And before you watch our full Nevermore recording (haunted #AWP26 event) here’s a short peak thanks to @cieramcelroy.bsky.social! Reading features Carmen Maria Machado, @sequoian.bsky.social, GennaRose Nethercott, me, Jen Pullen, & Matthew Lansburgh! Full recording here: tinyurl.com/yc73pt7n

More Nevermore photos, the haunted off-site event Jen Pullen and I hosted (through @pvww.bsky.social). Here: the haunted Lord Baltimore hotel theater, the hundreds of people lined up to get in, & some of the authors hanging out post-reading! (Before we sleuthed ghosts on the 19th floor!) #AWP26

Nevermore: A Haunted Literary Reading at AWP26 Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop hosted Nevermore: A Haunted Literary Reading, at the 2026 AWP conference in Baltimore! The event took place in the theater of the (reputedly) haunted Lord Baltimore Hotel, just blocks from where Edgar Allen Poe lies buried, and featured acclaimed authors Carmen Maria Machado, Sequoia Nagamatsu, GennaRose Nethercott, Matthew Lansburgh, as well as the hosts of the event, Joy Deva Baglio and Jennifer Pullen. The authors shared ghostly readings and craft tips for writing speculative and otherworldly stories, while (flameless!) candles flickered in the dark theater. Learn more about Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop and find out what events we're hosting at www.PioneerValleyWriters.org! 00:00:00 - Welcome / Theory of Poe's Death 00:04:42 - Matthew Lansburgh 00:13:14 - GennaRose Nethercott 00:25:09 - Jennifer Pullen 00:34:10 - Joy Deva Baglio 00:47:43 - Carmen Maria Machado 01:03:00 - Sequoia Nagamatsu FEATURED AUTHORS (in reading order) MATTHEW LANSBURGH’s collection of linked stories, Outside Is the Ocean, won the Iowa Short Fiction Award and was a finalist for the 30th Annual Lambda Literary Award and the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction. His fiction has appeared in journals such as One Story, VQR, and New England Review, and has been shortlisted in the Best American Short Stories series and the Pushcart Prize series. Matthew received his MFA from NYU and has received fellowships from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, MacDowell, and Yaddo. GENNAROSE NETHERCOTT is the author of a novel, Thistlefoot, and a short story collection, Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart—winner of the Vermont Book Award for Fiction. Her first book, The Lumberjack’s Dove, was selected by Louise Glück as winner of the National Poetry Series— and as a folklorist, she serves as the head writer behind the podcast Lore. Nethercott’s work has been dubbed best-of-the-year by NPR, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Independent Review of Books, BookPage, and more—and she spends her time touring widely, performing strange tales (sometimes with puppets in tow). She lives in the woodlands of Vermont, beside an old cemetery. JENNIFER PULLEN holds a PhD from Ohio University. Her books include Fantasy Fiction: A Writer's Guide and Anthology from Bloomsbury Academic, the first and only comprehensive history of fantasy and craft guide, A Bead of Amber on Her Tongue, winner of the Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Award, and Beastly: An Anthology of Shapeshifting Fairy Tales from Lanternfish Press. Her debut novel, Once Upon a Burning World, will be released in 2027 by Meerkat Press. She grew up running wild in the forests of Washington State but has since been sufficiently domesticated to become an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio Northern University. JOY DEVA BAGLIO is the founder of Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop, a literary arts organization offering writing workshops & literary community, based in Northampton MA and virtually. Her short stories are widely published in journals such as One Story, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, The Iowa Review, American Short Fiction, and Tin House, among others. She’s received grants & residencies from Yaddo, Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, The Kerouac Project, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and Sewanee Writers Conference, among others. She lives in Northampton MA, where she can also be found playing the bagpipes & searching for portals to other worlds. CARMEN MARIA MACHADO is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize, among others. Her essays, fiction, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Vogue, This American Life, The Believer, Guernica, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Guggenheim Foundation, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. SEQUOIA NAGAMATSU is the author of New York Times Editors' Choice and national bestselling novel, HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK, and the story collection, WHERE WE GO WHEN ALL WE WERE IS GONE. He's been named a finalist for the Ursula K. Le Guin Award and Locus Award, shortlisted for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize and longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award in addition to fellowship support from the Breadloaf Writers Conference and the U.S. Embassy. His short fiction has appeared widely in publications such as Conjunctions, The Southern Review, Tin House, among others. He teaches creative writing at St. Olaf College and also serves as a faculty mentor at the Rainier Writing Workshop Low-Residency MFA based at Pacific Lutheran University.

Here’s the full Nevermore recording, for those who missed it or couldn’t get in: tinyurl.com/5yvaf3p8

Loved co-hosting (& reading in) @pvww.bsky.social’s haunted off-site Nevermore, with superstars Carmen Maria Machado, @sequoian.bsky.social, GennaRose Nethercott, @matthewlansburgh.bsky.social, & @jenniferpull9.bsky.social. 600 RSVPs, y’all! It was special. Full recording here: tinyurl.com/5yvaf3p8

Our 2026 Winter/Spring workshop schedule is here! Browse our virtual class offerings + upcoming readings & events! More here: mailchi.mp/pioneervalle...

🎉 PVWW's 2026 Manuscript Program is now open to applications on a rolling basis through January, or until all spots in the Program have been filled!

Learn more and apply: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/manuscript-p...

