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***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 students 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. 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. Writers of all levels and genres welcome. Limited to 10 writers. Please read the full course description at the "Learn More" link before signing up! CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is a death doula and author of the novels In a 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 widely, in such publications as The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, West Branch, PANK, Dusie, Huffington Post, and Everyday Feminism. She holds an MFA from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor. |
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When combing through the raw material of our lives, metaphors can become our best friends, helping us to organize and orient our story. They can also be a doorway into places of darkness and tenderness, helping us to bring the reader along for the journey. Imagine a story about grief that drew strength from writing about octopuses? Or a story about displacement that used mangoes as the central image? The most magical part is that when we crack open a metaphor’s fullest possibilities, the story can lead us somewhere we never could have gone alone. This workshop will involve advance reading of two different approaches to metaphor by Lidia Yuknavitch and Carmen Maria Machado and provide opportunity to generate new writing and receive in-class feedback. Short pre-class reading will be sent out to all. For serious writers of all levels/genres. Limited to 12.
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 has been studying with Lidia Yuknavitch's school of Corporeal Writing since 2017. She writes across all genres and is currently working on a novel. |
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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 Ottessa Moshfegh, Manuel Gonzalez, Alice Munro, Jamaica Kincaid, and more. You will have the opportunity to submit three drafts for in-class workshopping. Though this is a generation-focused course, we’ll also do an overview of revision strategies. Past participants have estimated that the at-home reading/writing takes 2-5 hours per week. For advanced beginner and intermediate writers. Limited to 10 writers.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is the author of the novels In a 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 widely, in such publications as The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, West Branch, PANK, Huffington Post, and Everyday Feminism. She holds an MFA from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. |
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This workshop is perfect for any writer - any level or genre - at any stage of the process and is geared toward writers seeking a supportive community that meets on a weekly basis. Each week we'll meet to write together, and writers will have the option of responding to a new set of prompts; however, if writers want to use the time on other work they're already invested in they are encouraged to do so. After writing, we will share work aloud if moved to do so, and the group will provide on-the-spot, encouraging verbal feedback. This workshop is not genre- or craft-focused but rather centered around community-building and ensuring that writers are able to make time for their writing. There is no formal workshop or feedback element. All levels. Limited to 10 writers. *No class on 11/25, for Thursday group
KATE SENECAL is the assistant director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, the former fiction editor of Storychord, a Grub Street writing instructor, and a professor at Umass Amherst. She has 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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Every piece of writing asks a writer to see beyond their own perspective, to discover what they don’t yet know and express it in on the page. Using the image as our point of departure, we’ll explore writing what we see without imposing what we think or feel upon it, leaning on observation over interpretation. Our aim is to get out of the way, let go of preconceived ideas, knock on the door of the image and let the image lead. We’ll read examples of writing that use the image to call meaning into being. Bring a photo you want to write or an image in your mind you want to “photograph.” There will be an opportunity to share what you write, hear clarifying questions, and receive positive feedback. To jumpstart the workshop, participants will read in advance an essay by Robert Haas on the evocative power of the image (it will take an hour or so to read). All genres of writing and levels of writers are welcome.
CANDICE REFFE’s book of poems Live from the Mood Board won Elixir Press’s Antivenom Poetry Award and was published in 2019. She was twice a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and a Mass Cultural Council Artist fellow. Her poems have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Harvard Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Witness and elsewhere. She holds an an M.F.A. from Columbia University. |
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This informational class with former West Branch associate editor and PVWW Founder-Director Joy Baglio will cover everything you need to know related to publishing short stories and flash fiction. We'll talk about the different pathways available, 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.We'll also briefly touch upon the book publishing process as well, including querying, agents, and when and how this can relate to publishing short fiction. Come with any and all questions related to these topics. Informational, lecture-based, with Q&A time. Class size: 20 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. |
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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. This workshop runs regularly. Admission by application, or permission of the instructor. Limited to 8 writers. CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is the author of the novels In a 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 widely, in such publications as The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, West Branch, PANK, Huffington Post, and Everyday Feminism. She holds an MFA from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and is currently an english professor. |
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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. |
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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 by reading and discussing poems by diverse writers. This is a craft workshop for writers of all levels in which you will learn how to use traditional forms like the sonnet, ghazal, pantoum, villanelle and newer forms like the duplex and golden shovel. Participants will be given prompts to write a different form each week to share with the group; however these drafts will not be work-shopped. The spirit of this class is to deepen your understanding of form, to experiment, and have fun with structure. Open to writers of all levels. Limited to 10 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, Italian Americana, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Thomas, a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Ucross, is a working poet retired from Smith College. |
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According to Italo Calvino, “We might even say that in a narrative any object is always magic.” Millions of people watch shows like American Pickers, Antique Roadshow, and Storage Wars all because we crave the stories exemplified in rare objects. Our own identities are often rooted in the items we can’t throw away, the things we collect, and the things we’ve lost along the way. In this two-hour generative workshop, we'll create more physicality in our writing by digging through our own conscious closets, as well as looking at examples from poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction in order to find the inspirational magic in objects, heirlooms, inheritances, MacGuffins, and talismans. Prompts and example texts will help you discover the objects (and concrete details) your poems, fiction, and creative non-fiction have been missing. All genres & levels. Limited to 12 writers.
