BACCA began in 2011
January 2011. Ten writers gather at WriterHouse in downtown Charlottesville for a class in fiction taught by David Ronka. We share work and provide critiques.
June 2011. Four of us from that class meet at a coffee shop in Charlottesville, Virginia to see if we want to form a writer group. It’s unanimous! We decide to call the group BACCA. The name uses the initials of our founders’ first names -Bethany, Anne, Carolyn, Claire, plus an extra A to grow on.
Moreover, BACCA is the Latin word for berry and has the botanical meaning of a seed-bearing fruit grouped together. We chose the grape to symbolize BACCA, since it grows from a bare stem to a luscious fruit all the way to an intoxicating and eternal wine. Like grapes, we ripen together and create a lasting impact.
June 2012. BACCA members celebrate our first birthday. We’ve been writing and meeting each month for over a year. It’s working!
March 2013. BACCA presents at the Virginia Festival of the Book, in a session on Creating a Great Writing Group.
March 2015. BACCA hosts a mixer session at the Virginia Festival of the Book, in a session called Meet (or Create) Your Own Writing Group.
August 2015. BACCA reprises their mixer at the Virginia Writers Club Symposium.
November 2015. BACCA reprises their mixer for the Jefferson/Madison Regional Library.
Fall 2016. BACCA invites Andrea Fisher Rowland and Noelle Beverly to join our group.
During the Covid winter of 2020-2021 BACCA invites Pamela Evans as a temporary member.
Winter 2022-23 BACCA invites Lynn Shattuck to join.
Summer, 2024, BACCA is excited to invite Pamela Evans as a permanent member.
BACCA Literary 