A pre-pandemic fixture of the literary community is continuing its recent revival into the New Year, as organizers of the long-running Readings at Northwind have restarted the series as Readings at the Meeting House.

Bill Mawhinney, who curates the current series, ran the Northwind series for 13 years. Then, as now, he is assisted by Carl Youngmann, who’s served as a host and handled publicity.

Youngmann explained that the previous series was ended by COVID lockdowns, and while Northwind Art had been able to furnish the readings with a venue prior to the pandemic, he credited and thanked the Port Townsend Friends Meeting House for providing space over the past year.

Youngmann’s wife, writer Ellie Matthews, touted the Meeting House’s built-in sound system and convenient parking. She said she hopes the readings might draw other community gatherings to the venue, which already hosts open-mic events.

“It’s an opportunity to foster a strong community of local and regional writers,” said Youngmann, while Matthews distinguished the Readings at the Meeting House from similar reading series, such as Poetry on the Salish Sea, by noting that one of its goals is to incorporate both poetry and prose authors.

At 7 p.m. Jan. 16, the Port Townsend Friends Meeting House at 1841 Sheridan St. is set to host two well-known writers with local connections: Michael Daley of Whidbey Island, a co-founder of Empty Bowl Press of Jefferson County, and Paul Hunter of Seattle, who has published several of Daley’s poetry collections.

Youngmann described Daley as “a significant figure in the Pacific Northwest literary scene” since 1972, who will be sharing selections from his recently published book, “Re-inhabited: New & Selected Poems,” as well as “True Heresies.”

According to Youngmann, Daley’s work “delves into the depths of place and experience,” which has earned him recognition through grants from the Washington State Arts Commission and Artist Trust, as well as a Fulbright.

As for Hunter, Youngmann described him as a “highly acclaimed” poet and author, whose work has been featured in publications such as Poetry, The Iowa Review and The Southern Review. Hunter — who received the Will Rogers Medallion Award for his Western novel, “Sit a Tall Horse” — will share poems and other pieces, including a new collection of farming poems titled “Love on Starry Dark Farm.”

Youngmann called the two authors “generationally concordant.” Matthews elaborated that the Readings at the Meeting House will attempt to schedule writers with similar backgrounds or themes together, just as the November readings focused on nature.

The Readings at the Meeting House are free and open to the public, with parking available at the house, as well as on Sheridan Street.

Youngmann and Matthews encouraged the public to look for the public prose and poetry readings to be held on the third Thursdays of the months of January, Marc, May and November.

“Empty Bowl Press is nuts about the Friends Meeting House as a venue, so it could see more such events in the future,” Youngmann said.