ATX Writing Club: #1

Longer writing sessions, Book-Swaps, and meet Maria Vargas

Mar 28, 2025

Hey, this is Zac!

If you’re new around here, welcome to the ATX Writing Club! We’re a community of 1,100 writers, crafters, artists, and entrepreneurs here in Austin, Texas.

If you’re interested in becoming a member, you can join here.

Membership gets you all kinds of cool stuff, including free access to all of our events (even the paid ones), exclusive merch, and a bunch of great discounts at your favorite places around town. Not to mention, it’s a cool way to support your local art scene.

If that’s not your thing, or the timing ain’t right, it’s all good! You can always join us for the original writing club, and read this little newsletter, for free.

Now let’s get into this week!

THE DEADLINE SESSIONS

We’ve been gathering at Writing Club for 15 months now, and it’s always been the same format. Meet new people, write for an hour, and chat a bit afterwards. It’s a cool, low pressure way to make friends in Austin.

But there’s always a subset of folks who join and tell me that the writing portion is too short. They’d like even more time set aside, to make progress towards a creative goal. Maybe they want to write their first screenplay. Maybe they’re stuck in world building hell with their novel. Maybe they just need the accountability and support from a group of strangers to stop procrastinating and finally start their memoir.

So I created The Deadline Sessions. It’s a 3-hour-long writing block (with a break in the middle), for people who are ready to take their creative practice further.

We hosted our first one this week, and it was awesome.

It was super hard, but awesome.

If you’d like to be a part of the next Deadline Session, you can sign up here.

MEMBER OF THE WEEK

I met Maria Vargas two months ago at Writing Club. She’s one of those people who arrives early, and stays way, way after everyone else goes home.

Maria writes a lot, and publishes sometimes more than once a week (something I definitely struggle to do). Her writing is honest, and introspective, and centers around traveling and talking to strangers. If you’re experiencing writer’s block, or have some lingering sense of imposter syndrome, you should probably sit next to her at our next gathering. She’s clearly got that figured out.

This week, I wanted to share one of her essays with you. It’s about collecting beautiful words. After reading it, I can’t help but think of all the amazing quotes and phrases my friends have said to me over the years—that are now lost to the sands of time. My favorite from her list is “You can do anything with nothing.”

I've Been Secretly Collecting Words from Friends

Maria Vargas

Mar 26

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UPCOMING EVENTS

We have three events coming up in the next few weeks. Two are focused on writing, and one, I’m hosting just for the hell of it.

🤠 04/05 - Our classic monthly writing club: You can expect to meet about 50 writers of all experience levels here. Some are traditionally published authors. Others work in media, or write for magazines, and still others are doodlers and daydreamers trying to get back in touch with their creative side. Everyone is welcome here.

✍️ 04/08 - The Deadline Sessions #2: For those looking to take their creative practice further with a small group looking to do the same. This is a nighttime writing sanctuary. Who knows, I might buy a bottle or two of wine, so we can have a writers nightcap.

📚 04/12 - Books, Beers, and Baklava: Book-swaps attract a certain type of person. People who like to read for one, but also people who are curious, and looking for a little bit of serendipity too. If you want to meet some other cool Austinites, and refresh your library, come join us. To sweeten the deal, I’ll be providing free baklava for everyone who attends.

LOCAL FEATURED ESSAY

I’m a Liberal at a ‘Conservative University’. How Did I End Up Here?

This article was sent to me by my friend Ethan Brooks, author of The Austin Business Review. It’s a thought-provoking essay about the unique discourse taking place right here in Austin at UATX (a new, experimental university).

Maybe it’s because I studied Cultural Anthropology in college, but I genuinely enjoy talking to people I disagree with. I like learning how others see the world. I appreciate arguments that have nuance. Or maybe, come to think of it, it's because I've been bored out of my mind living in places where everyone believes exactly the same thing.

Now, I don’t know much about the university itself, but if this essay reflects the kind of curriculum or discourse students can expect more broadly, you can consider me deeply interested in its future.

(btw, I’m sure that just by mentioning UATX’s existence, someone is going to send me an angry email. But please— send it to my friend Ethan instead.)

LOCAL FEATURED ARTIST

This week’s featured artist is Eva Frederick!

Eva is an Austin-based printmaker who creates linocut designs of animals and mythological creatures, inspired primarily by nature and folk art. All of her designs are carved by hand, and then stamped on clothing. In addition to being a kick-ass artist, Eva is also a professional science writer (we are everywhere).

Personally, I think her aesthetic is amazing (and lowkey, I’m trying to convince her to work with the writing club to help make some cool designs for us). Eva frequently sells her work at local Austin vintage markets. And she’ll actually be at the North Loop Pop-Up Market this Saturday!