Earlier this week, I attended a celebration that reminded me why community matters. Detroit Working Writers turned 125 years old, and the anniversary event was held at the beautiful Cranbrook House and Gardens.
[The DWW 125 anniversary was at Cranbrook House and Gardens]
I served as Vice President of DWW from 2017 to 2019, and being back among this community of writers felt like coming home. The evening was filled with readings, conversations, and reflections on what this organization has meant to so many writers over more than a century.
I loved hearing once again how it all began.
13 Women Who Refused to Wait
Detroit Working Writers was founded in 1900 by 13 professional women writers. Thirteen women who saw a need and decided to fill it. Thirteen women who refused to accept the limitations placed on them simply because of their gender.
What they created became the oldest continuously operating writers’ organization in Michigan. Think about that. 125 years of unbroken support for writers. Through two world wars, the Great Depression, social upheavals, technological revolutions, and a global pandemic. This organization has never stopped showing up for writers.
During the event, I learned something that shocked me. In the 1970s, not that long ago at all, women attending certain professional events and newspaper gatherings couldn’t enter through the main door. They had to use a separate entrance. A side door. As if their presence needed to be hidden or minimized.
Can you imagine? The 1970s. Many of us were alive then. Our mothers, our aunts, our older sisters were navigating a world that literally made them use different doors.
[With DWW President Laura Hedgecock]
These 13 founding women faced even more restrictions when they started DWW. But they moved forward anyway. They created something that has now lasted 125 years. They built a space where women writers could gather for mutual support and professional development, where voices could be heard and work could be celebrated.
That’s the power of community. That’s the power of women who refuse to be stopped.
What DWW Offers Writers
Over the decades, Detroit Working Writers has provided so much more than just meetings. Monthly gatherings feature readings, critiques, and workshops. The organization has hosted annual contests and awards, published anthologies of members’ work, and offered scholarships for aspiring writers. Guest speakers from the publishing industry share insights. Networking opportunities open doors.
But beyond all the programs and structure, what DWW really offers is something simpler and more profound. It offers belonging.
Throughout the evening, writer after writer shared how being part of Detroit Working Writers helped them grow. How the community gave them courage to keep going when rejection letters piled up. How feedback from other members sharpened their craft. How knowing they weren’t alone in this solitary profession made all the difference.I felt the same way during my time as Vice President.
[DWW member Michael Dwyer and Sonya Julie]
Writing can be lonely. You sit alone with your thoughts, your words, your doubts. You face rejection alone. You struggle through blocks and dry spells alone. But when you’re part of a community like DWW, you’re not really alone. You have people who understand, who’ve been there, who believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself.
That’s what these 13 women created. Not just an organization, but a lifeline for writers who needed to know they belonged somewhere.
My DWW Journey
My time with Detroit Working Writers was formative. It taught me about leadership, about showing up consistently, about the work it takes to keep a community thriving. It connected me with writers whose passion and dedication inspired me to keep pushing forward with my own work.
[With Linda K Sienkiewicz]
Being part of DWW also prepared me for what came next in my journey. Shortly after my time as Vice President, I became the Executive Director of the Chaldean Cultural Center and Museum. The skills I developed at DWW, the understanding of what it means to preserve history and build community, all of that came with me.
And the creative work continued too. My film Pomegranate, which journalist Gina Joseph beautifully described as “Little Baghdad meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” was born from the same commitment to storytelling and community that I learned at DWW. The same belief that our stories matter, that they deserve to be told with care and authenticity.
Nothing is ever wasted. Every community we’re part of teaches us something. Every role we step into prepares us for the next one.
The Thread That Connects Us All
What those 13 women understood in 1900 is what we still need to understand today. We’re stronger together. We go further together. We create lasting change together.
One woman with a dream is powerful. Thirteen women with a shared vision? Unstoppable.
And 125 years later, their vision is still alive. Still supporting writers through monthly meetings and annual celebrations. Still giving members a platform. Still nurturing the next generation of storytellers. Still opening doors, the main ones this time, for anyone who needs a community of people who understand what it means to put words on a page and send them out into the world.
What This Means for All of Us
You don’t have to be a writer to understand the lesson here. Whatever your calling, whatever your passion, whatever you’re trying to build or create or accomplish, you need community.
You need people who believe in what you’re doing. You need people who’ve walked the path before you and can show you the way. You need people who are walking alongside you right now, facing the same struggles, celebrating the same victories.
Don’t try to do it alone. Don’t think you have to prove you can make it without help. The strongest people I know are the ones who let themselves be supported, who show up for community, who give and receive in equal measure.
Gratitude
Standing in that room at Cranbrook, surrounded by writers who are carrying forward what those 13 women started, I felt deeply grateful.
Grateful for the founders who had the courage to begin. Grateful for every president, every board member, every volunteer who kept it going through 125 years of change and challenge. Grateful for the writers who show up month after month, who share their work, who support each other through rejection and triumph alike.
And grateful for my own time as part of this community. It shaped me. It prepared me. It reminded me that we don’t get where we’re going alone.
Here’s to 125 years of Detroit Working Writers, the oldest continuously operating writers’ organization in Michigan. Here’s to the 13 women who started it all. Here’s to every writer who’s been part of this community and every writer who will join in the years to come.
And here’s to the power of women united. When we come together, when we refuse to be limited, when we build something lasting, we change the world.
The Path of Consciousness 