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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Straw Dog Writers Guild
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T203000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
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
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOW-CENTER-Don-Lesser-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260707T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260707T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260520T162519Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260520T162601Z
UID:10001947-1783447200-1783454400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in July
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday July 7th\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Michael Parzymieso\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nMichael Parzymiseso lives in Buffalo\, NY but he grew up in New England and has written for local\, regional\, and national magazines. His debut novel\, The Dale\, has been the subject of newspaper articles\, radio\, and podcasts in New York and Massachusetts as well as featured on Steve Harper\, and NPR’s The Fabulous 413. \nHe is the Queset House Author in Residence in North Easton Mass for July.  \nMichael will be on tour this summer in Detroit\, Toronto\, Hamilton\, Pittsburgh\, Boston\, Buffalo\, and throughout New York and New England. He is also the organizer of Books and Bottles at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield\, MA. \nWhen he is not writing his second novel or on the road touring he teaches English at Lafayette High School in Buffalo\, New York.  \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-july-7
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/26.07.07-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Michael-Parzymieso.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260729T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260729T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260611T151757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T151757Z
UID:10001952-1785349800-1785355200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Inspired Poetry Share
DESCRIPTION:Enjoy an evening of reading and listening to poetry! Bring your newest work\, your favorite work\, or a poem you read from another poet. We come together on a quarterly basis to read our work and/or the work of others and enjoy filling our ears and hearts with poetry. This is a safe space to share your poetry. There is no critiquing\, just appreciation for sharing inspired words. \nAnd for those of you who do appreciate a theme here is this session’s challenge by choice: What blooms from beyond the grave? Create or find poetry on this topic. \nCome read and listen on Wednesday\, July 29 from 6:30-8:00pm in the Belding Memorial Library Meeting Room with poet Arianna Alexsandra Collins of Offerings for Community Building. Tea and treats will be served. \n\nThis program is free and open to the public. Please register by contacting Belding Memorial Library at bmlashfield@gmail.com or 413-628-4414.\n\nThe Library is located at 344 Main St. in Ashfield\, MA.\n\nSponsored by Belding Memorial Library and Straw Dog Writers Guild.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/inspired-poetry-share-3
LOCATION:Belding Memorial Library\, 344 Main Street\, Ashfield\, 01330\, United States
CATEGORIES:Poetry Share,Readings,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Inspired-Poetry-Share-FB-cover-1.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260804T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260804T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260324T195856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T203443Z
UID:10001939-1785866400-1785873600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in August with Phyllis St. George
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday August 4th\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Phyllis St. George\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nPhyllis St. George is a poet\, writer\, and filmmaker. Her short story\, “View from the Watchtower\,” is featured in Anthology 5 of Running Wild Press. Her poetry has appeared in the Hiram Poetry Review and Sinister Wisdom. Her villanelle won 3rd Place in the 2019 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Tech Effect Poetry Contest. She produced and directed two short films\, Plastics and The Therapy Killings. Her digital artwork “Monsters in the Deep” is found in the Bonemilk Collective Vol II by Gutslut Press. \nhttps://www.writersspringforth.com/
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-august-4
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26.07.04-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Phyllis-St.-George-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260901T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260901T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260408T205102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260408T205102Z
UID:10001943-1788285600-1788292800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in September with Nina B. Lichtenstein
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday September 1st\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Nina B. Lichtenstein\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nNina B. Lichtenstein is a native of Oslo\, Norway. She holds a PhD in French from UCONN and an MFA in CNF from University of Southern Maine. She is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio\, and the co-founder and co-editor of In a Flash Lit Mag. Her writing has appeared in WaPo\, HuffPo\, Lilith\, Full Grown People\, Tablet Magazine\, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes\, and AARP’s “The Ethel\,” among other places\, and in four anthologies: Ink (Hippocampus Books)\, Stained: Writing About Menstruation (Querencia Press)\, and Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness (ELJ Editions)\, and Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture and Heritage (ELJ Editions). Her book\, Out of North Africa: Sephardic Women’s Voices\, was published in 2017 (Gaon Press) and her memoir\, Body: My Life in Parts\, in 2025 (Vine Leaves Press). She lives in Maine where her husband\, kayak\, bike\, yoga\, and skis keep her (somewhat) sane. \n \n  \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-september-with-nina-b-lichtenstein
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/26.9.1-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Nina-B.-Lichtenstein.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260307T224609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260307T225705Z
UID:10001931-1791309600-1791316800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in October with Jason Prokowiew
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday October 6th\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Jason Prokowiew\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nJason Prokowiew received a PEN America and Fulbright Scholar Award for his memoir War Boys\, about his Russian father’s adoption by Nazis during WWII. His writing has appeared in The North American Review\, The Guardian\, Salon\, Roxane Gay’s “The Audacity\,” and on WORLD Channel’s Stories from the Stage\, where his piece “Sing” is the most watched in the show’s history. He lives on a lake in Massachusetts with his husband Dave and their greyhound Champ.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-october-with-jason-prokowiew
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26.10.6-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Jason-Prokowiew.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260307T223427Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260307T223427Z
UID:10001930-1793728800-1793736000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in November with Don Lesser
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday November 3rd\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Don Lesser\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nDon Lesser has an MFA in Fiction from UMass Amherst. He was a professional non-fiction writer for a long time\, writing business and technical materials. Don also wrote food journalism for a number of years and has awards from the Greenbrier Symposium for Professional Food Writers for his work. Currently\, he lives in Amherst\, Massachusetts and writes fiction. Crystal Springs is his first published novel.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-november-with-don-lesser
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26.11.3-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Don-Lesser.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261103T200000
DTSTAMP:20260615T060011
CREATED:20260307T224743Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260307T224743Z
UID:10001932-1793728800-1793736000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out in October with Don Lesser
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday November 3rd\, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Don Lesser\, at Forbes Library. No registration required. If you want to participate in Open Mic and read\, please sign up by 5:50pm. Ten names will be randomly selected. Each reader will have five minutes. The second half of the evening showcases our Featured Reader. \nHosted by Jacqueline Sheehan\, Rick Paar and Beth Filson. \nDon Lesser has an MFA in Fiction from UMass Amherst. He was a professional non-fiction writer for a long time\, writing business and technical materials. Don also wrote food journalism for a number of years and has awards from the Greenbrier Symposium for Professional Food Writers for his work. Currently\, he lives in Amherst\, Massachusetts and writes fiction. Crystal Springs is his first published novel.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-november-don-lesser
LOCATION:Forbes Library\, Coolidge Museum\, 20 West Street\, Northampton\, 01060
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Readings,Writers Night Out
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26.11.3-WNO-at-Forbes-with-Don-Lesser.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
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