Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

Translating literature into another language builds bridges and amplifies voices through shared stories. It's also a challenging but highly rewarding creative practice that draws on skills like knowledge of multiple languages and cultures, close reading and research, and problem solving. In this panel discussion and Q&A, members of Philadelphia's Transversal collective will present an overview of the literary translation landscape, discuss pathways into the field, and share excerpts from current works in progress. They'll also answer questions and share resources for those interested in learning more. Panelists include: Sean Gasper Bye (translates from Polish), Marianna Suleymanova (Russian), and Emily Hunsberger (Spanish).

Transversal is a grassroots collective of established and aspiring literary translators in Philadelphia. It was born as a virtual space during the pandemic and has since evolved to emphasize in-person connections. Our recent gatherings have included co-working sessions, mini peer workshops, and purely social hangs.

Featured panelists

Emily Hunsberger translates literature written in Spanish by authors from all across the Americas, including the United States. Her translation of Wonderland: Crónicas of Belonging in América, a collection of essays by Melanie Márquez Adams, was recently published by Mouthfeel Press. Her translations of shorter works have appeared in Latin American Literature Today, The Southern Review, PRISM international, The Common, Southwest Review, and forthcoming in Grist. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Spanish and has a professional background in the fields of immigrant rights, international sustainable development, and education. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Sean Gasper Bye is a translator of Polish literature. He focuses on contemporary fiction and reportage, and also works with historical texts, theater and video games. His translations of Małgorzata Szejnert, Szczepan Twardoch, Mikołaj Grynberg and others have won the EBRD Literary Prize and the Asymptote Close Approximations Prize; and been shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, a National Jewish Book Award, the Sami Rohr Prize and the National Translation Award. He has been a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellow and Translator-in-Residence at Princeton University, and also mentors emerging translators through the National Centre for Writing and the Yiddish Book Center.

Marianna Suleymanova is a literary translator from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, currently living in Philadelphia. She is a contributing translator to ROAR (Russian Oppositional Arts Review) Magazine, an anti-war publication founded by the writer Linor Goralik. She enjoys rendering the voices of contemporary feminist and queer Russian-language writers in English and is committed to amplifying suppressed narratives and dissident voices. She is the winner of the 2024 Words Without Borders Momentum Grant. Her translations are out or forthcoming in Washington Square Review, Words Without Borders, The Offing, The Kenyon Review and Khōréō. Her work has received support from Words Without Borders, Bread Loaf Translators' Conference, and the American Literary Translators Association.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

For better or for worse, myths have taught cultures across time what to value, what to aspire to, and what to avoid. In this free hour-long workshop, we'll use poetry to explore how myths continue to shape the modern world — from the personal to the social to the political. After unpacking myths' power to both oppress and liberate, we'll analyze Nikki Giovanni's poem, "Ego Tripping" and begin to write our own personal mythologies.

Michael J. Ivory, Jr. is a writer from Miami, FL raised by street-side sages, porch-front poets, and off-hand oracles. The queer son of two Pentecostal preachers, Michael began writing to find out who he was outside of the confines of harmful theology. Michael’s writing spans genres. He has performed as a featured poet at venues across the country. He has published narrative nonfiction work with O, Miami Press. He is also a fiction writer and is currently querying his debut novel. Thematically, Michael is always trying to reveal the magic in the mundane and the beauty in the everyday. In his poems, his loved ones become epic heroes. In his stories, conjure is as common as a cold. He holds an MFA from North Carolina State University and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA. When not writing, he is probably laughing way too loudly, napping, or being a nerd.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

In this free hour-long workshop, we'll explore ways to use astrological symbolism for writerly inspiration and insight. Participants will learn how astrology has shaped several famous writers' work, and then apply these frameworks to their own practices. The session will also include a general introduction to astrology, a discussion of the significance of Mercury (the planet of communication), and a Q&A, time permitting.

Marjorie Sarah Cottrell is a writer, astrologer, mom of two, explorer and creative small business entrepreneur with a personal motto of: learn. create. share. Her lively practice includes individual chart consultations, couples’ readings, astrology reading events for small groups, workshops, research, and writing centered on introspection, motherhood, paradox and more. Through events and workshops she marries her professional event planning experience with her passion for ancient astrological wisdom.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

A woman keeps her heart in a box on her bedside table. A father severs his hand and gives it to his daughter. Whether they adopt incomprehensible costumes or leave literal pieces of themselves on the train, when characters reject what it means to look and act human, they take steps toward embodying something greater. In this hour-long generative workshop, we'll explore how flash fiction writers dissect and transform the body misplaced. Through prompts and discussion, participants will begin crafting uncanny stories that resonate with readers.

Avitus B. Carle (she/her) lives and writes outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her stories have been published in a variety of places including Fractured Lit., X-R-A-Y Litmag, JMWW, SoFloPoJo, Necessary Fiction, The Commuter (Electric Lit.), and elsewhere. Avitus' stories have been included in the Best Small Fictions anthology, Best of the Net, and Wigleaf Top 50. Her debut flash fiction collection, "These Worn Bodies," was published by Moon City Press. She can be found online at avitusbcarle.com or online everywhere @avitusbcarle.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

Journaling can help us move through pain and better understand the nature of life, loss, and joy. In this free hour-long journaling workshop, participants will spend time reflecting on grief, respond to writing prompts, and optionally share their responses or stories with the group. The sharing portion of the session will not be recorded to ensure privacy.

