Writers' Cafe is an informal creative writing session open to students from across the university. Each session is led by one or more professional writer. Participants write in response to prompts and share work if they choose. Snacks provided!

As writers, we strive to craft engaging and compelling scenes, always looking for ways to bring our characters to life and to navigate conflict in our stories. Join us as we practice a series of writing exercises geared toward developing character, tension, and meaning in scenes.

Gabrielle Pastorek is a freelance writer who holds her MFA in fiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh and bachelor’s degrees in English and French from Ohio University. Her short stories have appeared in Blotterature, Blue Monday Review, Dappled Things, and other journals. 

Tyler McAndrew’s fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has been published in literary journals such as Salt Hill, Gulf Coast, Water-Stone Review, and others. He teaches in the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh.

Tim Maddocks writes essays and stories and teaches writing at the University of Pittsburgh. When he’s not writing, teaching, or researching, he serves as an editor for Longform.org and Sampsonia Way. You may find his most recent writing in PublicSource.