Telling a story—a good story—is no easy task. It’s a skill that demands creativity, efficiency, research, a keen understanding of one’s audience, and most of all, a story worth telling. Achieving this mix has stymied even the most venerated storytellers, at one point or another, and can often prove an insurmountable hurdle for an aspiring writer.

Unless, of course, you have help.

Enter James River Writers (JRW), Richmond’s premier writing organization and one of the largest literary organizations in Virginia. Since 2002, JRW has brought together writers from all over the city, the state, and the country to learn more about the craft and share their experiences. “The original founders (Phaedra Hise, Dean King, and David L. Robbins) saw a need for this type of organization in Richmond, and it’s been growing ever since,” says Katharine Herndon, executive director of JRW. “We believe collaboration is an enormous benefit for writers, and we offer them a chance to learn not only from each other, but from best-selling authors and literary agents as well.”

To that end, JRW hosts a wide variety of local meet-ups, classes, and contests designed to bring the RVA writing community under the same roof on a regular basis. This all culminates in the fall with their annual Writers Conference, just as it has since 2003. Published luminaries like Hampton Sides, Lee Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, and many others have accepted invitations to speak and interact at the James River Writers Conference over the past 12 years. Herndon herself attended the very first conference and has been back every year since.

“The conference is an amazing experience. It gives aspiring writers a look at the creative side of professional writing as well as the marketing and business aspects of it,” said Herndon. “Attendees can learn about the pros and cons of self-publishing, or how to find themselves an agent. It’s really eye-opening for a lot of people.”

As Richmond’s profile begins to grow and more people become aware of the cultural charms of our fair city, JRW is in a uniquely advantageous position to help write the story of Richmond that out-of-towners will read. “The more we grow the writing community in Richmond, the more people we’ll have writing about Richmond,” says Herndon.

And who better to write the story than the ones who live it every day?