Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
A Literary Arts Center for Writers
Workshops & Classes • Editing & Coaching • Creative Community • Literary Events
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"The ability to craft a compelling story
is one of the most powerful tools wepossess as humans."- Joy Baglio, Fiction Writer & Founder/Director of PVWW |
ALL OUR WORKSHOPS ARE ONLINE
• One-Day Classes • Multi-Week Workshops • 10-Month Manuscript Program •
• Workshops in Fiction (Flash, Short Story, Novel), Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Hybrid •
• Classes in Creative Planning, Process, & Publishing • Author Readings • Community •
• Editing/Manuscript Consultation Services • Writing Coaching • Writing-Related Merch •
RECENT NEWS
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• Our Fall 2023 workshop schedule is here! Browse our Creative Writing Classes page for one-day and multi-week writing workshops, in all genres!
• Note to College / University Faculty: Some workshop participants have been able to use professional development money to (partially or fully) pay for classes. If you are interested in our workshops and teach at a college or university, you may want to investigate this possibility! • PVWW featured in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, about writers finding connection amid cancellations. Read article HERE. • PVWW and Founder Joy Baglio Featured in Business West |
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Updates on upcoming classes, events, news, craft tips, & highlights from our recent workshops! |
UPCOMING ONGOING GROUP
ONLINE
The Prose Writing Group
with Melenie Freedom Flynn
Fall 8-Week Session: Thursdays, November 2 - December 28* (6pm - 8 pm EST) • $350
*No class on 11/23
NEW! This is an ongoing group that meets weekly for eight weeks, followed by a four-week break, before continuing on for another eight week session, and so forth. Registration in this group is according to an ongoing membership subscription plan: once you register, your place is held in the group and in all future sessions until / unless you withdraw. Please note that payment ($350) is for ONE 8-week session, and if you remain in the group you will be billed before each new session.
The Prose Writing Group meets on Thursdays, from 6 - 8pm EST. (See schedule at "Learn More" link!)
The Prose Writing Group meets on Thursdays, from 6 - 8pm EST. (See schedule at "Learn More" link!)
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This group is for prose writers at any stage who want to be part of a supportive, weekly ongoing writing group, whether you’re just starting out or publishing frequently, and whether you’re writing short stories, memoirs, or any kind of prose-based storytelling! Meetings are structured so as to be casual and manageable with busy lifestyles, and as such there will be no readings or assignments outside of group meetings, and of course the commitment to your own writing. Each meeting may include a mix of looking at masterful excerpts (or complete short pieces) together in class and discussing how they work; discussion and breakdown of different craft topics; prompts and generative in-class writing; and an opportunity to share our work (and goals) aloud with the group for on-the-spot feedback/or brainstorming (always optional). The week-by-week agenda (including topics of discussion and texts the group will discuss) will evolve and change in response to the interests and goals of the writers in the group, as led by the instructor. Above all, this group is a space of community-building, creative support, writing time, and craft/process development for writers who aim to make time for their work and to connect with other writers.
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MELENIE FREEDOM FLYNN’s memoir-in-progress is currently being supported by grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation and Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship, Djerassi Artist-in-Residence Fellowship, Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency, and scholarships to the Community of Writers Workshop. Her essay “Message from Your Inmate” won the annual nonfiction contest at Vela Magazine and her recent work can be seen in Provincetown Arts Magazine and the Straw Dog Pandemic Poetry and Prose Journal. A graduate of the MFA Acting Program at California Institute of the Arts, Melenie has performed in theatres across the country including the New York Theatre Workshop, the Kitchen (NY), Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (MA), and Majestic Theatre (MA). Visit her online at meleniefreedomflynn.com.
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10-Month Manuscript Program
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LIZ HARMER • BLAIR HURLEY • CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI • TBA
Novel Revision The Novel Poetry/Hybrid & CNF Memoir
If you're working on a book-length manuscript (any genre) and are looking for a (virtual) program that might support you over a longer period of time - with opportunities for feedback, community, craft study, and consultations with an author-instructor - our 10-Month Manuscript Program might be for you! Applications for 2024 open this October! Open House in November (Date TBA)!
