Discover the heartbeat of the South Sound community through the vibrant pages of Creative Colloquy Volume Nine. Local stories, essays and poems invite you on an enchanting journey that reveals the diverse tapestry of Western Washington voices. As in years past, this anthology combines the power of storytelling with the visual beauty of carefully curated artwork, not only enhancing the narratives but adding a captivating layer of interpretation.

Step into the lives of fascinating characters as they navigate the complexities of our literary landscape. As you immerse yourself in Creative Colloquy Volume Nine, you will find that every line, every verse, is a dynamic thread binding us together—a testament to the power of invention, resilience, and the enduring spirit of shared stories.

You could almost consider Creative Colloquy Volume Eight the second of our pandemic series — a harder, darker, speculative collection with some quirk and wit throughout, a reflection of the current season. Volume Eight is the cumulative efforts of Creative Colloquy and the writers of the South Puget Sound to forge a community platform where everyone is welcome to share and enjoy the art of storytelling. As part of our mission, we attempt to explore a wide variety of subjects, styles and abilities within writing. As evidence of that, within these pages you will find stories and art that revolve around horror and urban legend pieces going a little off the rails, mythic influences with visceral imagery, and pieces of all genres that center on broken relationships and loss.

2020. In a season that was consumed with a global pandemic, civil unrest and an aura of collective mourning, there are two things that remain a constant; community and art. Dear reader, we can still find solace in stories, nourish ourselves with diverse narratives and explore new worlds within the pages of a book. As a part of our mission we strive to bridge genre and generations, presenting a wide array of storytelling styles penned by South Sound scribes that are then paired with visual art inspired by the words within. We hope as you journey through the pages here you stumble upon a chuckle waiting to be released, unearth a glimmer of hope, and ignite a spark of inspiration.

Creative Colloquy Volume Six is a dazzling anthology of short stories, essays, poems and art by the literary community of western Washington state. Collected within its pages are twenty four literary works that not only reflect the strength and caliber of emerging writers in the area, but the evolution of voice among established authors and artists, as well. As Creative Colloquy enters its sixth year of providing platforms to highlight literary talent in the South Puget Sound and fostering relationships built on mutual respect of all-things-literary, we’re proud to present Creative Colloquy Volume Six to you, our most-valued supporters.

Creative Colloquy Volume Five is a dazzling anthology of short stories, essays, poems and art by the literary community of western Washington state. Collected within its pages are eighteen literary works that not only reflect the strength and caliber of emerging writers in the area, but the evolution of voice among established authors and artists, as well. As Creative Colloquy enters its fifth year of providing platforms to highlight literary talent in the South Puget Sound and fostering relationships built on mutual respect of all-things-literary, we’re proud to present Creative Colloquy Volume Five to you, our most-valued supporters.

Creative Colloquy asks you, dear reader, to consider why you read and write. Why do we take up the pen or tentatively turn page after page of our dog-eared books, if not to build community, compassion and empathy where there was none before? Why allow ourselves to get lost in the beauty and mystery of stories when “real life” awaits us beyond the dust jacket? The answer is simple: our words give us hope. Hope that a world where barriers we’ve built between reality and dream, the strange and safely familiar and fallacies of black vs. white can still be broken down by the power of our words. Creative Colloquy Volume Four, an anthology of short stories, poetry and narrative writing by local scribes of western Washington, seeks to keep that hope alive among the literary community. Volume Four features eighteen original works by hopeful storytellers, each accompanied by artwork provided by creative artists using charcoal, collage, paint, photography, and digital media for your reading pleasure. Take a moment to slide your hands across the cover of Creative Colloquy Volume Four, press your thumb against its slender spine and feel each and every story as you flip through its pages. Feel our stories, and feel hope with us.

Edwin, the Front-Cover Frog, and I collect stories. From the valleys of North Tacoma to the Nisqually River Basin, to Capitol Lake, we’ve lurked just outta sight. You have got some interesting stories to tell, Gritty City. We’ve heard mythic tales of your land, including one about an old movie house. Why, I bet there’s something in these pages for everyone.

The Empire Strikes Back, Second City, Vatican Two, Jackie Robinson, John Adams: all wonderful and memorable seconds. To that canon Creative Colloquy offers you our sophomore collection, Creative Colloquy Volume Two. Volume Two is the cumulative efforts of Creative Colloquy and the writers of the South Puget Sound to forge a community platform where everyone is welcome to share and enjoy the art of storytelling. As part of our mission, we attempt to explore a wide variety of subjects, styles and abilities within writing. As evidence of that, within these pages you will find pirate love, a Caterpillar mustache, and cities, described as ex-boyfriends.

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Ostrich husbandry to a police ride-along. Musings of the sea to observations of the universe. Creative Colloquy Volume One brings together a selection of transformative fiction, insightful essays, and enlightening poetry from the literary revolution occurring in the South Puget Sound. From sobering confessions of motherhood to the importance of being musically literate, you are guaranteed to read tales within these pages that will connect with you. Creative Colloquy’s mission is to showcase the talented scribes of Western Washington while acting as a platform to facilitate expression and conversation within the writing community. This book is the physical manifestation of that mission.

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