Welcome to CWC's Substack

Who we are, what we do, and why we're here

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Conscious Writers Collective’s Substack!

I’m Maya C. Popa, assisted here by Riv Wren, a wonderful writer and longtime CWC member.

First, if you haven’t visited our website, click here to learn about what we do.

Why CWC?

Remember the progress you made that one time you took a workshop or craft class?

CWC is designed to offer you that momentum and support day after day, week after week, year after year. It’s where creative ambition meets mindful and intentional support. Where writers commit to their writing practices and to sustaining them longterm through community.

I founded CWC in 2024 after years of guest teaching in MFA programs and a decade directing a creative writing program. I wanted to bring my experience as an author of three collections, three chapbooks, and an editor at Publishers Weekly to supporting writers at every stage of their journey. CWC combines rigorous craft with mindset coaching—which is sorely missing from MFA programming—to help writers meet their goals longterm.

Why Substack?

So many of our members are already fantastic contributors to Substack’s cultural landscape, including Mary Roblyn, Mike Rivera, X. P. Callahan, Kate Howlett. This newsletter is an educational bridge for members of our community to share what they are learning in CWC with each other and non-members. I want everyone to learn something when they visit our newsletter, whether they ever enroll in CWC or not.

This Substack will highlight:

• Craft classes and takeaways from our Visiting Speakers

• A monthly recap of our programming in both the Poetry and Prose branches

• Spotlights on our members: their publication wins, newsletters, and developments over their time in CWC

• Interviews with visiting writers and speakers

Guests Passes to CWC Classes:

Each month, we offer a limited number of passes to our Guest Speakers. This month, you can join us to hear Haleh Liza Gafori speak on Rumi.

Join CWC

🎯 We are open to new members through December 1st—NO waitlist! 🚪➡️✍️ Just sign up for the Poetry or Prose Collective, and I will welcome you in our New Members Meeting.

🎯 After December 1, we will be closed to new members until January, when prices will increase to reflect the hundreds of hours of past programming we now have in the vault, our growing staff of community coordinators and editors, and our expanding programming. Prices will not increase for current members.

Scholarships

I started CWC with the goal of ensuring community and high-level instruction were available to writers outside of traditional academia.

But the reality is that the access gap is widening in visible and invisible ways ALL THE TIME.

We are offering 10x yearlong scholarships for the Poetry or Prose branches.

If you are a writer from a marginalized background looking for support, mentorship, and community, I hope you will apply or share this application with someone who might benefit from CWC.

Deadline October 1

Thank you for being here, friends. Looking forward to getting to know you and to sharing more of our Conscious Writers Collective programming.

If you are a member of CWC, please leave a comment and link us to your newsletter!

xM