Created by writers for writers
Founded in 2005, Paragraph is dedicated to providing a supportive community for writers of all genres.
Our core mission at Paragraph is to provide a space where creativity can flourish.
Our Story
In 2005, fresh out of The New School’s MFA program, Lila and Joy founded Paragraph. They always knew that writing is an isolating practice that requires quiet and retreat, but in graduate school, among all different types of writers and mentors, they discovered that community is an essential part of being a writer. In September 2005, they opened Paragraph, a workspace for writers. Luckily, they knew very little about running a business or they would have seen the risk was too great, the potential for failure too high. A month after opening, they were on the cover story of the NY Times Sunday Styles section.
Paragraph was located on the third floor of a nondescript building on 14th Street, up a long three flights of stairs. It was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It was created by writers for writers, with an understanding that writers work best in a quiet, comfortable space away from the hurry and obligation of daily life. The space was very old New York — tin ceilings, a non-working fireplace, large windows off the kitchen with the view of the backs of buildings and other apartments and businesses.
In 2019, Paragraph expanded to a second location in Willamsburg, Brooklyn. When Covid hit, the second space could not withstand the pandemic. It closed in December 2021. The original space also struggled, but was able to carry on thanks to government loans and a generous landlord. In July 2023, the building on 14th Street was sold. The space closed.
We are currently fundraising so that we can reopen our doors in a new location. Eyes without a face, Paragraph without a space — our heart still beats and we continue to be a community. Same great events. Same great people.
We hope to see everyone again in our new location very soon.
Our Community
Paragraph is a community of novelists, short story writers, journalists, editors, technical writers, memoirists, screenwriters, playwrights, and writers of all other mediums and genres imaginable. This community serves as a support network that many writers find missing when they work from the confines of their bedroom or home office.
We are proud of the many works that have gone on to be published, produced, or awarded in many different forms and mediums. Here is a brief list of many of the works conceived, written, or edited by Paragraph writers, and the varied publications for which our writers have written.
Our Residents
Paragraph offered three annual residency programs: Jane Hoppen Residency for LGBTQ+ writers; the MFA Residency for MFA Students in NYC; and the BLM Residency for BLM writers. Residents were given a space to write for 3-6 months. We hope to offer this again when we re-open. Stay tuned!
PAST READERS
Hannah Tinti Amy Hempel AM Holmes Jenny Xie Chad Harbach Leslie Jamison Ben Purkert George Black Sophie Jaff Matthew Thomas Francine Prose Andrew Sean Greer Sergio De La Pava Hermione Hoby Alan Burdick Amy Brill Dale Peck Darcy Frey Alexander Chee Sunil Yapa Lisa Ko Amy Meng Allison Amend Elyssa East Roxanna Robinson Beth Gutcheon Rick Moody Joshua Furst Jennifer Vanderbes Lauren Belfer Rebecca Donner Idra Novey Patrick Ryan Evan Hughes Adele Waldman
LITERARY AGENTS
Alec Shane (Writers House) Amy Tannenbaum (Jane Rotrosen) Ayesha Pande (Pande Literary) Brianne Johnson (Writers House) Bridget Smith (Dunham Literary) Cameron McClure (Donald Maass) Chris Clemans (Janklow & Nesbit) Claudia Ballard (WME) Daniel Lazar (Writers House) David Dunton (Harvey Klinger) Duvall Osteen (Aragi Inc.) Eddie Schneider (JABBERwocky) Henry Dunow (Dunow, Carlson & Lerner) Emilie Stewart (Emilie Stewart Agency) Emily Forland (Brandt & Hochman) Heather Alexander (Pippin Properties) Joy Tutela (David Black) Julie Barer Katherine Fausset (Curtis Brown) Kathy Schneider (Jane Rotrosen) Noah Ballard (Curtis Brown) Kevin O’Connor (Charlotte Sheedy) Kimberly Brower (Rebecca Friedman) Leah Hamos (Gersh) Lexi Wangler (Massie & McQuilkin) Lindsay Edgecombe (Levine Greenberg) Marilyn Allen (Allen O’Shea) Melissa Flashman (Janklow & Nesbit) Renée Zuckerbrot (Renée Zuckerbrot) Rob McQuilkin (Massie & McQuilkin) Sarah Younger (Nancy Yost) Stephanie Koven (Cullen Stanley) Sylvie Greenberg (Fletcher & Co) Victoria Skurnick (Levine Greenberg) Wendy Levinson (Harvey Klinger) Zoë Pagnamenta (Zoë Pagnamenta Agency)
EDITORS & WORKSHOP LEADERS
Melissa Ragsly (A Public Space) Anna Raff (SCBWI) Patrick Ryan (One Story) Lily Herman Wandy Felicita Ortiz Julie Trelstad Gretchen Crary Myla Goldberg Lisa Selin Davis Jenny Klion Nancy Rawlinson Patricia Mulcahey Judy Sternlight Rose Fox (Publishers Weekly) Wilda Williams (Library Journal)
THE STAFF
+ their top picks
