Straw Dog Writers Guild (SDWG) is a volunteer-member-led organization whose mission is to support the writing community by strengthening, engaging, and connecting writers at all levels of development. We are a non-profit celebrating our 15th anniversary, dedicated to the craft and transformative power of writing, serving writers throughout the region by promoting individual growth, community Read More
The Mount and Western Massachusetts’ Straw Dog Writers Guild are thrilled to announce the nine writers selected for the 2025 Residency for Emerging Writers. The 2025 residents will be working on developing their respective works at The Mount for one week each, between March 3 and March 21. Submissions were reviewed anonymously and ranked based Read More
Our Stories: Straw Dog Writers Guild Founders Look Back First installment: a conversation between Patricia Lee Lewis and Elli: I have such strong memories of you inviting Jacqueline Sheehan, Celia Jeffries, Joan Barberich, and me to Patchwork Farm in early January 2010 to talk about starting a writers’ collective in western MA. What were your Read More
Thank you to all the accomplished writers for applying to the Edith Wharton-Straw Dog Writers Guild Writers-in-Residence program at The Mount. The Selection Committee is pleased to announce the residents, whose photos and biographies will post in January. Lizzy Beck Michele Bombardier Zite Ezeh Melenie Freedom Flynn Thaddeus Haas Irene Jiang Michael Plunkett Mason Wray Read More
Congratulations to Darlene Elias (memoir, creative nonfiction) who has been selected as the 2025 Emerging Writer Fellow. Darlene Elias is an emerging writer and poet from Western Mass. She is a Hawaiian Boricua Anti Colonial Feminist who uses literature, poetry, and spoken word to elevate and validate her own experience as a woman who is Read More
The Selection Committee of the Edith Wharton-Straw Dog Writers Guild Writers-in-Residence project is pleased to announce 33 finalists from emerging writers across the United States and other countries around the globe. We were thrilled with the depth of talent, diversity, and sheer writing tenacity of the applicants. Thank you for sharing your work. From these Read More
Straw Dog Writers Guild is pleased to announce the appointment of Patricia Pin (known to most simply as “Pin”) as Executive Consultant of the organization, a new part-time, contracted position. A native of St. Thomas in southwestern Ontario, Canada, Pin now lives in the Berkshires. She comes to us from a position at The Mount, Read More
WriteAngles Conference made a spectacular return to western Massachusetts on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Shanta Lee accepted the Abel Meeropol Social Justice Award and gave an inspiring keynote address to the sold-out crowd. The planning committee is deeply grateful to our literary and business community for supporting this event. Read More
WriteAngles has a new keynote speaker! We are delighted to welcome Shanta Lee to the conference, where she will accept the Abel Meeropol Social Justice Writing Award and give the keynote address. Shanta Lee is an award-winning writer across genres and visual artist. She was the 2020 recipient of the Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service to the Read More
Shanta Lee, award-winning author and visual artist, will accept the Abel Meeropol Social Justice Writing Award and give the keynote address at the WriteAngles Conference on April 6, 2024, at the Northampton Center for the Arts. Ms. Lee was the 2020 recipient of the Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service to the Arts and a Read More
