Writers Grotto

Rooted & written is the writers grotto's tuition-free writing conference dedicated to writers of color. The program helps emerging writers of color hone their craft with guidance from established writers in their community. It also facilitates connections in the publishing industry. Rooted & written empowers marginalized writers to create and share work for broader audiences or community engagement. The program collaborates with artists from the bay area to create art that represents historically under- represented or excluded communities. Rooted & written benefits published and unpublished writers, concluding with a public event where participants share their work. Rooted and written attracts dozens of emerging writers. The 2024 conference hosted 40 writers and reached an even wider audience.

Through our membership program, the writers grotto provides physical and virtual workspaces and other amenities to the community of narrative artists who are our members, allowing them to work in a quiet, supportive environment surrounded by their peers. In 2024, we added 61 new members, our biggest jump ever, bringing our membership to around 175. Our members published more than 20 books, including volumes of poetry, short story collections, novels, books for young people, and a variety of nonfiction. They also published countless shorter works, including articles, short stories, personal essays, poems, and more, in venues ranging from the most notable international publications to small independent presses.

Our free public events in 2024 included public readings at salesforce park, reading + meeting (our monthly friday lecture series,, and grotto nights at the san francisco public library. We relaunched our grottopod podcast with a new host, and a rotating team of co-hosts.