Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
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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 we 

possess 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

• 2021 WINTER/SPRING SCHEDULE! It's here! Check out our 30+ workshops and classes, across all genres, all virtual. All workshops are now enrolling! 

• PVWW STORE: We're excited to open our PVWW store, with mugs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, and more! Show off your PVWW merch at any of our virtual events!

• WE'RE SEEKING A SOCIAL MEDIA INTERN FOR 2021: Are you an aspiring writer who loves posting on social? Would you like to work alongside a team of authors and writing instructors, with an opportunity to attend free workshops? Learn more /apply!

• COMMUNITY WRITING happens the first & third Friday evenings of every month, is virtual, free, and open to all! Check out the schedule on our "Events" page!


• PVWW featured in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, about writers finding connection amid cancellations. Read article HERE.


• PVWW and Founder Joy Baglio Featured in Business West 
Browse All Upcoming Online workshops
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Featured Winter Multi-Week Workshop

ONLINE 

Creating and Sustaining a Daily Writing Practice

4 Weeks: February 1 - 28(Asynchronous • No live meetings) • $200

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Learn more / RSVP
Whether you have found it difficult to write over the past months of the pandemic or you want to make a fresh start in the new year, this class will foster the habit of writing daily. In this asynchronous class, writers will receive a daily writing prompt each weekday suitable for all genres, and two prompts to carry you over the weekend. Some prompts will be sensory or experiential, while others will invite you to delve into your memories and your imagination. These prompts are designed to inspire generative exploration in words, to get you writing freely and to encourage you to listen inwardly. A daily writing practice will allow you to tap into your creativity, reconnecting you to that inner wellspring and to yourself. This class is about process, not product, but you will be invited to post your daily writing for others in the class to read and comment on appreciatively. In addition, you are encouraged to submit two of your weekly pieces for supportive instructor feedback (on Wednesdays and on Saturdays), via our shared Google Classroom.  ​All levels & genres. Limited to 10 writers. 
LIZ BEDELL's recently completed novel, The Space Between, was shortlisted in the 2019 William Faulkner William Wisdom Competition, Novel-in-Progress category. She is a co-editor of Embody, a weekly feature column at The Maine Review. She holds an MFA Fiction and Translation from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and an MA in English from Middlebury College. 

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.

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. 
Joy Baglio, Founder/Director Fiction
Kate Senecal, Assistant Director Fiction
Sarah Jane Cody, Director of Marketing Fiction
Simon Han / Fiction
Celia Jeffries Nonfiction & Memoir
Drew Johnson/ Fiction & Nonfiction
Carolyn Zaikowski, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Dennis James Sweeney / Hybrid, Poetry, Nonfiction
Ben Jackson / Fiction & Nonfiction
Francine Puckly Creative Planning
Áine Greaney Nonfiction
Anders Carlson-Wee Poetry
Sara Rauch / Fiction & Nonfiction
Lawrence "Doc" Pruyne / Screenwriting
Gail Thomas / Poetry
Fungai Tichawangana • Book Marketing
Caroline Belle Stewart Fiction
Cindy Littlefield Fiction
Lara Ehrlich / Fiction
Arya Samuelson • Memoir, Nonfiction
Ken Mondschein Academic Writing
Olivia Kate Cerrone • Fiction, The Novella
Liz Bedell • Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Writers
Anita Gill • Memoir
Meet our instructors!
Browse Editor/Consultant Profiles

OUR STUDENTS & COMMUNITY

Writers of all backgrounds, career levels, and walks of life attend our classes: Some have MFA's and published works, others are taking their first steps toward making writing a part of their lives.
Gail Thomas leads a poetry workshop in PVWW's Williamsburg MA classroom.
Author/Illustrator Ruth Sanderson's Picture Book workshop group, showing final book dummies!
Author Carolyn Zaikowski with her Fiction Intensive Workshop group, last day of class!
Assistant Director Kate Senecal, with PVWW's first Year-Long Manuscript Group Cohort!
Instructor Carolyn Zaikowski leads a character development workshop online, via Zoom!

OUR CLASSROOM & LOCATION

Our classes are held both online* and at Commons Coworking in Williamsburg MA, which is located in the former Helen E. James school building. Our classroom is a beautiful, large-windowed room with lots of table space. We brew hot tea before every class! *Due to COVID-19, ALL OUR WORKSHOPS ARE CURRENTLY ONLINE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. 

