Writers Submission Study Hall every other Tuesday
2025-04-29 09:00 - 10:30, 2025-05-13 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-24 09:00 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | zoom
Start submitting today with Submission Study Hall!

Let other writers inspire and support you through the submission process.

At Writers Submission Study Hall we dedicate 90 minutes to bringing our writing into the world. Come share resources and focus on supporting each other in submitting our work.

Writers Submission Study Hall starts April 15th and continues every other Tuesday at 9-10:30am EST on ZOOM.

If you’re interested in participating in a Writers Submission Study Hall and sharing ideas email Lindsay Rockwell – emonrock@icloud.com

Wake Up Poetry Share
2025-04-30 18:30 - 20:00 | Belding Memorial Library, 344 Main Street, Ashfield, 01330, United States
What activities wake you up? What gets you going? Do you ever feel like you want to shake your friend, neighbor, or country awake? Find examples of your poems to read where you may feel pleading or demanding that people wake up, where you feel inspired to start the day, when all your cells are buzzing and you feel fully conscious? (And you don’t have any of your own, find and read someone else’s poetry.)
Come read and listen on Wednesday, April 30, 6:30-8:00pm in the Belding Memorial Library Meeting Room with poet Arianna Alexsandra Collins of Offerings for Community Building. Wine, tea, and treats will be served.
This program is free and open to the public. Please register by contacting Belding Memorial Library at bmlashfield@gmail.com or 413-628-4414.
The Library is located at 344 Main St. in Ashfield, MA.
Sponsored by Belding Memorial Library and Straw Dog Writers Guild

Straw Dog Writes Weekly Writers Meet Up
2025-04-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-04 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-18 19:00 - 21:00 and 1 more date | zoom
Straw Dog Writers Guild members who would like to spend some time writing together can join a Zoom session. We will spend 15 minutes on introductions, a 45 minute writing session, have a 15 minute discussion, then write for a second 45 minute period of time. Afterwards, the Zoom room will remain open for a half hour for discussion and chat.
To register and receive the zoom link, contact Steven D. Brewer at sdbrewer@stevendbrewer.com

Grief Doesn't Follow a Linear Path
2025-05-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Lilly Library, 19 Meadow Street, Florence, MA, United States
As writers, when we write about the grieving process, we need to acknowledge that grief is as individual as we are. Writers differentiate characters by giving them unique voices, gestures, and habits. How they love and how they grieve is yet another way of making your characters come alive and stay with your reader long after they have finished the story. In this presentation, I will give you some writing “sparks” to get to the essence of revealing a character’s emotions without being melodramatic or giving away too much. In writing about grief, we want our readers to empathize with the character even if they don’t agree with how the character goes about her process.

Location: Lilly Library, 19 Meadow St. Florence, MA

Date/Time: Saturday, May 3, 10:30 am-12 pm

Lisa C. Taylor is the author of the novel, The Shape of What Remains, three poetry collections, most recently Interrogation of Morning (2022) and two short story collections, most recently Impossibly Small Spaces(2018). Her honors include the Hugo House New Fiction Award and Pushcart nominations in fiction and poetry. Her poetry collaboration with Irish writer Geraldine Mills, The Other Side of Longing received the Elizabeth Shanley Gerson Honor at University of Connecticut. Lisa holds an MFA in Creative Writing and she is the co-director of the Mesa Verde Writers Conference and Literary Festival. She is also a board member for Four Corners Writers and the Mancos Creative District. Lisa has received writing residencies from Vermont Studio Center, Willowtail Springs, and Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland. She teaches writing online and offers workshops around the country. www.lisactaylor.com
Lisa will have copies of her book available for purchase at her workshop.

Poetry Critique Meet Up in May
2025-05-04 13:00 - 15:30, 2025-05-10 13:00 - 15:30 | Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, 01060, United States
Poetry Critique Meet-up on Zoom is a chance for poets to give and receive immediate constructive feedback on their poems by everyone in attendance. Learn what is working in your poems, and what may need revision. Contribute your observations to other poets. Be fascinated by the breadth of the written word.
Register for Sunday May 4, 1-3:30 pm OR Saturday, May 10, 1-3:30 pm. Cost: by donation. Suggested sliding scale $25-40. No one turned away for lack of funds. Limited to five participants. Register early. Please sign up for one session per month. Register HERE. Questions – email: hammerandhorn@gmail.com

These workshops are made possible in part through the Eli Daniel Nemetz Todd Memorial Fund. Please make your donation through the Center for the Arts via Paypal here, via Venmo @Northampton-CenterForTheArts, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061. Please note Poetry/Prose in the memo line. Donations on the upper end of the scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility. If you need financial support, please apply through NCFA’s Community Fund.

