The Novelists Are Fighting Over Desks at the Center for Fiction

"Around four on a recent Thursday afternoon, the second floor of the Center for Fiction buzzed with a near-silent hum of productivity. Light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows as writers hunched over their laptops. A giant mural of Toni Morrison smiled in the stairwell. A lost-and-found table bore more forgotten water bottles than an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. But all was not well at the literary nonprofit: Sometimes, especially on weekday mornings, there aren't enough desks."

"The Center was founded in 1820, decades before the city's public-library system, backed by the businessmen of Manhattan's growing merchant class who wanted to keep their employees "away from the rumshop and the billiard room." Membership has two tiers: General members pay $180 a year for access to several bright, airy rooms on the second floor of the BKSK-designed space. But for $250 a month, 100 or so Writers Studio members can secure access to a separate, even brighter and airier space with individual desks."

"All desks and table space exist on a first-come, first-served basis, which, when they're all full, has led to about as much aggression as the average writer can muster - piercing glares, raised eyebrows, and uncharitable speculation: "A lot of whispering about who's really a writer and who's just a 'creative' doing Zoom calls," says a former member who left the Center over the apparent overcrowding."

The Center for Fiction operates historic, bright workspaces with two membership tiers and a dedicated Writers Studio offering individual desks. General membership costs $180 annually for access to shared rooms, while Writers Studio membership costs $250 monthly for a reserved desk area for about 100 members. Desks and tables operate on a first-come, first-served basis, producing crowding during peak times and rising tensions among users. The limited indoor capacity becomes more acute when outdoor terrace use drops in cold weather. Comparisons to nearby coworking options underscore the tradeoffs between cost, atmosphere, and amenities.

Read at Curbed