Join us for the All Writes Reserved finals!

Join us for the semifinals of All Writes Reserved, where teens will compete against each other using their original poetry.

Join us for the semifinals of All Writes Reserved, where teens will compete against each other using their original poetry.

Join us for the semifinals of All Writes Reserved, where teens will compete against each other using their original poetry.

Join us for the semifinals of All Writes Reserved, where teens will compete against each other using their original poetry.

The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month at The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave., Suite 110.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)

There is a $10 suggested donation.

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Slam performers will have up to 3 minutes in each round to perform, and will be judged by five audience members on a scale from 0.0-10.0. Top performing poets will move onto the second and third rounds, and the top scorer will walk away with $50! All poems must be performed solo without props, costumes, musical accompaniment, and must consist entirely of the poet’s original words and work.

For the open mic, you can perform either your work or the work of others with attribution. Open mic readers have up to 5 minutes to perform.

In the interest of creating the most inclusive environment for our all-ages audience, we have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, religious discrimination, or otherwise harmful writing and performance. Your time on the mic is not guaranteed.

Catch the Lincoln Poetry Slam every second Thursday of the month at Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd.

The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Lincoln Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Thursday of every month at Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)

There is a $10 suggested donation.

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Slam performers will have up to 3 minutes in each round to perform, and will be judged by five audience members on a scale from 0.0-10.0. Top performing poets will move onto the second and third rounds, and the top scorer will walk away with $50! All poems must be performed solo without props, costumes, musical accompaniment, and must consist entirely of the poet’s original words and work.

For the open mic, you can perform either your work or the work of others with attribution. Open mic readers have up to 5 minutes to perform.

In the interest of creating the most inclusive environment for our all-ages audience, we have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, religious discrimination, or otherwise harmful writing and performance. Your time on the mic is not guaranteed.

Catch the Omaha Poetry Slam every second Saturday of the month at The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave., Suite 110.

Find out who is titled this year’s Youth Poet Laureate!

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for All Writes Reserved, a youth poetry festival. Teams compete against each other using their own original poetry.

Join us for a special, All Writes Reserved kick-off event. Coaches who have mentored our teen poetry students all year long will showcase their talents in a competitive, cash-prize poetry slam!

The Generator: "Writing Science Fiction" with J.R. Dawson

The Great What If? While Science Fiction is steeped in the speculative, it is a genre that shows us our future to make sense of our present. Come learn about why these stories hold so much importance (especially now), and try your hand at writing your own great what ifs.

***
Writing Science Fiction with J.R. Dawson is part of The Generator: A Creative Writing Series for Grown Folks, presented by Nebraska Writers Collective.

Join us from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 for this virtual, generative writing workshop. Open to all adult writers, ages 19 and older.

This workshop is $15 and will take place on Zoom. Register today.
→ https://newriters.jotform.com/242931848756066

After you sign up, you will receive an immediate confirmation email. You will also receive two reminder emails before the event(s) you choose. You will receive a Zoom link one day prior to the workshop.

Copy to Google Calendar

***
ABOUT THE WRITER
J.R. Dawson's debut, The First Bright Thing, is a Golden Crown award winner. Her shorter works are in places such as F&SF, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, and Lightspeed. Dawson lives in Minnesota with a loving spouse and three dogs. She is a professor at Drexel University's MFA program. Her second novel, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, is a loose sapphic retelling of Orpheus, and releases from Tor in July 2025.

The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month at The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave., Suite 110.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)

There is a $10 suggested donation.

This month’s event features a special performance from Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre.

RSVP for his feature performance right here.

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Slam performers will have up to 3 minutes in each round to perform, and will be judged by five audience members on a scale from 0.0-10.0. Top performing poets will move onto the second and third rounds, and the top scorer will walk away with $50! All poems must be performed solo without props, costumes, musical accompaniment, and must consist entirely of the poet’s original words and work.

For the open mic, you can perform either your work or the work of others with attribution. Open mic readers have up to 5 minutes to perform.

In the interest of creating the most inclusive environment for our all-ages audience, we have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, religious discrimination, or otherwise harmful writing and performance. Your time on the mic is not guaranteed.

Catch the Lincoln Poetry Slam every second Thursday of the month at Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd.

The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Lincoln Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Thursday of every month at Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)

There is a $10 suggested donation.