TOMMY DEAN is the author of two flash fiction chapbooks Special Like the People on TV (Redbird Chapbooks, 2014) and Covenants (ELJ Editions, 2021). He lives in Indiana where he currently is the Editor at Fractured Lit and Uncharted Magazine. A recipient of the 2019 Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction, his writing can be found in Best Microfiction 2019 and 2020, Best Small Fiction 2019, Monkeybicycle, and the Atticus Review. A graduate of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA program, he is currently working on a novel. |
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Showing up on behalf of the work—privileging the writing over the self—is an ongoing practice. Becoming more aware of who we are, and of who shows up at the desk, questioning our assumptions and expanding our perspectives are elements of this practice. This workshop focuses on how we get out of our own way to serve the writing. Each week, through reading assignments, discussion, and in-class writing exercises designed to shift awareness and develop the capacity to listen to the writing, we’ll discern how other writers use craft to move beyond the personal to the universal. Writers will have opportunities to share new work aloud on the spot and receive encouraging comments. For writers of all levels and genres who engage with their craft regularly and have a level of seriousness toward the work. Limited to 10 writers.
CANDICE REFFE 's book of poems Live from the Mood Board won Elixir Press’s Antivenom Poetry Award and was published in 2019. She was twice a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and a Mass Cultural Council Artist fellow. Her poems have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Harvard Review, Hotel Amerika, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Witness and elsewhere. She received an M.F.A. from Columbia University and is a certified professional coach. |
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Have you ever wondered how filmmakers like Taika Waititi, Bong Joon Ho, or Chloé Zhao tell gripping stories with fully formed characters? This class explores how to apply screenwriting techniques to write effective, character-driven fiction. In this two-hour workshop, we will use three outlining techniques: the One Pager (an outline for character goals), Three-Act Greek Dramatic Structure (an outline of big-picture plot), and the Beat Sheet (an outline of scene-level plot). We will watch clips from Marvel movies and Korean dramas and read scenes from short fiction to discuss the storytelling conventions of both visual media and literature. After practicing with reverse outlines, writers will outline their own original narratives. Come to our class with an idea for a story, and leave with two detailed outlines for your next piece of fiction. For fiction writers of all levels. Lecture-based, with generative exercises, and time for Q&A. Limited to 15 writers.
KAT LEWIS graduated from Johns Hopkins University where she held the Saul Zaentz Screenplay Lab Fellowship. She received her MFA from the University of South Florida. Her work has appeared in TriQuarterly, The Cincinnati Review, Khôra, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. In 2018, she was a Fulbright Creative Arts grantee in South Korea. Lewis has taught English in South Korea and creative writing at the University of South Florida. She splits her time between San Francisco and Seoul. |
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In human life, narrative is implicit. Where narrative is missing or muddled, the mind craves and provides a story. How do we harness this narrative impulse in poetry? And in what ways is the toolkit for narrative poetry similar to, and different from, that of the fiction writing toolkit? In this class, we’ll study a range of approaches to narrative poetry—from straightforward and linear to fractured and opaque. We’ll discuss character, POV, and the manipulation of time. And we’ll consider what makes the ultimate effect of narrative poetry wholly distinct. For writers of all levels and genres, with some experience. Limited to 12 writers.
