Writers & Books turns 25

Literature

“Looking back, from the beginning I certainly had no idea which way it would
really go,” says Joe Flaherty, executive and artistic director of Writers &
Books. “I had no idea [of] all of the kinds of things that Writers & Books
would end up doing.”

In the mid-’70s, Flaherty was driving a converted motor home
around the northeastern United
States selling and distributing books. He
dubbed it the Book Bus, and his idea was to connect readers to American writers
outside of the mainstream. In 1981, that bus came to a stop at a storefront on South Clinton Avenue
in Rochester
and set up shop. After a bit of repurposing, Writers & Books was born.

This year Writers & Books celebrates its 25th year as a
community-based literary center. The anniversary crescendos in a gala on
Thursday, November 30, at Rochester Academy of Medicine, featuring author John
Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil).

Flaherty’s original plan for Writers & Books was to target
people already interested in reading and writing, and give them a space to
gather and interact. As more people began to participate, their feedback led
the business to consider moving into new territory. Instead of being primarily
a resource for readers and writers, it was urged to reach out to the community
and initiate programs to incite people to both read and write.Flaherty
says that now, in any one seasonal session, there might be up to 250 people
taking a class or attending a workshop affiliated with Writers & Books.
Along with all the programs on-site, published writers go into schools,
libraries, senior citizen and recreation centers, hospitals and settlement
houses to foster positive reading and writing experiences. Summer children’s programs
regularly sell out.

One success story Flaherty touts is Andrea Barrett. Once a
Writers & Books book group participant, she went on to win the National
Book Award in 1996 for Ship Fever, and
was nominated as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Servants of the Map.

In 1985 Writers & Books moved to
its current residence at 740
University Avenue. The large, landmark building
was once a police precinct designed by Claude Bragdon, a Rochester architect and illustrator. With the
move came enormous growth. The South Clinton
storefront was essentially one large room. This meant that only one program
could take place in any one given time. In its new digs, many programs could
take place simultaneously. The literary community of Writers & Books expanded
in all directions.

With expansion came more far-reaching recognition. In 1986
Writers & Books was designated by the New York State Council on the Arts as
one of New YorkState’s “Primary Arts Organizations,”
along with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York
City Ballet. Two years later Kenneth Gell gave Writers & Books the Gell
House, an estate in BristolValley. Now called the GellCenter
of the Finger Lakes, it hosts literary
conferences, seminars, and workshops and also offers writers an inspirational
space in which to retreat (it even has a tree house). A residential wing able
to house up to 20 people is scheduled to be added soon.

Over the next 25 years Flaherty looks to expand the GellCenter,
create even more classes and workshops for Writers & Books locations, and
perhaps develop some programs for home-schoolers during the school year.

Writers & Books, 740
University Ave | 25th Anniversary Gala Thursday,
November 30, at the RochesterAcademy of Medicine, 1441 East Avenue.
Tickets $25-$30; call 473-2590 ext 107 for reservations | For a complete
listing of offerings and activities visit www.wab.org.