PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2023

W O R D C O U N T

A PLACE FOR WRITERS, BY WRITERS My Writing Shed is all about removing the impediments to the craft that local practitioners love

BY LAURIE PILLMAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY MISSY SHEPLER PHOTO BY RON JOHNSON

P eoria-area writers have a new place to call home thanks to the hard work of three of their own. It’s called My Writing Shed, and it’s the long-time dream of author Jennifer Flaig. Flaig has been laying the foundation for My Writing Shed for years. She knew she didn’t do her best writing at home, but coffee shops, libraries and bookstores weren’t ideal, either. She dreamed of a nonprofit where writers could “create and connect, learn and grow, and share their experience.” In 2020, she was about to host a book club at Lit on Fire Books in Peoria when the pandemic closed stores everywhere. Flaig pivoted, purchasing the storefront

next door to Lit on Fire, at 716 W. Main St., to achieve her dream. Then she tackled her next challenge. Where would she find passionate, knowledgeable and empathetic writers to help her create a writing space suitable for all types of writers? “You need three people for a nonprofit. I’d been looking for my magic three,” she recalled. “It took quite a while to find the right combination.” Through the bookstore, Flaig met writer and editor Cara Dossett. Dossett had been circulating through Peoria writing groups for 15 years and shared Flaig’s vision. She wanted a space where Peoria writers could discuss problems like impostor syndrome and writer’s

block. Both women were novelists. They wanted their third founder to come from a different background to ensure a welcoming atmosphere for all writers. Enter Destinee Wilson, poet and artist in residence at Peoria Public Library’s McClure branch. She agreed to join the board. My Writing Shed is a space created by writers, for writers. Funded through donations and writerships — member ships with perks geared toward writers’ needs, offered on a pay-what-you-can basis – the nonprofit has been rolling out programs since its soft opening in November 2022. Writerships allow access to the Shed’s physical resources: a comfortable writ

82 MAY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE