BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Straw Dog Writers Guild - ECPv6.15.12.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Straw Dog Writers Guild
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://strawdogwriters.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Straw Dog Writers Guild
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20200308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20201101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20210314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20211107T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20220313T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20221106T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20230312T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20231105T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230713T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230713T200000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20230621T174914Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T180043Z
UID:10000581-1689273000-1689278400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Poetry Ritual 2023
DESCRIPTION:On July 13 at 6:30pm join 15 poets from the Poetry Critique Meet-up for a group reading\, hosted by Michael Favala Goldman. Each poet gets five minutes\, for a varied and moving experience. Free. Request the zoom link by emailing poetryritual2023@gmail.com.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/poetry-ritual-2023
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Poetry-Ritual-2023-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230614T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230614T203000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20230407T162409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230514T003219Z
UID:10000492-1686769200-1686774600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Voices for Resistance
DESCRIPTION:Join co-hosts Straw Dog Writers Guild and Forbes Library for our annual Voices for Resistance on Wednesday\, June 14th\, 7:00-8:30pm via Zoom. \nRegister HERE. \nReader Bios: \nSejal Shah is the author of award-winning debut essay collection\, This Is One Way to Dance (University of Georgia Press). Her writing has appeared in Brevity\, Conjunctions\, the Guardian\, Guernica\, the Kenyon Review\, Lit Hub\, and others. Her short story collection\, How to Make Your Mother Cry: fictions\, a genre queer book with images\, poems\, & a soundtrack\, is forthcoming from West Virginia University Press in 2024. The aim of Sejal’s work is to hold space for questions and healing\, especially around grief\, memory\, and mental health. She lives on unceded Haudenosaunee land in Western New York\, also known as Rochester\, New York. \nDiane Gilliam has published four poetry collections: Dreadful Wind & Rain\, Kettle Bottom\, One of Everything\, and Recipe for Blackberry Cake\, a chapbook. Her first novel\, Linney Stepp\, came out in February 2023 from Saddle Road Press. Her work has earned a Pushcart Prize\, the Ohioana Library Association Book of the Year in Poetry\, the 2008 Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing\, and the Gift of Freedom for the A Room of Her Own Foundation. \nOghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer\, editor & publisher from Nigeria. He has won the Nebula\, Otherwise\, Nommo\, British & World Fantasy awards and been a finalist in the Hugo\, Locus\, Sturgeon\, British Science Fiction and NAACP Image awards. His works have appeared in Asimov’s\, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction\, Uncanny Magazine\, Tordotcom\, Galaxy’s Edge\, and others. He edited the Bridging Worlds\, Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction anthology and co-edited the Dominion\, and Africa Risen anthologies. He was a guest of honour at the Afrofuturism themed\, 44th International Conference For The Fantastic In the Arts where he announced the new genre he created\, Afropantheology. \nLisbeth White is a writer and ritualist living on S’klallam and Chimacum lands of Port Townsend\, WA. She is the author of the poetry collection American Sycamore (Perugia Press) and co-editor of the anthology Poetry as Spellcasting: Poems\, Essays\, and Prompts for Manifesting Liberation and Reclaiming Power (North Atlantic Books). \nKelly Link is the author of the collections Stranger Things Happen\, Magic for Beginners\, Pretty Monsters\, and Get in Trouble. Her short stories have been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction\, The Best American Short Stories\, and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. She is a 2018 MacArthur Fellow and has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She and Gavin J. Grant have co-edited a number of anthologies\, including multiple volumes of The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and\, for young adults\, Steampunk! and Monstrous Affections. She is the co-founder of Small Beer Press and co-edits the occasional zine Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet. She lives with her husband\, daughter\, dog\, and chickens in Northampton\, MA.. \nJames Tate Hill is the author of a memoir\, Blind Man’s Bluff (W. W. Norton)\, a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a Washington Independent Review of Books Favorite Book of 2021. His fiction debut\, Academy Gothic\, won the Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel. \nAnd our emcee for the evening is Neema Acashia: Neema Avashia is the daughter of Indian immigrants\, and was born and raised in southern West Virginia. She has been an educator and activist in the Boston Public Schools since 2003\, and was named a City of Boston Educator of the Year in 2013. Her first book\, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place\, published by West Virginia University Press in March\, has been called “A graceful exploration of identity\, community\, and contradictions” by Scalawag. The book was named Best LGBTQ Memoir of 2022 by BookRiot\, was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022\, and is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. She lives in Boston with her partner\, Laura\, and her daughter\, Kahani.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/voices-for-resistance-2
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/23.06.14-Voices-for-Resistance-graphic.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230521T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230521T173000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20230208T200446Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230208T202651Z
UID:10000576-1684684800-1684690200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Small Publishing in a Big Universe
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild for our May craft workshop “Small Publishing in a Big Universe” with writer Steven Radecki on Sunday\, May 21\, 4:00-5:30pm via Zoom. \nBetween traditional publishing and self-publishing there is small publishing. We discuss the place that independent publishers play in the publishing ecosystem\, comparing and contrasting the submissions processes\, benefits\, and challenges authors might encounter as they follow each publishing path. \nRegister HERE for this free online workshop. \nBio: Steven Radecki has been writing for almost as long as he can remember. He is the author of Building Baby Brother\, a small handful of short fiction\, several technical papers\, and the non-fiction book\, Multimedia with QuickTime. Steven is also the co-founder and managing editor of Paper Angel Press and its imprints\, Water Dragon Publishing (science fiction and fantasy) and Unruly Voices (non-fiction and poetry)\, and the executive producer of the Small Publishing in a Big Universe podcast. Steven is also a member of the SFWA Independent Authors Committee. He is a technical writer by trade\, with more years in the technology industry that he cares to admit.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/small-publishing-in-a-big-universe
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event,Workshops
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/23.05.21-Small-Publishing-in-a-Big-Universe-workshop.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230319T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230319T143000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20230127T215156Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230210T190346Z
UID:10000572-1679230800-1679236200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:WriteAngles Writers Conference Pop-up Virtual Brainstorm
DESCRIPTION:WriteAngles Writers Conference needs your suggestions and ideas! \nStraw Dog Writers Guild is bringing back the WriteAngles Writers Conference (April 6\, 2024). The planning committee has been meeting for six months and we’re now ready for your program suggestions. We hope to elicit comments and ideas from writers all across western Massachusetts. \nWays to share your ideas: \n\n\n\nAttend one of the pop-up conversations: March 18 in Franklin County (in-person at the LAVA Center) OR a virtual discussion on March 19 via Zoom with Steven D. Brewer and Ellen Meeropol. Register HERE. OR March 26 Tea with Edith at the Mount in Lenox\nGive us your ideas and suggestions via this survey.\n\n\n\nPlease be sure to register for this virtual discussion on Sunday\, March 19 at 1pm via Zoom.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writeangles-writers-conference-pop-up-virtual-brainstorm
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/23.03.19-WriteAngles-virtual-Popup-with-Ellen-Steve.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230318T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230318T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20230206T154654Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230213T151329Z
UID:10000573-1679133600-1679140800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Historical Research: Fact and Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Historical Research: Fact and Fiction will review methods of historical research\, with emphasis on first-person\, or primary\, sources. The presenters will be at the Swift River Valley Historical Society and will have access to their archive room. The presentation will include on-line research and problems and obstacles with historical records. The presenters will also discuss local historical societies and their role in presenting realistic thoughts\, actions\, and lifestyles\, in both fiction and nonfiction works. \nRegistration is required for this free online workshop. Register HERE. \nBio: J. A. McIntosh\, a recovering attorney\, writes the Meredith\, Massachusetts series of novels. She is presently working on the “Swift River Secrets”\, a contemporary crime novels whose motives were planted in the flooding of the Swift River valley and the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the early twentieth century. She is the president of the Swift River Valley Historical Society. \nBio: Elena Palladino is the author of Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley: Drowned by the Quabbin\, which was published in October 2022. Lost Towns is a historical account of the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir told through the stories of three individuals from Enfield\, one of the valley towns. Elena is a member of the Swift River Valley Historical Society.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/historical-research-fact-and-fiction
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event,Workshops
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/23.03.18-Historical-Research-Fact-and-Fiction-workshop.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230118T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230118T200000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20221101T152057Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230102T191257Z
UID:10000559-1674066600-1674072000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:9th Annual Author Showcase: A Celebration of Members’ Books
DESCRIPTION:9th Annual Author Showcase: A Celebration of Members’ Books \nJoin us on Wednesday\, January 18\, 2023 via Zoom from 6:30-8:00pm. Register HERE for this online event. \nBrief readings from new books by members of Straw Dog Writers Guild: Steven D. Brewer\, Audrey Child\, Roxanne E. Bogart\, Martha McCollough\, Rick Paar\, Bela Breslau\, Sharon Tracey\, Cheryl J. Fish\, Heather Kamins\, Joshua Michael Stewart. \nCo-sponsored by Straw Dog Writers Guild and The Forbes Library. \n  \n  \nAuthors Reading:\nSteven D. Brewer teaches scientific writing and scientific instrument creation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His series “Better Angels” and “Revin’s Heart” are being published by Water Dragon Publishing. As an author\, Brewer identifies diverse obsessions that underlie his writing: deep interests in natural history\, life science\, and environmentalism; an abiding passion for languages; a fascination with Japanese culture; and a mania for information technology and the Internet. Brewer lives in Amherst\, Massachusetts with his extended family. \nAfter being a full-time mom and wife for many years and a small business owner and photographer in Ireland\, Audrey Child returned to the US and started Loose Ends\, doing “Business Housekeeping for Elders.” In her later years she also began to write: stories of her childhood\, her family and the small town where she grew up. Those stories\, and a lot of therapy\, helped her come to terms with her early years. Over Home is the result of that process. \nRoxanne E. Bogart is a wildlife biologist and writer\, whose poems have appeared in The Tiny Seed Literary Journal\, The Burlington Poetry Journal\, The Silkworm\, and Poetry Quarterly. Her first full-length book of poetry is entitled All That Sustains\, published by Off the Common Books. She is a member of the International League of Conservation Writers\, the Academy of American Poets\, Straw Dog Writers Guild\, and the Florence Poets Society\, and lives in Amherst\, MA with her family. \nMartha McCollough lives in Amherst\, MA. She is the author of Wolf Hat Iron Shoes (Lily Poetry Review Books 2022). Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Qwerty\, The Bear Review\, Radar Poetry\, and Tampa Review\, among others. She lives in Amherst\, MA \nRick Paar is a psychologist who writes novels\, short stories\, essays\, and creative nonfiction. He lives in Western Massachusetts. He has two grown children\, Nick and Chelsea\, and a grandson\, Wyatt. \nBela Breslau is part of a writing team with her husband\, Stephen Billias. Theirs is a “literary marriage!” They recently published Pilgrim Maya\, a novel about a young woman who\, after suffering a devastating loss\, transcends her grief and embarks on a life of recovery and healing. They are currently working on a fantasy novel together. Stephen has been a published creative writer for more than 40 years. Bela is working on short stories and continuing with a non-fiction project about her father\, inspired by interviews and family stories. \nSharon Tracey lives and writes in Amherst\, Massachusetts and is the author of three poetry collections: Land Marks (Shanti Arts 2022)\, Chroma: Five Centuries of Women Artists (Shanti Arts 2020)\, and What I Remember Most is Everything (All Caps Publishing 2017). Her poems have appeared in Radar Poetry\, Lily Poetry Review\, Aji\, Terrain.org\, The Banyan Review\, The Ekphrastic Review\, and elsewhere. She previously served as a director of research communications and environmental programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. \nCheryl J. Fish’s debut novel Off the Yoga Mat\, the story of three characters coming-of-middle age\, was published by Livingston Press/UWA. She is the author of The Sauna is Full of Maids\, poems and photographs celebrating Finnish sauna culture\, the natural world\, and friendships\, and Crater & Tower\, poems reflecting on trauma and ecology after the Mount St. Helens Volcanic eruption and the terrorist attack of 9/11. Fish has been a Fulbright professor and is a co-editor of A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Literature. \nHeather Kamins is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council\, and her short fiction has appeared in Guernica and elsewhere. The Moth Girl is her first novel. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband\, two cats\, and the variety of woodland creatures who stroll through her yard. \nJoshua Michael Stewart is the author of three poetry collections: Break Every String\, The Bastard Children of Dharma Bums\, and Love Something. His poems have appeared in the Massachusetts Review\, Salamander\, Plainsongs\, Brilliant Corners\, South Dakota Review\, Permafrost\, and many others. He lives in Ware\, Massachusetts. \nRead these authors’ books!\n  
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/9th-annual-author-showcase-a-celebration-of-members-books
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Flyer-Author-Showcase-Jan-2023--scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20221119T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20221119T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220906T152440Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220913T165928Z
UID:10000459-1668853800-1668859200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Crash Course on Using Dialogue
DESCRIPTION:A Crash Course on Using Dialogue. Or\, how to avoid “Hi\, how are you?” / “I’m fine\, thanks. And yourself?” / “Just wonderful.” / “That’s great to hear. Have a nice day.” / “You as well!” with Morgan Talty will be held virtually via Zoom on Saturday\, November 19\, from 10:30am-12noon. \nRegister HERE. \n“Don’t ever start a story with dialogue\,” an undergraduate professor once said to me in workshop. I didn’t listen to him\, and the revision I submitted began with the very dialogue he encouraged me to move. Was he right? Should I have not started my piece with dialogue? \nYes and no. \nDialogue is an important part of storytelling\, yet so many writers either shy away from it or overindulge in it in such a way that it either impedes a story’s narrative momentum or comes across as too “unrealistic.” In this seminar\, we will examine writers whose use of dialogue is masterful in order to strengthen our understanding of dialogue\, particularly when and how to use it. After exploring the “rules” that tend to dictate dialogue’s usage\, we will then put our discoveries to the test by revising our own work. \nBio: Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. His story collection Night of the Living Rez was published on July 5\, 2022\, and his work has appeared in Granta\, The Georgia Review\, Shenandoah\, TriQuarterly\, Narrative Magazine\, LitHub\, and elsewhere. A winner of the 2021 Narrative Prize\, Talty’s work has been supported by the Elizabeth George Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts (2022). Talty teaches courses in both English and Native American Studies\, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing as well as the Institute of American Indian Arts. Talty is also a Prose Editor at The Massachusetts Review. He lives in Levant\, Maine. 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/crash-course-on-using-dialogue
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Workshops
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/22.11-Workshop-Crash-Course-on-Using-Dialogue.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220728T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220728T193000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220628T145610Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220628T145610Z
UID:10000549-1659031200-1659036600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Poetry Ritual
DESCRIPTION:Join the esteemed writers of the Poetry Critique Meet-up for their Third Annual virtual group reading: The Poetry Ritual 2022. The event will take place on Zoom\, Thursday\, July 28 at 6pm\, and will be hosted by the Meet-up moderator and SDWG Program Committee Chair\, Michael Favala Goldman. \nYou can register by sending an email to poetryritual2022@gmail.com
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/poetry-ritual
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220615T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220615T203000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220405T151411Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220615T173037Z
UID:10000541-1655319600-1655325000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Celebrating Voices for Resistance
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild and Forbes Library in Celebrating Voices for Resistance on Wednesday\, June 15\, 7:00-8:30pm.  On Zoom. Register HERE. \nVoices for Resistance panel:\nReaders: Daisy Hernández\, Thérèse Chehade\, Dahlma Llanos Figueroa\, Steve Edwards\, Neema Avashia\nEmcee: Andrea Hairston\nHonorary Host: Kim Gerould \n  \n  \n  \nBios: \nNeema Avashia was born and raised in southern West Virginia to parents who immigrated to the United States from India in the late 1960s. She has been a middle school teacher in the Boston Public Schools since 2003. Her first book\, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place\, was published by WVU Press in March 2022. www.neemaavashia.com \nThérèse Soukar Chehade is a Massachusetts-based teacher of English Language Learners. She was born in Beirut\, Lebanon\, and came to this country in 1983. She holds an M.F.A. from UMass\, Amherst. Her novel\, Loom\, won the 2011 Arab American Award in the fiction category. \nSteve Edwards is the author of Breaking into the Backcountry\, the story of his seven months of solitude along the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River in Oregon. His work can be found in Orion\, The Sun\, Literary Hub\, Longreads\, and elsewhere. He teaches\nwriting at Fitchburg State University. \nDahlma Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City. She is a product of the Puerto Rican communities on the island and in the South Bronx. Her first novel Daughters of the Stone was shortlisted as a 2010 Finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. She lives in New York City. www.DahlmaLlanosFigueroa.com \nKim Gerould is a retired educator who has taught bilingual education and ESL. She is a co-founder of Families with Power and has been an activist since marching against the Vietnam War. She is now digging deep into African American and local history as a board member and tour guide of the David Ruggles Center for History and Education. \nAndrea Hairston’s novels include: Master of Poisons\, Will Do Magic For Small Change\, NY Times Editor’s pick\, finalist for the Mythopoeic\, Lambda\, and Otherwise Awards\, and Redwood and Wildfire\, an Otherwise Award winner. She bikes at night year round\, meeting bears\, multi-legged creatures of light and breath\, and the occasional shooting star. \nDaisy Hernández is the author of The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family\, an Insect\, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease\, which won the 2022 PEN /Jean Stein Book Award. She is also the author of the award-winning memoir A Cup of Water Under My Bed and coeditor of Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism. \nRecent books by the authors: \n \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/celebrating-voices-for-resistance
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220503T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220503T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220329T212855Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T235305Z
UID:10000539-1651604400-1651611600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In May
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, May 3 from 7-9pm for Writers Night Out/In with featured writer Rebecca Hart Olander. \nRegistration is required. Register HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. \nBio: Rebecca Hart Olander’s writing and collaborations have appeared recently in Bracken\, Jet Fuel Review\, Massachusetts Review\, Tinderbox\, Tiny Spoon\, and others. Books include a chapbook\, Dressing the Wounds (dancing girl press\, 2019)\, and Uncertain Acrobats (CavanKerry Press\, 2021). Rebecca teaches at Westfield State University and in the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University. She is the editor/director of Perugia Press.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-may
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220503T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220503T185500
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220405T141559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T235421Z
UID:10000540-1651602600-1651604100@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night In with Wine and Chocolate WNO Fundraiser
