Western Colorado Writers' Forum

June Writer’s Night - ChatGPT as a Tool for Writers: An Honest Conversation and Workshop with Kate Beagle
2025-06-03 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
In this era of rapidly developing artificial intelligence, creatives across the world are sounding the alarm. Screenwriters, copywriters, journalists, poets, and novelists are all watching a familiar story unfold: a world that already undervalues their labor is racing to replace it with something cheaper, faster, and altogether less human.
Like so many technological shifts before it, the ringing of the AI bell cannot be unrung. That leaves those of us doing the deeply human work of writing with a choice: resist or adapt.
Yet, perhaps, there is a third path that will allow us to engage with this new technology critically and creatively.
Join us for an honest, writer-centered conversation about ChatGPT as an instrument we may choose to use with care, to fine-tune our own unique vision, rather than as a replacement for the creative process.
Together, let us explore what this technology can do: spark ideas, assist with structure, untangle messy drafts, and provide invaluable (if somewhat dubious) research assistance. And we’ll discuss just as candidly what ChatGPT and similar AI assistants cannot do: capture lived experience, create emotional truth, or tell your unique and authentic story.

Speaker Bio
Kate Beagle is a Grand Junction native, small business owner, and lifelong creative. As the owner, bookkeeper, and office manager of HBJ’s Your Way Grooming, she spends her days caring for the community’s beloved four-legged companions. But at heart, Kate has always been a storyteller. A passionate reader, writer, and world-builder, she tentatively describes herself as a speculative fiction author and proudly serves as Treasurer of the Western Colorado Writers’ Forum, where she’s eager to connect with other lovers of “weird fiction” across the Grand Valley.
Kate’s experience with artificial intelligence—like many of us at the dawn of this new technological era—has been largely self-guided. She’s explored ChatGPT as a creative tool in her own writing practice and is now excited to open a broader, deeper conversation among her fellow writers about what this technology might mean in a world that too often seeks to turn creativity into a commodity.

Poetry Night at the Library
2025-06-11 18:00 - 19:45, 2025-07-09 18:00 - 19:45, 2025-08-13 18:00 - 19:45, 2026-02-11 18:00 - 19:45, 2026-03-11 18:00 - 19:45 | Central Library, 443 N 6th St, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Poetry Night at the Library is a monthly program at the Mesa County Library. Each month poets are invited to read their work based on a previous month’s challenge, or any other poem they’d like to read. Then, a new topic is discussed and a new challenge is issued. Topics range from a particular poet, to a school of poetry, to a new tool for your poetry toolbox such as a form or poetic device. No poetry experience is required – all are welcome!
Poetry Night occurs the second Wednesday of every month from 6-7:45 p.m. at the Central Library, 443 N. 6th Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501. No RSVP is needed.

WCWF Happy Hour
2025-06-19 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-07-17 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-08-21 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-09-18 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-10-16 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-11-20 16:00 - 18:00, 2025-12-18 16:00 - 18:00 | Kannah Creek Brewing Company, 1960 N. 12th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Join fellow writers and WCWF board members at our monthly *happy hour. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your fellow writers in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. We know you’re a bunch of introverts – come see us anyway! It really is fun. Then you can go home and rest after all that “peopling” you did. *This is not a drinking event – it just happens to fall during the hours known as happy hour.
We meet the third Thursday of every month from 4-6 p.m. at Kannah Creek in Grand Junction, located at 1960 N. 12th Street.
We only request an RSVP if you are bringing a large party, like 6 or so. Then we can make appropriate table arrangements.
See you there!
p.s. Have you checked out our blog? Lots of good information and observations for writers!

Spoken Word Open Mic Night - Fourth Fridays
2025-06-27 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-07-25 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-08-22 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-09-26 16:30 - 18:00, 2025-10-24 16:30 - 18:00, 2026-01-23 16:30 - 18:00, 2026-02-27 16:30 - 18:00 | Carboy Winery Grand Valley, 3572 G Rd, Palisade, CO, 81526, United States
Join us every month on the fourth Friday for a Spoken Word Open Mic Night from 4:30-6:00 p.m. The Western Colorado Writers’ Forum has partnered with Carboy Winery in Palisade to bring you this opportunity to read your work. We welcome poetry, prose, storytelling, and slam, and all skill levels are welcome.
Signups start onsite at 4:15 and there is a 5-7 minute time limit. We’ve had new readers attend these sessions, and the time limits are our effort to ensure everyone has a chance at the mic. Any time limit is to encourage inclusion.
This event is in the production facility on the ground level, so there are no stairs to negotiate. It is cooler in this room because this is where they make the wine. You may want to bring an extra layer. In warmer months, we may host this event outside.
Please note that while a variety of beverages are available, you are not required to purchase to attend this Open Mic.
Location: 3572 G Rd, Palisade, CO 81526.

