Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
A Literary Arts Center for Writers: Workshops, Editing Services, Community
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"The ability to craft a compelling story
is one of the most powerful tools wepossess as humans."- Joy Baglio, Fiction Writer & Founder/Director of PVWW |
ALL WORKSHOPS CURRENTLY ONLINE
• One-Day Classes • Multi-Week Workshops • Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Courses •
• Workshops in Fiction (Novel & Short Story), Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Screenwriting •
• Classes in Creative Planning, Process, & Publishing • Craft Instruction • Community •
• Editing/Manuscript Consultation Services • Writing Coaching • Classes for Young Writers •
RECENT NEWS
Featured Winter Multi-Week Workshop
ONLINE • Live Weekly Meetings on Zoom
Taking Shape: Experimenting With Form In Poetry
4 Weeks: Mondays, March 8 - 29 (6 - 8pm EST) • $225
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Do you have ideas for poems, but haven’t found a way to begin writing? Sometimes the best way to break through is to experiment with form. We will examine how form and subject work together to create memorable poems. In this workshop we will experiment with forms such as the pantoum, cinquain, villanelle, sonnet, ghazal and prose poem. Finding a “container” for your ideas will expand your writing in a fresh way and give you more versatility as a poet. All levels. Limited to 10 writers.
GAIL THOMAS is the author of multiple books of poetry: Odd Mercy, Waving Back, No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley, and Finding the Bear.Her work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, among others. Individual poems have won national prizes, and she has been a fellow at The McDowell Colony and Ucross.
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ABOUT US
We are a literary arts organization based in Northampton MA and online, though we're completely virtual for the foreseeable future. PVWW was founded in 2016 by writer Joy Baglio, and each season our team of thirty author-instructors offers around 25 - 30 one-day and multi-week writing workshops in fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid/experimental forms, and publishing - for experienced and aspiring writers of all levels and backgrounds. We also run a Year-Long Manuscript Group Program for writers working on book-length projects, open for applications every year October - early January. All our workshops are limited to a small number of writers (8, 10, or 12, depending on the particular class) and are held live on Zoom (sometimes with an additional online classroom space) which allows discussion and participation from all participants. In addition to our classes and workshops, we host frequent virtual author readings, free twice-a-month generative Community Writing gatherings for writers of all levels and genres, as well as offer professional one-on-one manuscript consulting and editing services. Our focus is on a rigorous understanding of craft and technique, while also creating a supportive and fun environment for writers of all levels.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Writing is a life-long pursuit, and as writers we are constantly observing, constantly learning. There is no end to discovery in this journey. We truly believe that the skills of the writer and storyteller do matter and can change peoples' lives and the world. Our goal is to create an inspiring literary community while helping writers of all levels and backgrounds hone their tools, improve their craft, and accomplish their goals as storytellers, writers, and authors.
We also know that writing is an art form that can be practiced, honed, and improved. Imagination can be nurtured, and exercised. We don't view craft as a rigid set of "rules" but as tools with multifaceted uses and purposes that we are always learning more about, no matter what level we may be at or how long we've been writing. We don't view craft and these "tools" of the writer as an end in themselves, but as a means to better express ourselves and tell our stories. To become more confident storytellers, poets, memoirists, essayists, etc. As Ursula K. Le Guin has said, "Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art." We couldn't agree more!
We also know that writing is an art form that can be practiced, honed, and improved. Imagination can be nurtured, and exercised. We don't view craft as a rigid set of "rules" but as tools with multifaceted uses and purposes that we are always learning more about, no matter what level we may be at or how long we've been writing. We don't view craft and these "tools" of the writer as an end in themselves, but as a means to better express ourselves and tell our stories. To become more confident storytellers, poets, memoirists, essayists, etc. As Ursula K. Le Guin has said, "Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art." We couldn't agree more!
OUR INSTRUCTORS & EDITORS
Our instructors, editors, consultants, and coaches are all professional, working writers with years of experience in the literary world, both locally and nationally. We each specialize in a range of genres and topics, from flash fiction, short stories, and novels to memoir, poetry, screenwriting, and experimental/hybrid writing.
OUR STUDENTS & COMMUNITY
Writers of all backgrounds, career levels, and walks of life attend our classes: Some have MFA's and published books, others are taking their first steps toward making writing a part of their lives. Writing is a life-long journey, and our community reflects this!
OUR CLASSROOM & LOCATION
Before the pandemic, our classes were held at Commons Coworking in Williamsburg MA, and we miss our beautiful, large-windowed room with lots of table space, hot tea brewed before every class! Due to COVID-19, ALL OUR WORKSHOPS ARE CURRENTLY ONLINE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. We will also definitely be continuing virtual workshops after the pandemic.
Find out what people are saying about our classes!
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"Can't say enough about PVWW, Joy, and her amazing team of teachers! Writing is very much about the ability to sit in your seat for hours and put pen to paper, but coming to PVWW helps you build a community around your writing, breathe new life into your efforts, and get out of your own head a bit. And beyond that, I've learned lots of practical, nuts-and-bolts techniques that have vastly improved my work."
- Emily Everett, Managing Editor at The Common |
"PVWW is the most effective writing platform/service/group I've tried in the local area. The variety offered when it comes to events is a great mix-up between workshops, free writing sessions, and one-day classes, which specifically focus on particular areas of writing/craft. Each time I go to one of these events, I feel not only reenergized, but capable of carrying out the various techniques and tools that are shared."
- Meg Granger, reader for The Masters Review |
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