DESCRIPTION:Join us live on Zoom from 6:30-6:55 p.m. on Tuesday\, May 3rd for “Wine and Chocolate with the Founders and MCs of WNO.” (You’ll have to bring your own wine and chocolate.) Registration is required. Register HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The registration ink is the same as WNO in May with Rebecca Hart Olander starting at 7:00pm. So come for the camaraderie with you wine and chocolate. Make your donation.  And stay for the readings. \nOur WNO fundraiser is the perfect way to celebrate yourself and those you love while supporting the Straw Dog Writers Guild. PLEASE DONATE TODAY! \nAnd just for fun: watch Chris O’Carroll list Straw Dog writers Guild programs and shenanigans. Enjoy! \n \n \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-in-with-wine-and-chocolate-wno-fundraiser
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220423T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220423T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220315T233651Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220315T233651Z
UID:10000537-1650709800-1650715200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Character Whispering: Strategies for Further Insight with Justine Dymond
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Saturday\, April 23\, 10:30am – 12:00pm for a Straw Dog Writers Guild Craft Workshop: Character Whispering: Strategies for Further Insight with Justine Dymond\, \nWhether you are playing with possibilities for new stories or trying to get closer to a character you’ve known for a while\, this workshop will offer a variety of strategies and prompts for deepening your understanding of the people in your writing life. Their voices can call to us from observations\, dreams\, art\, and a multitude of other ways. Sometimes we hear these voices with a stunning clarity; other times\, they remain muted to our ears–by differences in culture\, history\, language\, or less weighty barriers\, such as appeal and attraction. \nDecide which of these people to invite to the workshop\, warm up your writerly curiosity\, and plan to spend a couple hours chatting up your characters. \nThis is a free online workshop and open to the public. Registration is required for this Zoom event. Click HERE to register. \nBio: Justine Dymond’s short story collection The Emigrant and Other Stories (Sowilo Press) won Hidden Rivers Arts’ 2018 Eludia Award. Her stories have appeared in Pleiades\, The Massachusetts Review\, The Briar Cliff Review\, Meat for Tea\, Lowestoft Chronicle\, and Cargo Literary. She co-edited Motherhood Memoirs: Mothers Creating/Writing Lives (Demeter Press). Other honors and awards include a 2020 Mass Cultural Council finalist\, second place in the New South prose writing contest for her memoir about breast cancer “Brave of Worms\,” a 2007 O. Henry Prize\, a “distinguished” story in The Best American Short Stories 2006\, two Pushcart Prize nominations\, and a nomination for The Best American Travel Writing. Her writing has earned grants and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center\, Writers OMI at Ledig House\, and Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She teaches literature and writing at Springfield College and is currently working on a novel set in Boston in 1733.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/character-whispering-strategies-for-further-insight-with-justine-dymond
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event,Workshops
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220405T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220405T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220308T180352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T130403Z
UID:10000535-1649185200-1649192400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In April
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, April 5 at 7:00pm for Writers Night Out/In on Zoom! Our featured readers are Karen Skolfield and Rio Santos. Registration is required. Register HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email within 24 – 48 hours containing information about joining the meeting. \nBios: \nKaren Skolfield is the poet laureate of Northampton for 2019-2022. Her book Battle Dress (W. W. Norton\, 2019) won the Barnard Women Poets Prize; her book Frost in the Low Areas (Zone 3 Press) won the 2014 PEN New England Award in poetry. Skolfield is a U.S. Army veteran and teaches writing to engineers at UMass Amherst. www.karenskolfield.com \nRio Santos is the Youth Poet Laureate of Northampton. She is a high school student at Northampton High School.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-april
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220326T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220326T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220128T180038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220203T233908Z
UID:10000533-1648290600-1648296000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writing Disability: Panel Discussion
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Saturday\, March 26 from 10:30am to 12:00pm for Writing Disability. This presentation is a moderated discussion between three writers\, focusing on the presentation of people\, with physical and mental disabilities\, in literature. Topics covered include individualizing people and disabilities\, social role valorization\, dealing with the discomfort of social expectations\, the role of society in the perception of people who do need assistance\, and writing about people with disabilities in a sensitive manner. Questions from the audience are encouraged. \nRegistration is required. Register in advance for this meeting HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. \n  \nBios: \nAnna Bellassai is the 2021 Emerging Writers Scholarship recipient for Sisters in Crime. Taylor’s Bond\, a YA novel\, features a protagonist with the same rare genetic disorder she has. She brings all the wisdom of her nineteen years living with this disorder to our discussion. \nJ. A. McIntosh\, a recovering attorney\, writes the Meredith\, Massachusetts series. The next book in the series\, Grampa Leary\, will be published in March 2022. She has a degenerative joint disease\, that required multiple surgeries and metal and polymer implants. She states: “I have held up security lines at metal detectors on four continents.” J. A. serves on the board of North Quabbin Citizen Advocacy\, a nonprofit in Central Massachusetts that fosters one-on-one relationships between able-bodied volunteers and vulnerable people with mental impairments and disorders. \nJule Selbo’s debut mystery\, Ten Days\, features a heroine who must learn to cope with a prosthetic leg after a career-ending accident. Jule is a novelist\, playwright and screenwriter and teaches screenwriting and film history at CSU-Fullerton. Able-bodied herself\, Jule has never subscribed to the write-what-you-know philosophy. As a result of immersing herself in another character’s reality\, Jule said\, “I see parts of the world differently—and I hope the readers will too.”
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writing-disability-panel-discussion
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220301T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220301T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20220128T182223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220215T164651Z
UID:10000534-1646161200-1646168400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In March
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, March 1 at 7:00pm for our monthly Writers Night Out/In! Our featured reader is Lynne Bertrand. \nRegistration is required. Register HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email within 24 – 48 hours containing information about joining the meeting. \nBio: Lynne Bertrand lives in Western Massachusetts and works in the music business. Her most recent book is City of the Uncommon Thief (Dutton Books/Penguin-Random House). You can read an excerpt of it HERE. \nHer previous books were for young children. Those include Granite Baby\, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (FSG)\, and One Day\, Two Dragons\, illustrated by Janet Street (Clarkson Potter/Random House).
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-march
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220201T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220201T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211229T194518Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220128T182250Z
UID:10000532-1643742000-1643749200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In February
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Tuesday\, February 1 at 7:00pm for our monthly Writers Night Out/In! Our featured reader is  Adin Thayer. \nRegistration is required. Register in advance by clicking HERE. \nAfter registering\, you will receive a confirmation email (within 24 – 48 hours) containing information about joining the meeting. For security purposes\, all attendees must register via this link. Names not on the registration list will not be admitted at the time of the event. Contact strawdogevents@gmail.com for questions. \nBio: Adin Thayer grew up in Virginia. During the past 19 years she has spent time working in Rwanda and neighboring countries in Africa. The experiences and people she has encountered through that work\, as well as the impact of her childhood during Jim Crow\, inform and inhabit her poetry. Her work also attempts to express and explore the ways the natural world’s power\, beauty and lawfulness do and could affect how we behave as people.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-february
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220104T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220104T203000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211214T220035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211215T212437Z
UID:10000530-1641322800-1641328200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out-In January Richard Horton
DESCRIPTION:Join us in the New Year on Tuesday\, January 4 at 7:00pm for our monthly Writers Night Out/In! Our featured reader is Richard Wayne Horton. You can read his author interview with us from back in August HERE. \nRegistration for WNO is required. Register for Zoom event HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email within 24 – 48 hours containing information about joining the meeting. Make sure your information is full and complete. Thanks! \nBio: Richard Wayne Horton writes short stories and prose poetry and he also works in hybrid forms. His stories create a special kind of engagement and a sense of reality. He has received 2 Pushcart nominations and is the 2019-21 MA Beat Poet Laureate.\nHis work has appeared in Lonesome October\, Meat For Tea\, Bull & Cross\, Literary Heist\, The Dead Mule and other literary journals. \nThe following books by Richard Wayne Horton are available on Amazon and other platforms: \n\nSticks & Bones (2017\, Meat For Tea Press)\nArtists In The Underworld (2019\, Human Error Publishing)\nBallet For Murderers (2021\, Human Error Publishing)
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-january-richard-horton
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211212T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211212T163000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211013T191743Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211110T200516Z
UID:10000521-1639321200-1639326600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Craft in the Real World Book Discussion
DESCRIPTION:Have you always understood writing craft topics\, such as plot\, setting or tone\, to be objective subjects? In his book Craft in the Real World\, Matthew Salesses argues that “what we call craft is in fact nothing more or less than a set of expectations. … These expectations are never neutral.” \nReviewer Leni Zumas\, author of Red Clocks\, says that Salesses “explores how beliefs about ‘good’ writing are profoundly marked by race\, class\, gender\, sexuality\, ability\, and national identity; and he offers concrete strategies for liberating our classrooms and writing practices from the straight-white-male default gaze.” \nTo read a section of the book called 25 Essential Notes on Craft\, click here: 25 Essential Notes on Craft by Matthew Salesses\n\nJoin us on December 12th\, 3-4:30 p.m. on Zoom for an open-ended discussion of the insights and lessons this book offers as we rethink our understanding of the writing craft. Register HERE. \n[The book is available at local bookstores and through Forbes Library.] \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/craft-in-the-real-world-book-discussion
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Workshops
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211207T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211207T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211109T165250Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211116T144343Z
UID:10000525-1638903600-1638910800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In December
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Night Out/In Open Mic on Tuesday\, December 7\, 7:00pm. Our featured writer is Justine Dymond. \nRegister in advance for this meeting: Register HERE. After registering\, you will receive a confirmation email (within 24 – 48 hours) containing information about joining the meeting. For security purposes\, all attendees must register via this link. Names not on the registration list will not be admitted at the time of the event. \nJustine Dymond’s short story collection The Emigrant and Other Stories (Sowilo Press\, 2021) won the Eludia Award from Hidden Rivers Arts. Other honors include an O. Henry Prize\, Pushcart nominations\, Mass Cultural Council 2020 Artist Fellowship finalist grant\, and second place in the New South 2017 prose writing contest judged by Porochista Khakpour. She co-edited Motherhood Memoirs: Mothers Creating/Writing Lives (Demeter Press\, 2013) and teaches writing and literature at Springfield College.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-december
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event,Writers Night Out
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211205T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211205T160000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211110T200008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211116T165527Z
UID:10000527-1638712800-1638720000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Read Hilltowns December
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Read / Hilltowns on Sunday\, December 5 from 2-4pm. Our featured reader is Jane Yolen. To attend\, email Jane Roy Brown at brownjaneroy@gmail.com for a link to the Zoom meeting. \nBio: Jane Yolen’s published book count has reached 407. Approximately a dozen of them are volumes of adult poetry\, and the rest\, she likes to say\, include everything but romance (too much hands-on research for an 82-year-old)\, dark horror (although she has published three Holocaust novels)\, and novels about the old West. (She rode Lippizaners\, not cowboy ponies.) She also writes operas\, plays\, and musicals\, and at age 80 was in a band. All three of her children and two of her grandchildren are published writers. \nThis is the final session of Writers Read/Hilltowns. Thanks to everyone who has supported this event through your attendance and participation.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-read-hilltowns-december
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211204T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211204T150000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211123T144822Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211123T144822Z
UID:10000528-1638622800-1638630000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Black Writers Read: Margo Gabriel
