Updated 6/9/2021 1:05 PM In 1946, a dozen wives of Northwestern University professors were searching for an outlet for their literary talents. "They decided to put on a little coffee klatch and improve their writing," says Fred Fitzsimmons, current president of what became the Off Campus Writers' Workshop, which now boasts 450 members. "It's the oldest continuous writers' workshop in the United States."
Meeting most Thursday mornings at the Winnetka Community House, the OCWW has expanded its reach during the pandemic by hosting speakers on Zoom. Instead of a couple dozen members who can make the weekly meetings, the group now regularly draws as many as 150 writers from across the city and suburbs, across Illinois, across the nation, and across the sea, with members from Israel, France, Japan, Australia and elsewhere.