SWFL Writers & Creatives

Southwest Florida Writers & Creatives exists to bring together the artists, writers, musicians, performers, makers, and creative minds of Southwest Florida in a supportive and collaborative community. Our mission is to create accessible opportunities for connection, creative growth, artistic visibility, and community engagement while fostering a culture where creatives support one another instead of competing. We are committed to helping local talent thrive through collaboration, shared resources, and community-centered creative experiences.

Strong communities are built through meaningful connection, accessible opportunities, shared learning, and creative expression. Through both past and ongoing programming, Southwest Florida Writers & Creatives prioritizes events that foster collaboration, education, artistic visibility, and community engagement for creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels. To ensure these opportunities remain welcoming and inclusive, all events are offered either free of charge or at a low cost to participants.

Our longest-running event, the Lost Writers Workshop, offers the experience of a university-level writing seminar at a fraction of the cost. Each workshop features educational materials, lecture, discussion, and structured writing prompts to provide local writers opportunities to hone their craft. Attendees have gone on to publish pieces they wrote during the workshop in literary journals, magazines, and anthologies, though none of these publications are local to Fort Myers. The Southwest Florida Arts Anthology project channels this talent back into the local community.

Ink Aloud is our semi-monthly open mic that brings together poets, writers, publishers, musicians, and casual attendees to both share their own work and be inspired by the work of others. Held in a welcoming and low-pressure environment, all levels and genres are encouraged to share and listen. Current open submission opportunities and tips and resources for submitting your work for publication are also shared.

Beyond writing events, open mics, and networking events, we also host community events that provide fun, low-pressure spaces to connect. Past community events have included vision board workshops, guided group journaling sessions, and co-working spaces.