Environmental Writing: Narrating the Natural World

Our shared earth is rich with stories. In a generative workshop led by journalist and author Anna Clark, we’ll explore ways to chronicle it: personal testimony; poetic attention; asking the largest questions of climate change and environmental justice and much more. We’ll consider how writing about “the environment” and “the city” are not separate practices.

We’ll spend a springtime Sunday in a cheerful bookstore, writing together, guided by prompts and exercises. We’ll playfully and thoughtfully explore our own relationship with nature.

This workshop is for all — anyone who takes inspiration from the living world. Come solo or bring a friend or family member for a creative afternoon. You’ll go home with newly written pages, a creative spark and a wealth of resources on environmental writing, including a robust reading list.

Location:

Next Chapter Books

16555 E. Warren Ave., Detroit

All parking is street parking along both E. Warren and Kensington.

Tickets:

Early bird tickets are $55 until April 1, 2025.

General admission is $65.

Bonus: Sign up with a friend and get $10 off!

Tickets are nonrefundable. Registration closes on May 18 at 1 p.m., or when spaces fill up.

Anna Clark is writer, journalist and teacher. She is the author of "The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy," which won the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism and the Rachel Carson environmental book award, and was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Anna also edited "A Detroit Anthology," a Michigan Notable Book, and wrote a book on the literary history of the Great Lakes State.

Anna is a journalist with ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Elle, the Michigan Quarterly Review, the Boston Review, and other publications.

Anna is a nonfiction faculty member in Alma College’s MFA program in creative writing. She was a Fulbright fellow in creative writing in Kenya and a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. She has been a longtime leader of writing and improv theater workshops in prisons, detention centers, high schools, libraries and beyond. She lives in Detroit. Learn more at annaclark.net.

The Detroit Writing Room offers an inspirational community for writers, creatives and professionals. Whether you’re working on the next Great American novel or a resume, the DWR has 30 professional writing coaches to help with all your writing needs. We also host book talks, writing workshops, and literary events. Visit detroitwritingroom.com to sign up for coaching, memberships, events and more. Check out newyorkwritingroom.com to see our New York-based coaching team.

16555 E. Warren Ave. Detroit

Next Chapter Books is a general-interest new and secondhand independent bookstore serving Detroit's east side. Opening in 2022 as a pop-up at the Alger Theater, Next Chapter Books moved into its permanent brick-and-mortar storefront on E. Warren in September 2023. The bookstore works to uplift local writers and creatives and to highlight diverse voices and experiences. They envision a community where people of all ages love reading, where books are valued, and neighbors feel reflected in and connected to their local bookstore. Learn more at nextchapterbkstore.com.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Next Chapter Books, 16555 East Warren Avenue, Detroit, United States