NC Writers Network & The Brandy Bar's "In the Company of Writers"
In the Company of Writers' program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest authors speak from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8-9 PM. The original music of Bob Sherrill welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Open mic sign-ups are posted at the entry.
Sebastian Matthews is a writer, writing coach, and workshop leader living in Asheville, NC. His latest book, The Patient Body: A Personal Narrative in Pieces, was published by Red Hen Press in 2025. He is also the author of three books of poems and two books of personal narrative. Recent work has appeared in Orion, Lithub, and Los Angeles Review of Books. He is working on a book on writing, Cut for the Dog: The Art & Craft of Personal Narrative. Check out his newsletter Stolen Moments on Substack.
Brit Washburn’s most recent poetry collection is What Is Given (Wet Cement Press, 2025). She’s also published an essay collection Homing In: Attempts on a Life of Poetry and Purpose (Alexandria Quarterly Press, 2023) and previous poetry collections. She’s a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy’s Creative Writing Program and Goddard College in Vermont. Awarded an artist's grant by the Vermont Studio Center, she’s served on the boards of the Poetry Society of South Carolina and the Low Country Initiative on the Literary Arts (LILA). Co-director of the salon Poets House South, she’s been a freelance writer, editor, and indexer, a Montessori teacher, and instructor in the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNCA. She is currently a student in Virginia Tech’s MFA program. For more, go to www.britwashburn.com