Denver Writers Forum/Book Club

Details

Due to a scheduling conflict at our regular venue, this meeting will be conducted at the Culinary Dropout, 4141 East 9th Avenue, Denver, CO. Because we have to reserve seating in advance, we ask everybody signed up to ensure they will be attending so we don't overbook.

The restaurant offers valet parking, and there is a free public parking garage at 865 Albion Street, which is half a block away. To find us, please ask for the Denver Writers Forum at the front desk.
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“The real secret is this: writer’s block isn’t a wall—it’s a message.”

Tamora Pierce has spent decades building beloved fantasy worlds filled with stubborn heroines, talking cats, warrior mages, and gods who meddle just a little too much. But behind the magic lies a working writer who has wrestled with deadlines, doubt, and the blank page just like the rest of us.

Pierce’s advice on writer’s block is refreshingly practical, deeply humane, and perfect for writers of every genre—from epic fantasy to literary realism to speculative metafiction. If you’ve ever stared at your screen wondering why the words won’t come, this forum will give you tools, perspective, and a few gentle kicks of encouragement.

Join us for an interactive discussion as we break down Pierce’s core strategies for navigating creative paralysis—and learn how to turn “stuckness” into momentum.

The Lessons We’ll Explore

We’ll unpack the key principles that shaped Pierce’s approach to writer’s block.

Listen to the Block: Instead of fighting it, ask why you’re stuck. Is the scene wrong? Is the character resisting? Is your brain asking for rest?

Change the Angle: Pierce recommends switching POV, jumping ahead to a later chapter, or rewriting a scene from a different emotional temperature.

Refill the Well: When your imagination runs dry, it’s not failure—it’s a signal. Reading, walking, daydreaming, or even doing chores can reset your creative engine.

Lower the Stakes: Perfectionism is the enemy. Pierce encourages writing “badly on purpose” to break the pressure seal and rediscover play.

Talk It Out: Sometimes the fastest way through a block is explaining the problem to another human. The act of articulation reveals the solution.

Honor Your Process: Writer’s block isn’t a moral failing. It’s part of the craft. Pierce urges writers to treat themselves with patience, humor, and kindness.

What to Expect at the Forum

Deep-Dive Discussion: We’ll explore each piece of advice with examples from Pierce’s writing life and from our own works-in-progress.

Peer Brainstorming: An open floor to share your current challenges and get supportive, craft-focused feedback from fellow writers.

A Note on Preparation

You don’t need to be familiar with Tamora Pierce’s books to attend. Whether you’re drafting a novel, revising a short story, or trying to restart a stalled project, this forum is designed to help you reconnect with your creative momentum.
RSVP today and reclaim your writing flow.

Forum Details

Our forum meets every fourth Thursday. In addition to the main topic, we host an open discussion on writing, editing, and publishing issues that participants bring to the table. Our September schedule includes:

9/3 Six Bits of Advice by Jorge Luis Borges

Location & Logistics

We meet at RiNo Beer Garden, 3800 Walnut Street, Denver, Colorado every fourth Thursday. (The establishment has free adjacent parking.)

We also host the Denver Writers Book Club, which discusses the works of authors from a "workshop" perspective. Our book club schedule is:

8/20 The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
9/17 Permutation City by Greg Egan

And don’t forget to join the Denver Writers Workshop, our ancillary group. It’s a peer critique group where writers share drafts to receive friendly and constructive feedback. Its upcoming schedule is:

8/27 Vaughn
9/10 Vanessa
9/24 Liam
10/8 Alan
10/22 Jeff

“Nine months Landsman has been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof, and instead of taking a gun and ending it, he’s still looking down the barrel of bad luck.”

So begins the gritty, melancholy, and razor-sharp world of Michael Chabon’s 2007 alternate-history masterpiece, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. If you’ve ever wondered what hard-boiled noir looks like transposed onto a frozen frontier where history took a radical left turn, this is your ticket into one of the most richly imagined worlds in modern speculative fiction.
Chabon’s novel isn’t just a detective story—it’s an alternate-history fever dream wrapped in biting humor and deep existential yearning. It plunges you into a reality where post-WWII Jewish refugees settled not in the Levant, but in the rain-drenched panhandle of Sitka, Alaska. Sixty years later, their temporary safe haven is about to revert to American control, and detective Meyer Landsman is running out of time, sobriety, and places to call home.

The Premise
In an alternate timeline where the State of Israel collapsed in 1948, Sitka, Alaska, has become a teeming, Yiddish-speaking metropolis of millions. But the Federal “Reversion”—the date Sitka returns to Alaskan state jurisdiction—is just two months away, leaving its populace facing an uncertain diaspora all over again. Enter Meyer Landsman: a divorced, insomniac homicide detective living out of a fleabag hotel, who wakes up to find a heroin addict shot dead downstairs.

When the victim turns out to be a former chess prodigy with ties to powerful, shadowy Hasidic crime families, Landsman and his half-Tlingit partner, Berko Shemets, stumble into a sprawling conspiracy:
• The Ticking Clock of Reversion: What does home mean when your entire civilization has an expiration date stamped on it?
• A Hard-Boiled Kosher Noir: A classic murder mystery colliding with mobbed-up rabbis, federal agents, and messianic plots.
• The Weight of Memory: A cultural exploration of displacement, faith, regret, and the dark ironies of survival.
Underneath the snappy slang and noir banter lies a poignant central question: When nowhere is truly permanent, what are we willing to build—or destroy—to feel safe?

