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• DROP YOUR SHORTS: Online Flash Forum

  • When
    January 19, 2026
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    REMOTE
  • Spaces left
    0

  Join waitlist

   

  Join your OCWW colleagues writing short form for feedback at our online flash forum. Submit your pages for a constructive, incisive critique by your peers and prepare to offer the same in this two-hour moderated session.  

  UPDATE: The 1.19 session is filled. If you have a piece ready to submit on quick turnaround, please join the waitlist so we can contact you in case of cancellation.
  

  Six members writing flash, essay and short story are invited to share their works-in-progress. Come prepared to comment on key craft elements and receive similar input. No content restrictions, but all manuscripts should be intended for submission and publication as stand-alone prose pieces, not a section of a longer work.  

  Details:

  • Word limit: Up to 2,000; 8 pages; flash and micros 
  • Format: 12 pt type; double-spaced; author name and title in header; 
    pages numbered
  • Submission deadline: Friday 1/9
  • Maximum participants 6; each submission receives a 15-minute group analysis
  • Participants will be sent a link to all manuscripts for download, to be read and annotated for workshop discussion

  To participate:
  

  • Register to attend the remote event; you'll receive confirmation with zoom link and instructions
  • Email manuscript to lborovac@ocww.info  any time after registration until the deadline on January 9 - Subject line: Drop Your Shorts
  • Watch for a reminder email and zoom link - be sure to check spam
  • If your plans change the courtesy of a cancellation is requested

  Meet our moderator:

  Lillian Borovac is a graduate student in Writing and Publishing at DePaul University in Chicago set to graduate June 2026. An editorial intern with Another Chicago Magazine and an associate editor with DePaul online publication 14East,  she's been published in The Upper New Review literary magazine, has a novel in progress, and recited her poem As I Am Young I am Old at the DePaul Spring English Conference.  Lillian is serving as an OCWW Associate during our '25-'26 term.

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• Pump Up the Volume for WILD CONVICTION

  • When
    January 21, 2026
  •  
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Remote
  • Spaces left
    10

  Register

  Join Pump Up the Volume, the OCWW member book club for an all-remote discussion of WILD CONVICTION, a  historical, coming-of-age, socially conscious, epic adventure that is enjoyable at any age.

  Beautifully bridging the divide between literary and commercial fiction, it addresses  issues plaguing the novel's Antebellum South, Wild Conviction is the Gold Winner of the 2024 Human Relations Indie Book Awards, Historical Realistic Fiction; Finalist in the 2024 Feathered Quill Awards; and Red Ribbon Winner in the 2023 Wishing Shelf Awards.

  Come challenge yourself to stretch your writing muscles alongside this celebrated and talented writer!

   ORDER WILD CONVICTION HERE

  

  BIO:  MARY DEZEMBER is the author of award-winning stories and poetry as portals to possibilities. Her publications include historical fiction, speculative fiction, and  two volumes of poetry—Earth-Marked Like You  and Still Howling. In addition to authoring her own stories, she teaches writing courses on how to create stories in fiction, nonfiction and poetry that connect with readers through compelling characters, crafting, style, imagination, and social consciousness. She lives in New Mexico—the Land of Enchantment.

  Click here to learn more about Mary, her publications, and her events.

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• RAGDALE WRITERS' RETREAT

  • Start
    February 17, 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM
  • End
    February 20, 2026
  •  
    5:00 PM
  • Location
    Ragdale - 1260 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL
  • Spaces left
    2

  Register

    

  During our four days together, Rowan will do a deep dive into “Origins and Openings,” which will center on beginnings—the foundation of any piece of fiction, whether that means giving writers an opportunity to start something new or to bring a fresh perspective to existing work.  

  What’s Included: Private room and bathroom, daily craft sessions led by accomplished writing instructor Rowan Beaird, three meals a day - 2 provided by Ragdale’s own Chef Linda - and plenty of space and time to create.

  NOTE: If the retreat sells out, priority will be given to first-time attendees; previous participants may apply for the waitlist.
  

  ABOUT ROWAN BEAIRD:  An award-winning writer whose debut novel, The Divorcées, was named a best book by Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, People, The Independent, and the Chicago Review of Books, she worked at the literary nonprofit GrubStreet as program manager. She's taught English as a second language, helped teen writers find their voice at 826CHI, and facilitated countless brand workshops for companies and nonprofits. She has received scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and StoryStudio, and her short stories have appeared in Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review, and The Southern Review, among others. She currently works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her second novel, Tenderness, will be published in July 2026.

  • Learn more about Ragdale:
  • Note: Attendees: Please direct all questions and communication regarding registrations, overnight accommodations, special dietary restrictions or other concerns to  Tara Maher.

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