A new writing studio has opened upstairs in downtown Olympia's historic Olympia Hardware Building, offering craft courses alongside free community sessions for local writers.

OlyPages Writing Studios, at 111 Capitol Way N, Suite 200, launched its first class on Sept. 13 when 19 people attended a "Writing Mindfully" meditation-and-writing session. Five days later, an open house on Sept. 18 filled the space to capacity, according to ThurstonTalk.

Founder Star Wuerdemann, a writer and acupuncturist who taught for nearly a decade before moving to the South Sound, said she struggled to find local writing classes after relocating. She found Richard Hugo House in Seattle but little closer to home.

That changed after she connected with Browsers Bookshop owner Andrea Griffith. Wuerdemann began attending author events at Browsers and mentioned she wanted a stronger writing community in the area. Griffith told her she'd have to build it herself, as Wuerdemann recounted in the Oly Arts Fall/Winter 2026 edition published Oct. 1.

Wuerdemann started a (Nearly) Silent Writing Club inside Browsers, then began planning a full studio. The opportunity came when a tenant moved out of the Olympia Hardware Building, which Griffith and neighbor Monique Ossa, operator of Ossa Skinworks, had purchased about three years ago with a Small Business Administration loan to keep ownership local.

OlyPages is a separate business from Browsers Bookshop. The two are partners.

The studio splits its programming into two tiers. Free, donation-supported "Open Pages" events include the monthly (Nearly) Silent Writing Club, a Coffee+Writing gathering at The Owl's Nest across the street at 116 Capitol Way N, and a generative poetry hour. Paid "Studio Pages" courses this fall range from $75 for a single workshop to $375 for a five-session memoir class. The studio also accepts donations to fund scholarships.

"I just want things to still be available to people," Wuerdemann told ThurstonTalk. "I don't want all of the community to be pay to play."

Griffith said Wuerdemann researched writing centers across the country before launching and has been strategic about her first season's offerings.

Upcoming fall classes include a six-session "Core Craft: Essentials of Creative Writing" course starting Saturday, Oct. 10 for $270, a memoir workshop with Neva Knott beginning Wednesday, Oct. 21 for $375, and a poetry workshop with Claire Nakagawara starting Nov. 2 for $225. Author Jim Lynch is scheduled for a talk on Saturday, Oct. 17 with a suggested donation of $30.

At the first (Nearly) Silent Writing Club held at OlyPages, one attendee introduced herself and said she had been away from writing for 15 years.

The studio's second annual (Nearly) Silent Writing Club Holiday Salon is scheduled for Dec. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Details and registration are at olypages.org.