January 2026 WRW Newsletter

💫 JANUARY RECAP: Your Best Year Yet January Workshop: Your Best Year Yet with Angele McQuade

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Alexandria for our January event with Angele McQuade!

We kicked things off with brunch at Cheesetique, then the larger group gathered at the library for a thought-provoking workshop that helped us reflect on 2025 and dream big for the year ahead. We wrapped the day with a candid, supportive group discussion about our hopes for 2026, led by our Director of Member Services, Meredith Bond. It was a day filled with clarity, connection, and momentum.

At Cheesetique! L>R: Skye Knight (Communications Director), J. Keely Thrall (Programs Director), Katherine Dotterer, Meredith Bond, Pru Warren (President-Elect), Angele McQuade, Meg Napier (President), Sharon Wray, Sarah Carroll (Secretary), Nadine Monaco/Susanna Eastman

At the James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library L>R: Katherine Dotterer, Nadine Monaco/Susanna Eastman, Deborah Smith Cook, Angele McQuade, Sharon Wray, Meredith Bond, Meg Napier, Julie Halperson, J. Keely Thrall, Pru Warren, Nikki Davenport, Heather Ingram, Sarah Carroll

At the James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library L>R: Deborah Smith Cook, Meredith Bond, Julie Halperson, Skye Knight, Pru Warren, Nikki Davenport, J. Keely Thrall, Heather Ingram, Sarah Carroll, Angele McQuade

🧶 FEB 7: Yarn Exchange Party (12:30–2:30 PM)

📍 6822 19th Rd N., Arlington, VA
🚇 5-min walk from East Falls Church Metro

Join Julie Halperson & Mindy Klasky for a cozy afternoon of yarn swapping and crafty inspiration. Bring skeins you’ll never use—or just come to hang out and get inspired. No need to be a knitter (yet!).

Snacks and drinks provided. Unclaimed yarn will be donated to local charities!

📧 RSVP to: mindyklasky@gmail.com or juliehalperson@gmail.com

📚 Feb 7: Book Launch – Kindred Schemes by Rebecca Harrington (3–6 PM)

📍 Friends to Lovers Bookstore,

301 Cameron St, Alexandria, VA 22314

Celebrate the debut of Kindred Schemes with author Rebecca Harrington at Friends to Lovers Bookstore! She’ll be signing books and connecting with readers—stop by and show your support.

🧱 CHAPTER UPDATES

Two new members!

Welcome Heather Ingram (Dec) and Meghan Danhert (Jan)

Board Elections Are Coming in June.

Want to help shape WRW’s future? We need a Treasurer, Secretary, and President-Elect. Email president@washingtonromancewriters.com to get more information.

✍️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

📈 15K Writing Challenge Is Going Strong

Both Pru and Mindy have put up huge numbers and truly zoomed past 15k. Irene expects one or two more of our members to hit the magic number in a few days.

Over sixteen members have been posting actively—many already several thousand words ahead of pace! There is a lot of enthusiasm and encouragement, and multiple people are hosting writing sprints. Shoutout to Irene for keeping the energy up! It’s not too late to join on Groups.io.

🕐 WRW Writing Sprints | Multiple Days & Times Weekly | Zoom

Get words on the page and get to know WRW members!

• Via Zoom – Drop in/out on your timeline (find the links on WRW Groups.io!)
• Some sprints are recurring on a regular date and time, while others are pop-ups posted to our Groups.io when they occur (you are welcome to host one yourself whenever the mood strikes you, just post it to the group so we can join you!)
• Sprints are run at the discretion of the host, but often in 20-50 minute increments, with short breaks to brainstorm and chat about writing projects

📣 Members Page

We want to create a members page for those who wish to participate on our WRW website so that we can all support, click, open, and subscribe to lift one another. Side benefit, it should help all our websites’ SEO!

On Groups.io, you will see a call to opt in if you want to participate. We will be looking for your writer pseudonym(s), website, and newsletter sign-up.

Whether you want to share yours yet or not, once it’s live, we hope everyone checks out the page, clicks, and signs up!

🎉 Save the Date: Spring WRW Events

Our spring schedule is coming together! Mark your calendars for these upcoming Saturdays:

• Sat March 21
• Sat April 11
• Sat May 16
• Sat June 20 — Potluck Picnic!

💬 Celebration Corner

🎉 WRW Members Featured in Sold-Out Workshop!
On Wednesday, January 21, WRW authors Nikki Davenport, Meg Napier, and Pru Warren will lead an in-depth workshop at Friends to Lovers Bookstore for aspiring romance writers.

The event—now sold out with a waitlist—pairs a conversation with the creators of Happily Ever After, an interactive story-planning journal, with a hands-on WRW-led session exploring tools available to writers.

👏 A huge shoutout to our featured members for representing WRW in the wild!

🔗 Event Info

Let us know what you’re celebrating—books, breakthroughs, or big writing wins!

📧  Email communications@washingtonromancewriters.com to share yours.

💌 Until Next Time…

Thanks for reading! Here’s to making 2026 everything you wish for. Hope to see you at one of our February events or in a Zoom writing sprint!

❤️
Skye Knight
Communications Director
communications@washingtonromancewriters.com