Our Story
Writers & Books has been a cornerstone of Rochester’s literary and cultural life since its incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1981. Headquartered in the Neighborhood of the Arts, we operate Ampersand Books, our in-house independent bookstore, and Gell: A Finger Lakes Creative Retreat, a 24-acre creative campus in Naples, NY.
For more than four decades, Writers & Books has brought readers and writers together through youth camps, workshops, readings, residencies, conferences, fellowships, and interdisciplinary programming. Our work engages communities across Monroe and Ontario counties and reflects our belief in the power of story to foster connection, creativity, and belonging.
We collaborate widely with schools, libraries, arts organizations, and cultural institutions throughout the region. These partnerships strengthen our shared commitment to access, equity, and the public value of the literary arts.
1974
Writers & Books begins its literary life as The Book Bus, a mobile bookstore and book distributor. Founded and operated by Joe Flaherty, The Book Bus travels throughout the northeastern United States, engaging new audiences with small press books and their authors.
1980
With Joe Flaherty at the helm, The Book Bus ceases its travels and is reimagined as Writers & Books, operating out of a storefront in a commercial/residential neighborhood in Rochester, NY.
1981
Writers & Books is officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
1985
SummerWrite, WAB’s flagship program for youth, launches.
1986
Writers & Books is named one of NY State’s Primary Arts Organizations by the New York State Council on the Arts.
1988
Writers & Books receives a bequest of a 24-acre property in Naples, NY, supported by an endowed fund administered by the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
1992
Gleason Lodge at Gell: A Finger Lakes Creative Retreat, Naples, NY, is constructed.
2001
Writers & Books inaugurates Rochester Reads, a city-wide one-book program, with Ernest Gaines as featured novelist.
2006
The 740 University Avenue facility is expanded and upgraded to include a glass-enclosed atrium with accessible entrance, elevator, and restrooms.
2016
Writers & Books conducts a successful capital campaign, paying off its mortgage on 740 University Avenue and establishing a reserve fund.
Joe Flaherty retires and is succeeded as executive director by Kyle Semmel.
2019
The organization’s first Strategic Plan is written.
Alison Meyers assumes the position of executive director in May 2019.
Ampersand Books, WAB’s in-house indie bookstore, is established in September 2019.
2024
2025
Writers & Books would like to call attention to the complex and troubled history of the lands and waterways on which we live and work. We acknowledge that we are beneficiaries of the intentional exclusions, genocide, and erasure of Indigenous peoples. We invite you to join us in honoring the lands and waterways we occupy and the histories of their Indigenous peoples, stewards of these resources for centuries; and in paying respect to these communities, who are a vital part of the past, present, and future of the places we now call home.
Writers & Books sits on the unceded, ancestral homelands of the Onöndowa’ga or “the people of the Great Hill.” In English, they are known as the Seneca people, “The Keeper of the Western Door.” Together, with the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Tuscarora, the Seneca make up the sovereign Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Acknowledgment is only the beginning of our effort. Through engagement with the written and spoken word, Writers & Books is committed to welcoming and uplifting a wide range of perspectives with the goals of dismantling ongoing legacies and repercussions of settler colonization; promoting Indigenous peoples’ myriad, essential contributions to art, culture, and society; and implementing sustainable and equitable social, economic, and environmental practices in our day-to-day operations.