No. 21 Vol. 7
My Life Publications • 1-800-691-7549
July 2025
Hackettstown Local Author Debuts New Aspiring Writers Club at Hackettstown Free Public Library
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By Stefanie Sears hat better way to inspire more writers in a library setting than with a writing club hosted by a successful local author? Author Eric Matluck, originally from Brooklyn and now a Hackettstown resident, released his latest book What’s In Hope’s Back Pocket and participated in an author talk and book signing at Hackettstown Free Public Library earlier this year. The library’s Director Jerry Galante then approached Matluck about the idea of starting a writers club for the library because they never had one before and Matluck was immediately on board. The club covers topics such as writing, publishing, and everything in between, and an important factor for the club is outreach. “The people we’re looking to attract are people who want to write but feel a little bit inhibited, and they might just feel more comfortable in a smaller crowd than in a larger crowd. I think it worked out actually to everybody’s benefit,” explains Matluck. The “Aspiring Writers Club hosted by Eric Matluck” had its first meeting at Hackettstown Free Public Library on Tuesday, June 3, at 6 PM and ran for an hour and a half. At the first meeting, one activity prompt was looking at paintings and writing stories inspired by them. Other discussions were the concept of coming up with character names and talking about books everyone likes. However, they will have different activities and topics of discussion
every month. “Somebody can come in three or four months down the road and not have to say, ‘Hey, what are we doing?’ We want to keep it ongoing and to try to attract more people.” Of course, the discussions eventually turned towards generative AI, which is often deeply affecting the writing industry and causing concern. Matluck, however, has a more positive view on the increasingly popular technology and believes that the writing community need not feel threatened. “I am not completely sure I understand the purpose of it. I think, as a human being, I could perhaps use it as inspiration, but I don’t know that it’s going to replace things created by living people. It’s kind of frightening, but kind of fascinating at the same time. I guess it’s like when the whole concept of recorded music came out and people were probably thinking ‘Live concerts are going to end because now people can just sit at home and listen to recordings.’ And, of course, that didn’t happen. We’ve got both and they’re both thriving. You know, it raises the eyebrows a little bit, but it’s fascinating, and I think a lot of good can come of it. I think at some point it’s going to seem to take over, and then I think it’s going to recede. As people become more familiar with it, I think they can use it constructively. I think it’s just human nature to always want to express yourself. Things will probably level out a bit.” The “Aspiring Writers Club hosted by Eric Matluck” will continue to run on the first Tuesday of every month at 6 pm
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at the Hackettstown Free Public Library through December. “The ultimate goal is to get people comfortable enough to start writing,” says Matluck. “I think there are a lot of people who want to write but feel inhibited because they’re afraid their writing is not going to be well received. By having a club like this, you can find people who are supporting what you’re doing and saying, ‘It’s great what you’re doing. Keep doing it. Do it more.’ Then they can write and either submit them to magazines if they’re short stories or get themselves published if they’re books. Let them feel comfortable with what they enjoy doing.”