Colorado writers have until March 16 to submit plays to IGNITE, the first annual new play festival hosted by Boulder-based literary nonprofit Fireside Ink.
The organization was founded by Loie Rawding and Brenda Kahn. Fireside Ink exists to help writers develop their craft while finding community and camaraderie in the writing process.
“We are Boulder’s only nonprofit focused on bringing writers and readers of all ages and backgrounds together,” Rawding said.
The organization got its start in January 2024, when Rawding and Kahn began hosting writing workshops at the Dairy Center for the Arts.
Kahn, an arts educator with a background as a major label recording artist, leads the memoir and nonfiction side of Fireside Ink’s programming. Rawding holds an MFA in fiction from CU Boulder and previously worked in publishing while studying theater and dance in New York. Together, the co-founders bring a range of experience that helps them support writers at many different stages.
Rawding and Kahn knew they had hit on something significant when their early workshops started selling out.
“With each passing workshop, not only did they continue to fill up, but people were coming back,” Rawding said.
A small but lively community started to form, and participants repeatedly told the founders that Fireside Ink was offering something they hadn’t realized they were missing. After about six months, Rawding and Kahn began envisioning how to scale those workshops into the broader community nonprofit that Fireside Ink is today.
In April 2025, the Dairy Center began renovating the classroom that had hosted Fireside Ink’s workshops, prompting the organization to find a new home. With support from donors, local grants and continued growth, Fireside Ink was able to start renting its own studio space near the Whittier Square Condominiums at 23rd and Pearl streets.
“The biggest challenge with moving into our own studio and going independent was getting the word out and making sure that people in Boulder and the outlying towns could find us,” Rawding said. “Our goal is to combat insularity and to remain hyperlocal and accessible as we grow.”
Fireside Ink’s signature workshops have continued, while the organization has expanded its offerings to include weekly co-working sessions, free lunchtime writing hours, donation-based happy hour draft exchanges and other events.
“It’s been so beautiful to see people realize that they don’t have to write alone,” Rawding said.
The playwriting festival is a new initiative for Fireside Ink, created in part to support the local creative community ahead of the Sundance Film Festival’s move to Boulder in 2027.
Submissions are open to all Colorado writers through March 16. Up to five winning plays will be selected. Each playwright will receive a $150 prize, and their plays will be presented in a staged reading for a live audience at Junkyard Social Club on May 9.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What would be a fun event that unites local artists and brings in a curious audience?’ For us, it’s all about helping writers find their voice and sharing this amazing work with the public.”
The winning plays will be directed by two production managers, experienced theater professionals who are active in both the CU community and the local theater scene.
Rawding and Kahn intend to host the playwriting festival every year around the same time.
“The goal is to continue to grow the Fireside Ink community and to support emerging writers of the stage and screen,” Rawding said. “We’re focusing on plays first, but we’d eventually like to open it up to screenplays as well.”
The festival is fully underwritten by the Boulder Arts Commission, which works in conjunction with the Office of Arts and Culture to administer the city’s arts grants program. The grant program currently funds 60 nonprofits, with grants that range from $10,000 to $80,000.
For more information about IGNITE and Fireside Ink’s other offerings, visit www.firesideinkwriters.org.