ABOUT US
We are a literary arts organization based in Northampton MA and online, though we're completely virtual for the foreseeable future. PVWW was founded in 2016 by writer Joy Baglio, and each season our team of thirty author-instructors offers around 25 - 30 one-day and multi-week writing workshops in fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid/experimental forms, and publishing - for experienced and aspiring writers of all levels and backgrounds. We also run a 10-Month Manuscript Program for writers working on book-length projects, open for applications every year October - early January. All our workshops are limited to a small number of writers (8, 10, or 12, depending on the particular class) and are held live on Zoom (sometimes with an additional online classroom space) which allows discussion and participation from all participants. In addition to our classes and workshops, we host frequent virtual author readings, free twice-a-month generative Community Writing gatherings for writers of all levels and genres, as well as offer professional one-on-one manuscript consulting and editing services. Our focus is on a rigorous understanding of craft and technique, while also creating a supportive and fun environment for writers of all levels.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Writing is a life-long pursuit, and as writers we are constantly observing, constantly learning. There is no end to discovery in this journey. We truly believe that the skills of the writer and storyteller do matter and can change peoples' lives and the world. Our goal is to create an inspiring literary community while helping writers of all levels and backgrounds hone their tools, improve their craft, and accomplish their goals as storytellers, writers, and authors.
We also know that writing is an art form that can be practiced, honed, and improved. Imagination can be nurtured, and exercised. We don't view craft as a rigid set of "rules" but as tools with multifaceted uses and purposes that we are always learning more about, no matter what level we may be at or how long we've been writing. We don't view craft and these "tools" of the writer as an end in themselves, but as a means to better express ourselves and tell our stories. To become more confident storytellers, poets, memoirists, essayists, etc. As Ursula K. Le Guin has said, "Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art." We couldn't agree more!
We also know that writing is an art form that can be practiced, honed, and improved. Imagination can be nurtured, and exercised. We don't view craft as a rigid set of "rules" but as tools with multifaceted uses and purposes that we are always learning more about, no matter what level we may be at or how long we've been writing. We don't view craft and these "tools" of the writer as an end in themselves, but as a means to better express ourselves and tell our stories. To become more confident storytellers, poets, memoirists, essayists, etc. As Ursula K. Le Guin has said, "Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art." We couldn't agree more!
OUR INSTRUCTORS & EDITORS
Our instructors, editors, consultants, and coaches are all professional, working writers with years of experience in the literary world, both locally, nationally, and internationally. We each specialize in a range of genres and topics, from flash fiction, short stories, and novel writing to memoir, poetry, screenwriting, and experimental/hybrid styles.
OUR STUDENTS & COMMUNITY
Writers of all backgrounds, career levels, and walks of life attend our classes: Some have MFA's and published books, others are taking their first steps toward making writing a part of their lives. Writing is a life-long journey, and our community reflects this!
WE ARE COMPLETELY VIRTUAL
Before the pandemic, our classes were held in a physical classroom (in Western MA, where we are based) and while we do plan on having in-person classes and events at some point in the future, we are completely virtual right now and for the foreseeable future, with the exception of sporadic in-person readings and events. No matter what the future brings, we will also plan to continue virtual workshops indefinitely.
OUR WRITING WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
At Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, we offer the following types of classes.
Workshops listed below are from our current summer/fall 2023 schedule:
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• The Shape of Your Novel
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• Strange/Innovative Fiction
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• The Novel (First Draft)
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Find out what people are saying about our classes!
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"Can't say enough about PVWW, Joy, and her amazing team of teachers! Writing is very much about the ability to sit in your seat for hours and put pen to paper, but coming to PVWW helps you build a community around your writing, breathe new life into your efforts, and get out of your own head a bit. And beyond that, I've learned lots of practical, nuts-and-bolts techniques that have vastly improved my work."
- Emily Everett, Managing Editor at The Common |
"PVWW is the most effective writing platform/service/group I've tried in the local area. The variety offered when it comes to events is a great mix-up between workshops, free writing sessions, and one-day classes, which specifically focus on particular areas of writing/craft. Each time I go to one of these events, I feel not only reenergized, but capable of carrying out the various techniques and tools that are shared."
- Meg Granger, reader for The Masters Review |
RECENT CLASSES & EVENTS
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