GOING THE DISTANCE—NOT THERE YET  brings together writings that offer strength, hope, and solidarity in this time of ongoing viral pandemic, embedded racism, economic hardship, climate crisis, and threats to democracy. This column of poetry and short prose is published weekly in the Benicia Herald and is posted at Going The Distance. Due to space limitations, prose pieces of fewer than 350 words, or poems of fewer than 30 lines, with a maximum of 30 characters per line work best. Send your writing to msgast45@gmail.com

Benicia Literary Arts is seeking volunteers

Welcome! What we do:
  • Read, edit, and work with authors on their manuscripts
  • Publish works of literary merit
  • Hold events that inform and educate writers
  • Sponsor ongoing writing groups who help each other
  • Sponsor workshops on writing, publishing, social media
We started a blog! We invite you to join the conversation on the blog page. 










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Shut Up and Write!

Please join Benicia Literary Arts for an evening of focused writing time at the Benicia Library. All genres and experience levels are encouraged, and don't worry, no one will see what you've written! This is about getting your writing done and meeting other local writers.

We'll begin at 6:30 by leading a quick round of introductions, then start quiet writing time at 6:45. At 8:15, we'll wrap up and take some more time to get to know each other, share challenges and successes as writers, etc. Again, there will be no obligation to share your work! Feel free to take breaks as needed throughout the event.

Location: Benicia Library - Doña Benicia Room
Dates: October 14, 21, 2024
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

• Oct 28 event will be moving to the Edna Clyne Room in the Library. 






Getting to Know Each Other: A Meet & Greet Event on November 3rd for Benicia Literary Arts members and guests.

Plan to attend this informal get-acquainted event on Sunday, November 3rd from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 2 at the Benicia Community Center - 370 E. L St., Benicia, CA 94510. 

Working at your computer (does anyone still work with pen and paper?) can be a lonely business. The Board of Directors of Benicia Literary Arts would like to get to know our members better, share what we do, and learn more about how we can better help our writers achieve their goals. We welcome other local writers and readers who are interested in learning more about our writing community.In an informal atmosphere, our new President, Debbie Weiss, as well as other members of our board, will share about what our organization does, and lead discussions focusing on how we can best serve our community in the future.


Joan Gelfand, the first writer and poet we published has received a 2024 NYC Big Book Award in New Adult Nonfiction for Outside Voices, A memoir of the Berkeley Revolution.