DESCRIPTION:Please join us on Saturday\, December 4 at 1 p.m. ET when we host Margo Gabriel (Food\, travel\, culture\, wine\, music\, art\, lifestyle\, self-care). She’ll read the opening essay\, Where Food\, Culture and People Meet\, from her debut cookbook\, The Expat Kitchen. We’ll also chat about her expansive writing career.\nMargo Gabriel is originally from Miami\, FL and grew up in Boston\, MA. She is a freelance writer who centers her work on art\, food\, music and travel. She is the author of The Expat Kitchen cookbook. She is based in Lisbon\, Portugal.\nMargo has written for Cuisine Noir\, Edible Boston\, Boston Art Review\, ButcherBox\, Fodor’s Travel\, Solstice Literary Magazine and more.\nMargo is the Coordinator and Correspondent at Bokamundo\, an arts and culture organization for the lusophone speaking communities based in Lisbon\, Portugal. She is a member of Comissão da Carteira Profissional de Jornalista. She is a contributing food writer at Cuisine Noir. \nProduced and Hosted by Nicole M. Young-Martin\nWATCH LIVE\nhttps://www.facebook.com/valleysociety413\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3uDYbx65zxBiCeBg6nfqzA
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/black-writers-read-margo-gabriel
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211117T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211117T200000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210929T184243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211015T142439Z
UID:10000518-1637173800-1637179200@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Exploring Some Japanese Poetry Forms: Writing Haiku and Tanka
DESCRIPTION:Straw Dog Writers Guild presents: Exploring Some Japanese Poetry Forms: Writing Haiku and Tanka with Eileen P. Kennedy on Wednesday\, November 17\, 2021 from 6:30 – 8:00pm. \nHaiku and Tanka are traditional Japanese poetry forms. How do we go about developing our creative thoughts into these highly structured styles of poetry? In this short workshop\, we’ll begin to answer this question. Through a brief talk\, reading and discussion of some traditional and modern texts\, and in-session writing\, we’ll explore these classic forms of syllabic poetry. Participants may come away with a better understanding of the structure of these two types of poetry\, how they differ from other forms\, how constraints can enhance creativity\, and how Haiku and/or Tanka may be crafted. \nThis workshop will be on Zoom. Registration required. Register HERE. Registrations are approved manually and it may take up to 48 hours for you to receive your email Zoom link. Your Zoom link will be re-sent to you on the day of the event so don’t worry if you lose it. Do not share your unique Zoom link with anyone. Anyone who has not gone through registration will not be admitted to the event. Please be sure to register no later than the day of the event. \nBio: Eileen P. Kennedy is a writer\, poet and academic. She is the author of two collections of poetry: Banshees (Flutter Press\, 2015)\, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won Second Prize in Poetry from the Wordwrite Book Awards\, and Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press\, 2021.) which Literary Titan has called “a collection of emotionally-charged poetry that explores life with observant poems.” Her poetry has appeared in more than 25 literary journals and anthologies. She taught writing for many years on the faculty of the City University of New York. She has been awarded writing residencies at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild\, Air ‘Le Parc’ and the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. More at EileenPKennedy.com.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/exploring-some-japanese-poetry-forms-writing-haiku-and-tanka
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Workshops
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211107T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211107T160000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211005T154039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T164200Z
UID:10000520-1636293600-1636300800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Read Hilltowns November
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Read / Hilltowns on Sunday\, November 7 from 2-4pm. Our featured reader is Rebecca Hart Olander. \nTo attend\, email Jane Roy Brown at brownjaneroy@gmail.com for a link to the Zoom meeting. \nBio: Rebecca Hart Olander’s poetry has appeared recently in Crab Creek Review\, The Massachusetts Review\, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal\, and her collaborative work has been published in multiple venues online and in They Said: A Multi-Genre Anthology of Contemporary Collaborative Writing (BLP). Rebecca is a Women’s National Book Association poetry contest winner and a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Her chapbook\, Dressing the Wounds\, was published in 2019 by dancing girl press\, and her full-length collection\, Uncertain Acrobats\, was just released by CavanKerry Press. Rebecca teaches writing at Westfield State University and is editor/director of Perugia Press. Find her at rebeccahartolander.com and @rholanderpoet.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-read-hilltowns-november
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211104T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211104T200000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211019T160949Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211104T222757Z
UID:10000523-1636052400-1636056000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:SDWG Annual Meeting
DESCRIPTION:PUBLIC NOTICE: Straw Dog Writers Guild Annual Meeting\nThursday\, November 4\, 7:00 – 8:00pm. \nAgenda: \n\nWelcome and accomplishments\nVote in Board of Directors\nSDWG Programs and Committees\nA Path Forward\nWebsite performance for this past year\nHear from the Membership\n\nSDWG members who are interested in participating in the Annual Meeting\, please email admin@strawdogwriters.org to request zoom link for registration. \nIf you are not able to participate in Thursday’s member\, you can still vote for BOD officer. UPDATE: Voting has closed.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/sdwg-annual-meeting-2
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211102T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211102T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20211005T152215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211015T160704Z
UID:10000519-1635879600-1635886800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In November
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Night Out/In Open Mic on Tuesday\, November 2\, 7:00pm. Registration required. Our featured writers are Jason Montgomery and Alexandra Woolner\, joint poet laureates of Easthampton. \nRegister in advance for this meeting: Click HERE to register. \nAfter registering\, you will receive a confirmation email (within 24 – 48 hours) containing information about joining the meeting. For security purposes\, all attendees must register via this link. Names not on the registration list will not be admitted at the time of the event. \nBio: Jason R. Montgomery\nJason R. Montgomery\, or JRM\, is a Chicano/Indigenous Californian writer\, painter\, community artist and engagement artist from El Centro\, California. In 2016\, along with Poet Alexandra Woolner\, and illustrator Jen Wagner\, JRM founded Attack Bear Press in Easthampton\, MA. Jason’s work engages the cross-section of Chicano/Indigenous identity\, cultural hybridization\, post-colonial reconstruction\, and political agency. His writing and visual art bridges the aesthetics and feel from the early cubist collage movement and the Russian abstract movement of the 1920s with living and historical Native/Indigenous Californian and Chicano art traditions to explore the Post-colonial narrative through active synthesis and guided (re)construction. JRM’s work has appeared in Split Lip