AUGUST 25 | Impacts of AI on the Writing Community (Online Writing Show)
Artificial intelligence tools are reshaping the writing landscape, creating huge potential pitfalls for authors at every stage along with some powerful possibilities. Our panelists will explore ethical considerations, practical applications, and creative boundaries if incorporating AI into your writing process–and if you even should. We’ll talk about leveraging AI as a tool as well as how to protect yourself and your work, and the impacts of this technology on writers and the writing community.
Speakers: Aggie Prakash, Henry Coffey, Boyan Zlatarski, & Moderator Phil Hilliker
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: Online, via the Zoom platform
Cost: $12 Members | $21 Non-members | $5 Students
Registration is required.
The Writing Show includes a social time from 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm. This portion of the evening is optional. If you choose to only attend the panel discussion, please arrive by 6:25 pm, before the panel discussion begins.
SPEAKERS
Aggie Prakash is on a mission to turn the digital playground into stories that tickle the brain, warm the heart, and occasionally make you snort with laughter. He is currently tinkering with AI, intuition, and the occasional crazy idea at McKinney, Durham, as an AI Integration Specialist. He earned a Master of Science at VCU Brandcenter, where he built the award-winning DadGPT. In the summer of 2024, the British Design and Art Direction agency awarded his team a graphite pencil for their social impact campaign “Say Condom” for Durex.
Henry Coffey is a copywriter at Mischief in New York, the creative agency behind some of the most talked-about advertising in the world. His work includes a western starring Walton Goggins, the viral Capri Sun Solstice Pouch, and the viral New York street art prank “Ads for Rats.” Most recently, he created NPR’s nationwide campaign, “For Your Right to Be Curious,” which won a Gold Lion at Cannes, the highest honor in the industry. In 2026, he was named to Adweek’s list of the 100 creatives changing culture. He’s a graduate of VCU Brandcenter.
Boyan Zlatarski is an AdAge Creative To Watch ‘26 and two time D&AD New Blood Black Pencil Winner. He is the co-creator and writer for “Ads for Rats,” and has pitched creative solves for HBO, Disney, and GE Aerospace and has crafted creative communication solutions for brands like Lidl, BMW, BNP Paribas, Settle, fritz-kola, Klear, and Skapto Burgers.
MODERATOR
Phillip Hilliker is a creatively restless writer and illustrator with credits spanning many fields and genres. He has contributed to role-playing games such as Shadowrun and White Wolf’s World of Darkness, written voiceover scripts for too many whiteboard explanatory videos, and spent time as JRW’s membership coordinator. Currently he’s employed by a puzzle company to draw primarily sports-centric projects.
James River Writers is grateful for the partnership of VCU’s Brandcenter in putting together this program. 
This project was supported, in part, by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly.
See Richmond CultureWorks for other literary events in the area.