Years ago, as an MFA student in ENGL 559, Ana McCracken made plans to open a writers collective in Ames. In the fall of 2021, The Ames Writers Collective officially opened, and in January 2025, McCracken bought the building at 612 5th Street in Ames to use as its permanent home—a precious space for writers to connect with each other and work on their writing projects.
Photo by Danielle Black
McCracken, an alumna of the MFA program in creative writing and the environment, was inspired to start the Ames Writers Collective by her experiences in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she moved to Ames, McCracken was sorry to be leaving the writers collectives behind and wanted to have a similar space available in Iowa. “I was surrounded by writers, authors; famous ones, and they all taught at home,” she said. “If you were a writer, there were a lot of opportunities for you.”
McCracken established The Ames Writers Collective as a nonprofit organization that is committed to creating healthy communities through the art of writing. The collective offers memberships to writers wanting opportunities to be invited to special programs and events, have access to advanced registration for conferences and other similar events, and be recognized on the company website with links for businesses and author sites.
A variety of events are planned throughout the year, including open-mic nights, workshops, and monthly Write Togethers. A previous event McCracken is proud of is the 2024 Youth Poetry Contest at the Langston Hughes Project performance, where the winners had their poems performed at Stephens Auditorium by poet Caleb Rainey accompanied by Dr. Ron McCurdy’s compositions.
The Ames Writers Collective also offers writing groups for cancer patients and survivors. “My cancer groups have been really inspiring to me,” McCracken said. “That’s been healing, and that’s part of our mission, which is to heal communities through the art of writing.”
Ana McCracken is taking steps to grow the nonprofit. She has employed Rachel Gantt, an Iowa State University graduate of Public Relations and Communication Studies, as her Creative Strategy and Communications Intern until the end of May.
In the future, McCracken has plans to add publishing classes, where she hopes to help people learn more about the publishing process and how to get their own work published. “The publishing industry is changing all the time,” she said. “It’s almost like you can’t keep up with it.”
McCracken herself is a published author and is currently working on her thesis memoir. When asked what advice she would give to aspiring writers, she said, “You have to practice writing, and you have to be a really good reader.” McCracken said she personally listened to a lot of fiction because the same elements of writing a good story also pertain to being a memoir writer.
To learn more about the Ames Writers Collective and its efforts, you can check out its website at ameswriterscollective.org and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.