Upcoming Events and News

Everybody Writes Open Mic

The SLCC Community Writing Center invites you to come to our Everybody Writes! Open Mic nights.

Open Mic nights are every second Wednesday of each month, from 6-7 p.m. Whether you’re interested in sharing poetry, stories, and/or essays you’ve written, perform songs you’ve composed, regaling folks with your stand-up comedy, or just feel like dropping by and listening to the work of your fellow community members, open mic night is the place for anyone and everyone.

Open Mic Nights are held at Tea Zaanti: 1944 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84106. To put your name down for reading, singing, performing, etc. at an Open Mic Night, please message us on Facebook or email nalu.francis@slcc.edu.

30 Poems in 30 Days Competition

Announcing the Community Writing Center's Annual 30 Poems in 30 Days Writing Competition! Write 30 poems based on daily prompts throughout the month of April 2024. Winners will have a chapbook of their original poems designed and produced by the CWC.

Registration is required by April 30, 2024.

On April 1, 2024 at 10 a.m., the first of the 30 writing prompts will be posted on the CWC's Facebook (@CommunityWritingCenter) and Instagram (@slcc_cwc) accounts. Each morning, a new prompt will be posted.

Participants must meaningfully incorporate each prompt into the corresponding poem. Contestants must submit their poems via Submittable by 11:59 p.m. on May 6, 2024.

NOTE: the CWC uses Submittable as our portal for submissions. Submittable will open on April 30 at 10 a.m. for participants to submit their 30 Poems in 30 Days collection. If you click on the "Submittable" link above before that time, you will receive an error message.

Please see our full rules and regulations.

To get you thinking about poetry writing, here are some prompts from the 2022 30 Poems in 30 Days Competition. NOTE: These will not be prompts for this year's competition. We're sharing a few here to get you in a poetry-writing mood.

• Go through current news headlines and find one that draws your attention. Write a poem about it. You can start or end your poem with the headline, use it as the title of your poem, or just use it for the theme. Make the headline integral to the poem in some way.
• Write a poem in which someone is physically and figuratively looking for their voice. Where are the places they would search? What are the memories they would find in these places? What would these memories teach them about where and how to find their voice? Who or what along the way might help them find their voice?

Register for 30 Poems in 30 Days

17th Wasatch IronPen Writing Competition

Welcome to the 17th Wasatch IronPen Writing Marathon, in which artists of the written word face off in a 24-hour writing competition! Adult and Youth writers of all experience levels can participate in one of three genres (Fiction, Non-fiction or Poetry) or can take on the IronPen Ultra and write in all three!

Writers of all experience levels can register for the marathon at the SLCC Community Writing Center (located at Library Square, Suite 8) or register online. Participants must register by Friday, June 28th, at 6:00 p.m. Registration for the IronPen is $10 for one genre (Fiction, Non-fiction, or Poetry) or $15 for the IronPen Ultra (all three genres).

After receiving the prompt on Friday, June 28th at 6:00 p.m., writers will have exactly 24 hours to write. Submissions are due Saturday, June 29th at 6:00 p.m. Visit the CWC's social media accounts (see below) or call 801-957-2192 for more details.

Winners will receive a gift card to the King’s English bookstore and a CWC gift bag. Honorable Mentions will receive a gift bag of CWC swag.

On Friday, June 28, 2024 at 6:00 p.m., a prompt will be posted on the CWC’s Facebook (@CommunityWritingCenter) and Instagram (@slcc_cwc) feeds. Participants must meaningfully incorporate the prompt into their submission. After receiving the prompt, writers will have exactly 24 hours to write.

Submissions are due via Submittable by 6:00 p.m. on June 29, 2024 @6:00 p.m. NOTE: the Submittable link will go live at 6:00 p.m. on June 28, 2024.

Please see our full rules and regulations

Register for IronPen Writing Competition

Working to Meet Diverse Community Needs Results in Building a Strong Community

"Salt Lake Community College ’s Community Writing Center, located in Library Square, has been helping writers of all abilities for 17 years. The CWC provides many services to anyone in the community looking for assistance with whatever writing project they are working on, whether that is a new resume, a grant or a short story. Anyone from any walk of life can find writing support within one of the many programs that theCWC sponsors. One demographic in particular, refugees, has found success with those programs."

Read the rest of the article in SLUG Magazine.