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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T203000
DTSTAMP:20260704T095308
CREATED:20260604T194400Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260604T194400Z
UID:10001951-1782414000-1782419400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:WOW Center and Straw Dog Writers Guild to present author Don Lesser!
DESCRIPTION:WOW Center and Straw Dog Writers Guild to present debut author Don Lesser! \nWestfield on Weekends (WOW) in association with Straw Dog Writers Guild and WhipCity Wordsmiths\, will present debut author Don Lesser as part of the free “Writers Out Loud Guest Author Series.”  The event will take place on Thursday\, June 25th at 7:00 PM at The WOW Center\, 105 Elm Street in Westfield’s Downtown Cultural District. \nDon Lesser received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts. His food articles have won awards at the Greenbrier Symposium for Professional Food Writers. He has participated in workshops with the Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop and Straw Dog Writers Guild. Crystal Springs is his first published book. \nThis literary fiction debut celebrates a love of place\, the bonds of found families\, and the lasting connections\, unbroken by secrets\, between friends. BookLife by Publishers Weekly calls it “warm and alive…[an] incisive novel of aging\, compromise\, and Pioneer Valley life.” \nCrystal Springs\, set in western Massachusetts\, follows the life of Steven Bennett\, a historian\, chef\, and programmer. Rejected by his first love\, he marries another woman and lives an ordinary life hosting barbecues and tip-toeing around his affair with the artist wife of his poet friend. After raising a family\, the sudden suspected overdose of a young woman in town upends Steven’s life. He embarks on a quest to discover what really happened only to unearth buried scars and hard truths about old friends. \nCrystal Springs (ISBN: 978-1-57869-222-4) is available for the book trade through Ingram and for the public everywhere books are sold or at www.rootstockpublishing.com\, with autographed copies available from Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley\, Massachusetts. \nThe evening will feature a wide-ranging conversation with the author about her writing and creative process\, along with selected readings from Crystal Springs. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A and meet Don during a book signing immediately following the program. \nThe Writers Out Loud series also hosts monthly Open Mike nights on the second Thursday of each month\, offering writers of all levels a welcoming space to share their work. \nCopies of the book will be available for purchase. \nThis program is funded in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Westfield Cultural Council\, supporting accessible literary and cultural programming for the Greater Westfield community. \nWestfield on Weekends\, a nonprofit organization that helps to define the cultural and creative vitality of the Greater Westfield community through accessible programming that celebrates its many neighbors; Straw Dog Writers Guild is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to the craft and transformative power of writing and serving writers in Hampden and Hampshire Counties; and WhipCity Wordsmiths is a Westfield based writers’ social and support group committed to fostering connection and creativity among local authors.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/wow-center-and-straw-dog-writers-guild-to-present-author-don-lesser
LOCATION:Westfield on Weekends\, 105 Elm Street\, Westfield\, MA\, 01085\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Book Sale,Discussion,Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
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ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260521T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260521T203000
DTSTAMP:20260704T095308
CREATED:20260426T161436Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T165039Z
UID:10001945-1779390000-1779395400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:WOW Center and Straw Dog Writers Guild to present acclaimed author Patricia Lee Lewis!