UPCOMING DATES
• March 13

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Slam performers will have up to 3 minutes in each round to perform, and will be judged by five audience members on a scale from 0.0-10.0. Top performing poets will move onto the second and third rounds, and the top scorer will walk away with $50! All poems must be performed solo without props, costumes, musical accompaniment, and must consist entirely of the poet’s original words and work.

For the open mic, you can perform either your work or the work of others with attribution. Open mic readers have up to 5 minutes to perform.

In the interest of creating the most inclusive environment for our all-ages audience, we have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, religious discrimination, or otherwise harmful writing and performance. Your time on the mic is not guaranteed.

Catch the Omaha Poetry Slam every second Saturday of the month at The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave., Suite 110.

The Generator: "Doppelgangers, Enemies, and Strangers Online: Going Deeper and Finding Empathy in Character" with Ted Wheeler

Award-winning novelist Ted Wheeler will discuss his approach to discovering character while working through the early drafts of a story and walk participants through a generative writing exercise. The exercise will benefit those who are looking to deepen their understanding of a character in an existing draft as well as those who are just starting out.

***
Doppelgangers, Enemies, and Strangers Online: Going Deeper and Finding Empathy in Character with Ted Wheeler is part of The Generator: A Creative Writing Series for Grown Folks, presented by Nebraska Writers Collective.

Join us from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 11 for this virtual, generative writing workshop. Open to all adult writers, ages 19 and older.

This workshop is $15 and will take place on Zoom. Register today.
→ https://newriters.jotform.com/242931848756066

After you sign up, you will receive an immediate confirmation email. You will also receive two reminder emails before the event(s) you choose. You will receive a Zoom link one day prior to the workshop.

Copy to Google Calendar

***
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
💫 March 11 - Writing Science Fiction with J.R. Dawson
All events take place on Tuesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM CST.

***
ABOUT THE WRITER
Ted Wheeler is the bestselling author of three novels, most recently the USA Today bestseller The War Begins in Paris (Little Brown, 2023). He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Nebraska Arts Council, and Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany. At different times, somewhat overlapping, he was co-director of Omaha Lit Fest and co-owner of Dundee Book Company, a neighborhood bookshop in midtown Omaha. For 14 years, he worked as a journalist, who covered law and politics. He is now an assistant professor in the English department at Creighton University.

The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month at The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave., Suite 110.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)

There is a $10 suggested donation.

UPCOMING DATES
• March 8

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Slam performers will have up to 3 minutes in each round to perform, and will be judged by five audience members on a scale from 0.0-10.0. Top performing poets will move onto the second and third rounds, and the top scorer will walk away with $50! All poems must be performed solo without props, costumes, musical accompaniment, and must consist entirely of the poet’s original words and work.

For the open mic, you can perform either your work or the work of others with attribution. Open mic readers have up to 5 minutes to perform.

In the interest of creating the most inclusive environment for our all-ages audience, we have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, religious discrimination, or otherwise harmful writing and performance. Your time on the mic is not guaranteed.

Catch the Lincoln Poetry Slam every second Thursday of the month at Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd.

Join us for an exciting opportunity! Kansas Poet Laureate Emeritus Huascar Medina will lead a free, all-ages writing workshop at the Kearney Public Library on Saturday, February 1, from 1-2:30 p.m.

Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, all are welcome to participate! (Recommended for ages 16+.)

Space is limited to 30 participants.

Register now to secure your spot: https://bit.ly/nwc-register

This workshop is part of the Nebraska Writers Collective’s Visiting Writers Series and supported by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Kansas Poet Laureate emeritus (2019-2022) and Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, Huascar Medina has authored two books of poetry: Un Mango Grows in Kansas and How to Hang the Moon. He is the Lit editor for seveneightfive magazine, a staff editor at South Broadway Press in Denver, CO, an op-ed writer at Kansas Reflector, a founding member and former Chair of TopekaUnited.org, the founder of wordssavelives.org, and co-founder of latinidad.us.

Huascar was born in Killeen, TX, and has lived artfully in Kansas for over two decades. He considers himself a special kind of Kansan—a helianthus. Huascar took roots in Kansas, grew there, and blossomed.

As a second-generation immigrant living in the Heartland, Huascar pushes the boundaries between identity and location, focusing on cultural empathy, social cohesion, class structures, first-generation trauma, minority mental health, and internalized diasporic longing and belonging.

His work has appeared in the Flint Hills Review, Gasconade Review, Green Mountains Review, Kansas Magazine, Latino Book Review, The New York Times, and elsewhere.

Read his poems and profile at poets.org