By DAVID T. MILLER
Contributing Writer

The high-ceilinged rooms are full of natural light, with dozens of well-tended plants. Couches and roomy writing tables and small nooks with desks just big enough for a laptop are spread out among the many rooms. Some areas are small and private, others can accommodate a large group. Sometimes there are only a few people in the whole space, other times much of it is occupied.  Some wear headphones, but others are happy to chat.

What they have in common is that they’re all writers — from fantasy and science fiction to young adult stories, history, politics, romance and erotica — and they’ve come to the Lexington Writer’s Room to find a quiet place to work, and to connect with others who are drawn to the simple act of sitting down and making up a story.

LWR promises that whether you need to spread out hundreds of index cards to plot your next novel or just want a cozy corner for a few hours, they have space (and parking, Wi-Fi, snacks and a printer) waiting for you.

The nonprofit Lexington Writer’s Room began as a Covid-era attempt by friends to create a collaborative workspace for writers — a place to write, yes, but also to share ideas and creative tips and frustrations. Their vision was to create an affordable space that offered peer support and professional development, as well as the tools of the trade — a clean and quiet place to work, network access and so on, in addition to the chance to get to know other writers.

The group first opened inside Base 100, then moved to another space on West Second Street and membership steadily grew, but a fire destroyed that second location. The group launched a fundraising drive and moved into the old Common Grounds building on East High Street.

There LWR hosted book launches and author networking events and workshops in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. It recently received its first LexArts grant to fund memberships for underrepresented writers. As more writers joined the group, LWR outgrew that building and in July expanded into a large second-floor suite above Frank and Dino’s restaurant at the corner of Mill and Short Streets with three times the square footage of the High Street location.

Former LFUCG council member David Kloiber helped secure the new location. “I’m a writer myself, and the LWR is a great community for people who are actively writing as a career or those who are working at it every day. I was happy to help them get into a space that would let them do so much more, given what they're trying to do for the community. The arts are so essential to a healthy city. I always come back to the old quote from the movie ‘Mr. Holland's Opus,’ ‘Well, I guess you can cut the arts as much as you want. ... Sooner or later, these kids aren't going to have anything to read or write about.’”

Central Kentucky has pitched in to outfit the new LWR space — celebrated novelist and Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House donated a couch on which he’d written three well-received novels, and dozens of people have stepped up with donations of furniture and money to help furnish the new location.

The Lexington Writer’s Room open desk membership costs $50 monthly and offers 24/7 access to the facility and free parking, among other perks. Supporting and virtual memberships cost less, and all members at any level have the opportunity to network and meet in the new space for readings and other events. Scholarships are available for those who can’t otherwise afford a membership.

Board member Gwenda Bond notes, “We are the only organization that provides space and community like this in the country with a model … built on charging affordable rates. We want to give support to all writers, at all stages, who publish (or want to) in all ways. Now, in our new space, we have room to truly grow for the first time in our history, to try new things and to help connect our community more closely to the rest of Lexington.” 

The authors who support the LWR or work there are a diverse bunch, from those just getting started to others whose work has made it to the New York Times Best Seller List, writing everything from poetry and screenplays to novels and history. Fiona Young-Brown, author of “Secret Lexington” and many other books, says, “When I first joined, it was a chance to get out of the house. I'd become something of a hermit and tended to be at home working most of the time. Coffee shops were too noisy and distracting, but I liked the idea of a dedicated place for writers. Part of my reason in joining was to give myself a space to try writing fiction and to find encouragement from others, and it’s great to have a community of cheerleaders.”

The proof of LWR’s success in nurturing local writers is in the dozens of books published by its members.  One just released the first official “Stranger Things” novel, based on the hit television series, another has been featured on NPR and in USA Today, and others have won a variety of literary awards. Bond has written several books at LWR, including the “Stranger Things” novel, and is working on another there. “Being in a space that's intended to encourage writing, that provides the tools, the quiet, and community: it's invaluable. Writing is solitary when it's you and the page, but every writer I know feels better when they can share the ups and downs with other writers.”