WRITING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
All classes & events are live & virtual, via Zoom!
"The ability to craft a compelling story is one of the most powerful tools we possess as humans."
- Joy Baglio, Founder/Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
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At PVWW, we offer the following types of classes:
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These classes run two or three hours and focus on particular writing-related craft, process, or practical topics. They often emphasize the development and honing of specific skills, through craft instruction, analysis of published work, discussion, and in-class writing exercises. One-day classes are an opportunity to dip a toe into writing instruction (if you're new to writing), get a burst of inspiration about a particular topic, and be part of a supportive writing group for an afternoon! Unless stated, they DO NOT entail outside reading or the opportunity to receive feedback on your work. Limited to 12 writers (in most cases).
View All One-Day Classes |
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These longer workshops meet weekly for the stated number of weeks and in most cases offer the opportunity to receive feedback on your work from the instructor and group (unless the course description emphasizes generative writing, revision, studying a particular book, or something else). Multi-week workshops usually include weekly deadlines, reading and/or writing assignments, and most do require at least a few hours of work per week, outside of class. They are always supportive and encouraging in nature and a great way to build a regular writing practice and cultivate your own writing community. Limited to 10 writers.
View All Multi-Week Workshops |
View All Year-Long Workshops / Learn More About the Year-Long Program |
The PVWW Year-Long Manuscript Workshop Program is for writers in all genres (fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry/hybrid) who are working on book-length manuscripts. These workshops are for serious writers looking to make a year-long commitment to finishing a draft of their book, in the supportive and rigorous presence of a small group and an instructor dedicated to guiding the cohort. Groups meet virtually on a monthly basis, and writers receive regular feedback from the group and instructor. The program includes a number of other benefits, including regular craft instruction, outside readings, accountability buddies, interaction in a virtual classroom space between meetings, and one-on-one conferences with the instructor. Applications are open annually October - December, and the workshops begin each year in March.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: The workshop descriptions below are abbreviated to fit on this page. Before registering, please make sure to read the full workshop descriptions, including weekly breakdowns (for multi-week workshops), by clicking the "Learn More" links. Instructor bios and general registration policies are also listed on the "Learn More" page.
Receiving the Zoom link for each workshop: A welcome email and Zoom link will be emailed to all who register closer to the date of the workshop (1 - 3 days before one-day classes and 3 - 5 days before multi-week workshops).
ONLINE - 1 spot left
Creative Writing Fundamentals
6 Weeks: Mondays, January 24 - February 28 (6 - 8pm EST) • $325
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Do you want to delve into or revisit the wonderful world of creative writing, but don’t know where to start? This course is for you! We'll engage in a variety of fun, thought-provoking in-class prompts in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and experimental/hybrid work, and we’ll examine examples from the masters to supplement our understanding. There will be weekly informal opportunities in small and large groups to share pieces, in the spirit of support and encouragement from the group. We’ll also discuss some basic writers’ block strategies, revision methods, and ways to take your writing practice home with you. This course is geared toward beginners or those who crave a re-entry into writing after time away. All levels/genres; beginners may be particularly interested. Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
ONLINE - 3 spots left!
Writing Mythical Transformations in Fairytales & Fiction
2 Hours: Saturday, January 29 (1 - 3pm EST) • $45
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The Little Mermaid sacrifices her tail for a human soul. Gregor Samsa, feeling insignificant, becomes a cockroach. The nymph Daphne turns into a tree to escape lovesick Apollo. Throughout literature, characters transform because they are hungry. They transform because they're restless, because they're seeking liberation from domesticity, obscurity, prescribed roles, their own bodies. They transform for fun. As writers, we use transformation to illuminate the raw places inside our protagonists and their worlds. Our characters escape, they devour, they create life—and they discover their true selves by stripping away their known skin. In this one-day class, we'll explore these ideas through craft talk, discussion of sample texts, and in-class writing. All levels. Limited to 15 writers.
LARA EHRLICH is the author of the short story collection Animal Wife (Red Hen Press, 2020), which won Red Hen’s Fiction Award, judged by Ann Hood. Lara’s stories are published in F(r)iction, Hunger Mountain, StoryQuarterly, The Normal School, and elsewhere. Lara has received scholarships from the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, the Midwest Writers Workshop, and the Garret on the Green. Lara holds an MA from the University of Chicago, and lives in Connecticut, where she is the director of marketing for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven. |
ONLINE - 3 spots left!
Story Sketching: Outline Your Book in Three Acts
3 Hours: Sunday, January 30 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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Perhaps you're feeling the unwieldiness of your book as it grows, unsure of how to move forward, or maybe it's going great and you're excited to dive even deeper into the mechanics of your plot/structure. Outlines allow you to juggle the multiple threads of your story in a way that will later make the process much easier, allowing you to more easily develop mysteries and other exciting twists, and to above all save time in the writing process. Outlines are also where MUCH of the creativity and imaginative fun of novel-writing happens, contrary to popular belief. They are not rigid skeletons, but can grow and evolve as the book itself does. First, we'll talk about the three-act structure and how to use it in clearly fleshing out our novels. Then, through a series of guided in-class outlining exercises with a focus on figuring out your story's "spine" (and increasing complexity from there), participants will be given time to work on developing their own outlines. Lastly, we'll talk about strategies for moving forward with your three-act outline and how to use it to best help you in the writing process. Writers will leave the workshop with a first draft of a three-act outline. All levels. Limited to 15 writers.
