Writers Need Walls, and Harry Bruinius Provides the Space

In late 2000, Harry Bruinius, fresh out of Columbia Journalism School, needed a place to work on his book proposal. His cramped apartment seemed to stifle creativity. He found the Rose Reading room of the New York Public Library inspirational, but “they shoo you out at 4:45, and they’re closed on Monday.”Bruinius, now 36, persisted, getting a book deal with Alfred A. Knopf. He took his advance, figuring he was not alone in the search for a clean, well-lit place (with late hours), and started The Village Quill, a workspace for writers that opened last week.Profit is naturally welcome, but not the point, Mr. Bruinius insists. “My focus is that I really just want a place to write.”That impetus was the same for Scott Adkins, who started The Brooklyn Writers Space in Park Slope after he and his wife, both playwrights, found out they were having a second child. Mr. Adkins invested $80,000 in renovating the space, which is comparable to the size of The Village Quill.Both use a configuration of 22 cubicles and plan to cap membership at 200. Since the April 2003 opening, The Brooklyn Writers Space has grown to 150 members paying up to $450 per half year for full-time, 24-hour access. Mr. Bruinius charges $800 for a comparable membership with hours from 6 a.m. to midnight during the week.“The rent is cheaper than in Manhattan, but not much less,” said Mr. Adkins. What insulates The Brooklyn Writers Space, Adkins said, is being the only one of its kind within a neighborhood dense with writers. Existing workspaces outside the borough are not considered competition. “We had one or two members from Manhattan for a couple months, but no one really wants to do the reverse commute.”The Writers Room, located in the East Village, is practically an institution. Established in 1978, its founders are said to also have tired of early closing times at the library. Framed book jackets, the fruits of past and present members, line the walls like trophies. Many of the 400 current members have endured a waiting list of six months to be in a place as quiet as it is old and accomplished. “It’s like a monastery,” Executive Director Donna Brodie said with relish, “a cell-like existence.”Mr. Bruinius kept startup costs limited to materials, totaling $40,000, and lowered his rent by renovating The Village Quill himself. The tin ceiling he installed and painted to look authentic, is a tribute to days spent in the Rose Reading Room. “I wanted the space to be a visually interesting, historic place.”

Writers Need Walls, and Harry Bruinius Provides the Space

Writers Need Walls, and Harry Bruinius Provides the Space

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