Adriana (she/her/ella) is excited to facilitate a space where stored emotions can be released. The power of gaining that inner confidence and voice is what lights her up. She also enjoys pilates, dancing salsa, somatic breathwork, laughing and exploring new things with a curious mindset. Her happy place is the beach. She recently has found a joy in her life again and it started with a pen, paper and a lot of rage.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

Successful short plays can captivate the audience in mere minutes. In this free, hour-long workshop, we'll cover the basics of writing 10 minute plays — the key elements of dramatic scenes, strategies for streamlining stories, crafting compelling characters — and begin outlining new scripts of our own.

Toby Tieger is a Philadelphia-based playwright and screenwriter. Toby writes LGBT+ coming-of-age fantasies about well-intentioned humanists figuring out what they value in a world that’s hard for them to navigate. His fantasy script THE ILLUMINATI KID about a girl who accidentally joins the Illuminati and must save the world from an army of lizards disguised as humans was selected as a Finalist for the 2024 ScreenCraft Animation and Family Competition (top 10/900). His work has recently placed in other contests including Stowe Story Labs, PlayPenn Foundry, and the Roadmap Writers’ Kids' Television Competition. His scripts are available on the New Play Exchange and on his website at www.tobytieger.com.

UPDATE 4/16, 3:30pm ET: Zoom is experiencing widespread outages today. We are meeting via an alternative platform; email info@bluestoop.org to request the new link. We should be back to business-as-usual for tomorrow’s Thursdays on the Stoop session. Thank you for your patience.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

In a world of short attention spans, authors must employ a variety of techniques to keep the reader engaged. In this free, hour-long workshop, we'll experiment with alluring openings, suspenseful scenes, and punchy endings to form the building blocks of your next short story. Expect multiple writing prompts and illustrative examples from film and literature.

A first-generation, Latinx/POC writer, Ernest Langston is the author of two novels, Born from Ashes and Beyond Everyday Secrets. His short fiction has appeared in Litro Magazine, The Plentitudes Journal, Oyster River Pages, and other publications. He holds a BA in English and a certificate in Professional and Technical Communications from San Jose State University, a certificate in Writing from University of Washington, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. For more information, please visit: ernestlangston.com; Instagram: Ernestlangstonmedia.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

Technical writing — the art of translating complex information into simple terms — can be a lucrative skill. But breaking into the field is easier said than done. Many existing resources fail to offer practical advice, or assume that the aspiring technical writer has no writing experience at all. In this free and interactive hour-long session, technical writer Lisa DellaPorta will explain the different types of technical writing jobs, demonstrate a few industry best practices for software and hardware writing, and share resources for continued learning.

Lisa is a former high school teacher with a decade and a half of documentation and knowledge management for a variety of startup companies. She lives in Philadelphia. Her work, both personal and professional, can be found here.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

As an adult, writing for young people can be challenging. But tapping into our own adolescent experiences can help. In this free hour-long session, middle grade novelist Eric Bell will provide several prompts designed to help you see the world from a younger POV. There will be time to write, optional sharing, and an inside look at Eric's Kidlit Playground writing group.

Eric Bell (he/him) is the author of ALAN COLE IS NOT A COWARD (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins) and ALAN COLE DOESN’T DANCE (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins), two middle grade novels about a gay seventh grade boy dealing with bullies, crushes, the power of art, and coming out. The first book was nominated to the Rainbow Book List for LGBTQ Books for Children and Teens. The books have also been translated into multiple languages. Eric is also featured in the queer middle grade short story anthology THIS IS OUR RAINBOW: 16 STORIES OF HER, HIM, THEM, AND US (Knopf). Eric has taught courses on writing middle grade and young adult novels. He is a packet exchange instructor at Drexel University’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing program. Eric has also run numerous virtual workshops and writing groups, including the Kidlit Playground, a group geared toward writers working on children’s books.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom or in-person at CultureWorks in Philadelphia.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group but encourage connecting with other participants to do so on your own!

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

In this free hour-long workshop, we'll study the components of poetic spells (e.g. repetition, invoking powerful forces, spoken delivery) and practice writing our own. We'll start with source texts like June Jordan's "Intifada Incantation: Poem #8 for b.b.L." then gather materials to generate (and optionally share) our own incantations. We'll close with strategies for giving our incantations power, asking ourselves: What physical form could the words take? What happens when you sing it to the air, paint it on a banner, or write it on a stone and throw it in the ocean?

Miriam Saperstein (they/them) is a poet, mixed-media artist, and arts educator. Miriam engages history, ritual, and art to teach practical skills for sustaining communities, which is all we’ve got at the end of the day. They know our struggles are interconnected, from Lenapehoking to Palestine, and thus they strive to teach, create, and strategize accordingly.

Drop-in, creative co-working with peers over Zoom.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life.

We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. Mics will stay off during the silent working portion of the event (3:40-5:20 pm ET).

Note: we do not workshop or read our work aloud to the group.

This event is free and open to all.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.

From LiveJournal to Substack, blogs have come a long way. In this free, hour-long workshop, we'll explore strategies for writing online personal essays, options for free self-publishing platforms, and tips for establishing a posting routine. Expect a generative writing prompt and group discussion, as well as a Q&A, if time permits.

Natalie Crystal is an essayist documenting the little things in life that spark inspiration (and spiraling) over at her digital journal, sky mind, on Substack.