JOY BAGLIO founded Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop in 2016. Her short fiction has appeared widely, in such journals as Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. She's the recipient fellowships, scholarships, and grants from Yaddo, The Elizabeth George Foundation, Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers' Conferences, and Vermont Studio Center, among others. She's at work on a novel. |
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The Only Fact We Have: Writing About Death
4 Weeks: Tuesdays, February 1 - 22 (6 - 8pm EST) • $250
***IMPORTANT NOTE: Though the topic of grief will naturally arise, it is very important that students know this is not a grief support group and is not run by a therapist/grief counselor. If you are experiencing acute grief or trauma, or might otherwise be in need of intensive psychological support around death, you are advised to consider whether a clinical support group is more appropriate at this time.
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James Baldwin wrote, "Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, the only fact we have." But how in the world to address this one fact, death? In this class, we'll do so through creative writing, with the guidance of a trained death doula. Prompts will be adaptable to poetry, hybrid, short fiction, and creative nonfiction, allowing writers to explore types of writing which speak to them. Rather than engaging with intensive academic study and workshopping, the invitation is to gently contemplate and get curious about death; we'll aim to foster the vulnerability and bravery it takes to do this, and likely we'll find humor, too. Thus, this course is focused on anyone with this goal, and is not connected to one's level of writing experience. Themes will include death of self and other, death and oppression, and hope and renewal. We'll read poetry, hybrid, short fiction, and short essays from writers including Walt Whitman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Claudia Rankine, Lydia Davis, Jericho Brown, Kenneth Patchen, Ursula LeGuin, and Rumi. Each week in class, we'll generate writing with prompts, and there will be opportunities to informally, and optionally, share our work. All levels and genres.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
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Memory & Desire: Poetry of Midlife
4 Weeks: Sundays, February 6 - 27 (10am - 12pm EST) • $250
"I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear: I’m not screwing around. It’s time.” - Brené Brown
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A challenge that many writers face is how to choose artful details when writing about memory or strong emotional content. Some of us may shy away from expressing deep loss or anger, or we may produce work that’s overly sentimental. What devices can a poet use to make deeply personal material most effective? This workshop is for poets in midlife who want to take their work to a deeper level by paying close attention to matters of craft. For inspiration we will read poems that elevate personal experience by paying close attention to craft. We will focus on imagery, sound, voice, line breaks, beginnings and endings. How does the form you choose complement the content? Writers will receive feedback on their works in progress. Poets will be asked to email one poem to the instructor for workshop/discussion during the first class. For midlife poets of all levels.
GAIL THOMAS’ books are Odd Mercy, Waving Back, No Simple Wilderness, and Finding the Bear. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She received the Charlotte Mew Prize from Headmistress Press, the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s Must Read, and the Naugatuck River Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize. Thomas, a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Ucross, is a working poet retired from Smith College. |
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Writing Toward Wildness:
A Non-Linear Approach to Writing a Memoir
8 Weeks: Wednesdays, February 9 - March 30 (6 - 8pm EST) • $300
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Do you have an idea for a book project, but feel lost about where & how to begin? Is there a story you’ve always dreamt of telling, and now you’re seeking structure, accountability, and community support? This new year, it's time to take the plunge! Rather than starting with an outline or at the “beginning” of a story, this generative and community-building class will be about writing into the wildness of a new project in a non-linear way, allowing the story to reveal its true colors over time. Come in with the seed of an idea, and each week, we’ll write in response to a different “portal” – a launching off-point for you to explore within the world of your book. Though there won’t be any formal workshopping, there will be a chance each week to read your work aloud and receive “on the spot” reflections. Throughout, you will be receive abundant support from the group and emerge from the class with the first pages of your next book! All levels.
ARYA SAMUELSON was awarded CutBank's Montana Prize in Non-Fiction, judged by Cheryl Strayed. Her work has been published in Columbia Journal, New Delta Review, Entropy, The Millions, and elsewhere. She holds an an MFA from Mills College. |
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Jumpstart Your Memoir
2 Hours: Saturday, February 12 (1 - 3pm EST) • $45
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A memoir is, in essence, a ‘slice of life.’ Our lives can seem like large, myopic odysseys that can be difficult to navigate when writing a memoir. What’s my story? What to include? What to leave out? Where to start? Where to end? This 2-hour session is a place to explore those questions. The class will begin with a short craft lecture on the basic components of a memoir. We will do a number of writing exercises throughout and end the day with some ideas to help you develop your memoir going forward. The workshop is open to those who have a story in hand as well as those who are relatively new to the page. All levels, but may be of particular interest to beginners. Limited to 12 writers.
CELIA JEFFRIES is the author of the novel Blue Desert (2021). She holds an MA from Brandeis and an MFA from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in numerous newspapers and literary magazines including Westview, Solstice, and Puerto del Sol, as well as the anthology Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper. She has received grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Turkey Land Cove Foundation, and La Muse. She is currently at work on a memoir. |
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Tarot for Writers
2 Hours: Saturday, February 19 (1 - 3pm EST) • $45
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This workshop led by Typewriter Tarot founder Cecily Sailer invites writers to explore the art of Tarot as a way to enliven creativity, better understand our own work, and move through blocks, disappointments, and doubts. This workshop is ideal for writers seeking new, rich, and unconventional methods of supporting creativity. No prior knowledge of Tarot is required, but we suggest you purchase a Tarot deck (such as the Smith-Rider-Waite deck or Modern Witch Tarot). Together, we'll practice using the cards to get a read on our writing life and writing process. You'll experiment with a Tarot spread to help you better understand the motivations and experiences of a character you're working with - or to imagine a new character who's ready to step into your work. You’ll come away with new ideas for using the cards to develop intuition, shift perspective, and understand your characters and plot lines. All genres and levels. Limited to 12 writers.
