Upcoming Events
February Reading and Open House
Join us for an invigorating reading and open house, featuring readings from writers in Emily Lackey’s Writing from Life workshops!
Short readings from Rosemary Porto, Julia Mines, Amelia Perkins, and Roxanne Nieman.
A brief reception will follow the reading.
Elena Azzoni in Conversation with Emily Lackey
Join us for a conversation with former member of our Manuscript Intensive, Elena Azzoni, to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Tizzy.
A brief reception will following the conversation and reading.
About the author:
Elena Azzoni is an Italian-American writer whose work explores identity, desire, and the long road back to the body.
She is the author of A Year Straight (Seal Press, Hachette, 2011), and her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Elle, make/shift magazine, The Stephanie Miller Show, and feminist anthology, We Don't Need Another Wave (Seal Press, Hachette, 2006). Elena holds an MFA in Creative Inquiry from New College of California, where she studied under renowned activist poet, Judy Grahn. She also holds a BA in Women’s Studies and Social Thought & Political Economy from UMass, Amherst, and is currently pursuing an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Elena lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY.
Her debut novel, Tizzy, will be released in March 2026 by RISE BOOKS (Simon & Schuster).
About the book: Tizzy’s trying to keep her cool. It’s the 90s. She’s nineteen, fueled by caffeine, riot grrrl, and repression. She’s got a boyfriend, a job at the hip campus co-op, and a roommate who burns sage in the bathroom. But when her body starts to short-circuit, memories she’s spent years keeping at bay surge to the surface. To top it off, Tizzy finds herself drawn to TJ, her boyfriend’s best friend — all swagger, sarcasm, and unexpected tenderness in her leather jacket and combat boots. With her nervous system lighting up in ways she can no longer ignore, Tizzy begins to realize she must face what she’s been running from. Tizzy is a fever dream of denial and desire, a coming-of-age novel in which the key to healing is feeling everything.
Sarah Browning in Conversation with Patricia Lee Lewis
Join us for a reading and conversation with Sarah Browning and Patricia Lee Lewis to celebrate the launch of their new books. The evening will feature readings from Sarah Browning’s new collection, CALL ME YES, and Patricia Lee Lewis’s debut novel, THORNS OF MESQUITE. Afterward, the writers will sit down for a conversation with Dori Ostermiller.
A brief reception will follow.
Diana Whitney in Conversation with Emily Lackey
Join us for a conversation with poet Diana Whitney to celebrate the release of her fourth collection of poems, Girl Trouble.
A brief reception will following the conversation and reading.
About the book: Girl Trouble is an excavation of female adolescence, a brazen journey through rape culture from the ’80s to #MeToo. Diana Whitney’s earthy poems spill secrets, make trouble, reckon with stories of desire and harm, and explore the agency and oppression of women and girls. Deeply rooted in the natural world, Girl Trouble grieves the planet’s degradation while celebrating queerness and seeking healing for the next generation. By the end, a myriad of voices builds to a full-throated roar and we feel the power and release in truth-telling. This is a book for survivors and advocates, for mothers and daughters, for anyone moving through trauma with resilience.
Order the book here!
About the author: Diana Whitney is a queer writer and educator embracing a fierce belief in the power of poetry as a means of connection to self and others. She is the editor of the bestselling anthology You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, winner of the Claudia Lewis Award, and the author of two full-length poetry books, Wanting It and Dark Beds. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Kenyon Review, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other outlets. An advocate for survivors of sexual violence in her Vermont hometown and beyond, Diana works as a developmental editor and a community organizer for a rural LGBTQ+ nonprofit.
Holiday Open House and Reading
Celebrate the season!
Join us in the Writers in Progress studio for an evening reading and celebration, featuring the work of our new faculty: Rachel Lyon, Anna Hogeland, and Olga Katsovskiy.
A reception will follow the reading.
Manuscript Intensive Reading and Celebration
Celebrate the work of our six Manuscript Intensive writers: Elena Azzoni, Jennifer Chandler, Emily Lackey, Jonathan Langmuir, Marianna Litovich, and Sarah Zureick-Brown.
A Q&A and reception will follow the reading.
June Open House and Reading
Kick off the summer season with a reading at the Writers in Progress studio! Featuring readings from Katie Flemming, Kyra Anderson, Glenda Cresto, and Ashley Fogle.