FreeWritesAndCoffee.org | an open community of writers in Catonsville & Arbutus MD.
🗓️ FreeWrites & Coffee, inc.| our 501(c)(3) community nonprofit rolls out in fall 2026!
Welcome to our writers’ community!
FreeWrites & Coffee has been writing together (caffeinated or decaffeinated) twice weekly since 2022, meeting at cafés in Catonsville & Arbutus, Maryland, in Baltimore County.
All are invited — from novice newbies to published pros — to write together with our diverse group on Saturday and Monday mornings, and occasionally at other times and locations. It’s always a different mix. Writing together is free and open. We write on a prompt for 5 minutes, and sharing is optional. In addition to FreeWriting, we also host evening ReWriting sessions with small-group feedback. Then there are the cultural field trips, bird walks, goat walks, open readings, art exhibits, music circles …
- FreeWrites on Saturdays
- 9:45-10:45 am at OCA Mocha Café in Arbutus, near UMBC. 5410 East Dr.
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- FreeWrites on Mondays
- 10-11 am (most Mondays) at Atwater’s Café in Catonsville. 815 Frederick Rd.
- 10-11 am (1st Mondays of the month) at OCA Mocha Café in Arbutus
- First Mondays we write with the young folks of My Life Learning Center.
- Always check the Freewrites & Coffee Newsletter ☕ for the week’s writing sessions and other news.
The FreeWrites & Coffee Newsletter ☕ is emailed out very week, with current writing opportunities, other notable cultural events in the community, and items of interest to writers in the Catonsville-Arbutus-Ellicott City tri-village cultural corridor.
FreeWrites Community Events
| Date & Time • Event | Most of these are free, some unaffiliated with FreeWrites. |
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| Aug 20 Thu 5-8 pm | This Thursday Evening at the Library! |
| • FreeLab @ HoCo Miller Library in the Avalon Room. FreeLab occurs once per month, in the middle of the month in the middle of the week, at Miller Library, usually 5-8pm closing time. Unstructured sessions in a large room for working on community projects like this website, group or solo writing, reading, knitting, playing Scrabble, plus a short art film. The evening’s ½-hr movie will be a poetically inspiring work by Charlie Kaufman, starring Jesse Beckley (from Hamnet), filmed in Athens and titled “How to Shoot a Ghost”. |
| Sep 2 Wed – Oct 19 Tue |
| • Paintings by Diana Marta @ Atwater’s Catonsville MD. |
| Sep 4 Fri 8-9 pm |
| • Open Mic Night @ Backwater Books old EC. |
| Sep 5 Sat 9:45 – 10:45 am |
| • Open FreeWrites @ OCA Mocha Arbutus MD. |
| Sep 7 Mon 10 – 11 am |
| • Open FreeWrites @ OCA Mocha with My Life Learning Center. |
| Sep 10 Thu 6-8 pm |
| • Group Photo Exhibit Opening: American Skies @ BCArtsGuild.org Arbutus MD. |
| Sep 13 Sun |
• Songwriting Group  Contact Deb. |
| Nov 14 Sat after FreeWrites @ OCA Mocha – Save the date! |
| • FreeWrites annual Fall Field Trip to Glenstone.org nature & sculpture grounds. We will carpool from OCA Mocha to Potomac MD at 11:30am, as we did twice in 2025. Check out the museum website. Richard has 30 free tickets, so put in your request now. Military & educators should see special perks on the website. |
| Always check the FreeWrites Newsletter. Please notify Richard of any typos or other issues. |
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⬅️ FreeWrites annual fall field trip to Glenstone Nature & Art Museums in Potomac MD
⬆️ FreeWrites at Atwater’s Café in Catonsville MD
FreeWrites & Coffee 