Refuge for writers: Center for Fiction opens in Fort Greene

The Center for Fiction has a new home in Brooklyn after being in midtown Manhattan since 1933.
It was officially opened to the public today in Fort Greene.
Besides being close to cultural institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Shakespeare Theater, the new center will offer more space for its writing and reading programs.
Its well-known writer’s studio can now accommodate 65 percent more members. There is four times the classroom space that will be used for discussion groups, seminars and writing workshops.
It also offers a bookstore, cafe as well as reading rooms for members.
Executive Director Noreen Tomass says she's excited to bring readers and writers from across New York City to the new location.
"An actual physical place they can come to any time and feel totally at home,” she says. “That to us is really important in an age where people, in some ways, especially in a city like New York City, can oddly feel isolated."
The center has a 160-seat auditorium that hosts events for children during the day and discussions between authors and experts in the evenings.