A Writer's Guide to Tulsa
Writing groups, contests, classes, and oxford commas for all.
One of the things I love about Tulsa is how easy it’s been for me to get connected as a writer. I’ve taken part in some of the writing groups, read my work at different open-mics, and submitted to a few contests. I even met Terrance Hayes at the 2024 LitFest!
This guide will help you tap into Tulsa’s writing scene, connect with fellow writers, and showcase your work. This is a living document and I will update as I hear about more spaces for writers to connect and grow. Please leave a comment if you know about anything I should add.
Open-Mics and Readings
Belafonte’s Drinks & Dialogues is a storytelling event in which guests are invited to get up on the mic to share personal narratives, and then mingle in between stories. The event often features themed segments, and prides itself on fostering connection.
Velvet Chair Poetry Night is a long-running Wednesday night poetry open-mic at Gypsy Coffee House in downtown Tulsa. 6:30pm sign-up and 7pm start time. It’s not listed on their website, but it happens!
Noisetown’s Poetry for Thee is a relatively new monthly poetry open mic that’s held the first Monday of every month at Noise Town. Sign up is at 6:30pm, and the reading starts at 7pm.
People’s Poetry of Tulsa is an open mic that used to be hosted at the Woodie Guthrie museum and is moving to a new home. I’ll update this once I know when and where it is.
Swan Song Studios’s Homegrown Open-Mic is a biweekly artist feature and open-mic held every other Thursday from 5:30-8pm at Inheritance Juicery organized by local poets Claire Campo and Zhenya Yevtushenko.
Live Lit Nights is OSU’s quarterly reading held at Heirloom Rustic Ales. They feature several local writers who each have 10 minutes to read followed by an open-mic. This is a well-attended event with a warm, supportive crowd and quality readings (and I’m not just saying that because I was a featured reader at the December show last year).
Ok So Tulsa Story Slam is a monthly story slam in which every presenter has five minutes to share a story in front of the crowd based on the theme. Submit your name, and if it’s drawn, you’ll have a chance to jump on the mic.
Check out Eventbrite for writing events as well.
Writing Groups
Saturday Scribe is a new, welcoming writing group that meets every Saturday from 10am-12pm at different Tulsa coffee shops. The format gathers creative writers around a prompt inspired by a different coffee shop each week and then encourages them to work on that prompt in community while supporting that local business. Of course, you can choose to write about whatever you like! There is no critique or workshopping involved, but writers sometimes read what they worked on during the session. Reach out through their Instagram account to be added to the Whatsapp group.
Shut Up & Write! Tulsa is a weekly writer’s group that meets every Saturday morning at the coffee shop Foolish Things from 10:30am-12:30pm. The meetup starts with a few minutes of introductions, followed by a period of focused writing, and then a final check-in to share progress. This is the group for all procrastinators who need to, well, shut up and write!
Tallgrass Literary Collective is a new writers group that meets monthly and also offers critique workshops according to their website. Someone told me about them at the 2025 Litfest and I’m excited to check them out.
Tulsa Black Writers Workshop is a monthly critique group for black writers based in Tulsa. This is a group I started a few months ago (yes, we are doing self-promotion!) and we’re open to new members who are looking to deepen their writing practice by providing both critical and encouraging feedback to help other writers grow, and receive similar feedback on their work. Please DM me if you’re interested!
Tulsa NightWriters is the oldest popular writing group in Tulsa. It’s membership based. I haven’t personally participated in this group, but they have resources for their writers outside of their workshop. Free to drop in.
Whitty Writers (now at MUST) is a writing critique group that meets every two weeks for workshop, and every other week on Monday evenings at 6:30pm at Shades of Brown for a writing session. This is a down-to-earth group that skews young and is LGBTQ-friendly.
Festivals & Annual Events
Oklahoma City University’s Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry. Every spring since 1999, this series brings a nationally renowned, award-winning poet to their campus. The event features live readings of their work, book signings, and an open mic sessions for local poets to showcase their talents. U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón visited in 2025.