DESCRIPTION:WOW Center and Straw Dog Writers Guild to present acclaimed author Patricia Lee Lewis! \nWestfield on Weekends (WOW) in association with Straw Dog Writers Guild and WhipCity Wordsmiths\, will present acclaimed poet and author Patricia Lee Lewis as part of the free “Writers Out Loud Guest Author Series.”  The event will take place on Thursday\, May 21st at 7:00 PM at The WOW Center\, 105 Elm Street in Westfield’s Downtown Cultural District. \nPatricia has spent much of her life as an advocate: for women\, for civil rights\, for peace\, for a healthy environment\, for small farms and rural communities\, for the arts. Born and raised in Austin\, Texas\, she moved north years ago with her children. She is a business owner and trail walker\, and has been director of several organizations\, including women’s centers\, community economic development corporations\, district congressional offices\, and served as an elected county commissioner for four years. In 1985\, when she joined Pat Schneider’s Amherst Writers & Artists writing workshop\, she found the courage to write for others to read. \nDona Rose Willis’s life on a vast West Texas ranch in 1938\, is shaped by hard work\, a starkly beautiful landscape\, and a loveless marriage. Everything shifts when her orphaned niece\, Annalou\, arrives\, and Samuel Washington\, a Black man\, seeks refuge from a lynch mob\, thrusting Dona into a dangerous fight against brutal prejudices. \nA powerful and timely tale of historic fiction\, Thorns of the Mesquite paints a stirring portrait of a woman’s awakening—of love and the resilient spirit demanded to fight for what’s right against staggering odds. \nIt is the intention of the author that all profits from this book be shared between organizations that protect the civil rights of all people\, and those that serve and support victims of domestic violence. \nPatricia’s debut historical fiction novel is available now from Levellers Press and Amazon. It is available in person at Broadside Bookshop\, Northampton\, MA. \nThe evening will feature a wide-ranging conversation with the author about her writing and creative process\, along with selected readings from Thornes of the Mesquite. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A and meet Patricia during a book signing immediately following the program. \nThe Writers Out Loud series also hosts monthly Open Mike nights on the second Thursday of each month\, offering writers of all levels a welcoming space to share their work. \nCopies of the book will be available for purchase. \nThis program is funded in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Westfield Cultural Council\, supporting accessible literary and cultural programming for the Greater Westfield community. \nWestfield on Weekends\, a nonprofit organization that helps to define the cultural and creative vitality of the Greater Westfield community through accessible programming that celebrates its many neighbors; Straw Dog Writers Guild is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to the craft and transformative power of writing and serving writers in Hampden and Hampshire Counties; and WhipCity Wordsmiths is a Westfield based writers’ social and support group committed to fostering connection and creativity among local authors.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/wow-center-and-straw-dog-writers-guild-to-present-acclaimed-author-patricia-lee-lewis
LOCATION:Westfield on Weekends\, 105 Elm Street\, Westfield\, MA\, 01085\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Book Sale,Discussion,Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Clark-Book-Launch-5-21-OPTZ.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260131T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260131T173000
DTSTAMP:20260704T095308
CREATED:20251110T191045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T163852Z
UID:10001456-1769875200-1769880600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:12th Annual Author Showcase: A Celebration of Members’ Books
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a celebration of Straw Dog Writers Guild authors at the 12th Annual Author showcase! \nAuthors will have five minutes each to read from their work and author Andrea Hairston will MC the event. Books will be available for purchase at this in-person event.  \n  \n  \n  \nAndrea Hairston\, MC \nMeet Our Authors\n \n  \nSteven D. Brewer (he/him) is the author of A Familiar Problem. Diverse obsessions underlie his writing: deep interests in natural history; an abiding passion for languages; a fascination with Japanese culture; and a mania for information technology and the Internet. Brewer lives in Amherst with his extended family. \n  \n \n  \nLinda Cardillo is an award-winning author of historical fiction and historical romance who writes about the old country and the new\, the tangle and embrace of family\, and finding courage in the midst of loss. Her fifteenth book\, Paint the Wind\, was released in September 2025.  \n  \n \n  \nLJ Cohen is a novelist\, poet\, fiber artist\, potter\, and relentless optimist. After 25 years as a physical therapist\, LJ uses real clinical skills to injure fictional characters in her science fiction and fantasy novels. Her 9th novel LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD is available now. http://www.ljcohen.net \n  \n \n  \nJanet Crosier: Janet has a PhD from Capella University. She has presented research on Emily Bronte for Oxford University and at several academic conferences. She is English professor in Western Massachusetts. Her first book\, Shadows on the Heath\, was published in 2023 and her second novel\, Weymouth House\, in August 2025. \n  \n \n  \nCandace R. Curran was raised alongside Wachusett Mountain in rural Princeton\, MA by a coyote and Ford mechanic doing the best they could. Publications include\, Bone Cages and Playing in Wrecks\, by Haleys Press;  and the Elyse Wolf prize winner The Sound of Her Good Name\, Slate Roof Press\, 2025. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n \n  \nMary Warren Foulk has been published in The Hollins Critic\, Palette Poetry\, Clockhouse\, The Gay & Lesbian Review\, and North American Review. Her newest collection\, The Show Must Go On (Fernwood Press)\, was a finalist for the 2021 Gival Press Poetry Award and the Inlandia Institute’s 2022 Hillary Gravendyk Prize. \n  \n \n  \nKathryn Good-Schiff is the author of Love Letters to Ghosts (Meat for Tea) and has poems in various journals including California Quarterly\, Naugatuck River Review\, and PANK. A former gardener\, ice cream maker\, and editor\, Kat now works as an academic librarian and lives with her wife in Easthampton\, Massachusetts. \n  \n \n  \nChaya Grossberg: Life long poet\, non fiction writer and advocate for those harmed by psychiatry\, Chaya has been writing and sharing poetry for 3.5 decades\, and is currently writing her first novel.. She recently published poetry books\, “Reborn: Poetic Codes For Psychiatric Survivors” and “Daylillies Wild as Night.” \n  \n \n  \nMadlynn Haber’s first collection of poetry\, Seasons of Sorrow and Joy\, was published in June. She grew up in Brooklyn and worked as a Child and Family Therapist for over forty years. Her writing has been published in numerous anthologies and literary journals. She lives in a cohousing community in Northampton. You can view her work at www.madlynnwrites.com. \n\n\n\n  \n \n  \nNative Texan and award-winning poet Patricia Lee Lewis led creative writing & yoga retreats at her mountainside retreat in Westhampton MA and internationally for 30 years. An advocate for women\, civil rights\, peace and democracy\, and co-founder of Straw Dog Writers Guild\, Thorns of the Mesquite is her first novel. \n  \n \n  \nLinda Summersea is the author of the coming-of-age memoir\, The Girl with the Black and Blue Doll. She enjoyed a long career teaching Youth-at-Risk without realizing she too was “At-Risk”. At 67\, Summersea discovered her passion for expedition hiking by walking 50 miles with Berber nomads in the Moroccan desert. \n  \n \n  \nLisken Van Pelt Dus’s newest collection of poems\, How Many Hands to Home (Mayapple Press 2025)\, joins What We’re Made Of and two chapbooks\, Everywhere at Once and Letters to My Dead. Raised in England\, the US\, and Mexico\, she now teaches writing\, languages\, and martial arts in Pittsfield. (LVPDPoetry.com)   \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/12th-annual-author-showcase-a-celebration-of-members-books
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Book Sale,Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251122
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251124
DTSTAMP:20260704T095308
CREATED:20251109T135417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251109T135905Z
UID:10001454-1763780400-1763866799@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Northampton Antiquarian Book\, Ephemera\, and Book Arts Fair
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild at the Northampton Antiquarian Book\, Ephemera\, and Book Arts Fair this November to get locally grown books! Straw Dog Writers Guild members will be selling their books at this celebration of books. There will be local presses\, antique books\, and of course local authors. \nFor more information click HERE.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/northampton-antiquarian-book-ephemera-and-book-arts-fair/2025-11-22
LOCATION:Northampton Center for the Arts\, 33 Hawley St.\, Northampton\, MA\, 01060\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book Sale,Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2024-book-sale.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251121
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251123
DTSTAMP:20260704T095308
CREATED:20251109T135417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251109T135905Z
UID:10001452-1763694000-1763780399@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Northampton Antiquarian Book\, Ephemera\, and Book Arts Fair
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild at the Northampton Antiquarian Book\, Ephemera\, and Book Arts Fair this November to get locally grown books! Straw Dog Writers Guild members will be selling their books at this celebration of books. There will be local presses\, antique books\, and of course local authors. \nFor more information click HERE.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/northampton-antiquarian-book-ephemera-and-book-arts-fair/2025-11-21
LOCATION:Northampton Center for the Arts\, 33 Hawley St.\, Northampton\, MA\, 01060\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book Sale,Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2024-book-sale.png
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