Find out what people are saying about our classes!

"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 
Read all testimonials
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Our end-of-year Reading, Open House, & Manuscript Group Info Night (December, 2019)
Author and Fiction Manuscript Group participant Susanne Dunlap reading from her manuscript at our end-of-year Reading & Open House (December, 2019)
Writers mingling, at our end-of-year Reading & Open House in our Williamsburg MA classroom (December, 2019)
Assistant Director & Fiction Manuscript Group Instructor Kate Senecal, with PVWW's first-ever Year-Long Fiction Manuscript Group participants! Congratulations on a year of hard work! (December, 2019)
PVWW Instructors @ The Easthampton Book Fest (Spring 2018)
Creating Picture Books workshop, with acclaimed author/illustrator Ruth Sanderson (Spring 2019)
Creating Picture Books, with Ruth Sanderson (Spring, 2019)
Flash Fiction Workshop, with Joy Baglio (Spring 2018)
PVWW Founder/Director Joy Baglio and fiance Eric Fernandez at Business West's 40 Under 40 gala, honoring young community leaders (June 2019)
PVWW Founder/Director Joy Baglio receiving a 40 Under 40 award at Business West's gala (June 2019)
PVWW Founder/Director Joy Baglio & Instructor Sarah Jane Cody, after Sarah's all-day Suspense & Momentum workshop (May 2019)
Suspense & Momentum: Sustaining Narrative Interest - an all-day workshop with Sarah Jane Cody (Spring, 2019)
Radical Revision Poetry Workshop, with Adam Grabowski (Fall, 2017)
Halloween Reading at Mill 180 (Fall, 2017)
Publishing Your Poems, a one-day workshop with award-winning poet Gail Thomas (Spring, 2019)
PVWW Instructors Seth Harwood, Founder/Director Joy Baglio, Sara Rauch, and Adam Grabowski, after a reading at Hampden Gallery (Fall, 2018)
Open Community Writing (Fall 2017)
Revision Strategies for Short Fiction Writers, with Kate Senecal (Fall, 2017)
Author Panel on Process at Forbes Library (Fall, 2017)
Kate Senecal (PVWW Assistant Director) & Joy Baglio (PVWW Founder/Director) at The Easthampton Book Fest, 2018
Open Community Writing at Forbes Library (Fall, 2017)
8-Week Fiction Workshop, with Joy Baglio (Spring 2017)
Narrative Nonfiction & History Writing workshop, with Ken Mondschein, spring 2018
Author & New Ohio Review Editor David Wanczyk reading with PVWW @ Amherst Books (spring 2018)
8-Week Fiction Workshop, with Joy Baglio (Spring, 2017)
Just starting out! Joy Baglio at Easthampton Book Fest, just a few months after PVWW officially began! (Spring, 2017)
8-Week Fiction Workshop, with Joy Baglio (Spring 2017)

Explore

  • Meet Our Team
  • ​Writing Workshops & Classes
  • Year-Long Manuscript Groups​
  • Editing/Manuscript Consulting
  • Readings At PVWW
  • ​Community Writing​
  • ​Craft Videos​
  • Apply for Financial Aid
  • Writing Blog​
  • Testimonials 
  • Refund & Credit Policies
  • Calendar 
  • Donate 
  • Apply to Teach at PVWW
  • ​Apply to Intern at PVWW

What People Are Saying About PVWW

"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 has helped me build a community around my writing, breathe new life into my efforts, and get out of my 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, Editor at The Common

Contact Us

Email: joy@pioneervalleywriters.org
Phone: 518-645-1113 
Location: Northampton, MA

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  • About Us
    • What People Are Saying
    • Our Team >
      • Instructor Lounge
      • Apply to Teach at PVWW
    • Policies
    • Media & Photo Gallery
    • Contact
  • Creative Writing Classes
    • Current Workshops & Classes
    • Year-Long Manuscript Groups >
      • Year-Long Manuscript Group Program: FAQ
    • Financial Aid
  • Events
    • Community Writing
    • Upcoming Readings
    • Calendar
  • Editing & Consulting
  • Store