Writers Grotto set to leave its home in SoMa
When the Writers Grotto vacates its South of Market office compound next month after 15 years, it won’t be the first move or challenge in the life of the 25yearold writing community and forerunner of the idea of coworking.
“As with many other coworking spaces, COVID19 has made it difficult for both our members and our students to use the space,” Executive Director Mark Wallace told The Chronicle via email on Sept. 16. “We hope to find another suitable space next year.”
From its 1994 founding among a group of friends in the Castro district, through the dotcom booms and busts, to its current identity as an inclusive space for members and the public to work on their craft, the Grotto has steadily grown into its reputation as a place where writers polish their manuscripts, share contacts, then gain access to the oncerarefied publishing industry. Among its alumni are authors Vendela Vida, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Chronicle columnist Vanessa Hua, Roberto Lovato and poet Matthew Zapruder.
In June, The Chronicle detailed the Grotto’s evolution and memberdriven reorganization earlier this year, an allhandsondeck effort to keep the community solvent and vital. Part of a strategic plan to establish itself as a nonprofit and reach a wider range of writers, the effort to remain relevant was led by the organization’s writers of color. A range of fresh workshops, many of them offered online, expanded the community’s appeal and broadened membership.
“Students continue to come to us for inspiration and instruction via our robust online classes program, and our community continues to thrive and support each other via tools like Zoom, Slack and email,” Wallace said.
Experience with online programming gave the Grotto a jump on navigating the pandemic shutdown, but as more writers with day jobs pooled from a wider swath of the Bay Area enjoy virtual community, the idea of a coworking space and private writing rooms poses a question mark in the desolated and rapidly shifting downtown office environment.
A grant from the Literary Arts Emergency Fund is sustaining the organization for now while a virtual conference, Rooted & Written, one of Grotto’s newly established programs by and for writers of color, is scheduled for October, funded by the California Arts Council.
“It’s certainly hard to let go of so many memories, but I’m also really interested to see what we can do in terms of online programs that might let us reach a wider audience,” Wallace said. “It’s definitely a sad time, but it’s an exciting one, too.”