Facilitator: Michael Favala Goldman is author of seven poetry collections and translator of nineteen books. His work has appeared in scores of publications such as The New Yorker, The Harvard Review, and Rattle Magazine. https://michaelfavalagoldman.com/

Michael’s blog about the Poetry Critique Meet-up: http://strawdogwriters.org/blog/poetry-meet-up

Writers Night Out in May
2025-05-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Forbes Library, Coolidge Museum, 20 West Street, Northampton, 01060
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday May 6, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Astrid Lindstrom 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.
Masks are not currently required for indoor events. Please wear a mask if you would like to exercise caution.
Hosted by Jacqueline Sheehan, Rick Paar and Beth Filson.
Sponsored by Valley Home Improvement.
Astrid Lindstrom is a retired public school English teacher, who advised middle and high school literary magazines, took students to a writers’ conference in Middlebury, Vermont, coordinated shared memoir writing between seventh graders and senior citizens, and loved writing with all her students.
She plays violin in the Five College Early Music program in western Massachusetts, contra dances, works with comfort dog Jonah in the Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and has also volunteered with Jonah as reading buddies in an elementary school.
She grew up in Gambier, Ohio, where her parents were a mathematics professor and a librarian at Kenyon College, and has degrees in English from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Virginia.
She and her wife Cece, a psychotherapist who specialized in supporting lesbians coming out from straight marriage, lived in Northampton, where Astrid still resides. They have four adult children and four grandchildren.

Everyone Reads Second Sundays Open Mic
2025-05-11 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-06-08 18:00 - 20:00 | zoom
Come create community on second Sundays of every month 6-8pm EST with a virtual open mic on zoom.
Please contact Lindsay Rockwell for zoom link if interested: emonrock@mac.com
Format Focus: EVERYONE READS!

Co-create and reading and listening experience that is generous, dynamic, and heart-felt.
Read a 3-minute piece
Brief positive responses after readers share
Listeners welcome

A Writer's Night in May - Poetry and Journalism: A Marriage of Words
2025-05-15 18:45 - 19:30 | The Longmeadow Adult Center, 211 Maple Road, Longmeadow, MA, United States
Straw Dog Writers’ Guild and Longmeadow Adult Center present writers Marty Dobrow and Missy-Marie Montgomery on Thursday, May 15th, from 6:45-7:30pm at the Longmeadow Adult Center.

Missy-Marie Montgomery is a poet, an artist, and a recently retired professor of English at Springfield College. Her poetry has been published in more than two dozen journals, including Bellevue Literary Review, Poetry International, and Rattle. Her 2015 collection, The Half-Life of Passion (Open Field Press), was embraced for its heart-rending eloquence. Acclaimed poet Vivian Shipley described Montgomery’s poems as “songs of compassion for human longing.” Montgomery is also the author of the 2009 chapbook, The Blue Gate. She has taught writing to Alzheimer’s patients, and she is a judge each year for the local “Poetry Out Loud” competition among area high school students.
Marty Dobrow is a journalist, but he likes to believe Missy’s compliment that he has a “poetic sensibility.” He has published over 2,000 stories in newspapers, magazines, and online publications, including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and espn.com. He began his career as a sportswriter and published two sports-themed books: Going Bigtime: The Spectacular Rise of UMass Basketball (Summerset Press, 1996), and Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Six Minor Leaguers In Search of the Baseball Dream (UMass Press, 2010). His third book, which focuses on an under-told story of American civil rights, is under contract with Cambridge University Press.
Missy and Marty met as professors at Springfield College and later got married on campus. Their union is centered on a love for their adult children, their adorable pets, the written word, and—of course—each other.

You may register by calling 413-565-4150, option 1. Or you can just show up. The Longmeadow Adult Center is located at 211 Maple Road, Longmeadow.

