The 2024 Salon program was a great success. We updated it for 2025, and we're carrying it forward into 2026 with great enthusiasm and also another set of tweaks.
Starting in January 2026, we offer:
- Contemporary-fiction book club. This club has been going since early 2024. It meets monthly, on the first Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m.
- January 2026: Dealing with Dragons
- Classics book club. This club launches in February 2026 and is intended to be a launching point for deeper conversations about life, the universe, and everything. Texts cross all major civilizations and time periods. Meeting TBD.
- January 2026: The Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Open-writing and critique nights. Every 2nd, 4th, & 5th Wednesday of the month starting at 5p. Pop in whenever. This is your chance to write with like-minded scribes, in peace – but if you have something to share, bring copies for a round-robin critique.
- Craft and social nights. Every 3rd Wednesday starting at 5p. Bring your stuff to craft, write, or game!
Regular presence as a writer at an open-writing night may prompt invitation into private critique groups through the Grand River Writing Tribe that meet regularly, either in-person or virtually.
The critique nights allow writers to come to the table with a printed copy of a short story, a poem or two, or a sample chapter. We'll pass the copy around the table for people to make round-robin notes, and then optionally discuss the piece. No advanced reading or RSVP is required. If no one brings a piece to workshop, then we'll just write individually but in community. (Please do not bring a critique item to your very first meeting with us.)
No cost or obligation to attend, and come and go as you please. Snacks and drinks may be purchased as normal from the bookstore or outside material brought in, but purchases aren't necessary. On certain dates, for certain topics, special snacks or treats may be provided.