Henderson Writers Group: The Story
Jo Wilkins started the Henderson Writers Group in 2001 because writers in the Las Vegas Valley had nowhere to go. There was no regular critique group, no local forum where someone working on a first novel could sit across from someone who had published sixteen anthologies and get honest feedback. Wilkins built that forum — and then brought the Las Vegas Writers Conference to life alongside it. Twenty-five years later, the Henderson Writers Group is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) and one of the longest-running literary organizations in Southern Nevada.
The Henderson Writers Group operates out of Henderson but draws members from across the valley. The current president is Audrey Balzart, a military retiree and disabled veteran who earned her BA in Visual Media from Nevada State College in 2017 and is editing her first novel in a YA sci-fi series. Vice President Lauren Tallman came to Las Vegas from Lithuania by way of Italy and Israel, landed in the valley in 2006, and has been a Henderson Writers Group member since 2009. She founded the Erotic Writers Group of Las Vegas in 2014 and writes a monthly column for The Vegas Voice. The leadership reflects what the group is — people who came from everywhere, ended up in the desert, and decided to write about it.
What Henderson Writers Group Does
Henderson Writers Group holds three meetings a week. Monday evenings and Thursday afternoons run on Zoom — members read up to six pages of their work and receive critique from the group. First and third Wednesdays meet in person at Skinny Dugan’s in a private room at 4127 West Charleston Boulevard in Las Vegas. Second Wednesdays are an online book club open to members and nonmembers. The Henderson Writers Group also runs the Las Vegas Screenwriters Group, which meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Abby Rey Studios at 311 South Water Street in Henderson.
The Las Vegas Writers Conference is the Henderson Writers Group’s flagship event — a three-day conference held every April featuring workshops, classes, pitch sessions with literary agents and editors, and keynote speakers drawn from across the publishing industry. The conference is now in its twenty-third year and draws attendees from around the country. Henderson Writers Group also publishes member anthologies, runs a “Dime Grinds” series spotlighting local authors, and operates an online shop with HWG-branded merchandise and member publications. Membership is open to writers of all skill levels and genres.