CECILY SAILER is a Tarot reader, creative coach, and writer who works to support creative spirits using Tarot, magic, ritual, and wonder. Cecily earned an MFA in fiction from the University of Houston and her work has been published in The Texas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Literary Hub, Resolve Magazine, and others. She founded Typewriter Tarot in 2017 to help people connect with the power and magic of Tarot. |
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Writing the Novella
3 Hours: Saturday, February 26 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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Join novella author Olivia Kate Cerrone for an afternoon of learning about the novella, a classic form that has gained popularity in recent years (a novella can be defined as a short novel or long short story.) The workshop will include discussion of the novella form, including example texts, and an opportunity to discuss your own novella (or possible novella) manuscripts. Open to writers of all levels. Beginners will gain a deeper understanding of the craft fundamentals of this unique genre. Experienced writers will learn how to better perfect their abilities in revising and reworking their novella drafts.
OLIVIA KATE CERRONE's writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, and New South, and elsewhere. Her novella The Hunger Saint won an American Fiction Award and was praised by Kirkus Review as “a well-crafted and affecting literary tale.” She won Crab Orchard Review's Jack Dyer Fiction Prize and various other honors, including fellowships from the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers (Scotland), the Ragdale Foundation, VCCA, the Vermont Studio Center, among others. |
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Windows, Peepholes, Portals: An Intro to Flash Fiction
6 Weeks: Tuesdays, March 1 - April 5 (6 - 8pm EST) • $325
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Flash fiction is a very short story—perhaps a couple of pages, perhaps one sentence! Together, we’ll explore how flash offers readers strange and poignant little windows, peepholes, and portals into worlds, lives, themes, and scenes. We’ll play with the art of creating such glimpses, with their high level of attention to the beauty and dynamism of words and story-containers; we’ll also see flash’s poetic and experimental sides. We’ll discuss examples from writers like Lydia Davis, SB Divya, Sejal Shah, Jamaica Kincaid, and more. All meetings will also involve generative in-class writing sessions, followed by informal sharing in small and large groups in the spirit of encouragement and positivity. This course is perfect for beginner and intermediate storytellers who crave an introduction to this multifaceted form. Writers will leave with up to five flash drafts and the basic tools to continue exploring. Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
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Speculative Speculations: What Is Genre, Anyway?
3 Hours: Saturday, March 5 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
with S.K. Brownell
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Speculative fiction: the definition is in the name. Or is it? In the 21st century, speculative fiction has become a sort of umbrella term describing not only the massive and established genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but also a new subset of stories that seem to fall somewhere between or at the boundaries of those categories. In this class, we’ll explore those definitions and more, from old standbys like cyberpunk, portal fantasy, and slipstream, to the newly-minted hopepunk, cli-fi, and science fantasy, all with an eye to understanding, guiding, and inspiring our own work. Together, we’ll discuss how to find inspiration rather than limitations in genre expectations, how those expectations can aid our writing, what happens when we choose to remix and subvert them. We’ll consult the opinions of literary giants like Ursula K LeGuin and Margaret Atwood (who famously and publicly differed on this point) and take a look at the work of contemporary speculative authors innovating within or working between genres—like China Miéville, Carmen Maria Machado, Grady Hendrix, and Akwaeke Emezi. Then, you’ll have a chance to put some of these concepts to use through generative prompts, brainstorms, and exercises. All levels. Limited to 12 writers.
S.K. BROWNELL is writer, artist, and educator from the American Midwest. Their work has been shortlisted for the inaugural Samuel R Delany Fellowship in Speculative Fiction and has received the National Partners of the American Theatre Playwriting Excellence Award, Solstice Literary Prize in Fiction Editor's Choice, and other honors. They are a Sewanee Conference Tennessee Williams Scholar, and their work has appeared in Speculative North, Decoded, Great Lakes Review, Newfound, and elsewhere. Stephanie holds an MFA from Boston University and teaches at Carroll University and GrubStreet. |
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Mining the Past: Writing the Children's Novel
2 Hours: Sunday, March 6 (1 - 3pm EST)
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Childhood is where love of story begins. This generative workshop will focus on creating literary worlds for young readers. Participants will revisit their own childhood memories and passions as seed material and source of emotional drive for novel-length storytelling. Using short readings and in-class writing prompts, writers will move from large-scale conception to initial exploratory drafting that will harness structural elements of children’s literature. All levels: Beginners will receive an introduction to the children’s novel, while more experienced children’s writers will come away with techniques for idea generation and possibly a fresh concept for new work. Limited to 12 writers.