Glendale Ridge Vineyard Bingo Fundraiser
2025-05-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Glendale Ridge Vineyard, 155 Glendale Rd, Southampton, MA, 01073, United States
Glendale Ridge Vineyard and Molly Keehn the Bingo Queen have generously offered to support Straw Dog Writers Guild with their monthly Bingo game.
Enjoy a friendly game, have a glass of wine and support Straw Dog Writer’s Guild!
As noted on the Glendale Ridge event page, “This event promises laughter and camaraderie as participants come together for a friendly competition. Best of all, there’s no entry fee – we simply encourage generous donations to a designated nonprofit organization, making it an entertaining way to support a great cause. Bring your friends, enjoy some fantastic prizes, and experience the thrill of Bingo while giving back to the community. Don’t miss out on the fun with Molly Keehn – your chance to win awaits!”
For more information about Bingo with Molly Keehn, the Bingo Queen, click HERE.

Writers Submission Study Hall
2025-05-27 09:00 - 10:30 | zoom
Start submitting today, April 15th, with Submission Study Hall!

Let other writers inspire and support you through the submission process.

At Writers Submission Study Hall we dedicate 90 minutes to bringing our writing into the world. Come share resources and focus on supporting each other in submitting our work.

Writers Submission Study Hall starts April 15th and continues every other Tuesday at 9-10:30am EST on ZOOM.

If you’re interested in participating in a Writers Submission Study Hall and sharing ideas email Lindsay Rockwell – emonorock@icloud.com

Benefit Concert by Singer-Songwriter Linda Shear
2025-05-31 16:00 - 18:00 | Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, 01060, United States
Straw Dog Writers Guild invites you to this benefit concert by singer-songwriter Linda Shear at 4 pm on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at the Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St.
Linda is a singer-songwriter and pianist, with music at the center of her heart and life. In the early 70s, she performed in Chicago at the first out-lesbian concert in the U.S. Linda toured with her band, Family of Woman, and played solo in bars, clubs, coffee houses, and festivals, including the main stage at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Linda’s songs come from deep in her heart, and she invites you into that heart when she performs in celebration of love, social justice, and the power of authenticity.
“They stay with you, these beautiful songs of Linda Shear; the tunes linger, and the lyrics take you places to remember and to emotions, you’ll know. And her performances are so compelling. I have often said that if I played the piano, I would want to play it like Linda.”
~Dan Crary, Bluegrass guitarist and 2022 awardee of the Lifetime Achievement award from the International Bluegrass Music Association
Linda is thrilled that Alice Robbins, a renowned, virtuoso musician, will be accompanying her on a few songs at the concert.

Alice Robbins, a performer on both baroque cello and viola da gamba with Early Music ensembles world-wide, is a founding member of the Arcadia Players of western Massachusetts. A graduate of Indiana University and the Schola Cantorum of Basel, Switzerland, she also taught at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges in the Five College Early Music Program since 1979. She now is venturing to explore other musical activities along with serving on the boards of Arcadia Players, Viola da Gamba Society of America, and as president of the Viola da Gamba Society-New England.

Watch a video of Linda’s song: Morning Prayer
Buy your ticket
(seating is limited)
We hope to see you there!

Writers Night Out in June
2025-06-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Forbes Library, Coolidge Museum, 20 West Street, Northampton, 01060
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday June 3, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Linda Cardillo 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.
Masks are not currently required for indoor events. Please wear a mask if you would like to exercise caution.
Hosted by Jacqueline Sheehan, Rick Paar and Beth Filson.
Sponsored by Valley Home Improvement.
Linda Cardillo is an award-winning author of historical fiction and historical romance. She writes about the old country and the new, the tangle and embrace of family, and finding courage in the midst of loss.

Her debut novel, Dancing on Sunday Afternoons, which launched Harlequin’s Everlasting Love series, was published in 2007. She has published a total of fourteen books and is currently writing her fifteenth, entitled Paint the Wind, which will be available this coming summer.

Writers Submission Study Hall every other Tuesday
2025-06-10 08:00 - 17:00 | zoom
Start submitting today with Submission Study Hall!

Let other writers inspire and support you through the submission process.

At Writers Submission Study Hall we dedicate 90 minutes to bringing our writing into the world. Come share resources and focus on supporting each other in submitting our work.

Writers Submission Study Hall starts April 15th and continues every other Tuesday at 9-10:30am EST on ZOOM.