Magazine\, Storm Cellar\, Ilanot Review\, Cosmonauts Avenue and other publications. Jason is one of 2021 Newell Flather Awards for Leadership in Public Art outstanding nominees and 2021-2023 Easthampton Poets Laureate. \nJason R. Montgomery is a Chicano/Indigenous Californian activist\, writer\, painter\, and playwright from El Centro\, California. Jason is the co-founder of the police transformation group “A Knee is Not Enough” (AKINE) in Easthampton\, MA. In 2016 he founded the arts activism collective Attack Bear Press. JRM’s work has appeared in Split Lip Magazine\, Storm Cellar\, Ilanot Review\, and other publications. In 2021\, Jason was selected as one of two Poets Laureate for 2021-2023. \nBio: Alexandra Woolner\nAlex is a poet\, international educator\, and typewriter enthusiast originally from Worcester County\, Massachusetts. In 2016 Alex co-founded Attack Bear Press with Jason R. Montgomery\, and deeply enjoys organizing typewriter drop-ins and type-ins where she gets her typewriter nerd on with an unsuspecting public. When not writing or reading poetry\, she can be found convincing brave youth to spend a good chunk of their academic careers abroad\, lurking in the Sergio Aragones section of comic book shops\, and gently annoying her cat (TJ\, the original attack bear). Alex received her B.A. in English from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2007\, and her M.A. in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute in 2014.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-november
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211016T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211016T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210910T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210914T140031Z
UID:10000515-1634380200-1634385600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Darling You’re Making a Scene
DESCRIPTION:Straw Dog Writers Guild presents: “Darling\, You’re Making a Scene” with Áine Greaney on Saturday\, October 16\, 2021 10:30 – 12:00. This workshop will be on Zoom. Registration required. Register HERE. \nWhether you write fiction or nonfiction\, learn how to craft lively\, memorable scenes that draw the reader in and make them care about your story and your real or imagined characters. \nIn this workshop\, participants will learn: \n\nMacro and micro issues of scene building\nThose opening and closing scenes\nShow don’t tell; but when you *must* tell\, learn how to balance “live” scenes and narrative paragraphs\nAchieving vividness.\nMaking your readers care\nDialog in your scene\n\nBio: Áine Greaney is an Irish-born author who never published anything until she emigrated from Ireland to America\, alone\, at age 24. Since then (1986)\, she has published four books and a chapbook collection of short stories. Her features\, essays and stories have been published and broadcast in the U.S.\, Ireland\, the U.K. and Canada in publications such as Creative Nonfiction\, NPR/WBUR\, PBS The World\, The Boston Globe Magazine\, The New York Times\, Litro\, Salon and The Drum. She is also the author of the popular instructional book\, Writer with a Day Job (Writers Digest Books). Her awards and shortlists include a citation in Best American Essays and a Pushcart Prize nomination. Her second novel\, Dance Lessons\, was one of 20 chosen by the National Women’s Book Association for National Reading Group Month and a runner up in the Rubery International Awards. In addition to writing\, she has facilitated creative writing workshops and presented or co-presented at national and regional conferences\, including the Writers Digest Conference in New York City\, the Cape Cod Writers Conference\, the International Women’s Writing Guild and the Examined Life Conference at U. Iowa School of Medicine.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/darling-youre-making-a-scene
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Workshops
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211005T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211005T210000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210916T160552Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210916T163042Z
UID:10000516-1633460400-1633467600@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Night Out/In October
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Night Out/In Open Mic on Tuesday\, October 5\, 7:00pm. Registration required. Register HERE. Our featured writer is María Luisa Arroyo. \nChanges to registration have been made for security purposes. You will now receive your link after your registration has been approved within 24 to 48 hours. On the day of the event\, your link will be re-sent for ease of access. Contact strawdogevents@gmail.com for questions. See you soon!  \nBio: Educated at Colby\, Tufts and Harvard in German\, her third language\, María Luisa Arroyo will share poems from her 2018 chapbook\, Destierro Means Means More than Exile. There\, she pays tribute to 32 women poets who inspire her as a multilingual Boricua poet and intersectional feminist educator. Her poems appear in many journals such as One\, The Common\, and Multiplicity\, and anthologies\, including Boricua en la Luna. As Assistant Professor of Writing & First-Year Studies at Bay Path University\, María Luisa joyfully teaches undergraduate students to claim their creative voices as they write academic research papers.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-night-out-in-october
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211003T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211003T160000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210916T162631Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210916T162631Z
UID:10000517-1633269600-1633276800@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Read Hilltowns October 2021
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Read / Hilltowns on Sunday\, October 3 from 2-4pm. Our featured reader is Michael Favala Goldman. To attend\, email Jane Roy Brown at brownjaneroy@gmail.com for a link to the Zoom meeting. \nBio: Michael Favala Goldman (b.1966) is a poet\, jazz clarinetist and widely-published translator of Danish literature. Among his sixteen translated books are The Water Farm Trilogy by Cecil Bødker and Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen (a Penguin Classic). His first book of original poetry\, Who has time for this? was published in 2020. He lives in Northampton\, MA\, where he has been running bi-monthly poetry critique groups since 2018. www.hammerandhorn.net \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-read-hilltowns-october-2021
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210912T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210912T160000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210810T153825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210810T155117Z
UID:10000513-1631455200-1631462400@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:Writers Read Hilltowns September 2021
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Writers Read / Hilltowns on Sunday\, September 12th from 2-4pm. Our featured reader is David Wyman. To attend\, email Jane Roy Brown at brownjaneroy@gmail.com for a link to the Zoom meeting. \nDavid Wyman’s second poetry collection\, Violet Ideologies\, was published in 2020 by Kelsay Books. His first book Proletariat Sunrise\, also published by Kelsay Books\, came out in 2017. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Dissident Voice\, Blazing Stadium\, BlazeVOX\, Clockwise Cat\, Picaroon Poetry\, Squawk Back\, Tuck Magazine\, Zombie Logic Review\, S/WORD and Genre: Urban Arts among other publications. He’s a fan of Noam Chomsky\, jazz guitar and the visionary poetry of William Blake. He lives in Massachusetts where he teaches American Literature and writing at Mount Wachusett Community College.
