Join us today for the Northern Virginia Writers Book Club at Elaine’s Literary Salon: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 6:30-9pm — Meet this month’s featured author, Bryan Nowak
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 6:30-9pm
Where: 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
About the Northern Virginia Writers Club: Established in November 2007, the Northern Virginia Writers Club is an affiliate of the Virginia Writers Club serving aspiring and published authors alike in the northern Virginia region. Currently, meetings are hybrid or entirely virtual, usually on the third or fourth Saturday of every month. The club offers workshops, panel discussions, and expert speakers designed to assist members in the art and craft of writing, as well as to support members with the business side of writing. Club meetings, a discord server, social media and a members-only Facebook Group offer members the opportunity to exchange ideas and establish contact with other writers having similar interests. We also have critique groups and beta readers. Learn more here.
Meet this month’s featured author, Bryan Nowak, author of The Dramatic Dead, The Reverent Dead, Riapoke,The App, Code Name: Formula 12, Crimson Tassels, The Bagorian Chronicles, Usurpers Throne, and the Dean Cordaine Mysteries.
Bryan shares: I grew up in Steger, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, and spent lots of summers in Indiana. Many of my relatives still live in the Midwest and it’s a frequent destination for summer vacations. I was born in the summer of 1973. I had the good fortune of attending Eastview Elementary School. There, I learned the value of a good library through our local librarian. Exhausting the library of ghost stories and tales of monsters, I re-read some of my favorites.
One in particular I remember was the tale of the restless spirits of dead pirates. It was supposedly a true story. Years later, after the advent of the internet, I would find out that the story was well known, and the location of the story is presently a bed and breakfast in South Carolina. Reading those stories gave me a firm foundation of suspense in the paranormal. Having moved to Minnesota as a teenager, I joined the US Army Reserves and the National Guard.
I am a proud veteran of 17 years. I went to college in Minnesota and met my wife there. Our first son was born in Minnesota. It’s safe to say that I will always have a soft spot in my life for the state that I once called home. It was during my time in the U.S. Army that I was ordered to the state of Virginia, to fill in with an active duty unit who needed some extra help. Returning to that same unit over the next three summers, I learned to really love the state of Virginia. Many years later, my wife and I moved our family here. Learn more: bryannowak.com
Find more Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.
Elaine’s Literary Salon
About Elaine’s: A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selection is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are based on exquisite food found in Alexandria, Egypt — a combination of Middle Eastern with French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12 growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was previous home for 38 years of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.
About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host 
