Who can join?
We don’t intrude on any individual’s sexuality or gender identity when they join our group. However, this space is designed primarily for the inclusion and comfort of LGBTQIA+ people, women, and other marginalised identities. We don’t have an age limit, a gender requirement, or weird demands for proof of your sexuality, and we encourage folks of all walks of life to join us as long as they uphold our values for inclusion and liberation. We don’t explicitly say “no cis-het men” but, read the room, dude. This is a space designed for LGBTQIA+ people, women, and other marginalised groups who do not have many opportunities to be our authentic selves without judgement and harassment. So, be mindful of that when you join our sessions.
Please note, we strictly uphold the safety and comfort of our members, so we tend to share session information semi-privately for safeguarding purposes. Additionally, any homophobic, transphobic, sexist, or otherwise exclusionary behaviour will not be tolerated at all. People make mistakes and, in some instances, we would choose to have a conversation first, but any blatant or intentional hostility will be met with a swift kick out of the space and a polite fuck off, and don’t ever talk to me and my son again!
Do I need experience?
Not at all! We encourage new writers or those whose skills have rusted away over the years to join us in sharpening their quills! A lot of us have experienced the rather wicked side of the literary world and founded Queer Writes to move away from that atmosphere and develop a supportive, harmonious community that encourages people to keep writing. Our sessions are all very easy to follow and we never demand that people write or share their writing if they do not feel inclined to do so. One of our organisers famously never writes during his sessions!
What kind of writing do you do?
All sorts! We don’t stick to one genre or style, instead, we explore a wide range of sessions designed to boost your skills, spark your imagination, and gently nudge you outside your comfort zone. Some weeks we might dive into specific forms like love letters, lust and sex, poetry, memoir, speculative fiction, character monologues, and so on. Other weeks we focus on technical skills like world‑building, exposition, dialogue, tension, pacing, structure, and whatever else helps you grow as a writer.
And the best part? Anyone can host a session! You’re not limited to pieces that are only ever written and read; you can run screenplay workshops, collaborative writing games, zine‑making sessions, script read‑throughs, fanfic nights, performance‑based writing, or anything else you’re excited about.
There’s always something for someone, and we built the space for you to bring your own ideas to the table!
How much does it cost?
It’s completely free! We don’t charge for any sessions. Sometimes, depending on the venue, we might encourage you to make a small donation to support the space but we will never demand or expect anyone to spend money to attend. These sessions are designed to be as accessible as possible so putting it behind a paywall would be bonkers.
That said, we periodically curate and print Zines and we encourage folks to pay a small fee if they are interested in purchasing a Zine mainly to cover printing costs and provide the organisers some money for group expenses.
Do you put on events?
Yes! We have relatively regular open-mic nights and aim to release a Zine every 12-18 months. Both of those events are usually very popular, particularly the Zine launches, because they give people an opportunity to share the pieces they’ve so lovingly worked on, usually with the groups support. We always love seeing a piece evolve to its finished form and are quick to hoot, holler, and stomp our feet when one of our writers’ thoughts sprouts into a magnum opus.
We have semi-regular socials, probably around 3-4 times a year to socialise or shake some ass in a more relaxed setting. These are usually planned outside of session times. We are also exploring putting on writing retreats in the future but will want to secure a more substantial set of reserves to keep costs as low as possible.
I’m worried about leading a session, what should I do?
Our organisers have developed guides, tips and tricks, and other resources that can help you design, run, and manage a session. We are also all very happy to help you come up with an idea, flesh it out, or develop activities or exercises to get those creative juices flowing. At the same time, if you have an idea for a session but are deeply resistant to being centre-stage for a session, share it with us! We’re always very happy to try to bring these nuggets to life and do your thoughts justice.
Do you have any accessibility information?
We try our very best to keep our space as accessible as possible while supporting the local venues that staunchly stand for Queer Rights. Unfortunately, not every venue has step-free access and so we are not always able to accommodate physically disabled folks or those with mobility issues. That said, we always let our members know where we plan to run sessions so they know what to expect, and we always try to choose accessible venues whenever availability permits us to do so.
We encourage individuals to reach out with any accessibility requirements ahead of sessions so that we can do our very best to accommodate. Of course, we understand this can be a sensitive or difficult topic, and endeavour to find the most accessible spaces while keeping sessions free, centrally-located, and within the venues that we love for loving us. It’s not always easy to balance but we try our best!
How do you accommodate neurodivergence?
Pretty much 90% of the group is neurodivergent in some way, so our space is built with that in mind. We try to maintain a respectful, flexible environment that adapts to individual needs, whether that means taking breaks to prevent overstimulation, slowing down when things feel overwhelming, or giving people space to participate in whatever way feels comfortable. We never demand people share their writing, we never put people on the spot, and we will never hold it against someone if they come and leave at any point during the session. There might be playful banter between friends, but we won’t make anyone feel bad for prioritising their mental health and personal needs.
We also try to treat everyone with grace, patience, and understanding, especially around social energy, communication styles, and executive‑function wobbles. No one is expected to mask, perform, or “keep up” in this group. If anything, we encourage you to be your most authentic and honest self because we believe vulnerability makes for some really excellent writing. We hope you will trust us with the sensitive parts of yourself and we pledge to make sure doing so will never come back to hurt you.