Montclair Write Group Events
The following groups are free and open to everyone:
1 - FREE WRITE WORKSHOP - Every Saturday, 10-12:30 ET. Writing prompts are emailed around 10 AM and Zoom opens at 11:15 AM. Readings are from 11:30-12:30. To attend, email Carl Selinger at [email protected]. Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412580181; Meeting ID: 824 1258 0181; One tap mobile +19292056099,,82412580181# US (New York)
2 - WRITERS’ SUPPORT GROUP - Every Tuesday morning 10:15-11:30 AM ET on Zoom. Everyone is welcome (no RSVP required) at our weekly core networking meeting to share what we’re writing. Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412580181. Meeting ID: 824 1258 0181. One tap mobile +19292056099,,82412580181# US (New York)
3 - WRITING ROOM - Monday, 12/22, 10-12 ET, at Panera Bread, Montclair, NJ. Come write with other Write Groupies. Grab food & WRITE! No RSVP needed. Contact Ted Delgrosso for more info at [email protected].
4 - READING LIKE A WRITER - 3rd Mondays, next 12/15, 6 PM ET on Zoom. A conversation led by Jeanne Margolskee about how writers do what they do. She will send thought questions, notes on procedure, and a printable pdf file of the reading. Zoom logon will be sent to those on Jeanne's list. Contact The Montclair Group for more information.
5 - WOMEN’S WRITING CIRCLE – The Women's Writing Circle meets on the 4th Tuesdays of every month, with our next meeting at December 23, 2025, at 6:00 PM ET via Zoom. The Women's Writing Circle is an inclusive, co-created community where women from all backgrounds gather to nurture their creative voices. No prior writing experience is needed, just a willingness to explore. Whether you're drawn to a specific genre or simply seeking a supportive space to write, the circle offers encouragement, inspiration, and connection. Contact Maya Abaza at [email protected] for more info/Zoom log-on.
6 - WRITE GROUP READS & OPEN MIC - Sunday, 12/21, 2-4 PM. In-person ONLY at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium. Come read your polished pieces (8-minute maximum reading time) emceed by Jeanne Margolskee. Come listen even if not reading. If you want to be on the list to read, please contact Carl Selinger by 12/18 at [email protected].
7 - POETRY ROUNDTABLE FEEDBACK SESSION – Sunday, 12/21, at the Montclair Public Library after the Write Group reading. Bring copies of original work and read aloud for others to give informal critique. Contact Phyllis Dhumez at [email protected].
8 – MARKETING YOUR BOOK - Thursday, 1/15, 6 PM on Zoom. Ted Delgrosso and Elaine Durbach discuss book marketing techniques among those who’ve been published and those who plan to do so in the future. Topic: To be announced. For more information, contact Ted at [email protected].
Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412580181. Meeting ID: 824 1258 0181. One tap mobile +19292056099,,82412580181# US (New York)
9 - WRITERS’ PANEL – Thursday, 12/11, 6 PM ET on Zoom, with Elaine Durbach, Ted Delgrosso, Hank Quense and Cathy Greenfeder. Topic: "Is it a scam or not?" Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86383068788
2 - WRITERS’ SUPPORT GROUP - Every Tuesday morning 10:15-11:30 AM ET on Zoom. Everyone is welcome (no RSVP required) at our weekly core networking meeting to share what we’re writing. Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412580181. Meeting ID: 824 1258 0181. One tap mobile +19292056099,,82412580181# US (New York)
3 - WRITING ROOM - Monday, 12/22, 10-12 ET, at Panera Bread, Montclair, NJ. Come write with other Write Groupies. Grab food & WRITE! No RSVP needed. Contact Ted Delgrosso for more info at [email protected].
4 - READING LIKE A WRITER - 3rd Mondays, next 12/15, 6 PM ET on Zoom. A conversation led by Jeanne Margolskee about how writers do what they do. She will send thought questions, notes on procedure, and a printable pdf file of the reading. Zoom logon will be sent to those on Jeanne's list. Contact The Montclair Group for more information.
