Women in the Visual and Literary Arts [WiVLA]

05/26/2026

WiVLA t-shirts for our 2026 WILD Collaboration are now on sale and available to order through June 21st!
Join our fundraiser and support WiVLA's Artists and Writers by buying a t-shirt today!
All proceeds go to WiVLA's Scholarship Fund. Emoji

The t-shirt will be shipped directly to you!
Artwork by Susan Haggard Meeks


Here is the Fundraising link. Please help spread the word and share with your friends and family!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/wivla-bienniel-collaboration?utm_campaign=desktop-post-launch-v3&utm_content=wivla-bienniel-collaboration&utm_medium=social&utm_source=copy-link

05/26/2026

Wivla's Wonderous Readers Book Club May meeting is this Saturday

May 30th at Coco's Donuts and Coffee Bar
2026 W 34th St, Houston, TX 77018
2-4pm

This month we'll be discussing "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus

For more info see calendar link below
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/5/30/wivla-apos-s-the-wonderous-readers-book-club-meeting

You don't have to be a member to attend.
If you haven't finished the book yet, that's okay, come anyway

05/15/2026

Submissions for Wivla's new anthology "Power" are now open!

The deadline for submissions is July 31st

For more information see the prospectus on the link below

https://www.wivla.org/literary-anthology-2026

WiVLA is sponsoring an anthology competition for WiVLA members and Texas writers who identify as women. The theme of our 2026 competition is POWER.

POWER is the force that rises not only in command but in courage. The spark that moves through our words and bodies, and lives in our belonging. It is the quiet knowledge of one’s worth, the trembling moment before a choice is made that changes everything. Power can uplift a single voice or surge through many—Power is a human inheritance. It is a rebellion, a remembering. Power lives in the body’s stride, in the mind’s clarity, in the collective’s roar. In these works, power is not merely held or taken; it is awakened, conjured, shared, misused, reclaimed—in an ever-shifting current that shapes who we are and who we dare to become.

The following categories comprise the competition and the published anthology:

Fiction:

05/08/2026

Wivla's Wonderous Readers Book Club May meeting

May 30th at Coco's Donuts and Coffee Bar
2026 W 34th St, Houston, TX 77018
2-4pm

This month we'll be discussing "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus

For more info see calendar link below
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/5/30/wivla-apos-s-the-wonderous-readers-book-club-meeting

You don't have to be a member to attend.
If you haven't finished the book yet, that's okay, come anyway

05/02/2026

Creative Play: A WiVLA Member Retreat!
Friday September 11th 11 am to Sunday September 13th 12pm

Join us on a three-day weekend retreat to explore creative play and forge genuine connections through art and nature!

Friday afternoon through Sunday morning
-Writing and visual art sessions, led by WiVLA Members
-Energetic and restorative practices to renew and set intentions
-All necessary materials will be supplied, but you are welcome to bring your own
-Breaks are provided between each session, for reflection or inspiration
-Meals included: Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast/lunch/dinner, Sunday breakfast
-Additional opportunity to join Members for lunch on Friday and Sunday in Schulenburg!

Note: this is a shared rooming/sleeping experience. No private rooms available.

Schedule available here!

Spaces are limited, so sign up early!

There are TWO $100.00 scholarships available for this event! Click here to apply. Applications for the scholarship are due by 6/12/26 and we'll choose two random winners at the Member Meeting on 6/16/26.

This event is for current WiVLA Members only. If you would like to join, click here!
https://www.wivla.org/joinform

Price: $300/member

Location:
Jordan Ranch (1.5 hrs from Houston on I-10)
2123 FM2238
Schulenburg, TX 78956
www.jordanranch.org

To register or more info see calendar link here
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/9/11/creative-play-a-wivla-member-art-retreat

04/25/2026

Poetry Pharmacy Project: "Sparkle" theme
Come join us in celebrating National Poetry Month! April 30th 7pm-9pm

We'll be reading member works on the theme of Sparkle and will have a fun Creative Writing Experience!

Start crafting your poems on the theme Sparkle for our fun poetry project to celebrate Annual Poetry Month in April.

Current WiVLA Members are welcome to sign up to read on our calendar link.
There are still 1 or 2 spots left to read so sign up now!

https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/4/30/-quot-sparkle-quot-poetry-zoom-event

We’ll have a Zoom reading of the poems which will then be rolled up and put into small pharmacy “medicine” bottles. The poem prescriptions will be given out at the WiVLA holiday party!

If you are not yet a WiVLA Member, join our Newsletter Mailing List below for more information about this event.

Registration is not required, but we love to know who's coming

04/24/2026

Wivla's Wonderous Readers Book Club April Meeting is tomorrow!

April 25th at Coco's Donuts and Coffee Bar
2026 W 34th St, Houston, TX 77018

This month we'll be discussing "The Last Labyrinth" by WiVLA's own Gwenolyn Womack

For more info see calendar link below
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/4/25/wivla-apos-s-the-wonderous-readers-book-club-meeting

You don't have to be a member to attend.
If you haven't finished the book yet, that's okay, come anyway

04/24/2026

Every April, WiVLA awards $1,000 to a writer and an artist. The recipient of the previous year's award shares how she utilized the funds to further her artistic journey. Following the two presentations, the names of the 2026 award recipients were drawn!

April 2026 Member Meeting: ECO Fund Presentations by 2025 Recipients and Drawings for 2026 Winners

04/17/2026

Wivla's Wonderous Readers Book Club April Meeting
April 25th at Coco's Donuts and Coffee Bar
2026 W 34th St, Houston, TX 77018

This month we'll be discussing "The Last Labyrinth" by WiVLA's own Gwenolyn Womack

For more info see calendar link below
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/4/25/wivla-apos-s-the-wonderous-readers-book-club-meeting

04/16/2026

Last Saturday was our Annual Poetry By the Bay Reading to celebrate National Poetry Month

Here is a snippet of one of our great writers Margo Stutts Toombs

Prose Pays Homage to Peotry during Poetry Month

Make sure you follow Margo for the whole piece

Members who want to hear the whole poem and other poems they missed can check it out on our YouTube channel

Not a member? click below to join WiVLA
https://www.wivla.org/joinform

And don't miss our other National Poetry Month event via zoom on April 30th
for more info see below
https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/4/30/-quot-sparkle-quot-poetry-zoom-event

04/15/2026

Poetry Pharmacy Project: "Sparkle" theme
Come join us in celebrating National Poetry Month! April 30th 7pm-9pm

We'll be reading member works on the theme of Sparkle and will have a fun Creative Writing Experience!

Start crafting your poems on the theme Sparkle for our fun poetry project to celebrate Annual Poetry Month in April.

Current WiVLA Members are welcome to sign up to read on our calendar link

https://www.wivla.org/calendar-from-mw #!event/2026/4/30/-quot-sparkle-quot-poetry-zoom-event

We’ll have a Zoom reading of the poems which will then be rolled up and put into small pharmacy “medicine” bottles. The poem prescriptions will be given out at the WiVLA holiday party!

If you are not yet a WiVLA Member, join our Newsletter Mailing List below for more information about this event.

Registration is not required, but we love to know who's coming