The University of Akron Press and Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre in collaboration with ArtsNow, welcome accomplished author, editor, and director of the NEOMFA program, Mary Biddinger to host the first of four generative writing workshops on self-care for writers.

The Business of Self-Care for Writers: A Workshop on Goals and Artistic Growth
This upbeat and friendly workshop will guide participants through the process of taking inventory and setting goals for their creative work. We will consider the organization of projects as a way to cultivate sustainability and prevent artistic burnout, and the session will include time for conversation and sharing with other writers.

Mary Biddinger
Mary Biddinger is the author of numerous poetry books including Department of Elegy (2022), and co-editor of A Mollusk Without a Shell: Essays on Self-Care for Writers (2024). She edits the Akron Series in Poetry at the University of Akron Press and teaches creative writing at the University of Akron, where she serves as director of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program (NEOMFA). Biddinger’s novella-in-flash, The Girl with the Black Lipstick, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in summer 2025.

Thanks to a generous ArtsNow grant, this workshop is provided at no charge. In addition, the first 20 registrants will receive a free copy of a resource text published by The University of Akron Press.