

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Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon

DWR coach Justin Brouckaert has served as a literary agent, editor and coach to hundreds of authors over the past decade, helping writers shepherd their work from the blank page to bookstore shelves — and, along the way, giving them the tools to become sharper, more thoughtful and more incisive editors.

Attendees of this fun, collaborative and intensive two-hour workshop will walk away with some of those tools. In this session, you’ll learn to implement helpful tips and refine common mistakes, participate in small group workshops and complete exercises meant to refine your vision as a writer and editor. Whether you’re working on a specific project or are just looking to become a more capable editor for yourself or others, you’ll walk away with a new set of strategies, mantras and hands-on experiences that will make the art of revision a little less daunting.

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Oct. 28 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. EST

Are you a freelance journalist who keeps getting ghosted by editors? Or a writer intimidated by the idea of pitching big-name outlets? Or someone with a compelling story but without a roadmap for where and how to tell it?  Get the nitty-gritty details from New York Writing Room coach Anna Medaris, a health and lifestyle journalist with more than 15 years of experience landing successful pitches in publications including The Washington Post, Women's Health magazine and Vox.  Since going full-time freelance in 2023, Anna has built a robust portfolio from her pitches, ranging from a consequential investigation into a fraudulent postnatal “retreat” for New York Magazine to a colorful feature on sauna culture for the New York Post. 

As a former editor at outlets including U.S. News & World Report and Business Insider, Anna also knows what catches staff editors’ eyes — and the increasing insanity of their inboxes. Join this virtual workshop on to dissect Anna’s real pitches that yielded “yeses,” learn strategies for finding what editors are looking for, demystify how “full-time” freelance journalists make ends meet and get feedback on your own story ideas in real time.

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Nov. 18 from 5-6 p.m. EST

Copy editing is an essential step for any author, but many may not know what exactly it is, and most importantly, the consequences of not copy editing their manuscripts. Pulling from her experience as a book editor, New York Writing Room coach Johanie Martinez-Cools will lead you through the basics of copy editing and how to avoid some crucial mistakes that could impact your writing careers. This interactive virtual workshop is geared toward nonfiction writers and fiction writers whose stories are set in the real world. Attendees will leave with a tip sheet for copy editing their manuscripts. We also encourage you to come with your copy editing questions! Early bird rate is $35 until Oct. 18.

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