July Writer's Night - Write Matters: A Session with Bob Silbernagel
2025-07-01 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
For our July Writer’s Night, Bob Silbernagel will discuss what he’s learned during his long writing career: when he started writing, why he writes, how he learned to write better and love good editors, and the methods he uses to write. He will also speak more generally about the publishing industry, including trends with book publishing newspapers. He will offer his ideas on improving writing and will answer questions.

All Writer’s Nights are held at The Art Center in Grand Junction, near 7th and Orchard, on the first Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30 p.m.

Speaker Bio
Bob Silbernagel writes a regional history column for The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction. His most recent book, First Draft: Exploring the History of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, is a collection of 40 of those columns, published in 2023.
In addition, he is the author of The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior; Troubled Trails: The Meeker Affair and the Expulsion of Utes from Colorado; and Historic Adventures on The Colorado Plateau.
Mr. Silbernagel was the editorial page editor for The Daily Sentinel newspaper in Grand Junction for 19 years. When not writing, he enjoys horseback riding, hiking, and camping.
He and his wife, Judy, live near Palisade, Colorado.
Check out the Western Colorado Writers’ Forum Events section to discover what’s happening next!

August Writer's Night - From the Trenches: The Process of Querying Your Debut with Paige Kaptuch
2025-08-05 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Have you ever tried to find an agent? Maybe you are in the thinking stages right now, or have only just begun to write your book. Perhaps you’re wondering, “What the heck is querying, and do I really need to do that?”

Our August Writer’s Night presenter Paige Kaptuch will discuss her own ongoing journey to publishing her debut novel and will share her research, resources, and tips — including the process of finding an agent.

Speaker Bio

Paige Kaptuch has an MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona and was named a 2025 Tennessee Williams Fiction Scholar at the Sewanee Writers Conference. Her work has been selected as a Longreads Top 5 and nominated for a Best Small Fictions, and has appeared in Runner’s World/Apple News Narrated, Spoke and Blossom, Swamp Pink, The Forge, Epiphany, Masters Review, Door is a Jar, and Hayden’s Ferry Review. She’s been awarded funded writing residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Wildacres, Foundation House, PLAYA Summer Lake, Volland, Jentel, and Vermont Studio Center. Her career has involved teaching both undergraduate and college prep students, as well as working in the run specialty/OR industry. She lives with her family in Grand Junction.

Conventions, Conferences and Critique Groups: How to Get the Most from Them with James Van Pelt
2025-09-02 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
September Writer’s Night

You know the best practice to improve your writing is to write. Don’t forget that.
But there are other ways to help, to jump-start your thinking, to skip the steps that if you had to take them on your own could take months and months: conventions, conferences, and critique groups.
Long-time teacher, conventioneer, and critique group leader James Van Pelt will talk about strategies to get the most from your participation at each, and offer resources to find the valuable ones.
If you’ve attended any of these useful activities and are willing to share, be ready with your best (or worst) moments in your experience.
Please note: All Writer’s Nights are on the first Tuesday of the month and are held at The Art Center near 7th and Orchard in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Speaker Bio
James Van Pelt has been selling short fiction to many of the major venues since 1989. Recently he retired from teaching high school English after thirty-seven years in the classroom. He has been a finalist for the Nebula, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, Locus Awards, and Analog and Asimov’s Reader’s Choice awards. Years and years ago, he was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He still feels “new.” Fairwood Press recently released a huge, limited-edition, signed, and numbered collection of his work, THE BEST OF JAMES VAN PELT. He can be found online at his website or on Facebook.

October Writer's Night - Getting Your Book on the Library Shelf with Mesa County Libraries
2025-10-07 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
For our October Writer’s Night, learn the library’s process for getting local authors’ titles on the shelves and setting up book signings. This writer’s night will also cover other ways the library supports writers. If there’s time, the presenters may read selections from local authors’ books that are in the library collection.

Speaker Bios
Michelle Boisvenue-Fox, the Executive Director at Mesa County Libraries, works to build community through partnerships, programs, and events. Michelle believes that people are the most important thing to a library. As a result, libraries change lives in big and small ways. Michelle holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois and has more than 20 years of public and academic library experience.

Lisa Solko, Head of Collection Management at Mesa County Libraries, oversees the collection and deselection of library material at eight library locations as well as electronic books and audiobooks. She holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History and Studio Art from Colorado Mesa University. Lisa enjoys using insights derived from data and research to attain harmonic results that reflect community, originality, and variety.

