The Writers Block, Inc.

Welcome to The Writer's Block, Inc. where literary art is in motion and within reach! At The Writer's Block, it is our mission to create a literary community where writers of color can thrive, connect, and share their voices.

For this North Texas Giving Day season, we are seeking support for the revitalization of our organization. Since 1997, we have been dedicated developing writers of color through workshops, literary events, critique sessions, conferences, retreats, and publishing opportunities. With your support on North Texas Giving Day, we can continue our mission to provide a platform for diverse voices, expand our programs, and create more opportunities for writers to share their stories.

Your generous contribution on North Texas Giving Day will also allow us to expand our immersive programming by helping us (re)launch our annual retreat as the Partners & Pages Writer's Retreat. This 10-day retreat for poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and scriptwriters is designed to offer the perfect balance between relaxation, connection, soul work, and intense creative work.

The first three days are an opportunity for writers to bring a partner—a spouse, best friend, significant other, parent, or sibling—to enjoy a mini-vacation together. While they’re there, everyone can enjoy meals together and participate in social activities, readings, and opportunities to strengthen their relationships (including optional workshops on connecting, creativity, or personal growth).

After three days, companions depart, and the retreat shifts into focused creative development and dedicated writing time. Writers will also engage in immersive writing workshops, critique sessions, pitching, one-on-one meetings with mentors and agents, networking, craft lectures, author conversations, affinity group meetings, and an opportunity to dive deep into their craft in a supportive and inspiring environment.

Impact

For the past 27 years, The Writer’s Block has supported the racial, social, and economic equity of writers of color by providing honorariums, offering monthly writing workshops, hosting biannual retreats, and presenting at special events such as Tulisoma, the Texas Book Festival, Dallas is Lit Festival, SMU’s Dallas Literary Festival, South by Southwest Conference in Austin, and more.

We have impacted over 200 writers of color through our workshops, educational trainings, and an annual, focused retreat. Additionally, we have published over 50 writers of color across five anthology collaborations through our independent publishing company, and we regularly feature their work on our social media channels and podcast.

Beginnings

Our founders recognized the need for a space where writers of color could share their cultural nuances, interests, and experiences in a loving, supportive, and safe environment to develop, evolve, and become published. And so it was: The Writer’s Block was formed to create a unified neighborhood or “block” in Dallas, Texas, where writers of all backgrounds can come together to share stories, develop their craft, and build meaningful connections without leaving the South. Since our beginnings, we have been on a mission to build a community where writers of color feel supported and empowered to contribute to the literary landscape of our city and beyond.