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Photo courtesy James River Writers
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Photo by Tom Pollard
Writers are notorious for their need of solitude. But they also need to get out into the world and, as Hemingway wrote, refill the well.
As if this swing between polarities were not exhausting enough, add in the moments of near-paralyzing doubt about the value of their efforts in a society that has too little appreciation for things that don’t advance productivity.
Thus James River Writers was born.
The organization, now in its 16th year, was created to provide a kind of support system for area writers, and to help bridge what its founders saw as a yawning gap between writers and editors as well as between writers and readers.
Before its arrival, literary events were little in evidence around town, aside from author appearances at Chop Suey Books and Fountain Bookstore. Now, pretty much every week there is a reading or performance. On the second Wednesday of every month, there’s Writers Wednesdays at Ardent Craft Ales in Scott’s Addition, and every Thursday evening is Writers Farmhouse at the Midlothian Urban Farmhouse Market & Café. “These are informal gatherings, and sometimes people share work,” says Katharine Herndon, now in her fifth year as the organization’s executive director. She says she’s working to erase the perception that JRW is meant only for published authors. Toward that end, nearly all events are free. “Some people think they have to be a ‘real writer’ to come to our events, whatever a ‘real writer’ is,” Herndon says. (A ticketed, nuts-and-bolts themed symposium, The Writing Show, runs January to September at the Firehouse Theatre. Tickets are $15 for non-JRW members, $12 for members.)
For aspiring authors, October is when JRW shows its real value. That’s when the annual JRW Conference takes place — this year will be the 15th. Panels of published writers, editors and agents, from here and elsewhere, descend on the convention center to address the agonies and ecstasies of putting words to paper. They also speak to the often-considerable challenge of getting books from the computer screen to an agent and from an agent into print.
Authors say the networking opportunities are invaluable. Lana Krumwiede, author of the Psi Chronicles trilogy, a children’s series, met her publisher at the conference. Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley Jr. credit JRW with getting their book, “Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone with the Wind,’ ” into the hands of people who could shepherd it to the right people in the industry.
These are not just successes for the individual, they are also triumphs for the organization — proof that, although solitude is vital to creation, being in print is in large measure a communal act.
“We’re a writers’ organization,” Herndon says, “so we want people to publish.”
And that goes for everyone — not just “real” writers.