5 - WOMEN’S WRITING CIRCLE – The Women's Writing Circle meets on the 4th Tuesdays of every month, with our next meeting at December 23, 2025, at 6:00 PM ET via Zoom. The Women's Writing Circle is an inclusive, co-created community where women from all backgrounds gather to nurture their creative voices. No prior writing experience is needed, just a willingness to explore. Whether you're drawn to a specific genre or simply seeking a supportive space to write, the circle offers encouragement, inspiration, and connection. Contact Maya Abaza at [email protected] for more info/Zoom log-on.
6 - WRITE GROUP READS & OPEN MIC - Sunday, 12/21, 2-4 PM. In-person ONLY at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium. Come read your polished pieces (8-minute maximum reading time) emceed by Jeanne Margolskee. Come listen even if not reading. If you want to be on the list to read, please contact Carl Selinger by 12/18 at [email protected].
7 - POETRY ROUNDTABLE FEEDBACK SESSION – Sunday, 12/21, at the Montclair Public Library after the Write Group reading. Bring copies of original work and read aloud for others to give informal critique. Contact Phyllis Dhumez at [email protected].
8 – MARKETING YOUR BOOK - Thursday, 1/15, 6 PM on Zoom. Ted Delgrosso and Elaine Durbach discuss book marketing techniques among those who’ve been published and those who plan to do so in the future. Topic: To be announced. For more information, contact Ted at [email protected].
Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412580181. Meeting ID: 824 1258 0181. One tap mobile +19292056099,,82412580181# US (New York)
9 - WRITERS’ PANEL – Thursday, 12/11, 6 PM ET on Zoom, with Elaine Durbach, Ted Delgrosso, Hank Quense and Cathy Greenfeder. Topic: "Is it a scam or not?" Logon https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86383068788
CRITIQUE GROUPS
Critique groups help writers with feedback on their writing. No drop-ins. Most groups are usually “full” and have waiting lists. Contact the respective leaders for more information.
MEMOIR GROUP – Meets alternate Wednesdays, 10-12, on Zoom. No drop-ins. Contact Carl Selinger at [email protected].
FICTION CRITIQUE GROUPS – No drop-ins. All groups may be full now; contact respective group leaders for latest.
Thursday Novel Group - Looking for 1-2 more novelists! Will get back to you in December. Contact Kathy Hammond
[email protected].
Saturday Writing Critique Group on Zoom. Contact Elissa Goldman at [email protected].
Montclair Manuscripts - Critique group for novels in progress. Meets on Zoom every 3 weeks or so on Tuesdays at 7 pm with periodic in-person meetings to be determined. David Diianni [email protected] or Trevor Delaney [email protected].
POETS’ WORKSHOP - Every Sunday at 4 pm on Zoom. Workshop offers encouragement, constructive critique, and an opportunity to improve existing skills. Weekly poetry submissions are highly encouraged. Interested poets contact Phyllis Dhumez at [email protected] for additional information about the workshop. Our application questionnaire will be available after 12/15/2025 for 2026 openings.
OTHER EVENTS AND ANNOUCEMENTS
Hank Quense has created a whiteboard called the Self-publishing plan. It provides a detailed plan to get a book published and it's free. https://padlet.com/hanque/self-publishing-plan-rcxtf1t5yavemqtu
An adaptation of a Nancy Burke novel! Link to Indiegogo.
Jerrice Baptiste's poem was published in The New Verse News.
Yessenia Guglielmi, a member of one of our fiction groups, has a story that will be featured on a podcast with a YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/A_LdfRWvxJ0?si=eHQ1q_QifgR24UKU
David Henry Sterry invites Write Group members to a table read of a script that he wrote with a friend. It is a benefit for libraries which are under attack right now. When you click on the link below and sign up for the event, you are helping one of America's great assets: libraries and librarians. https://www.noonmiracle.com/event-details/take-my-husband-autumn-table-reads
Check out R. Bremner's new book, You Who Are the Stranger: Collected Poems 1979-1989. He gathers a decade of poems that wander city streets, back rooms, dreams, and memories with an unflinching eye and a restless heart. Here are poems that drift like smoke rings and strike like thunderclaps, moving from cab rides through Paterson to late-night reckonings with fathers, lovers, and ghosts.
Last updated December 2, 2025