Tomorrow at 6pm ET on Zoom! Join me for a special Community Writing, focused on setting intentions for our creative projects and lives in the new year.

RSVP here: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/event-details/community-writing-setting-creative-intentions-1

#writing #writingcommunity

Happy New Year! New Substack post, with 3 questions for writers to contemplate at the start of the new year + 3 prompts for (strange) new fiction! Also a hopeful message for the new year! Hope you enjoy! Read here: joybaglio.substack.com/p/a-short-bu...

Congratulations to @bhurley.bsky.social! We can’t wait to read this story.

TOMORROW, Sunday 11/9 from 1-3pm ET! Join us at our 10-Month Manuscript Program Open House & Reading! Learn more / RSVP: mailchi.mp/pioneervalle...

Writing a book? Looking for a supportive, longer term program? Our 10-Month Manuscript Program might be for you! Join us at our virtual 11/9 Open House to learn more! RSVP + more info here: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/manuscript-p...

PVWW's November Newsletter is here! Lots of updates, including exciting news, book launches, and more from PVWWers and local authors (scroll to the end). Link to read here: mailchi.mp/pioneervalle...

This @somers.bsky.social story in @grantamag.bsky.social is so good.

Just released! 🎉 Join us for virtual workshops, one-day and multi-week, reading events, and more this fall - start reading here: mailchi.mp/pioneervalle...

SLM IS LOOKING FOR FLASH AND FICTION READERS Apply Sept 24- Oct 1 splitlip.submittable.com

Reminder! We're looking for volunteer Fiction and Flash Fiction Readers! Join the SLM FAM! This weekend would be a great time to apply! 😉

On Saturday, we hosted Words Under the Stars, in Northampton MA! It was a FULL HOUSE! Thanks to all who attended, & to our phenomenal featured authors, who left us speechless: Allegra Hyde, Peter Medeiros, Ariel Delgado Dixon, Melenie Flynn, Yago Colas, Gail Thomas, & Joy Baglio. A magical night!

Loved hosting (and reading with) these incredible writers for the Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop fall literary reading, Words Under the Stars! Each reading was riveting. Thanks to all who joined us in Florence, MA!

Just hosted our first Writing Retreat at Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop and it couldn’t have been more wonderful! Such a lovely group of writers, perfect weather, a gorgeous venue, what felt like infinite coffee (first time brewing a giant urn of it!) Feeling grateful for creative community!

This Saturday, 9/20, 7-8:30, join PVWW for a night of poetry, stories & literary magic under the fairy lights on the lawn of the Florence Civic Center in downtown Florence MA! Featuring a lineup of local authors - including Perugia’s own Gail Thomas. ✨🌟✨ @gthomaspoet.bsky.social @pvww.bsky.social

We'd love for you to take a few minutes to fill out our Community Survey! We want to know what our community wants to see more of - and we're offering 10% off any/all workshops for those who take a few minutes to share their thoughts!

Survey here: mailchi.mp/pioneervalle...

Finding Your Ending | Pioneer Valley Write Finding the right ending for your story might be the most difficult part of the writing process — we need to thread the needle with theme, magic, metaphor, and character, all without being too preachy...

TOMORROW, Friday 4/25, join us on Zoom for a 2-hour workshop on Landing Your Ending, with novelist (and Manuscript Program Instructor) @bhurley.bsky.social! For
anyone writing narrative prose and/or struggling with writing an ending!

Some REALLY exciting (Zoom) workshops on the horizon at @pvww.bsky.social: Tomorrow (5/25), Landing Your Ending with novelist @bhurley.bsky.social! And Saturday 5/3, Whiting Award-winner Elwin Cotman teaches the Japanese Four-Act Structure (Kishotenketsu)! Info & links to signup in the comments!

Some thoughts on revision, for writers who struggle with or dread this part of the process - the key is to make it simple, routine, and somewhat technical!

14 Tips On Writing Speculative Fiction that I'm constantly reminding myself of, and coming back to, again and again

14 Tips on Writing Speculative Fiction, by me, for all who write and dabble in the magical! Biggest thanks to the amazing writers quoted throughout for sharing their wisdom! Hope you enjoy! Read here: joybaglio.substack.com/p/14-tips-on...

Fiction writers! Looking for a rigorous, feedback-centered workshop? Our 8-week Intermediate / Advanced Fiction Workshop with novelist @egjames.bsky.social begins 4/10! A few spots still open (limited to 8 writers). Live on Zoom. Financial aid available. Learn more: tinyurl.com/mw2z5cyr

PVWW Founder / Director Joy Baglio will be featured in this reading at @forbeslibrary.bsky.social in Northampton MA (also livestreamed)!

Call for essays, from emerging writers! Great opportunity!

PVWW Founder @joybaglio.bsky.social has an article in
@pw.org, on creating your own writing retreat, with friends! It's a great issue, with lots of resources on writing retreats, and featuring author Karen Russell and her incredible new novel! Learn more / read here: tinyurl.com/4dd5kvjf

Question for anyone who feels like contemplating this: How has your perspective of / relationship to your writing (and creativity in general) changed over the years?

The older I get, the more fun I'm determined to have in the writing process, no matter it's challenges. (Though also looking back, I had lots of fun as a child and teenager in the process. It's those young-adult years that ruined me, even though those years were part of the growth too. :)