About

The Detroit Writing Room opened in June 2019 as an inspirational space in the heart of Detroit for people to work, write and connect with a community of writers and creatives. 

Nine months later, the pandemic hit, halting our in-person writing workshops, coaching sessions, book talks and more.  

But Covid wasn’t about to stop us. We took all our literary offerings to Zoom and continued to help aspiring and veteran writers publish novels, children’s books, memoirs, poems, articles and pursue other creative endeavors. 

Since March 2020, our writing coaches have helped people across the country and world tell their stories. 

The virtual opportunities allowed Detroit poets to connect with poets in India and London during open mic nights. Our coaches based in Detroit have helped people publish books from the west to east coast. And we’ve taught storytelling to high school students nationwide during our award-winning virtual summer journalism camp in partnership with our nonprofit arm Coaching Detroit Forward. 

While there is a magic that happens when you meet a fellow writer and swap pages across the table, we discovered the same magic can transcend through a computer screen. In summer 2022, we ultimately decided to give up our physical space and focus on fostering our community of writers wherever they are. We also plan to partner with venues across Detroit to host select in-person workshops and book talks. (Stay tuned to our events page for details!)

If you’re new here, we’d love to have you join our virtual membership which includes discounts on coaching, workshops, events and other fun perks like purple pens and a copy of Perspectives Magazine produced by high school students in our camps.

Members and guests have access to our 30 professional coaches who can offer feedback and editing for business materials — such as website copy, e-newsletters, social media content, professional bios, press releases, speeches or grants — or literary works such as fiction, nonfiction, essays and poetry.

The coaches are award-winning journalists, New York Times bestselling authors, English professors and PR professionals. We have a literary agent on the team to help with query letters and navigating the publishing industry. If you’ve always wanted to write a picture book, our children’s book coach will get you started. Our social media coach can help grow your following to attract more readers or clients, and our career coach will polish your resume and cover letter so you can land your dream job. Check out all our coaches at detroitwritingroom.com/coaches.

Our Origin

Founder Stephanie Steinberg dreamed of opening The Detroit Writing Room when she moved back to Detroit in 2016. A Metro Detroit native, Stephanie spent a few years reporting and editing for publications in Washington D.C. She’d often read about new businesses and events popping up around the city of Detroit. As a journalist, she wanted to be the one to tell those stories, so she returned home to be a features reporter at The Detroit News.

Stephanie covered story after story about fearless entrepreneurs who started their own businesses in the city. Many had an idea and just followed their passions. Only a few years later, those same entrepreneurs are selling their products and opening businesses across the country. While Stephanie loved telling their stories, she also caught the bug to be a part of Detroit’s comeback. And she developed an idea that would let other creatives and entrepreneurs benefit from her editing talents and network of the finest writers in the U.S.

So, she took a cue from her sources and followed her passion. 

Her dream writing room for fellow writers turned into a “virtual” room during the pandemic. And she saw that writers nationwide enjoyed tapping into Detroit’s grit and creativity. But she also discovered that the writing room concept didn’t need a physical space. So we opened The New York Writing Room in 2020 with a team of coaches based in New York City.

Whether you’re coming for a coaching session, or to attend a book talk or writing workshop, we hope The Detroit Writing Room inspires you to go after your dreams and pursue your passion.

And if you need help telling that story, you’ve come to the write place.

Why is The Detroit Writing Room brand purple?

When our founder was in high school, she was named an opinion and copy editor of her high school newspaper, The Northern Star. During the induction ceremony, the newspaper advisor Nikki Schueller gave each student a purple pen. She told each editor to always remember the power of the pen and that their words matter. With something as simple as a pen, you can make positive changes in the world — whether it’s advocating for a cause, bringing truth to light or telling someone’s story.  

That stuck with Stephanie. Since that day, she’s always edited with a purple pen. Her purple ink covered stories when she was editor in chief at the University of Michigan’s student newspaper The Michigan Daily. As a features reporter for The Detroit News, she always hit the streets with a notebook and purple pen. And her desk at U.S. News & World Report in Washington D.C. proudly sported a maize and blue mug filled with purple pens. 

So when it came time to choose a brand color for The Detroit Writing Room — a community to inspire and encourage writers of all genres — Stephanie didn’t need to think twice about the color.