Join Straw Dog Writers Guild for WriteAngles, the only writers conference in Western Massachusetts. Choose from 20 different workshop and panels to attend during this full day conference, held at Greenfield Community College. Sign up to have an individual meeting with an agent. But most importantly, spend time with other writers in your community who
Craft workshop
Book Cover Design For Writers
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
Grief Doesn’t Follow a Linear Path
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
Faking it and Breaking it: Generative AI and its Implications for Writers A Straw Dog Craft Workshop with Michelle Trim
In this accessible and friendly presentation, Michelle will explain the basics of how generative AI (GAI) works, highlighting some of its limitations. From there she will discuss some of the potential (and ongoing) impacts of GAI for writers, touching on topics that include: AI generated cover art, GAI unauthorized use of creative works, and some
Holding a Bookstore Event Best Practices for Authors
Congratulations! Your book is due for publication. Now what? Whether you have a publicist or you’re representing yourself, this workshop will offer tips and advice on how to increase your chances of having an author event at an independent bookstore, and making it a success. You will learn what to say and what to avoid
Historical Fiction Confidential
Historical fiction is having a moment again in the literary world. Join Straw Dog Writers Guild and writer Dean Cycon in this craft workshop “Historical Fiction Confidential” on Saturday, December 7, from 10:30am – 12:00pm at the Lilly Library in Florence, MA. This workshop will look at the different types of HF, discuss effective research
Surprising Readers and Ourselves: Playing with Hermit Crab Essays, Poems, and Stories
Upon first glance, “Hermit Crabs” (stories or poems or essays that borrow another “shell” or form, also known as the False Document or Trojan Horse poem or Constraint Essay) look like literary play (and they are fun!). But they’re also great tools to break through writers’ block or overcome resistance to topics that feel heavy,
Translation: Reading the World
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild and presenter Jesse Lee Kercheval for our (rescheduled) November craft workshop, “Translation: Reading the World” on Saturday, November 23 from 10:30am – 12:00pm via Zoom. This is a relaxed, open workshop about translating from any language into English for people just curious about translation as well as practicing translators of
What Poems Want Reading and Revising with Care
When giving feedback about poems, we’re often asked to point out what’s “working” and what’s “not working” and discuss revisions that would make poems “stronger.” But what would it mean to enter a different kind of relationship with our writing—one in which we let the poem itself guide us to what it needs? In this
Promoting Your Work as an Indie Author
Join Straw Dog Writers Guild on Saturday, June 15 from 1:00-2:30pm on Zoom with J. Scott Coatsworth as he shares his experience as an indie author. In this craft workshop he will present some of the tips and tricks he has learned in how to promote ones work and field questions. Scott stares, “I recently