Scissortail Creative Writing Festival is an annual festival that features dozens of known and up-and-coming writers from Oklahoma and all over the country. Enjoy three days of readings.
Tulsa LitFest is an annual multi-day literature festival that highlights workshops on writing and the publishing industry. Each year features a specific writer and plenty of engaging workshops. The 2025 LitFest happened from April 24-28.
VERSES is an annual arts and literacy festival hosted at the Central Library that features a variety of local vendors along with live readings, performances, art making, a silent auction, and food and drink from local eateries. VERSES happens in the fall.
Classes
OSU Classes - Features classes on a semester basis on everything from nonfiction sports writing to film budgeting to protest poetry.
Tulsa Community College’s “I Can’t Series” - Occasionally has free writing classes. Check back regularly.
Tulsa Library Online Classes - your Tulsa library card gives you access to a variety of classes.
Contests
OWFI Annual Writing Contest is held every year in January for members of OWFI, and there is a $30 entry fee.
Rural Oklahoma Museum holds an annual contest for poems celebrating Oklahoma. The deadline is typically in March, and there’s categories for different child age groups plus one adult group. Winners get a small cash prize and are invited to read their winning poems aloud at the annual reception. My poem won second place in 2024.
Tulsa Library’s Adult Creative Writing Contest is an annual writing contest that celebrates creativity in adults. Submissions for unpublished manuscripts open in February and close at the end of March. They have five categories: Children’s Fiction, Informal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, and Young Adult Fiction, and writers can submit in all five categories if they’re that prolific! Winners get a cash prize and are invited to read at a celebration.
OSU-Tulsa Creative Writing Contest is an annual contest that’s open to all currently enrolled OSU-Tulsa students. Winners are recognized in poetry and short story categories.
Publications
Apples in the Dark is an online publication focusing on works of fiction and creative nonfiction no longer than 1,500 words apiece. They offer two issues a year in the fall and spring.
Emerge Magazine is based in Arkansas, but quite a few Tulsa-based poets have been published by them. The Tulsa connection may have to do with the publication’s headquarters being based in the city. Check their website to see if they’re open to submissions or have a contest open.
Horns & Rattle Press was founded in 2023 as Tulsa’s literary magazine that champions everything speculative fiction and all things creepy. They’ve put out a couple anthologies.
Nimrod was founded at the University of Tulsa back in 1956 and publishes a selection of poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction, including original works by literary greats like Rita Dove, Pablo Neruda, and Ursula K Le Guin. This journal accepts submissions from November 1-30 each year, and turn-around time for general submissions is one to five months.
Switchyard is a magazine and podcast started at the University of Tulsa dedicated to literature and ideas. This magazine features essays, fiction, poetry, and thought-provoking conversations with authors and creators.
The Pickup is a new digital publication that focuses on the hyper niche stories about Tulsa. They’re looking for new writers to pitch stories and to take up pitches. Read their latest and pitch here.
This Land Press is not super active anymore, but they still have a cool website.
Organizations & Services
I’ve already mentioned most of these organizations, and I recommend checking out their websites to see what else they offer: OSU Center for Poets and Writers, Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. (OWFI), Rural Oklahoma Museum, Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service, and Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild (OKRWG) which has a Tulsa satellite group.
The Tulsa Library - offers access to online classes, an annual creative writing competition, and curated book lists like Writing Resources for Adult Authors. I personally recommend checking out the book On Writing Well by Willian Zinsser or Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. They’re both very instructive for crafting excellent nonfiction and general writing respectively.
People
I recommend following local poet Zhenya Yevtushenko on Instagram to stay on top of unique, one-off poetry events. He said he’ll be dialing back how active he is, but I think he’s a great person who’s tapped into the local writer’s scene! Follow other writers and poets as well.
Wrap Up
Keep your eyes peeled for unique one-off events and opportunities. In 2025, there was a poetry competition honoring the late Maya Angelou, and the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture put out a screenwriting competition with over $80,000 in prize money.
Happy writing!
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