Blue Stoop

What happens when inspiration is elusive and the creative juices aren’t flowing? In this free, hourlong skill share with Jake Pardee (.pardee ), participants will learn new strategies for getting unstuck in their creative process. Through a brief lecture, discussion, and writing exercises, this session will equip participants to tap into a wellspring of inspiration and move their projects forward. Writers of all genres and levels of experience are welcome.

Learn more and RSVP at bluestoop.org/events.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual skill shares led for and by writers in our community. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal sessions are sure to shake up your Thursday routine.

Attention, writers! 5 of our fall classes have October registration deadlines, so be sure to enroll before time runs out. Learn more about these and other classes at bluestoop.org/classes

• Genealogy of the Spirit (cross genre)
• Unlocking Grief (poetry)
• The Art of the Chapbook (poetry)
• Essentials of a Scene (screenwriting)
• Poetry as Resistance (poetry)

Procrastinators and body doublers, assemble! Join Blue Stoop on Tuesday, October 6, 6-8pm, for an in-person Creative Coworking session at Writers Room. We'll open with a quick round of goal-setting and close with another quick check-in — expect about 90 minutes of actual writing time.

Creative Coworking is an opportunity for writers and readers of all experience levels to spend time together while working toward their personal goals. Bring a work in progress, start something new, read a book, or just do some daydreaming! And yes, there will be snacks. RSVP for free at bluestoop.org/events

LAST CALL! October 1 is your final chance to rent one of our summer masterclasses. Each 2-hour session is $50 (less if you qualify for financial aid) and includes 30 days of in-browser access.

• The Image that Haunts with Chen Chen (poetry)
• Verse Chorus Voice with Sadie Dupuis (songwriting/poetry)
• Writing Body and Desire with Mecca Jamilah Sullivan (fiction)
• Mo' Betta Love Poems with Danez Smith (poetry)
• Chisel in Hand: Revision Strategies for Fiction with N. K. Jemisin (fiction)

More info at bluestoop.org/masterclasses

Stitch research into the fabric of your work in this free, hourlong skill share with storyteller Svetlana Binshtok! ( ) Participants will learn new strategies to blend research seamlessly into their projects and create rich emotional narratives through a brief craft lesson, discussion of example texts, and writing exercises. Novices and writers at all levels of experience are encouraged to attend.

Learn more and RSVP at bluestoop.org/events.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual skill shares led for and by writers in our community. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal sessions are sure to shake up your Thursday routine.

Read. Write. Daydream. Join Blue Stoop Wednesday, 9/23, from 3:30-5:30pm ET for a free, virtual coworking session. RSVP at bluestoop.org/events

Don't miss your chance! Registration for Language of Symbolism closes on Tuesday, 11/10.

Malachi Lily is a neurofunky, liminal Black person rooted in Lenape-Hoking (Philly.) Lily writes speculative fiction through magick, Black-anarcho politics, and nature wisdom to decompose colonial fears. In 2023, they were a Tinhouse and Roots.Wounds.Words. fellow, and in 2024, Lily was a writing resident at Stove Works. In 2025, Lily became a Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Fellow and a Trans Journalism Association Fellow. Currently, in 2026, they were a fellow at the Narrative Shifts residency, a columnist at Inglenook Lit, the spec-fic scholar fellow for the McCormack Writer Center, and the editor-in-chief of Black and Pink Magazine.

In this generative, interactive lecture, we will break down the language of visual symbolism for both the written and illustrated page. This language is derived from the study of folklore, fairytales, divination, and magick as they show up in patterns of visual artwork. We will study pieces of artwork and use them as prompts to create written works of symbolism, as ekphrasis or just inspiration.

For authors of poetry, prose, and comics, this virtual class will give you a sharper toolset in your creative arsenal to support you in sharing the story you want, translating the message you want your reader to receive, and electrifying your prose with potent visuals.

Registration closes Tuesday, 11/10 (or when the class is full). Financial aid and payment plans available, learn more at bluestoop.org/classes

Want to learn how to promote your book? Unsure how to navigate the world of publishing? Bring your questions to this free, hourlong skill share with publicist Andrea Thatcher. Participants will learn about the current state of the publishing industry and have the opportunity to engage in a robust Q&A session. Writers of all genres and levels of experience are welcome.

Learn more and RSVP at bluestoop.org/events.

Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual skill shares led for and by writers in our community. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal sessions are sure to shake up your Thursday routine.

Don't miss your chance! Registration for Writing by Needle closes on Friday, 11/6.

Ebs Sanders ( ) co-edits the tiny with Gina Myers. They are the author of Low Ecstasies (blush lit, 2025) and A Fallow Channel (Gauss PDF, 2020). Their work can be found in Blue Bag, Cul-de-sac of Blood, Keith LLC, Mercury Firs, peel lit, the Rumpus, and Tripwire, among others. They are one of ten 2025 Convent Arts fellows, teach for Vocational Poetics and facilitate a reading group for the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Hosted at South Philadelphia’s historic Fleisher Art Memorial, this class examines a historically under-appreciated craft as an alternate means for written expression.

We’ll investigate how embodied text-making alters the experience of expression, reading excerpts from Anne Boyer’s Garments Against Women, Karen Brodine’s Woman sitting at the machine, thinking, T Fleischmann’s Time is the thing a body moves through, Isabella Rosner’s Stitching Freedom: Embroidery and Incarceration, andMC Hyland’s The Dead & The Living & The Bridge. We’ll examine Agnes Richter’s autobiographical strait jacket, the arpilleras of artists living under Pinochet’s regime in Chile, Karan Al-Maloukh’s embroidered books, and Ray Materson’s baseball player portraits made with found materials during his incarceration.

Students will come away equipped to create a stitched text of their own. All supplies will be provided.

Registration closes Friday, 11/6 (or when the class is full). Financial aid and payment plans available, learn more at bluestoop.org/classes

Don't miss your chance! Registration for Poetry as Resistance closes on Friday, 10/30.

Saskia ( ) is a writer, educator, and social scientist from Philadelphia by way of Haiti. A master of economics with accolades in research and poetry, she has written essays, reports, and poems across publications. Her work explores global inequality, economic mobility, community development, and comparative politics. Saskia currently serves as a visiting professor, research consultant, organizer, and teaching artist. She is the curator of both Sunset Saloon and The ThinkPeace and sits on the programming committee of the Painted Bride Art Center. More from this eldest daughter at bysaskia.co.

Informed by and committed to the Black radical tradition, “Poetry as Resistance” is a transformative 3-week, in-person course that delves deep into the power of revolutionary literature. Participants will explore the works of courageous poets and writers who have used language to advocate for justice, liberation, and change.

Each week, we will focus on a different set of figures, examining their contributions and how their words continue to resonate today. Writers studied have included June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Refaat Alareer, and aja monet. Participants will engage in critical analysis, facilitated dialogue, and generative writing exercises that respond to historic and contemporary forms of political repression. This class is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Registration closes Friday, 10/30 (or when the class is full). Financial aid and payment plans available, learn more at bluestoop.org/classes