NAILA MOREIRA's middle-grade novel THE MONARCHS OF WINGHAVEN, about two children who bond over their love of nature-watching as they try to save a plot of land in their town, is forthcoming from Walker Books US in 2023. Moreira teaches at Smith College and has been writer-in-residence at the Shoals Marine Laboratory and Forbes Library in Northampton MA. Her second chapbook, Water Street, won the New England Poetry Club Jean Pedrick Prize. She’s also worked as a journalist, environmental consultant, and Seattle Aquarium docent, and holds a doctorate in geology. |
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Generative & Community-Building Poetry Workshop
8 Weeks: Mondays, March 7 - April 25 (6 - 8pm EST) • $300
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This group is for both beginner and established poets who are craving a space to just be…poets! Each week, we'll generate new poems in class, guided by versatile prompts. Rather than intensive craft study, formal workshopping, and revision, we'll engage with encouraging on-the-spot feedback on brand new pieces. You may come to class with poems or ideas you’re already working on, too. If you are a poet looking for guided writing time, gentle accountability from an experienced instructor and fellow like-minded poets, support around writing/life balance, and the opportunity for community, this group is for you! By the end of the course, you’ll have garnered a sense of peer support, set intentions for your writing life, and written at least seven new drafts of poems for you to take with you. All levels. Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
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Beginning Your Novel: Jumpstart Your First Draft
6 Weeks: Saturdays, March 12 - April 16 (4 - 6pm EST) • $325
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Have an idea for or just getting started on a novel? Join us for an inspiring 6 weeks of planning, brainstorming, and drafting parts of the first draft of your novel. This class is for writers of all levels, whether you're just getting started with your first novel or laying the groundwork for your fifth. This course offers lectures, handouts, and reading materials that break down crucial craft elements in the novel form; features small and large group brainstorming discussions, prompts and writing exercises that will help participants figure out what kind of story their novel wants to be; opportunities for casual sharing of work and verbal feedback from the instructor and the group; discussion and materials about strategies for outlining the novel; and focused attention on construction of the first chapter. All levels. Limited to 10 writers.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and the Program Director of PVWW's Year-Long Manuscript Program. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the former fiction editor of Storychord. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, among others. |
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Publishing Your Poems
3 Hours: Sunday, March 13 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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Whether you want to submit individual poems to journals or publish a complete manuscript, this workshop will give practical advice for presenting your best work. We'll explore how to find journals and presses that best fit your writing style, the importance of formatting, titles, and cover letters, poetry contests and the option of self-publishing. Publication involves risk-taking, so we'll also talk about dealing with rejection. Please bring five poems for the hands-on demonstration of how these might work as a manuscript. Recommended for intermediate and advanced writers who are ready to send out a body of work. Please get in touch with us if you have questions as to whether you're ready for this class. Limited to 12 writers.
GAIL THOMAS’ books are Odd Mercy, Waving Back, No Simple Wilderness, and Finding the Bear. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She received the Charlotte Mew Prize from Headmistress Press, the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s Must Read, and the Naugatuck River Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize. Thomas, a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Ucross, is a working poet retired from Smith College. |
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Advanced Fiction Workshop
8 Weeks: Wednesdays, March 16 - May 4 (6 - 8pm EST) • $400
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This course is designed to give experienced fiction writers - both novelists and short story writers - the opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in progress. The course offers a model for workshopping in which participants will receive written comments from the group and instructor before their work is discussed in class. Instead of remaining silent, writers will be an active participant in the conversation about their work, with a focus on concrete revision options. Participants will receive craft essays, occasional writing prompts and relevant published short stories or novel excerpts via email that will inform our weekly discussions.For advanced writers with prior workshop experience. Admission by application, or permission of the instructor. Limited to 8 writers.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and the Program Director of PVWW's Year-Long Manuscript Program. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the former fiction editor of Storychord. She's received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train’s 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, and in Storychord.com. In addition to her work at PVWW, she teaches writing at Grub Street and Umass, Amherst. She is at work on a first novel. |
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Writing the Body
2 Hours: Saturday, March 19 (1 - 3pm EST) • $45
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Our bodies are made of stories. Heat. Sensation. Illness. Spasms. Tears. Even in numbness or dissociation, the body speaks. Writing the body is one of the most powerful ways to draw in a reader. As soon as someone names a sensation-- an ear twitch, a quickened pulse, the ache of longing in a shoulder -- we can practically feel it as our own. Through meditations, in-class writing, and class sharing, we'll explore how to tap into the body's language and unearth its stories. No matter your writing background, ambitions, or genre, this class will help you tap into your embodied wisdom and discover new stories waiting to be told. All levels & genres.
ARYA SAMUELSON is the winner of the CutBank’s 2019 Montana Prize in Non-Fiction, awarded by Cheryl Strayed. Her work has also been published in Columbia Journal, New Delta Review, Entropy, and The Millions. She is a proud graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing Program from Mills College and has been studying at Lidia Yuknavitch’s school of Corporeal Writing since 2017. She teaches with LitReactor, Sundress Academy for the Arts, and through her own teaching series, Writing as Ritual. Arya writes across all genres and is currently working on a novel. |
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Reading Like a Memoirist:
James Baldwin's Notes on a Native Son
4 Weeks: Thursdays, March 31 - April 21 (10am - 12pm EST) • $250
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What distinguishes a good memoir? What makes one person’s story read like mere navel-gazing when another’s can take us into a deep experience of the world? Although he was writing before memoir became a dominant genre, James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son is a brilliant example of a personal narrative that takes the reader into what Vivian Gornick calls “the intersection between the self and the world.” If a memoir is an inquiry, an attempt by the writer to make sense of one’s place in the world, it’s the depth of that inquiry that makes Baldwin’s book a classic and one that can teach us much about the craft of memoir. As a group, we'll read Notes of a Native Son over the course of four weeks. We'll discuss how Baldwin uses the fundamentals of storytelling, how he explores both his inner and outer worlds, and how we can learn from his work. Generative writing exercises related to the reading will be offered, as well as the opportunity for in-class positive feedback. There will be no formal or written feedback; instead we will focus deeply on craft analysis, discussion, and writing our own stories. Required: All participants must have a copy of the book and are expected to begin reading before the first class. Limited to 10 writers.