If you’re interested in participating in a Writers Submission Study Hall and sharing ideas email Lindsay Rockwell – emonorock@icloud.com

Book Cover Design For Writers
2025-06-22 15:00 - 16:30 | ZOOM, MA
Your book cover is your most powerful marketing tool for your writing. Discover how great covers get made, and why you should judge a book by its cover. Focused on indie and small press authors, this workshop will cover which questions to ask, which design pitfalls to avoid, and how your cover can bring your story to life. Attendees will have the option to submit a cover concept for their manuscript, along with a 250 word description of their writing, for personalized critique.
Location: Zoom
Register HERE
Date/Time: Sunday June 22nd, 3 pm
Rachel A. Rosen is an activist, graphic designer, and for her sins, a high school teacher. In a previous life, she published two long running anarchist ‘zines and designed the uniform for the Christie Pits Hardball League.
She is the author of Cascade, Blight, and, with Zilla Novikov, the co-author of The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don’t Die. More of her writing can be found in Beyond Human: Tales of the New Us, Instant Classic (That No One Will Read), and The Dance. Rachel co-hosts the Wizards & Spaceships podcast with David L. Clink (www.wizardsandspaceships.ca), and freelances as a book cover designer.
She lives in Tkaronto (Toronto), where she is the harried personal assistant to two cats. Her website is www.rachelrosen.ca.

A Writer's Night in June
2025-06-26 18:45 - 19:30 | The Longmeadow Adult Center, 211 Maple Road, Longmeadow, MA, United States
Straw Dog Writers’ Guild and Longmeadow Adult Center present writer Astrid Lindstrom on Thursday, June 26th, from 6:45-7:30pm at the Longmeadow Adult Center.

Astrid Lindstrom is a retired public school English teacher, who advised middle and high school literary magazines, took students to a writers’ conference in Middlebury, Vermont, coordinated shared memoir writing between seventh graders and senior citizens, and loved writing with all her students.
She has played violin in the Five College Early Music program in western Massachusetts, contra dances, works with comfort dog Jonah in the Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and has also volunteered with Jonah as reading buddies in an elementary school.
She grew up in Gambier, Ohio, where her parents were a mathematics professor and a librarian at Kenyon College, and has degrees in English from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Virginia.
She and her wife Cece, a psychotherapist who specialized in supporting lesbians coming out from straight marriage, lived in Northampton, where Astrid still resides. They have four adult children and four grandchildren.
Astrid’s book Cecelia: A Memoir of Lesbian Love and Loss is available HERE.
You may register by calling 413-565-4150, option 1. Or you can just show up. The Longmeadow Adult Center is located at 211 Maple Road, Longmeadow.

Poetry Critique Meet Up in June
2025-06-28 13:00 - 15:30, 2025-06-29 13:00 - 15:30 | Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St., Northampton, MA, 01060, United States
Poetry Critique Meet-up on Zoom is a chance for poets to give and receive immediate constructive feedback on their poems by everyone in attendance. Learn what is working in your poems, and what may need revision. Contribute your observations to other poets. Be fascinated by the breadth of the written word.
Register for Sunday June 29, 1-3:30 pm OR Saturday, June 28, 1-3:30 pm. Cost: by donation. Suggested sliding scale $25-40. No one turned away for lack of funds. Limited to five participants. Register early. Please sign up for one session per month. Register HERE. Questions – email: hammerandhorn@gmail.com

These workshops are made possible in part through the Eli Daniel Nemetz Todd Memorial Fund. Please make your donation through the Center for the Arts via Paypal here, via Venmo @Northampton-CenterForTheArts, or by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061. Please note Poetry/Prose in the memo line. Donations on the upper end of the scale help support our continued commitment to accessibility. If you need financial support, please apply through NCFA’s Community Fund.

Facilitator: Michael Favala Goldman is author of seven poetry collections and translator of nineteen books. His work has appeared in scores of publications such as The New Yorker, The Harvard Review, and Rattle Magazine. https://michaelfavalagoldman.com/

Michael’s blog about the Poetry Critique Meet-up: http://strawdogwriters.org/blog/poetry-meet-up

Writers Night Out in July
2025-07-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Forbes Library, Coolidge Museum, 20 West Street, Northampton, 01060
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Tuesday July 1st, 6:00-8:00pm for Writers Night Out with featured writer Janet MacFayden 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.
Masks are not currently required for indoor events. Please wear a mask if you would like to exercise caution.
Hosted by Jacqueline Sheehan, Rick Paar and Beth Filson.
Sponsored by Valley Home Improvement.

Janet MacFadyen is the author of three full-length collections, most recently State of Grass (Salmon Poetry 2024), with a new collection, Love Letters to the Wild, forthcoming from Dos Madres Press. Honors include a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, a residency in Cill Rialaig, Ireland, and a 7-month Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center fellowship. Her poetry appears widely. She is the managing editor of Slate Roof Press, a poetry chapbook collaborative: www.slateroofpress.com
