About us
Writers collaborating to improve their skills through workshops and learning events...
• WORKSHOPS:
Join with other writers from around the blue planet on Zoom as we discuss and work to perfect our writing every Friday morning, open to any genre: fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, nonfiction, memoir, flash, poetry, or screenplay. Stephen Kastner encourages all writers to join the Friday Flow-State Workshop to breakthrough writer's block and discover the magic of unfettered improvisation.
On Mondays, we alternate between poetry and open-genre sessions that feature MFA style discussions with a small, private and select tribe of writers willing to read and review each other's work. The Poetry and Performance workshops vary between featured poets, ekphrastic writing, and spotlight events.
• PUBLICATIONS:
The Green Mountain Writers Group (GMWG) publishes a website to facilitate our workshop events, and an online journal featuring works developed by our workshop participants. In 2023, we released our first print publication, a compilation of GMWB Members' poems, Poetry & Performance – Volume 1.
NOW TWO FLAVORS OF GMWG:
We acquired the former Burlington Writers Workshop Meetup Group with the chance to rebuild and restore live meetings. There are 2,734 existing members. We hope to restore events in person, in the city, which we sadly lost when COVID struck several years ago. We changed the Meetup name to Green Mountain Writers Group | Burlington (https://www.meetup.com/burlington-writers).
About the founder: Stephen Kastner:
Since 1997, I have been an independent consultant at DesignWise Studios. I began a visual artist in painting and photography. In the 80s I worked as a professional photo-journalist for the NYT papers in Florida. In 2006, I lived in Yunnan, China and spent 6 months as a filmmaker while designing the curriculum for what was to became the top-rated Chinese Culture Spa on TripAdvisor, the Linden Centre. Now, I employ writing, digital photography, videography, graphic design, and networked media to create all varieties of digital storytelling and I coach authors on self-publishing.
Upcoming events
33
Flow-State Writing: A Weekly Practice of Discovery
·OnlineOnlineFlow-state Writing is a weekly journey of discovery, inviting writers to quiet the analytical mind and reconnect with intuition, imagination, and the unexpected joy of finding stories they didn't know they carried.
If you've been searching for a way to reconnect with your writing and overcome a creative block, or simply experience the joy of discovering words you didn't know you had, we invite you to join us Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. You don't need to arrive with an idea. You simply need to arrive willing to listen.
Each workshop begins with a brief silent meditation to quiet the mind, followed by forty minutes of uninterrupted writing. There are no assignments, no conventional writing prompts, and no critiques. Participants are encouraged to begin each session with an open mind rather than an outline or a plan. The purpose of Flow-State Writing is not to continue a story already underway, but to discover what emerges in the moment, allowing intuition, memory, and imagination to lead the way.
We often begin with drawing one of the twenty-two archetypal images from the Major Arcana, not as a fortune-telling device or a writing prompt, but as a symbolic doorway into the imagination. Carl Jung recognized archetypes as universal patterns that appear in myths, dreams, literature, and everyday life. Rather than telling us what to write, these images awaken stories that are uniquely our own.
During the time remaining, anyone who wishes may share what they have written in a supportive, judgment-free environment. We don't critique or analyze one another's work. We simply listen, encourage, and celebrate the surprising places the writing has taken us.
Whether you're a novelist, memoirist, poet, essayist, or someone who simply feels the desire to write, you'll find a welcoming community of writers exploring the creative process together.
5 attendees
Lunch with the Poets
The Innovation Café, 128 Lakeside Ave. Ste. 102, Burlington, VT, USJoin us every Friday for Lunch with the Poets, a relaxed, weekly gathering of poets, writers, readers, and lovers of language at The Innovation Café in Burlington.
Whether you write poetry, enjoy listening to it, or simply appreciate creative conversation, you're invited to pull up a chair and join us for lunch.
Participants are welcome to share a poem of their own or one they love during our open reading session, or simply sit back, enjoy lunch, and listen. No experience is required, and new faces are always welcome.
Event Schedule
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Lunch & ConversationEnjoy lunch, meet fellow writers and readers, and connect with members of Vermont's creative community.
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Open Poetry ReadingsParticipants are invited to share one or two poems. Readings are generally limited to 3–5 minutes each so everyone has an opportunity to participate.
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Meet the Poets & NetworkingStay a little longer to continue conversations, exchange ideas, and make new connections.
Cost
Free to attend. Food and beverages are available for purchase from The Innovation Café.
Your RSVP will help us to arrange a group table in advance. But feel free to invite friends. Simply bring your appetite and your love of words.
We look forward to seeing you there.Organizer's Note: This is intended to be a welcoming and supportive gathering rather than a formal critique group. Original work, favorite poems by other authors, and first-time readers are all welcome.
1 attendee
Past events
657