CELIA JEFFRIES is the author of the novel Blue Desert (2021). She holds an MA from Brandeis and an MFA from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in numerous newspapers and literary magazines including Westview, Solstice, and Puerto del Sol, as well as the anthology Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper. She has received grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Turkey Land Cove Foundation, and La Muse. She is currently at work on a memoir. |
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Playing with Language:
Revision Strategies Through Literary Translation
2 Hours: Saturday, April 2 (1 - 3pm EST) • $45
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All writers translate. We translate inchoate, ephemeral thoughts and images into words, and then, when we’re lucky, onto the page. Literary translation is at its heart an act of close reading, with attunement to word choice, tone, subtext and cultural context – familiar and essential concerns for any creative writer. In this workshop, we’ll play with words, via short exercises and writing prompts that will illuminate the process of literary translation and the ways in which it can be both a generative experiment and a tool for revising one’s own work. No knowledge of a foreign language is necessary to take part in this session, but please do bring a poem or a couple of paragraphs from a piece that you are struggling to rework. All levels/genres. Limited to 12 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. She writes and teaches in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. |
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Writing Nature Poetry
3 Hours: Saturday, April 9 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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Nature surrounds us, heals us, inspires us and challenges us, yet it’s too easily forgotten and ignored in our technologically-driven existence. In this generative poetry workshop, participants will bring mindful attention to the place of the natural world in our lives. We’ll discuss the elements of nature – rocks, wind, plants, creatures, even habitats like swamps, soil, oceans or rivers – as having their own personhood, an identity the poet can engage with, respond to and respect in a reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving. In this three-hour session, we’ll start by discussing examples of strong nature poetry. We’ll observe how knowledge can strengthen poetic work and will each choose an element of nature to take part in a guided research session. We’ll then try our hand at our own poems. All levels: beginners will receive an introduction to poetic practice, while experienced poets will come away with techniques for nature writing specifically and with fresh draft work. Limited to 12 writers.
NAILA MOREIRA's middle-grade novel THE MONARCHS OF WINGHAVEN, about two children who bond over their love of nature-watching as they try to save a plot of land in their town, is forthcoming from Walker Books US in 2023. Moreira teaches at Smith College and has been writer-in-residence at the Shoals Marine Laboratory and Forbes Library in Northampton MA. Her second chapbook, Water Street, won the New England Poetry Club Jean Pedrick Prize. She’s also worked as a journalist, environmental consultant, and Seattle Aquarium docent, and holds a doctorate in geology. |
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Narrative Eyeballs: Point of View in Fiction
4 Weeks: Tuesdays, April 12 - May 3 (6 - 8pm EST) • $250
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Point of view is perhaps one of the most taken-for-granted elements of fiction. Like a movie’s background music, audiences don’t always consciously notice it. Yet it informs character creation, characters’ relationships to each other and their worlds, and even entire plots. Through discussions and reflections, in-class and at-home exercises, and short readings, we’ll dive into the below-the-surface hows, whys, and whats of point of view. This will include learning different terms and approaches associated with point of view, its relationship to character building and voice, how plots are related to narrative intimacy or distance, and point of view’s surprising psychological components. Students will leave with in-depth knowledge of this fascinating fiction element, and various tools for applying it. For beginner and advanced beginner writers, though may be a helpful refresher for intermediate writers also. Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
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Publishing Short Fiction in Literary Magazines
2 Hours: Saturday, April 16 (1 - 3pm EST) • $50
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This informational class with former West Branch associate editor and PVWW Founder-Director Joy Baglio and author and Epiphany Editor-in-Chief Rachel Lyon (who will join us for two hours as a special guest) will cover everything you need to know related to publishing short stories and flash fiction. We'll talk about the different pathways available for those who wish to publish in literary magazines, the submissions process (including the different kinds of literary magazines out there), what editors care most about, getting your work to stand out in the slush pile, dealing with rejection, and what happens after an acceptance. Writers will have an opportunity to receive feedback (in class) on the first paragraph of a submissions-ready piece. For those new to submitting/publishing short fiction, as well as those who've been submitting for a while who want a deeper look at the process. Come with any and all questions related to these topics. Informational, lecture-based, with Q&A / feedback time. Class size: 15 spots.
JOY BAGLIO, a writer, educator, and editor (former associate editor at West Branch), founded Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop in 2016. Her short fiction has appeared widely, in such journals as Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere. She's the recipient fellowships, scholarships, and grants from Yaddo, The Elizabeth George Foundation, Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers' Conferences, and Vermont Studio Center, among others. RACHEL LYON is the author of Self Portrait with Boy, which was a finalist for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award. Her short work has appeared in One Story, Longreads, and Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, among other publications. Rachel is the Editor-in-chief of Epiphany and a fiction instructor for Sackett Street Writers Workshop, Catapult, and elsewhere, she lives in Brooklyn NY and Ashfield MA. |
ONLINE
Hooked from the First Line: The Art of the Opening
3 Hours: Saturday, April 23 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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The best writers establish authority immediately. It's that feeling you have as a reader when you know you're in capable, experienced hands. The result? You, the reader, are hooked! You will follow this voice (almost) anywhere. But how do you establish authority? How do you get a reader to want to follow you? What do successful beginnings have in common? In this short seminar, we'll look at a range of different openings from masterful works of prose with an eye towards how they establish authority from the first line. In addition to discussing the many different strategies masterful first sentences use to cast their spells, we'll try our hands at writing a few opening lines of our own. For prose writers of any level interested in dissecting opening lines and crafting some new beginnings of their own. Limited to 12 writers.
JOY BAGLIO founded Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop in 2016. Her short fiction has appeared widely, in such journals as Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. She's the recipient fellowships, scholarships, and grants from Yaddo, The Elizabeth George Foundation, Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers' Conferences, and Vermont Studio Center, among others. |
ONLINE
Historical Fiction Writing Essentials
3 Hours: Saturday, April 30 (1 - 3pm EST) • $60
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This one-day seminar is designed to give students a more comprehensive understanding of the essentials of historical fiction writing. Students will examine and discuss the essential characteristics of historical fiction, drawing from the work of Whitney Scharer, Colson Whitehead, E.L. Doctorow and Toni Morrison. During the second portion of the class, students will have the opportunity to share up to 4 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt font) of their historical fiction novel manuscript in small groups for on-on-the-spot feedback, with a focus on developing key aspects of their book under the specific craft needs of the historical fiction genre form. For writers of all levels. Limited to 12 writers.
