Calling All Writers: Occupy the Internet

The People's Library at Occupy Pittsburgh photo: Karen Lillis

Hundreds of writers, both established and unknown, have declared their public support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement on the website OccupyWriters. The growing list of writers includes Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker and Ann Patchett.

The site has also issued a call for participating writers to visit their local occupation and write “a paragraph, a poem, a comic, a story, a vignette…” about it and submit to the web site. Nearly 50 original works by Francine Prose, D.A. Powell, Lemony Snicket, Margo Berdeshevsky, and others have been published on the site.

Jeff Sharlet and Kiera Feldman, two journalists, created Occupy Writers. Sharlet tweeted Salman Rushdie, asking if the author would sign a letter in support of the protest. Rushdie immediately agreed. The site launched with more than 200 names. Sharlet told the Huffington Post, “We wanted to say [to Bloomberg] ‘Look, you’ve been outflanked. The movement draws as much from the people you consider to be your base.’”

Writers can add their own names to the list. Names are verified by a group of volunteers.

To join, send your name and title of publication to occupywriters@gmail.com.
You can also volunteer to help the project by writing to the same address.
Then, visit a local Occupy camp and write about your experience.