Ironed Words Productions
YOUR story is important.
Every Story Is Important
Find your words and explore your creativity with others who share your passion.
Press on with your writing, full steam ahead!
Don't write alone! Experience the fun of camaraderie and support, and get invaluable feedback.
Join the writing group for four weekly sessions starting the week of 1/6/25
FIVE OPTIONS:
1️⃣ IN PERSON, Monday evenings, 6:00-8:00 p.m., South Hills
2️⃣ IN PERSON, Tuesday afternoons, 1:00-3:00 p.m., South Hills
3️⃣ IN PERSON, Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:00 p.m., South Hills
4️⃣ IN PERSON, Wednesday mornings, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., North Fayette
5️⃣ VIRTUAL, Wednesday evenings, 6:00-8:00 p.m*, on Google Meet
Writing & Storytelling in Healthcare [VIRTUAL] Saturday, December 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 Eastern
A writing conference for healthcare professionals. Capture your unique medical experiences in words to express, process, heal, influence, and inspire.
{NEW} YOUR WRITING CRAFT June & August 2025 🔸 VIRTUAL EVENT
Get inspiration and guidance from published authors about the art and craft of writing.
Ask your burning questions about how to write effectively and captivate readers.
{NEW} SPARK YOUR WRITING July 2025 🔸 IN-PERSON EVENT
Get inspiration and guidance from published authors about the art and craft of writing. 🔸 Meet other writers and authors. 🔸 Get feedback on your 1,000-word submission!
Reach writers in Pittsburgh and beyond!
Your sponsorship of the newsletter, podcast, and conferences will get your book, writing products, or services in front of your ideal clients. Email IronedWordsProductions@gmail.com for more details.
Welcome to
Ironed Words Productions!
Do you wonder what readers might think about the work-in-progress you've been writing?
Do you wish you had somewhere to try out the story that's been in your head?
Ironed Words Productions can help!
If you love crafting words, Ironed Words Productions can help you shape them!
Maria Simbra
MD, MA, MPH
Director & Principal of Ironed Words Productions, LLC
Award-winning author and medical journalist, as seen on KDKA-TV News | CBS Pittsburgh as Dr. Maria
I'll help you get your words steamed and pressed!
Find an event to help you meet your goals as a writer and author.
Iron Writing Circle
Join other writers for support, accountability, feedback, and camaraderie with the Iron Writing Circle. Submit 1,500 words each week to the group for critique. Meet in person or virtually to discuss everyone's writing. Each session begins with writing tips from the moderator.
Building Books™
On the Building Books™ blogcast, you'll meet all the people you need to build a solid, marketable book, including editors, publishers, agents, cover designers, ghostwriters, and more. Also hear authors’ stories about their path to publishing. All at your fingertips, by subscription, in the comfort of your home.
Hot Off the Iron
In the newsletter, Hot Off the Iron, you'll get monthly writing tips to improve your storytelling, character development, and dialogue. You'll also be the first to hear about Ironed Words' writing workshops, contests, and other writing-related opportunities. Free to subscribe!
Your Writing Craft
Your Writing Craft is a virtual conference where you will get inspiration and guidance from published authors about the art and craft of writing. Ask all your burning questions about how to write effectively and captivate readers.
Spark Your Writing
Spark Your Writing is an in-person conference south of Pittsburgh where you'll hear presentations from published authors about the art and craft of writing, network with other writers and authors, and get feedback on YOUR 1,000 words from a panel of published authors.
The Conference Boutique
Specialized conferences for your group or club on specific types of writing are available upon request. Get a custom writing conference on screenwriting, narrative medicine, poetry, essays, memoir, non-fiction, and more.
You're in Good Company
Hello! I'm Maria Simbra, the director and principal at Ironed Words Productions, LLC. I love good words, and I bet you do, too. The way they feel under your fingertips as you type them. The way they zing through your brain as you read or hear a well-crafted passage. The way they roll off your tongue as you speak them aloud.
If you love good words, you're in good company.
I'm a memoirist on page and on stage, where I chronicle my careers in medicine and television news, my unusual path to motherhood, and other moments of my times. My words on page appear in lit mags, such as Door Is A Jar, Page & Spine, The Grief Dialogues, Hags on Fire, Sad Girl Review, and The Twin Bill, as well as in the Wolfsinger Publications' Us/Them Anthology. You can read my memoir compilation, Just a Moment of My Times, on Kindle Vella. My words on stage have been heard around Pittsburgh at the Moth StorySlams, Bricolage's WordPlay, and Steel City Storytellers' Just Sayin'.
Come find your words and your story along with me and others who share your passion.
Don't FAIL...
...with words that are
FLAT
DISORGANIZED
UNENGAGING
YOU CAN WIN...
...with words that are
SHARP
POLISHED
RESILIENT and RESONANT