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/writers-read-hilltowns-september-2021
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Open Mic,Straw Dog Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20210908T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20210908T203000
DTSTAMP:20260501T013518
CREATED:20210816T160531Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210908T185216Z
UID:10000514-1631125800-1631133000@strawdogwriters.org
SUMMARY:7th Annual Author Showcase
DESCRIPTION:Join Straw Dog Writers Guild and Forbes Library for an online Author Showcase on Wednesday\, September 8 at 6:30pm\nBrief readings from new books by members of Straw Dog Writers Guild: Dusty J. Miller\, Eileen P. Kennedy\, Howie Faerstein\, Kathryn Holzman\, Meg Thacher\, Jane McPhetres Johnson\, Celia Jeffries\, Rebecca Hart Olander.\, J.A. McIntosh\, Lesléa Newman\, Ellen Meeropol\, Stephanie Shafran. \nRegistration required. To register\, click HERE.\nThis event is co-sponsored by SDWG and Forbes Library. \n  \n  \n  \nMeet the Authors\nDusty J. Miller is an internationally published author and speaker. After publishing five nonfiction books\, including Women Who Hurt Themselves\, she wrote the Alice Ott mystery series\, now in its second edition. She has recently published her fifth Alice Ott mystery\, Danger Within. Dusty is a member of the Raging Grannies in MA and Central Florida. She is a pickleball instructor and volunteers with hospice. For information on her books\, go to: https://www.dustyjmiller.com \nEileen P. Kennedy is the author of two collections of poetry: Banshees (Flutter Press\, 2015)\, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won Second Prize in Poetry from the Wordwrite Book Awards\, and Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press\, 2021.) Her poetry has appeared in more than 25 literary journals and anthologies. She has published nonfiction widely. More at EileenPKennedy.com.\nLinks to Touch My Head Softly: at Finishing Line Press\, Amazon\, Goodreads. \nHowie Faerstein’s latest collection is Out of Order (Main Street Press). His previous books\, Dreaming of the Rain in Brooklyn and Googootz are available from Press 53. His poetry can be found in On the Seawall\, Nine Mile\, Nixes Mate\, Banyan Review\, Rattle\, upstreet\, Verse Daily and Connotation. Howie is co-poetry editor of CutThroat\, and lives in Florence\, Massachusetts. https://howiefaerstein.com The 2 full-length books can be purchased from www.press53.com/poetry-collections/ and mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/out-of-order-howard-faerstein/\,  or contact Howie directly at hfaerstein@aol.com \nKathryn Holzman’s short fiction has appeared in over twenty online literary magazines and print anthologies. She is the author of a collection of short fiction\, FLATLANDERS\, Shire Press 2019. Her first novel REAL ESTATE was published by Propertius Press in Fall\, 2020. She received the Grand Prize in the 2020 Eyelands International Short Story Contest. Links to her work can be found at kathrynholzman.com. Link for purchase info: https://www.propertiuspress.com/our-bookstore \nMeg Thacher teaches astronomy at Smith College\, where she has also taught physics and writing. In 2012\, inspired by a half-formed picture book idea\, she joined SCBWI (the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). Since then\, she has published 30 articles in children’s magazines like Highlights\, Muse\, Ask\, and Cricket. Meg loves to share the wonders of the night sky with kids and their grown-ups. She lives in West Springfield in a newly empty nest. Sky Gazing is her first book. Go to the Book Shop to purchase.  \nJane McPhetres Johnson: War Baby. Boulder CO principal’s daughter. English teacher. Married a C.O. musician. Quaker. Arrested at W’s White House. Humanities programmer for libraries. Got hearing aids when one son started talking. Got my Goddard MFA the day my second son was born. Moved into Amherst cohousing after Transition Town awakening. Raging Granny. Got twin grandchildren 2017. Published my first book during a pandemic: Maven Reaches Mars! Finally. BUY: www.levellerspress.com (Both e-book and paper).\nNOT AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. EVER! \nCelia Jeffries’s work has appeared in numerous newspapers and literary magazines including Westview\, Solstice Literary Magazine\, and Puerto del Sol\, as well as the anthology Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper. She has received grants from Turkey Land Cove Foundation\, The Massachusetts Cultural Council\, and La Muse. BLUE DESERT is her first novel. For more information see her website:  www.celiajeffries.com \nRebecca Hart Olander’s poetry has appeared recently in Jet Fuel Review\, The Massachusetts Review\, and Tinderbox\, and her collaborative work has been published in multiple print and online venues. She has a chapbook\, Dressing the Wounds (dancing girl press\, 2019)\, and a full-length collection\, Uncertain Acrobats (CavanKerry Press\, 2021). Rebecca teaches writing at Westfield State University and is editor/director of Perugia Press. https://www.cavankerrypress.org/product/uncertain-acrobats/ \nJ. A. McIntosh\, author and recovering attorney\, writes the Meredith\, Massachusetts novels\, about imperfect people seeking justice. The second book in the series\, Judge Hartwell\, was published in March 2020 and the third installment\, Grampa Leary\, is due in the fall of 2021. Crimes happen in her novels\, but the emphasis is on how people define and dispense justice. You can purchase her work on Amazon\, Apple\, Barnes and Noble\, Kobo and from Stillwater Press. \nLesléa Newman has created 78 books for readers of all ages including the double memoir-in-verse\, I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father; and the children’s books\, Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale With A Tail; Sparkle Boy; and Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and is a past poet laureate of Northampton.  https://lesleanewman.com/books-for-adults/poetry/i-wish-my-father/ \nEllen Meeropol is the author of the novels Her Sister’s Tattoo\, Kinship of Clover\, On Hurricane Island\, House Arrest\, and The Lost Women of Azalea Court (forthcoming in 2022) and recent essays in Lilith\, Ms. Magazine\, and Lit Hub. Her work has been honored by the Sarton Women’s Prize\, Women’s National Book Association\, and the Massachusetts Center for the Book. To purchase Elli’s books:  https://www.broadsidebooks.com/book/9781597098441 \nStephanie Shafran lives in Western MA. Her writing has appeared in several anthologies and journals. An active member and officer of Straw Dog Writers Guild\, Stephanie is also a Florence Poets Society member. She published Awakening in 2020. “After ‘Story’ by Richard Blanco” was recently published in the anthology “A 21st Century Plague: Poetry from a Pandemic\,” edited by Elayne Clift. Stephanie’s chapbook is available from Broadside Books. Her website is stephanieshafran.wordpress.com. \n 
URL:https://strawdogwriters.org/event/7th-annual-author-showcase
LOCATION:zoom
CATEGORIES:Events for Members,Readings,Straw Dog Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://strawdogwriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7th-Annual-Author-Showcase.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Straw Dog Writers Guild":MAILTO:admin@strawdogwriters.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR