Writers In Residence Turns Ten
By Nikola DeLanie
Just as Midnight Garden Publishing is where good stories take root, Writers in Residence is where they are cultivated with community and care. For ten years and across two states, Writers in Residence has provided a collective space for authors to flourish.
Mindy McVay, the founder of Writers in Residence, originally formed the group to teach poetry workshops at the libraries in Fairplay and Alma, small mountain communities in Park County, Colorado. She utilized a private Facebook group to stay connected with her poets, and since returning home to Missouri, she has continued to invite writers into this vibrant artistic community.
In 2025, when she founded Midnight Garden Publishing with her editor in chief and best friend, Patricia Hartman, the press began sponsoring Writers in Residence as a formal collective. “Our mission is to build connections within the Kansas City Metro art communities, unifying artistic silos to bring creators together to commune, create, and collaborate. It has become one of the pillars of Writers in Residence. We are a roaming free writers group that pops up around the KC Metro to meet writers in their own neighborhoods. ” Mindy McVay replied after being asked how Writers in Residence has pivoted from a poetry group space to Midnight Garden Publishing's sponsored free writers groups.
Writers in Residence began as a space for community and a way to walk alongside local writers on their unique writing journeys. As Midnight Garden Publishing grows, the next step for Writers in Residence is to transition into a nonprofit foundation.
This evolution will allow us to provide even more resources, education, and financial support for independent authors. We are dedicated to helping writers reach their goals, providing space for artistic creation, and partnering with other nonprofits and local businesses to support our members. We truly value the community of writers who join us each month to write, share, and grow together.
Where To Find Our Writers In Residence Writing Group Locations around the KC Metro
Second Sunday’s writing group - Kc Tap & Table restaurant at the Airport Marriott Hotel 2pm-5pm
Third Saturday- Open Mic and Slam Poetry competition- Hometown Olathe Family Farm 7pm-9:30pm
Afterword writing group - Afterword Book Bar
COMING SOON!
Keystone Writing Group- Keystone Innovation Center
COMING SOON!
Fourth Friday 5pm-8pm until August - InterUrban Arthouse 5pm-8pm
New date and time to be announced for August
Learn About the Atmospheres You Will Find At Each Of Our Locations
Writers in Residence Second Sunday Writers Group at the KC Tap & Table inside the Airport Marriott Hotel
Our Second Sunday’s Writing group’s Atmosphere is full of people watching. Seeing the busy airport crowds filter through the hotel and the KC Tap & Table restaurant where we meet. There is a mixture of fiction writers, business minded people looking to work on their marketing books and welcome any style of genre to this writers group!
Local Author and a active member of Writers in Residence, Jesse Masters, performs her poem at the Midnight Garden Publishing Open Mic at Hometown Olathe Family Farm.
Third Saturday’s of every month is Open Mic and Slam Poetry Night. It is an evening full of amazing talent, fun, and laughter. It opens with the open mic night from 7:00pm until 7:45pm. We have been honored these last nine months by oral storytellers, novelists, and poets. We would love to see more singers/ songwriters and musicians in the fray. The atmosphere is so supportive, entertaining, and the backdrop of the Hometown Olathe Family Farm is idyllic and always filled with activities. Not to mention their gorgeous front entry full of local goods, books, and rustic charm. Fun alcohol and non alcoholic drinks and their brand new menu of food are available for purchase.
The Slam Poetry competition starts at 8pm with competitors drawing lots to see who goes first. Five honorable judges are selected from the audience every month to help determine who will win that month’s prize of a free drink courtesy of the H.O.F.F., to have one of their poems spotlighted in our monthly newsletter, and to pitch their manuscript to our publishing house.
Mindy McVay, Founder / Ceo of Midnight Garden Publishing House LLC, and Hostess of the Slam Poetry and Open Mic Night amused by friendly hecklers in the crowd.
Mindy McVay, the hostess of the event brings her charm and sarcasm to life, sharpening her rapier wit against the friendly hecklers in the crowd.
Her amazing team consisting of a timer, a score keeper, and a videographer, keep her on track and provide clips of our local artists’ performances, which they post to the youtube channel @MidnightGardenPublishing. Clips can be found at the beginning of the following month. If you would like to experience local art in a fun location, we definitely suggest attending this event!
Our Fourth Friday’s Writers group is located at the InterUrban Arthouse surrounded by beautiful pieces of art from local artists, our Overland Park group is full of poets who are working on manuscripts, sharing their collections, and encouraging their community to continue to write. This group is close knit and supportive of everyone’s work.
The M.L.S. Online (The Modern Literary Salon)
In between our monthly writers groups meetings we encourage our vibrant community to connect as an online collective.
Our new online KC community of support is where we can empower ourselves and support one another. https://kmcx2nkexcrwhhldbgde.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/the-mls-online/home?invite=6a41838f92c1e728569a8c5c
Keep Up to Date On Our Upcoming New Locations
We are currently speaking with Afterword Bar & Shelves to find a time and date to bring a new writing group to their new location off Gillham Rd. We are also in talks with the Keystone Innovation Center in Kansas City about bringing another location to our local writing community to create in.
As we are growing, a discussion is being had about utilizing these new spaces to begin designating spaces for writers to collaborate with each other and our editors to work out of one space each month. Alternatively, instead bring editors to each space every six months. Allowing anyone to come to as many groups as they like to receive community in all locations and have editors rotating through one of our writing group spaces every month. We feel the communities’ voices should be heard on this decision. We will be addressing each community in regards to this decision in the coming month to discuss their preferences.
Come Create With Our Writers In Residence and Grow Your Community
If you are a writer/ author in the Kansas City Metropolitan area, we invite you to join us. Scan our QR codes to become part of our private Facebook group and our M.L.S. online community. You can also sign up for our email list at midnightgardenpublishing.com to receive our monthly newsletter and find out where our next month’s pop-up events will be.
For those in St. Joseph, Liberty, or Maryville, Missouri, join our Second Sunday writers group at the Airport Marriott Hotel’s KC Tap & Table from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
If you are in Lawrence, Kansas, and would like to see a Writers in Residence event near you, please reach out to us. We would love to brainstorm new spaces to meet with the Lawrence writing community.