ANDERS CARLSON-WEE is the author of The Low Passions (W.W. Norton, 2019), a New York Public Library Book Group Selection as well as the 2019 Connecticut Poetry Circuit Selection. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, BuzzFeed, Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many other publications. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the McKnight Foundation, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, he is the winner of the 2017 Poetry International Prize. Anders holds an MFA from Vanderbilt University and lives in Cincinnati. |
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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 has been studying with Lidia Yuknavitch's school of Corporeal Writing since 2017. She writes across all genres and is working on a novel. |
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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 between sessions, and complete 3-4 poems. Revision exercises will be given each week to use for future work. This workshop is geared toward beginner and advanced beginner poets, or those interested in poetry. Limited to 10 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, Italian Americana, and Valparaiso Poetry Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Thomas, a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Ucross, is a working poet retired from Smith College. |
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You’ve no doubt heard about free writing—the technique of writing without stopping for a specified amount of time or pages. But are you, perhaps, afraid to try it? Or have you tried it but fear you are doing it “wrong”? Or maybe you’re not sure if this technique will be helpful for you? This class will start with the scientific basis of free writing (turning on the right brain) and then ease students into free writing with very short, judgment-free sessions. We will then explore how to use free writing for any aspect of your writing, such as generating ideas, getting started with a scene, character development, dialogue, and endings. We will also touch on using free writing for personal growth. For writers of all levels and genres. Limited to 12 writers.
JYOTSNA “JO” SREENIVASAN is the author of the short story collection These Americans and the novel And Laughter Fell From the Sky. Both are about Indian Americans in the Midwest. Her short stories have been published in literary magazines, including Copper Nickel, Tampa Review, and Tiferet. Some of her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She was selected as a Fiction Fellow at the 2021 Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and was a finalist for the 2014 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. |
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As a reader, you feel it in your bones when a line hits and when it rings untrue. As a writer, it's your job to write dialogue that hangs in the delicate balance between truthiness and purpose. It takes time and space to specify the voices who are telling your story. In this class, you will be given that space to strengthen your ear for dialogue. Together, we'll look to the stellar dialogue work of Katori Hall, Martyna Majok, and A. Rey Pamatmat as well as take part in generative writing exercises that intend to sharpen your approach to exposition, subtext, breath, idiolects and dialects, pace and rhythm. It will be most beneficial for writers who bring in a handful of characters to work with during our time together. This class will be taught from a playwriting lens, but it is well-suited for writers across all genres. For writers of all levels and genres. Limited to 12 writers.
KIRA ROCKWELL is a playwright from the heart of Texas. She is a 2021 Artist Fellow in Dramatic Writing with Mass Cultural Council, a recipient of the Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award, as well as a Runner-up for the Princess Grace Award, among others. Her plays have been supported by The Kennedy Center, National New Play Network, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Actor's Express, and Third Culture Theatre in partnership with HBO and Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network, among others. Rockwell holds an MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. |
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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).
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This workshop is for novel writers who are working on their first draft of a full length manuscript. Writers who are just beginning with an idea as well as writers who are mid-draft would both benefit from this group, but the explicit goal of this course is to have a finished first draft after twelve months, ready for the first stage of revision. Over the course of the year, we'll set active, clear goals that will help you both get to the finish line and better understand craft elements in novel writing, such as character development, structure, plot, scene construction, and more. 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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This workshop is for novel writers who have a finished first draft of a full-length 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.* Over the course of the year, we'll set active, clear goals that will help you both get to the finish line and better understand craft elements in novel writing such as character development, structure, plot, scene construction, and more. Limited to 8 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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This workshop is designed for short fiction writers with one of the following: an in-progress short story collection, a complete collection in need of revision, or at least several stories or story fragments you'd like to develop and revise. By the end of the year, participants can expect to have solid drafts of at least five short stories. To this end, we will give each other feedback, spend time studying and discussing published short stories, as well as do in-class and at-home generative exercises designed to help develop your short fiction-writing skills. We will cover basic elements of craft, such as plot, character, dialogue, setting, and structure, while also considering the different ways to assemble a book-length collection. For more details of what this course entails, see the above "About the Program" section. 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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This workshop is designed for poets and hybrid writers who have a manuscript in progress as well as for those who are just beginning one and would like a jump-start. Poetry projects may be in a wide range of poetic forms. Hybrid projects may be uncategorizable or include a mix of genres (poetry/prose nonfiction, experimental writing, mixed visual/language art, etc.) In studying poetry and hybrid together, we'll see the vast and surprising overlaps between these terms, both in historical context and in practice. By the end of the year, participants will have a solid, polished manuscript draft of either chapbook-length (approx. 30 pages) or full-length (approx. 60-70 pages for poetry, or a wide range of pages for hybrid.) 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.
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This workshop is designed for creative nonfiction 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 are just beginning one and would like a jump-start. 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, spend time closely studying published writers to learn about craft and context, and do in-class and at-home generative prompts and exercises. 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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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.’ We will discuss the role of memoir in literary history, study the craft of memoir, read and analyze a number of different writers, and work on finding structure and purpose in our own work. By the end of the year participants will have a refined manuscript of substance, portions of which may be ready for submission for publication.
CELIA JEFFRIES 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. Her debut novel Blue Desert will be published April 2021. She is currently at work on a memoir
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