The Writers’ Book Club
R(ev)ise and Shine! is delighted to present the Writers’ Book Club, which is just what it sounds like — a bi-monthly book club hosted by writers for writers.
Every other month we select a new book to discuss in an informal group setting online, where we focus on specific questions of craft in order to become better at reading like writers. We also share in advance a list of Discussion Questions designed to guide our conversation and inspire deeper thinking.
The Writers’ Book Club offers a safe, fun, educational forum for rich and rewarding conversations about books and the craft of writing.
Check out our FAQ below for more information.
You can also watch this space for details on upcoming meetings/titles or join our mailing list and FREE Substack Newsletter to receive updates as soon as they become available.
Our Next Selection
Join editor Rob Costello and contributors Shae Carys, H.E. Edgmon, Michael Thomas Ford, Val Howlett, Sarah Maxfield, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor as they celebrate the launch of We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Takes of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures.*
Bring your own questions and join us for a fun & lively conversation!
Luminous Wings, Pure Hearts, Sharp Teeth . . .
Bringing fresh blood to traditional monster stories, We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures is a cross-genre YA anthology that reclaims the monstrous for the LGBTQA+ community, offering bold, transformative queer tales of exploration, first love, resilience, and empowerment.
Featuring familiar and original beasties from myth, folklore, and urban legend, and written exclusively by queer and trans authors, each creepy and compelling story highlights a different creature — including Mothman, Carabosse, a girl with thirteen shadows, a living house, werebeasts, gorgons, sirens, angels, and many others — to celebrate queerness and the things that (mostly) go bump in the night!
Featuring stories by: Kalynn Bayron, David Bowles, Shae Carys, Rob Costello, H.E. Edgmon, Michael Thomas Ford, Val Howlett, Brittany Johnson, Naomi Kanakia, Claire Kann, Jonathan Lenore Kastin, Sarah Maxfield, Sam J. Miller, Alexandra Villasante, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.
"The collection as a whole is compelling and rich with fascinating beasties that provide new twists on monster lore…worthwhile for its strong queer-affirming stance and thought-provoking depictions of monsters."
-Kirkus
"As varied, creative, heartfelt, and fun as the community of writers who conjured it, We Mostly Come Out at Night is the narrative bestiary you need."
-Elana K. Arnold, National Book Award finalist, Printz Award honoree, and author of Damsel, Red Hood, and What Girls Are Made Of
"Charming or creepy, rousing or unsettling, or maybe a combination of all of those—there's an odd, eerie flavor for everyone in this stunner of an anthology. If you don't recognize that reference, dive into this queer fantasia and find out for yourself. My fave read this year!"
-Saundra Mitchell, award-winning editor of All Out and author of All The Things We Do In The Dark
“These monster stories positively pulse with humanity. Not only are they gripping and suspenseful, but they have such depth, meaning, and stand as powerful testaments to the fierceness and fabulosity of the queer experience.”
-Dan Clay (aka, Carrie Dragshaw), author of Becoming A Queen
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 @ 8:00 pm EDT
*Tickets are FREE for this event
FAQs
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A book club hosted by writers for writers where we learn more about the craft of writing by discussing a good book together!
Each discussion focuses on specific questions of craft, such as: What works and what doesn't work in the book? What choices did the author make that you agree with? Which ones did you feel were a mistake? What did you think of the author's approach to crafting dialogue? Incorporating backstory? Creating imagery and utilizing metaphor? What ideas did the book give you to weave into your own work? What did you learn about writing from the book? Etc.
Come prepared to discuss and analyze the text like a writer!
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You’ll need to reserve a spot through our Eventbrite page in order to receive the link to attend each meeting.
After that, it’s much like any other interactive Zoom event you have previously participated in.
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Yes. While we understand that money is tight these days, unfortunately there are expenses associated with organizing and running an online book club. Still, we don’t wish cost to prevent anyone from participating, so we are keeping dues as low as possible, or $1.00 per meeting (plus a few pennies in Eventbrite fees). However, for those who can afford it, we kindly request suggested dues of $5.00 per meeting, which helps us offset the overhead of the technology involved and the time and effort required to host these events.*
*We’re also exploring the possibility of establishing a yearly-subscription model for all of our paid online content.
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We host book club meetings on a bi-monthly basis, on the evening of the first Wednesday of the month.
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We mostly read middle grade and young adult novels, although occasionally we dip our toes into adult fiction, non-fiction and memoir (for all ages), short stories, and even picture books (in which case, we select multiple titles from a single author to discuss).
In addition to recent releases, we also feature classics and books we particularly love that we feel didn’t get the kind of attention they deserved when they first came out.
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Our Zoom account caps the number of participants at about 100. If we find that so many people attend a particular meeting that it makes a meaningful discussion impossible, we’ll divide into smaller groups (via breakout rooms) led by each one of us.
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Check this webpage for updates, or better still, sign up for our FREE Substack Newsletter and get the latest info on all our upcoming events and offerings delivered straight to your inbox!