History
Founded in 1993 by playwright and creative director, Rose Pearson, The Writers’ Circle has a long history of promoting literacy and literary excellence throughout the state of Rhode Island. In the past, workshops were held at the First Unitarian Church and the Providence Athenaeum. By 1997, the Writers’ Circle was incorporated as a nonprofit charitable center for emerging and professional writers and had moved to the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center on the Brown University campus. Ten years later, the Circle moved to their new office and permanent location at 1087 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI. Workshops and events are conducted in Warwick, Newport, and Providence.
In addition to offering competitive workshops in an array of literary genres, The Writers’ Circle holds many public events throughout the year. We feature accomplished visiting authors, publish an annual anthology, and hold a literary arts festival and showcase, featuring contest winners, as well as performed staged readings of new plays, flash fiction, and poetry. Since 1993, the Circle has conducted over 600 free public performances and has demonstrated a strong commitment to giving back to the community and beyond. The Circle sponsors the education and health needs of a child in Africa, has raised funds on behalf of AIDS patients, and continues to advocate on behalf of the state’s children, by mentoring high school students and by creating the RI Children Speak Out, which provides a literary platform to the state’s children. Power to the Poets, conceived by Creative Director Rose Pearson in 2008, reached Rhode Island's underserved communities for eight months. Heather Sullivan, founder of Praying Mantis Press, will take over the management of Power to the Poets in September 2009. Poets interested in volunteering their talents may reach Ms. Sullivan via email: heather.sullivan1@cox.net
In 2003, to celebrate their tenth anniversary, the Circle published their first RI Writers’ Circle Anthology, showcasing the state’s talent. The 2003, 2007, and 2008 anthologies received high praise from critics. The RI Writers' Circle 2008 Anthology was released in June 2008 at our Literary Arts Festival at Central Congregational Church in Providence. Book signings and public readings for the 2008 anthology were held at Borders in Providence and Barrington Books. Our next anthology will debut in 2010.
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