OLIVIA KATE CERRONE's writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, and New South, and elsewhere. Her novella The Hunger Saint won an American Fiction Award and was praised by Kirkus Review as “a well-crafted and affecting literary tale.” She won Crab Orchard Review's Jack Dyer Fiction Prize and various other honors, including fellowships from the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers (Scotland), the Ragdale Foundation, VCCA, and the Vermont Studio Center. |
ONLINE
Revising and Polishing Your Poems
4 Weeks: Mondays, May 2 - 23 (6 - 8pm EST) • $250
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For most poets revision can be daunting, and yet it is the most important step toward creating work that resonates with readers. If you aren’t receiving regular feedback, this workshop will provide tools for discovering what your poems need. We will explore issues of craft including beginnings and endings, tension, line breaks, form, and diction. Each session will focus on giving and receiving feedback on poems that you want to improve in an atmosphere of respect. Before each session, students will send one poem for feedback, will work on suggested revisions, and complete 3-4 poems. Revision exercises will be given each week to use for future work. For beginners & advanced beginners.
GAIL THOMAS’ books are Odd Mercy, Waving Back, No Simple Wilderness, and Finding the Bear. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She received the Charlotte Mew Prize from Headmistress Press, the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s Must Read, and the Naugatuck River Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize. Thomas, a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Ucross, is a working poet retired from Smith College. |
ONLINE
Making the Icerberg: Worldbuilding in Science Fiction
2 Weeks: Saturdays, May 7 & May 14 (1 - 4pm EST) • $110
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Worldbuilding in science fiction is like an iceberg: most of it is under the surface, out of sight. Only a small fraction sticks up into the light, but without the rest to support it, that fraction would sink. In this two-part workshop, writers will be guided through the basics of science fiction worldbuilding via an in-class team project, with a focus on alien beings and worlds. The first session will focus on creating alien beings and societies and how the demands of the story shape those elements. The second will focus on creating a planet and star system for those aliens. This workshop is perfect for writers in the field of fantastic fiction (or those interested in exploring), game designers who want to make their settings more effective, and fans of author James Cambias who want to see how the magic trick really works. No math or science beyond high school algebra is required. Limited to 10 writers.
JAMES CAMBIAS is a professional science fiction writer and game designer, with five novels and eight full-length game sourcebooks published, along with two dozen short stories, and scores of game articles and collaborations. |
ONLINE
Short Fiction Intensive
8 Weeks: Mondays, May 9 - June 27 (6 - 8pm EST) •$375
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Have you vowed you'll write more? That you'll reclaim your writer’s life? This fun, supportive deep-dive into short fiction is for you! In this generative workshop, you’ll create up to seven short fiction drafts using prompts on storytelling elements like plot, voice, structure, character, setting, and point of view. To represent each element and deepen our understanding, each week you’ll be guided by reading and discussing a story from the masters, including Manuel Gonzalez, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alice Munro, Jamaica Kincaid, Lydia Davis, and more. You will have the opportunity to submit at least two drafts for in-class workshopping. Though this is a generative course, we’ll also do an overview of revision strategies. Advanced beginner & intermediate writers. Limited to 10.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016) and A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. |
ONLINE
Revision Strategies for Prose Writers
8 Weeks: Wednesdays, May 11 - June 29 (6 - 8pm EST) • $400
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The revision process for writers is often billed as a way to "find mistakes and fix them," but over the course of eight weeks, we'll reframe revising as a process of inquiry, a mechanism for prose writers to get at the heart of their creative intent and urge their work to grow into its best and truest self. During each meeting, writers will learn and practice targeted revision exercises geared toward seeing their work with new eyes and supporting them in addressing big-picture issues such as structure, plot, characterization, and point of view choices along with sentence level and micro-organizational issues. No formal workshopping, though each writer will receive a one-page professional feedback letter and customized revision plan from the instructor on a piece of writing up to 6,000 words. For intermediate or advanced prose writers. Limited to 10 writers.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and the Program Director of PVWW's Year-Long Manuscript Program. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the former fiction editor of Storychord. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, and in Storychord.com. |
ONLINE
Generative Community Writing Retreat (Full Day)
6 Hours: Sunday, May 15 (10am - 5pm EST)* • $110
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This generative retreat - for any writer, at any stage of the process - is designed as an opportunity to set aside an entire day to nurture your writing practice and build community in a warm, fun and low-stakes environment. The day will feature generative prompts, time to write, and the opportunity to share what you’ve written with the group and/or offer and receive casual feedback. The class is not genre- or craft-focused, but rather centered around community building and ensuring that writers are able to make time for their creative work in a world that does not make that easy! All levels & genres. *Lunch break from 12 - 1pm.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and the Program Director of PVWW's Year-Long Manuscript Program. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the former fiction editor of Storychord. She's received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train’s 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, and in Storychord.com. She is at work on a first novel. |
ONLINE
Unearthing the Deeper Story: A Revision Workshop
3 Hours: Saturday, May 21 (1 - 4pm EST) • $60
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Do you have a book, story, poem, or writing project that has been gathering dust? Do you have pages of material you're not quite sure how to cohere into a larger project? Are you continually asking yourself: "Now what?" In this 3-hour workshop, we'll breathe new life into your work using transformative revision practices. We'll explore how to unearth the deeper story beneath the surface, guiding your writing towards its fullest, most potent expression. Participants will bring in up to 5 pages of writing and will receive supportive and insightful reflections from the group as we go along. You can expect to emerge with new ideas and fresh perspective on your story, a restored sense of excitement, and a multitude of revision practices to become your own best editor. For writers of all genres with some experience. Limited to 12 writers.
