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Oak Park Writers Group

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Oak Park Writers Group

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A place for writers to read and get great feedback that results in good writing! in the Oak Park Public Library at 834 Lake Street on the 2nd floor.

The Oak Park Writers' Group meets twice a month on each 1st and 3rd Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. General discussion of writing experiences, opportunities and pitfalls followed by the reading and critiquing of new writing. All writers and non-writers alike are welcome.

10/25/2026

November and December 2026

Our November and December Thursday scheduled in-person workshops at the OP main library at 7pm are as follows:

November 5
November 19
December 3
December 17

ALSO:

The Oak Park Writers Group will be hosting their annual public reading, Writers Read, this year on Saturday, December 5, 2026, in the Veterans Room of the Main Library, 834 Lake Street, at 2 pm. Any OPWG writer interested in presenting their work at this wonderful event should contact either Sheila Elliott or Gary Belenke before November 28th. Be prepared to provide the working title of what you will be reading, as well as a brief one or two-sentence Bio.

As always, we welcome all genres of writing, asking only that the work be entirely original and the result of your writing efforts. If you work collaboratively, please acknowledge the other writer. Each reader will have about 8 minutes at the podium, and we expect 8 - 10 writers to be on the program.. Writers Read is open to the public and generally draws an audience of around 30 -- 40 listeners, so please let your friends, family, and significant others that they are invited.

If you have any questions, contact either Sheila or Gary.

Sheila Elliott - [email protected]

Gary Belenke - [email protected]

10/13/2026

Don't forget. The next in-person workshop is Thursday 10-15-2026 at 7pm at the OP main library.

09/25/2026

Oak Park Writers Group – October 2026 Schedule

In-Person Workshops

Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 7pm.

OP Dole Branch Library

255 Augusta

Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7pm

OP Main Library

THERES’S MORE

Saturday October 10, Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, 10:30 am to 2:00PMLocal Authors Book Fair: Book It!

Thirty local authors will gather to present their books in the Veterans Room on the Second Floor of the Oak Park Public Library. Fantasy, history, elder studies, romance, poetry and memoirs will be available for purchase. The event organizers, the Erie Street Press and Dandelion Bookshop have developed this one day book market focusing on the work of authors in our community. There is no admission fee.
Come by, browse, talk to the authors and buy some books.

Dandelion Bookshop: Jamie Erikson
139 South Oak Park Ave [email protected]
https://dandelionbookshop.com/

Erie Street Press: Henry Kranz

708-302-4231

ALSO

Another local author's event at the Book Loft on 10-4.

From Sheila.

You'll find an announcement in the attachment below for an author's event I'll be doing on October 4th, along with two other writers from Oak Park. Each of us has a story included in a new anthology entitled 'Tilt,' which has been published by the Off Campus Writers Workshop, one of the area's busiest and most thorough writing workshop programs. It's going to be held at The Book Loft Oak Park, which is a charming bookstore, relatively new to the area, on Lake Street. I'd love to see each and every one of you there and hope you can attend. Just register in advance (that's explained on the flyer) and get ready to sit in on a very lively conversation.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=e028fe1aa0&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1876134271006127103&th=1a095e2de641b3ff&view=att&zw&disp=inline

08/28/2026

September OPWG workshops:

Thursday 9-3-2026 at 7pm

Thursday 9-17-2026 at 7pm

Both will be at the main Oak Park library.

See you there.

08/17/2026

The next OPWG workshop will be held at the Oak Park library this Thursday, 8-20-2026 at 7pm. Come with or without a submission.

See you there.

08/14/2026

This Sunday 8-16 at 2pm, come see and hear writers from the Oak Park Writers Group including myself, read their spectacular short stories and poetry at the Book Loft, located at 1047 Lake Street, in Oak Park. You, and I mean all of you, will never have a more enjoyable time. While you're there, buy some books and make the proprietors vary happy. See you there.

07/31/2026

August workshops:

Thursday August 6, 11:30 - 1:30 at the Forest Park Library.
Thursday August 20, 2026 7pm - 9pm at the Oak Park Main Library.

ALSO

The Book Loft, one of Oak Park's newest and most charming independent bookstores, will be the host on Sunday August 16, when a group of OPWG writers share original stories, poems, memoir selections, or other writing forms at 2 pm that afternoon. This is a wonderful opportunity to share your work with an audience of avid readers, writers, and friends right here in downtown Oak Park. If you haven't already submitted your name but would like to read that afternoon, please send a message to Sheila at elliottsheila85@gmail as soon as possible.

07/13/2026

In Person Workshop - Thursday, July 16, 2026 at the Oak Park Main Library. 7pm!

06/26/2026

Our friend Fred Natkevi was a member of the Oak Park Writers Group. He showed up about 10 years ago with stories of growing up in Lithuania during WWII. We encouraged him to write them down and eventually they showed up in his autobiographical book which can be found at the Oak Park library. He was one of the good ones.

Our friend Val Gee wrote this about him.

My dear friend Fred Natkevi passed away this week at the age of 92.

Every Monday morning, I would go to his house for what he jokingly called “Mondays with Fred.” Fred wrote two books, My Turbulent Childhood and A Time Capsule, telling the remarkable story of fleeing Stalin’s regime in Lithuania at the age of seven, only to later escape Hi**er as well. His life was extraordinary.

To me, Fred was a father figure. He was brilliant, kind, wise, and someone I could tell absolutely anything. His home reflected the engineer and master DIY craftsman that he was. Everywhere you looked there was evidence of his ingenuity.

His talents seemed endless. He was an accomplished Argentine tango dancer, photographer, marksman, writer, financial expert, and problem-solver. Whether he was designing a clever pulley system for a backyard bird feeder or tackling life’s bigger challenges, Fred had an uncanny ability to figure things out.

But more than all of his accomplishments, I will remember the simple moments. I’d push open his “always unlocked” front door and call out, “Fred, it’s me!”

From somewhere in the house I’d hear, “Coming!” He would bustle to the door with a smile, happy to see me every single time. We’d hug, and he’d say, “Come in, come in. Take off your coat and stay a while.”

I would settle onto the sofa, he into his favorite chair, and we’d spend the next couple of hours talking about everything and nothing. If I ever had to leave early, he’d look at me and ask, “Going already?”

As I left, I’d hug him, take his face in my hands, smile into his twinkling eyes and say, “I love you, Fred.”

He never said the words back, but I never doubted that he loved me too. I miss you already, my dear Fred. People like you are a rare gift to this world, and I feel incredibly fortunate that for a time, I got to spend my Mondays with you. Peace my friend.

06/24/2026

July workshops:

Thursday July 2, 2026, 11:30 - 1:30 at the Forest Park Library.

Thursday July 16, 2026, 7pm - 9pm at the Oak Park Main Library.

See you there.

Address

834 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL
60302

Telephone

+18478145641

Website

facebook.com

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