What makes a compelling opening in fiction, memoir, and/or poetry? What draws you in and makes you turn pages? What are the qualities of an opening that "works"? In honor of spring, new beginnings, new writing projects, and all things creative, we hope you join us for an author reading and craft discussion exploring the art of beginnings!
Join Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop for a reading and craft discussion focusing on the art of the opening, with authors Anders Carlson-Wee, Mira Bartók, Carolyn Zaikowski, Peter Medeiros, and Joy Baglio. The event will begin with live music at 7pm (with David Clark Carroll, of Daring Coyotes), followed by readings from our featured authors. After the reading, we'll open up to a panel discussion among the featured writers (and audience) on the craft of first lines, opening pages, hooking the reader, and other elements of the opening. Free and open to all!
A collaboration between Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and Sanctuary.
FEATURED AUTHORS
ANDERS CARLSON-WEE is the author of Disease of Kings (W.W. Norton, 2023), The Low Passions (W.W. Norton, 2019), a New York Public Library Book Group Selection, and Dynamite (Bull City Press, 2015), winner of the Frost Place Chapbook Prize. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, BuzzFeed, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many other publications. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, he is the winner of the Poetry International Prize. His work has been translated into Chinese. Anders holds an MFA from Vanderbilt University and is represented by Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents. Find him at www.anderscarlsonwee.com
MIRA BARTÓK is the author/illustrator of the New York Times bestselling memoir, The Memory Palace, which won the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award. Her writing has appeared in many places, including the Massachusetts Review, Jubilat, Another Chicago Magazine, Fourth Genre, the Kenyon Review, Psychology Today, Tikkun, the Bellingham Review, among others. She has also written and illustrated over 35 books for children, most recently, The Wonderling: Songcatcher, which was long listed for the UK’s Carnegie Medal and is currently in development for a feature film. The sequel, The Wonderling: Singing Tree, is forthcoming from Candlewick Press and Walker Books UK. Mira holds an MFA in painting and film from the University of Illinois and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts in Fiction. She has been a professor and lecturer at numerous institutions, including Smith College, the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, among others. She is also a Fulbright Scholar in Folklore and Anthropology, specializing in the oral traditions of indigenous circumpolar peoples. She believes that stories are the lifeblood of a culture and would love to help you tell yours.
CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI is the author of the novel In a Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in Washington Post, Alaska Quarterly Review, Everyday Feminism, DIAGRAM, West Branch, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University and currently works in Western Massachusetts as a writing instructor, death doula, and friend. Find her at www.carolynzaikowski.com.
PETER MEDEIROS teaches writing and Kung Fu--though never at the same time. His teaching in and around Boston remains a major inspiration for much of his fiction. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. He been publishing fiction since 2013, and was most recently featured in the July 2022 issue of GigaNotoSaurus. Peter is represented by Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABerwocky Literary Agency.
JOY BAGLIO is the founder/director of Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop (PVWW). Her short stories have appeared widely, in journals such as The Missouri Review, Tin House, American Short Fiction, Conjunctions, Apex, The Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, Gulf Coast, New Ohio Review, and elsewhere. Recent honors include fellowships, scholarships, and grants from Yaddo, Ragdale, The Elizabeth George Foundation, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, The Speculative Literature Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Ragdale, The Kerouac Project, among others. Joy holds an MFA from The New School and is currently at work on both a collection of short stories and a novel. She's represented by Peter Steinberg at United Talent Agency (UTA). In her free time, she plays the bagpipes. Follow her on twitter at @JoyBaglio or visit her online at www.joybaglio.com.