Name: Writing from Photographs with Sonja Livingston | Gates Library
Start: 2026-10-12
End: 2026-10-12

Enjoy a modern twist on classic comfort food with locally sourced ingredients. Relax in the casual, rich, contemporary feel with reclaimed wood finishes and stone bar tops. Unwind with a wine from our own backyard in the Finger Lakes Region as well as around the world. Large HD TVs let you catch the latest game or the day’s news. Join other “drifters” as you gather to meet old friends and make new.

Drifters LB

The Rochester Lilac Festival is the largest free festival of its kind in North America welcoming spring in Upstate NY. The festival’s more than 500,000 annual visitors will experience time-honored traditions and family activities while taking in the beauty and fragrant scents of the largest collection of lilacs in the Northeast, planted across the sprawling Highland Park gardens. For more information and the latest news on this year's festival, please visit roclilacfest.com.

Lilac Festival

Located in the lobby of The Metropolitan, Bar Bantam is a modern, full-service restaurant and bar where city energy meets casual sophistication. By day, enjoy expertly brewed coffee, fresh breakfasts, and inventive lunches; by night, savor creative cocktails and elevated dinner fare in a sleek, metropolitan setting. With seasonal menus that put a twist on classic favorites and a spacious patio perfect for gathering, Bar Bantam delivers the ideal spot for everything from weekday bites to memorable private events.

Bar Bantam

The Acorn Exchange is a hidden gem found within the beautiful marble lobby of the downtown Clinton Square Building. The Acorn Exchange is a grab and go cafe that specializes in made-to-order custom built sandwiches on our famous scratch baked focaccia bread. Need to feed lunch to a bunch? The Acorn Exchange caters! Stop by for breakfast or lunch and quickly be on your way with a delicious meal to enjoy once you reach your destination.

The Acorn Exchange

Welcome to RoCoCo Café. Our team is obsessed with brewing regionally roasted coffees that will make your day — whatever time of day that is. Your first morning sip. A mid-day break. Your late afternoon pick-me-up. Whether you grab and go or sit and savor, our goal is to wake up your taste buds, lift your mood, and brighten your spirit.

RoCoCo

La Bola by Avvino serves lunch, dinner and cocktails. An updated menu and hours can be found here: https://www.avvinorochester.com/labola

The Mercantile on Main

We’re not just a breakfast, lunch, dinner, happy hour & late-night business. The Mercantile on Main is a curated collection of some of the best food and drink this town has to offer. The Mercantile on Main features seven kitchen vendors, offers a cashless environment and was created with social distancing in the forefront of our design. The Mercantile on Main is a hub at the corner of Clinton and Main where business gets done, friendships are fueled and people have fun. Frenchman Street LaBola Red Zone Pizzeria RoCoCo Café Rooteins Seasons' Noodles https://www.sibleysquareroc.com/sibley-square-rochester-ny/mercantile Visit The Mercantile On Main at 240 East Main Street, Rochester NY 14604

Welcome to Red Zone Pizza, where every slice is eye-widening and every bite is a touchdown for your taste buds. Our menu is crafted with the freshest ingredients while focusing on size, flavor, and speed.

Frenchman Street - A taste of New Orleans brought to Rochester. House-smoked meats, po’ boys, gumbo, and more… all paired with warm Southern Hospitality.

Routines take shape by making one conscious decision each day. Let that decision be lunch or dinner with Rooteins! Build-your-own salads are our bread and butter. But don’t worry, we have bread & butter too; with grilled cheese, soups, and more!

Rochester, NY, is the third-largest metropolitan area in New York State, nestled along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. With a proud sports tradition, Rochester is home to iconic teams like the Rochester Red Wings (MiLB), Rochester Americans (AHL), Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), and Flower City Union (NPSL). Our vibrant sports culture thrives across all levels, from youth clubs and high schools to elite collegiate programs, creating a strong, year-round foundation for athletic excellence.

The Rochester NY Sports Commission champions Monroe County through the power of sports tourism. By attracting championships, invitationals, and tournaments across a wide range of disciplines, we help fuel the region’s economy and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Each year, Rochester welcomes a growing roster of sporting events, showcasing our top-tier facilities, supportive community, and dedication to teamwork on and off the field.

We invite event organizers, rights holders, and sports professionals to discover why Rochester and Monroe County are ideal destinations for your next competition or tournament. Let’s play in Rochester!

Visit Rochester

What can photographs tell us about our lives today, the traditions of our past, and the world we want to create? Which stories, emotions, details, secrets, and meanings lie just outside frame of the photograph?

Whether you’re creating memoir, poetry, family history, or a scrapbook—using photographs to inspire or accompany your work can add much-needed texture, focus, and intimacy. This session will offer tips and writing prompts to help get you started. You’ll have time to discuss your work in a supportive environment and come away with fresh ideas and drafts to refine or expand into longer projects. Bring 3-5 photographs (phone or hard copy) that intrigue, inspire, or hold great meaning for you.

This workshop is presented as part of our [Rochester Reads 25th Anniversary](https://writersandbooks.org/rochester-reads/) programming. Participants in this workshop will learn from Sonja Livingston, author of our 2026 Rochester Reads selection, *Ghostbread*.

**Sonja Livingston** is the author of four books of creative nonfiction, including the award- winning memoir Ghostbread, which has been adopted for classroom use around the country. Her work appears in The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Salon, and elsewhere. Honors include a NYFA Fellowship, an Iowa Review Award, an Arts & Letters Prize, a VanderMey Nonfiction Prize, and an AWP Book Prize. Sonja is an associate professor in the MFA Program at Virginia Commonwealth University and teaches in the Postgraduate Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Writing from Photographs with Sonja Livingston | Gates Library

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