December Writer’s Night: Annual Spoken Word Open Mic Event
2025-12-02 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Our annual Open Mic Night is Tuesday, December 2, 2025, from 6-7:30 pm at the Art Center in Grand Junction. Bring your short works and poetry and take the mic! This is a spoken word event.
Our total time is an hour-and-a-half. Every year we have many readers, so keeping a time limit allows everyone to have a chance at the mic. We will have a timekeeper again this year, and our max time limit is 6 minutes, so please plan accordingly.
A 30-line poem takes about 2 minutes to read, and a 700-word story takes about 5 minutes. If we can do more than one round, we will.
We appreciate RSVPs for seat-planning purposes, and please note that readers will sign up on-site. Doors open 15 minutes early to allow for this.

WCWF Happy Hour
2026-01-15 16:00 - 18:00, 2026-02-19 16:00 - 18:00, 2026-03-19 16:00 - 18:00 | Kannah Creek Brewing Company, 1960 N. 12th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Join fellow writers and WCWF board members at our monthly *happy hour. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your fellow writers in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. We know you’re a bunch of introverts – come see us anyway! It really is fun. Then you can go home and rest after all that “peopling” you did. *This is not a drinking event – it just happens to fall during the hours known as happy hour.
We meet on the third Thursday of every month from 4-6 p.m. at Kannah Creek in Grand Junction, located at 1960 N. 12th Street.
We only request an RSVP if you are bringing a large party, like 6 or so. Then we can make appropriate table arrangements.
See you there!
p.s. Have you checked out our blog? Lots of good information and observations for writers!

February Writers Night: Hidden Treasures Writing Workshop with Lisa Wence Connors
2026-02-03 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
Have you ever noticed the treasure trove of language swirling around you every day? How many fabulous and unexpected words and phrases are you allowing to just slip past you? Workshop presenter and poet Lisa Wence Connors will discuss strategies for finding those hidden gems, organizing them, and enhancing your writing.
This is a generative workshop, not confined to poetry. At the conclusion of the workshop, each attendee will be able to produce new work based on hidden treasures taken from the materials provided in the workshop and to revise old work with an emphasis on unexpected language.
Join us on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, from 6-7:30 pm at The Art Center at 7th and Orchard in Grand Junction.
Speaker Bio

Lisa Wence Connors is retired US Army and a published poet. She has conducted workshops for the Salt Lake City Public Library System under the auspices of the Utah Arts and Humanities Commission. She facilitates the monthly Poetry Night at the Library program for Mesa County Library. She has also conducted five iterations of the Discover Creative Writing Workshop for the Grand Junction VA, and is the editor for High Desert Cadence: A Journal of Veteran Creative Writing. Most recently, Lisa was a featured presenter at the Creative Colorado Writers Retreat.

March Writer's Night: How To Write & Produce Your First Script (even if you don't know other filmmakers!)
2026-03-03 18:00 - 19:30 | The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction, CO, 81501, United States
There is something magical about telling stories in any form, but there is a unique kind of thrill in seeing them brought to life. Unfortunately, a lot of filmmaking expertise and education is protected by gatekeepers on the coasts, leaving writers from other areas feeling like making a movie out of their story is out of their reach. This is, I’m happy to tell you, not true! In fact, it’s easier than you might think.
Join us for an introductory course on the basics of screenwriting, filmmaking, and preparing your script for screen; no prior experience required, but you’re a passionate storyteller interested in other forms of expressing yourself! We’ll cover everything from screenplay formatting to breaking down that script to make budgets and creative decisions, the common film departments and why you may or may not need to include them, building a crew from your existing community, and how to choose the kinds of shots you’ll need to make up your production plan.
It’s a detailed production course for creative people, helping them find a way to make even the most administrative or technical decisions feel like the part of the process that’s most fun – telling a story.
Join us at The Art Center in Grand Junction on March 3 from 6-7:30 p.m. for this fun workshop.

Speaker Bio
Bri Castellini is an independent filmmaker, an indie romance author, and, regrettably, a podcaster. She grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado (go Wildcats!), but due to her seasonal allergies, was unable to take full advantage of all the nature stuff people here seem to enjoy, so she turned to writing. She’s known for the 2017 short film Ace and Anxious (165,000 views on YouTube), her contemporary romance novel Rehabbing the Billionaire, and her podcasts Burn, Noticed and Breaking Out of Breaking In, covering the USA television show Burn Notice and practical filmmaking advice, respectively. She personally helped launch over $25 million in crowdfunding campaigns with an 85% success rate while she was the Manager of Creator Success at the artist crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark. She has spoken at over 200 events and festivals virtually and in person on the subjects of arts fundraising, audience building, production, queer representation, and more. She can lick her elbow (not clickbait). Full work history, and all her previous creative projects, can be found on her website BriCastellini.com.