What We’ll Chat About
• The Architecture of Alternate History: How convincingly does Chabon build a Yiddish-speaking Alaskan metropolis, from its tailored slang to its political tensions?
• Meyer Landsman as the Classic Noir Anti-Hero: How does Chabon balance classic hard-boiled detective tropes with the cultural specificity of Jewish humor and sorrow?
• The Impending Reversion: How does the looming loss of homeland drive the characters’ actions, desperation, and moral compromises?
• Messianism vs. Reality: The novel's dark satire of geopolitical manipulation and religious prophecies—who profits from the end of the world?
• Language and Tone: Chabon’s poetic, stylized prose and use of invented idioms (latkes, boychiks, sholems)—does it pull you into the setting or keep you at arm's length?

Reading Goal
Try to finish the entire novel, but even if you’re only halfway through, come pull up a chair and join the conversation! We just ask that you’re comfortable with open spoilers—the mystery unravels into a political and theological web that is best discussed with all the cards on the table.

Note for Newcomers
Our book club welcomes readers of all backgrounds. You don’t need an encyclopedia of alternate history, 1940s noir, or Yiddish culture to dive in—just an appreciation for brilliant prose, intricate mysteries, and rich speculative worlds. Plus, newcomers are eligible to help pick our next selection!
RSVP today and let's find out whodunit before the Reversion hits.

Location & Logistics
We meet on Thursday, October 15 at RiNo Beer Garden, 3800 Walnut Street, Denver, Colorado. (The establishment has free adjacent parking.) We will be gathered in the separate room.

Join The Denver Writers Workshop, our affiliate group. It has the following critiques scheduled:
9/24 Vanessa
10/8 Alan
10/22 Jeff
11/5 Nate
11/19 Liam

Michael Chabon has spent decades crafting literary marvels that gleefully dismantle the walls between highbrow prose and genre pulp—from the Pulitzer-winning comic book epic The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay to the alternate-history noir of The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Behind the lyrical sentences and sweeping narratives, however, is a disciplined working craftsman who treats storytelling with equal parts reverence, blue-collar grit, and boundless creative joy.

Chabon’s advice on the writing life is sharp, funny, and deeply liberating. He rejects the tortured-artist myth in favor of showing up, protecting your focus, and writing the stories you actually love rather than what you think the gatekeepers demand. Whether you’re writing literary fiction, hard-boiled crime, high fantasy, or metaphysical sci-fi, Chabon’s insights offer both a masterclass in craft and a vital jolt of creative courage.

Join us for an interactive discussion as we break down Chabon’s core rules of writing—and discover how to bring discipline, joy, and stylistic muscle to your own work.

The Lessons We’ll Explore

• Discipline Over Inspiration: Chabon famously observes that novel-writing requires three things: talent, luck, and discipline—and discipline is the only one you can control. We’ll look at the power of setting a routine, showing up consistently, and building momentum through habits rather than fleeting bursts of muse.
• The Death of the "Guilty Pleasure": Chabon fiercely champions genre—detective stories, comic books, horror, and adventure tales. We’ll discuss why apologizing for what you love to read and write weakens your work, and how embracing your primal storytelling passions can transform your drafts.
• Style as Substance: To Chabon, an adventurous vocabulary and sentence-level musicality aren't decorative—they are the heartbeat of the world you construct. We’ll explore how rhythm, bold metaphor, and dynamic phrasing elevate character and atmosphere.
• Structure and Architecture: The blueprint of a story must be sound. We’ll discuss Chabon’s techniques for building layered plots with clear stakes, hidden rails, and satisfying thematic payoffs.
• Protecting the Sanctum: Chabon writes late at night in a backyard shed, cutting himself off from the chatter of the world. We’ll talk about managing distractions, carving out sacred writing time, and protecting the mental space required to create.
• Write What Entertains You: If a scene doesn't move you, make you laugh, or quicken your pulse, it won't do it for a reader. Chabon reminds us that literature at its finest is entertainment infused with soul.

What to Expect at the Forum

• Deep-Dive Discussion: We’ll break down each of Chabon’s principles using examples from his writing life and examine how they apply to our own works-in-progress.
• Peer Brainstorming: An open floor to discuss current hurdles in your projects and gather craft-focused feedback from fellow writers.

A Note on Preparation

You don’t need to be intimately familiar with Michael Chabon’s novels to attend. Whether you are outlining a first draft, polishing a short story, or wrestling with how to sustain a daily writing habit, this forum is designed to give you practical, actionable fuel for your craft.

RSVP today and bring some craft and joy back to your desk.

Location & Logistics

We meet on Thursday, October 29 at RiNo Beer Garden, 3800 Walnut Street, Denver, Colorado. (The establishment has free adjacent parking.) We gather in the separate room.

We also host the Denver Writers Book Club, which discusses the works of authors from a "workshop" perspective:

BOOK CLUB

• 10/15 The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

And don’t forget to join the Denver Writers Workshop, our ancillary group. It’s a peer critique group where writers share drafts to receive friendly and constructive feedback. Its upcoming schedule is:

WORKSHOP

• 10/8 Alan
• 10/22 Jeff

Find us on Facebook for more information on upcoming activities.