ARYA SAMUELSON was awarded CutBank's Montana Prize in Non-Fiction, judged by Cheryl Strayed. Her work has been published in Columbia Journal, New Delta Review, Entropy, The Millions, and elsewhere. She holds an an MFA from Mills College and is working on a novel. |
ONLINE • Free, Ongoing
Community Writing Workshops: Ongoing
Fridays: Jan. 7, Feb. 4, March 4, April 1, May 6 (6 - 7:30pm EST) • Free to Attend
with PVWW Founder-Director Joy Baglio
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This FREE, gathering for writers of all levels and genres happens every FIRST FRIDAY of the month and is a great way to get back into the flow of your work in the supportive presence of other writers. We warm up each session with a number of engaging prompts (each session's prompts are based around a theme, so check our theme schedule on the Community Writing event page!), followed by (optional) sharing and discussion. Despite the session's theme, prompts are open and accessible to writers of all genres. This is a great gathering for any writer seeking to make headway on their own writing projects as well as gain support and solidarity from the group. Discussion and sharing will happen in the last half hour. Please Note: Community Writing is NOT a feedback-centered workshop. It is a generative gathering, a place to write alongside others, as well as connect and share with other writers. It's also drop-in friendly, and usually a larger group than the standard weekly workshop. If you're looking for a smaller workshop group that meets regularly with a focus on craft instruction and/or feedback, check out our other classes (listed below). No group size limit.
Special New Year's / Writing Goal-themed session on January 7! |
RSVP Directions: Please RSVP just ONCE, even if you plan to attend more than one session, as we will add you to the Community Writing mailing list and email you the link to all sessions the day before. Link is always the same. Open to all! Teen writers welcome.
YEAR-LONG MANUSCRIPT PROGRAM
APPLICATIONS FOR WORKSHOPS BEGINNING IN 2022 OPEN OCT. - DEC.
ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Novel Workshop: First Draft
12 Months: Begins March 21, 2022 • Meets third Mondays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $1900
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This workshop is for fiction writers who are working on their first draft of a full length novel manuscript. Writers who are just beginning with an idea as well as writers who are mid-draft would both benefit, but the explicit goal of this course is to have a finished first draft, ready for the first stage of revision. This course meets over zoom once a month for three hours, in small accountability buddy groups of 2-3 people at least once between meetings, and is in regular contact via a virtual classroom space. Each month, writers will be offered a slew of prompts, writing exercises, craft lectures, discussion questions, and readings designed to maintain momentum, solidify a regular writing practice, and provide support around all of the highs and lows of the novel writing process. Limited to 10 writers.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of PVWW. She received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2013. She is the former fiction editor of Storychord, and a UMass professor. She's received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train’s 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, and in Storychord.com.
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ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Novel Workshop: Revision
12 Months: Begins March 28, 2022 • Meets last Mondays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $2400
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* Full manuscript reading by the instructor is in service of the two hour-long meetings all participants will have with the instructor over the course of the year. Full novel manuscripts are due, via email, at by the 1/3/2022 application deadline.
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This workshop is for fiction writers who have finished a complete draft of a full-length novel manuscript and are looking for support and structure in the revision process. The explicit goal of this course is to complete one full revision of a completed draft of a manuscript. Prior to the start of the course, the instructor will read all participants' full manuscripts.* This course meets over zoom once a month for three hours, in small accountability buddy groups of 2-3 people at least once between meetings (but often more often), and is in regular contact via a virtual classroom space. Each month, writers will be offered a set of linked, progressive exercises geared toward helping writers revise or see their novels in a new light, a slew of prompts and writing exercises that are geared toward re-writing or reworking existing pages, craft lectures, discussion questions, and readings designed to maintain momentum, solidify a regular writing practice, and provide support around all of the highs and lows of the novel revision process. Writers should be prepared to read and discuss up to six novels over the course of the year, as well as craft readings, as assigned by the instructor. Limited to 10 writers.
KATE SENECAL is the Assistant Director of PVWW and the Director of PVWW's Year-Long Manuscript Group Program. She received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2013. She is the former fiction editor of Storychord, and a UMass professor. She's received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train’s 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016. Kate’s fiction has been published in The Laurel Review, The Foundling Review, and in Storychord.com.
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ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Short Story Workshop
12 Months: Begins March 2, 2022 • Meets first Wednesdays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $1900
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This group is designed for short fiction writers who are interested in diving deeply into the craft of short fiction and producing several new stories over the course of the year. Each month, we’ll undertake in-class and at-home generative exercises designed to help hone your understanding of what a short story is and how it functions as a contained unit. We will also keep in mind the revision process and various methods to approach revising short fiction as we go. By the end of the year, participants can expect to have solid drafts of between six and twelve short stories. Over the course of the year, we will give each other intensive feedback on drafted stories, as well as spend time studying and discussing published short story collections (approx. 6 collections, plus occasional individual stories). Alongside your own writing, we will cover specific elements of craft, such as characterization, plot, scene building, dialogue, details, world building, setting, structure, and more. Limited to 10 writers.
SARA RAUCH is the author of What Shines from It: Stories, which won the Electric Book Award. Her prose has also appeared in Paper Darts, Meetinghouse, Hobart, Split Lip, and So to Speak. She holds an MFA from Pacific University, and lives with her family in Holyoke, MA. Find her online at www.sararauch.com.
