Water Street Writers is a curated reading series celebrating local authors from the suburbs of Chicago.
Join us four precious Sundays a year — one each season — generally in September, November, February, and April.
Our next gathering is Sunday, October 25.
Doors open at 5:00 PM | Reading begins at 5:30 PM
And stick around afterward for an Open Mic!
Each event features four readers performing their original short works of prose and poetry. We welcome all genres, styles, and kinds of performance.
Our generous hosts at Water Street Studios have donated their beautiful space for the series. We encourage everyone to support them by becoming a member and coming out for their Second Friday art openings — they’re always a good time.
Want to read with us?
Readers are selected by submission. Send us your best work at WaterStreetWriters@rolreadlocal.com.
Come listen. Come read. Come be part of the local literary community.
October 25th
Sam Farler writes memoir on the impact of growing up with a mentally ill mother. He explores disturbances in the development of the sense of self, in how humans perceive each other, and in the dance of relationships.
He has been writing short stories since 2002, completed a first memoir in 2024, and is currently workshopping a second and third.
His first publishing credit is the short story “Savior of the World” in Tilt: Off-Kilter Stories for a Topsy-Turvy World, published in September 2026. Sam served as project manager for Tilt, which is the 80th anniversary anthology of Off-Campus Writers’ Workshop.
He volunteers teaching coping skills for adult children of parents with borderline personality disorder through BPD Alliance and helps facilitate the BPD Alliance Writing Circle.
Sam lives in St. Charles, Illinois with his wife Ute.
Patrick Parks is author of a novel, Tucumcari, and has had fiction, poetry, reviews and interviews appear in a number of places, most recently, Exacting Clam, Painted Bride Quarterly, Barrelhouse, The Writing Disorder, TYPO: The International Journal of Prototypes, Change Seven, Ocotillo Review, Bridge Eight, Full Stop, Southeast Review, Six Sentences, The Millions, Another Chicago Magazine, Heavy Feather Review, Grey Sparrow, Sledgehammer, Chattahoochee Review, and OxMag. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, the recipient of two Illinois Arts Council artist grants. He and his wife live in St. Charles. More at patrick-parks.com.
Jamie Lyn Weaver is a first-time author with a master’s degree in library science. In 2024, she received an honorable mention for the first chapter of this memoir at the prestigious San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival. After attending the conference, there was no stopping her. She was determined to tell her personal account of the intricacies and consequences of being kept in a locked psych ward during the satanic panic era. Jamie lives surrounded by her favorite books in a retirement community in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Please visit Jamie’s website, https://jamielynweaver.com, for contact info, book excerpts and other information.
E.L. Rae is an indie author from Hinckley, IL who loves writing anxious characters and emotional stories. When she’s not writing, she’s baking or spending time with her family, chickens, and her two cats.
Everyone is welcome! Suggested donation is $5. All proceeds pay our authors, so let’s give them a good night! So please like and share and all that jazz.
In addition to fine literary entertainment, you may purchase signed copies of our authors’ books. Snacks and a cash bar will also be available.
And now there’s an Open Mic after each event! (Sans the Teen Event.) We limit participants, so arrive early to sign up! We also ask that readers keep their performances to under five minutes. And of course, please be respectful and stay for the whole show. Resist the urge to flee after you’ve read.
Water Street Studios has graciously donated their gallery to us, all that they ask is that we respect the art and their space. In return, as they are a nonprofit, we ask you to consider becoming members to support their unique programming. (Which includes some writing classes!)
The show is brought to you by Cathy Borders, Kevin Moriarity, Ray Ziemer, Michelle Donfrio, and Eric Bodwell, who is our event’s emcee. And the lovely Susan Ward Trestrail Photography documents our events.
Experience Water Street Writers four precious Sundays a year in the fully accessible main art gallery at Water Street Studios. For more information, contact Cathy Borders at waterstreetwriters@rolreadlocal.com.
Submissions are always open. We pick from the slush pile each and every event. Multiple submissions are okay. Our next event won’t be until February and April, so don’t miss this one!
Guidelines
Please send submissions as an attached Word document or pdf.
12 pt font, double-spaced.
Multiple submissions are okay.
The piece must take no longer than ten minutes.
We kindly request that you stick to the pieces you’ve submitted. We organize shows around themes, mood, and genre. Substitutions can throw off the vibe.
Inspired by Waterline Writers, Water Street Writers is dedicated to excellence and quality. Since its inception in 2012, Waterline Writers had earned its reputation as the premier reading series of the Fox Valley, something we hope to maintain in the years to come.
Past Events
Teen Event, 2026
About Us
The Republic of Letters serves Illinois Fox Valley area: including the communities of Saint Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Aurora, Wheaton, Elburn, and beyond.
Get In Touch
info@rolreadlocal.com
(630) 567-5410
©The Republic of Letters 2025
