Name: Water Street Writers :: Spring Show
Start: 2025-04-13T17:00:00-05:00
Location: Water Street Studios

Join us Sunday, April 13th, for our last Water Street Writers event of the season! (We'll be back in September)
Featuring the talents of Michelle Donfrio, Christopher Kuhl, Richard Holinger, and David Berner! All four have new books out! All four are extremely talented! And all four are solid members of the local writing community. 🤩
Open Mic after the program too!
Doors open at 5pm, show starts at 5:30pm at the gorgeous Water Street Studios in Batavia.
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Rick Holinger
Rick Holinger’s fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, book reviews, and scholarly articles have appeared in The Southern Review, Chautauqua, Southern Indiana Review, The Iowa Review, Boulevard, and have garnered four Pushcart Prize nominations. His short fiction will appear in Best Microfiction 2025 and was nominated for Best Microfiction 2025 and Best Small Fictions 2025. Books include a forthcoming collection of short fictions, Unimaginable Things and Other Stories, some stories appearing in Witness, Vestal Review, Midway Journal, and more.
A chapbook, Down from the Sycamores: Poems, is available for pre-sale until April 25, 2025, with a release date of June 20. Poems have been previously published in Boulevard, The Texas Review, Rhino, and elsewhere. Poet and UIC professor Christina Pugh writes, “Down from the Sycamores is a variegated bouquet of lyric thought, sound, and sight, which will move as well as enliven the reader.”
Get your copy here: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/down-from-the-sycamores-poems-by-richard-holinger/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJGmKJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY1uHST8yrBzLkF5ToZJAm-llnsrV_jeMRZ33e8WKfiojFI_yBHb-Vjqrw_aem_QLobYSTwnVk5KJ6zFAME8A
Rick has taught English and creative writing on the college and secondary school levels and currently lives in Northern, Illinois.

Christopher Kuhl
Christopher Kuhl’s writing focuses intensely on how people deal with change: our coming of age, how we process grief, how we cope with death, our own upcoming demise in addition to the death of others. Kuhl’s depiction of the human condition and our relationship with time reveal a deep spirituality.
Kuhl’s life as a poet in a small town appears frequently in his work. His connection to a rural, natural setting is evident as he is originally from the northern Adirondacks. Kuhl now writes in a small river town in Illinois, where he has lived for the last 32 years.
https://christopherkuhlwriter.com/home/

David Berner
David W. Berner is an acclaimed, award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, short stories, and poetry.. His work includes the novels A Well-Respected Man, The Islander, Night Radio, Sandman, and Rainbow Man, and the nonfiction books Accidental Lessons, Any Road Will Take You There, Walks with Sam, The Consequence of Stars, and Daylight Saving Time.

He has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award, the NYC Big Book Award, the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors Award for Literary Fiction, and the Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writers Association. He's also been recognized by the Paris Book Festival and The Society of Midland Authors.
In 2011, David was named the Writer-in-Residence at the Jack Kerouac Project in Orlando, FL and in 2015 was named the at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home and Museum in Oak Park, IL.
https://www.davidwberner.com/

Michelle Donfrio
Michelle Donfrio received her MA in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University. Whether copywriting, coordinating a national media campaign, leading a team as an Internal Communications Manager, or writing large-scale change communications, she enjoys unique career challenges and opportunities for growth. Last year, Michelle left her corporate job to spend more time with her toddler. She is now a part-time Communications Specialist for the City of Naperville. Poetry is her favorite pastime. She has served as a poetry editor for Crack the Spine literary magazine and as a judge for the Fox Valley Youth Poet Laureate project. Her poetry has appeared in several literary magazines, and her poem “Pins and Needles” was featured on Aurora’s Paramount Theater building throughout April 2021. During the pandemic, she collaborated with two of her friends to self-publish a poetry and photography book, Poetography: A Journey Through Seasons. Fun fact: Before COVID-19, Michelle used to be a Waterline Writers Co-Creative Director. She’s excited to be on the other side of the microphone!
Her book can be purchased here: https://www.blurb.com/b/10640395-poetography
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Everyone is welcome! Suggested donation is $5. All proceeds pay our authors, so let’s give them a good night! So please like and share and all that jazz.
In addition to fine literary entertainment, you may purchase signed copies of our authors’ books. Refreshments will be available from Water Street Studios’s bar.
Water Street Studios has graciously donated their gallery to us, all that they ask is that we respect the art and their space. In return, as they are a nonprofit, we ask you to consider becoming members to support their unique programming. (Which includes some writing classes this go round!)
This event is emceed by Eric Bodwell. Susan Ward Trestrail Photography will document the evening, while Kevin Moriarity will record the show for our archives and your enjoyment.
Experience Water Street Writers four precious Sundays a year in the fully accessible main art gallery at Water Street Studios. For more information, contact Cathy Borders here or at [email protected].
To learn more, including submission guidelines, please visit our fancy new web address: https://waterstreetwriters.com
Submit to become a featured reader at [email protected].
Submissions are always open. We pick from the slush pile each and every event. Multiple submissions are okay. Our next upcoming events will be on a Sunday in April and then not until September!