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ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Poetry & Hybrid Manuscript Workshop
12 Months: Begins March 2, 2021 • Meets first Wednesdays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $1900
* Creative nonfiction writers working in more traditional or general prose-style should apply to the nonfiction workshop (course description below, on this page).
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This workshop is designed for poets and hybrid writers who have a manuscript in progress, plus those who have a vision but are just beginning. Poetry projects may be in a wide range of poetic forms. Hybrid projects may be those that mix or experiment with forms. This may include mixed prose/poetry texts, experimental or poetry-based memoir or essay, mixed visual/language texts, and poetic or lyric essays which stretch the boundaries of traditional or popular prose-based creative nonfiction.* In studying poetry and hybrid together, we'll see the vast and surprising overlaps between these terms, both in historical context and in practice. In addition to work on our own manuscripts, we'll read about and discuss traditions in lyricism, prose poetry, fixed and free verse, hybrid and cross-art, modernism, and more. Students can expect to read numerous monthly excerpts and 4 short books. By the end of the year, participants will have a solid first draft of either chapbook-length (approx. 30 pages) or full-length (approx. 60-70 pages for poetry, or a wide range of pages for uncategorizable or hybrid work.) Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of two hybrid novels. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, Everyday Feminism, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula.
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ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Nonfiction Manuscript Workshop
12 Months: Begins March 3, 2021 • Meets first Thursdays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $1900
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This workshop is designed for creative nonfiction prose writers in non-memoir genres (nature and science writing, philosophy and spiritual writing, travel or food writing, biography, history, politics, social commentary, literary journalism, etc.) who have a manuscript in progress as well as for those who have a vision but are just beginning. By the end of the year, participants will have a solid draft of a complete manuscript. To this end, we will give each other feedback, discuss different craft topics each month, and do in-class and at-home generative prompts and exercises. Additionally, we will study numerous monthly excerpts and 3-4 books from the masters. Limited to 10 writers
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is is the author of the hybrid novels. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, DIAGRAM, Everyday Feminism, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula.
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ONLINE - Applications closed
Year-Long Memoir Workshop
12 Months: Begins March 1, 2021 • Meets first Tuesdays (6 - 9pm EST) • Cost: $1900
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This workshop is designed for memoirists who have a manuscript in progress as well as for those who have a ‘body of work’ they can identify as a ‘possible manuscript.’ In this year-long program, we’ll discuss the history of the memoir genre and study memoir-writing techniques by reading and analyzing a mix of craft essays and stellar works of personal narrative, including 3-4 book-length memoirs that represent different stylistic and organizational approaches to the form. Alongside our active reading and discussion, we’ll find structure and purpose in our own work by defining clear individualized writing goals, doing regular generative exercises and providing consistent and thoughtful feedback on each other’s pages. By the end of the year participants will have drafted a substantive manuscript, portions of which may be ready for submission for publication. Limited to 10 writers.
DORIAN FOX’s essays, articles and stories have appeared in a wide range of literary publications, including Brevity, The Rumpus, Gay Magazine, Atticus Review, Under the Gum Tree, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, december, Creative Nonfiction’s Sunday Short Reads and others. His work has also been honored in various competitions and received nominations for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. A longtime Massachusetts resident, he now lives in Brighton, MA.
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• Class and Workshop Policies •
What People Are Saying About PVWW
Past Workshops & Classes at PVWW
- Pull At Your Reader's Heartstrings: Writing Emotion (with Cindy Littlefield)
- Debunking the "Show, Don't Tell" Myth (with Kate Senecal)
- Point of View and Narrative Distance (with Seth Harwood)
- Put Your Story In Its Place: Making the Most of Setting (with Cindy Littelfield)
- Submitting & Publishing Short Fiction (with Joy Baglio)
- Publishing Your Poems (with Gail Thomas)
- A Little Time for Poetry (with Carolyn Zaikowski)
- Mastering the Power of Verbs (with Seth Harwood)
- Fun With Writer's Block (with Carolyn Zaikowski)
- Exploring Grief Through Experimental Writing (with Nikki Sambitsky)
- Mastering Dialogue (with Sara Rauch)
- Mastering Beginnings & Endings (with Kate Senecal)
- Revision Strategies for Fiction Writers (with Kate Senecal)
- Other Peoples' Stories: When to Tell, and When Not To Tell (with David Wanczyk)
- Narrative Nonfiction & History Writing (with Ken Mondschein)
- Tell the Truth, But Tell It Slant: A Memoir Workshop (with Celia Jeffries)
- Adventures in Poetry (with Adam Grabowski)
- Radical Revision Poetry (with Adam Grabowski)
- Sound Devices & Meter in Poetry (with Eleanor Lane)
- Lyric-Writing for Songwriters (with Kelly Vogel)
- The Art and Business of Audiobooks (with Steven Jay Cohen)
- Poetic Forms: Sonnet, Haiku, and Ghazal (with Eleanor Lane)
- Starting Your Memoir: One-Day Nonfiction Workshop (with Lynn Magovern)
- Details: Striking a Balance Between the Forest and the Trees (with Sara Rauch)
- The No-Nonsense Guide to Submitting to Literary Magazines (with Sara Rauch)
- Place: Intro to World-Building (with Joy Baglio)
- Embracing the Strange: Writing Reality-Bending Fiction (with Joy Baglio)
- Hooked From the First Line: The Art of the Opening (with Joy Baglio)
- Secrets of Writing Dialogue (with Joy Baglio)
- Plot and Structure Bootcamp (with Joy Baglio)
- All About Character: Details, Development, Motivation (with Joy Baglio)