New Dawn Arts Center Writers Group
A weekly writing workshop, taught by three local published writers as instructors, in-person, weekly on Tuesday evenings, 7:00-9:00 pm. The workshop instructors are Melissa Dorval, Fred Gerhard, and Kevin Scott Hall. The first Tuesday of each month focuses on fiction (Dorval), the second Tuesday, non-fiction/memoir (Hall), and the third Tuesday, poetry (Gerhard). The fourth Tuesday will be an “open mic” where all writers can come together and share what they’ve written. Our Author’s Voices Speaker Series precedes Open Mic on fourth Tuesdays.
The workshops are free, but donations will be accepted.
As an ADHD Autistic, Melissa Dorval was jubilant when her debut novel, When You Lose Control, was published by Spinning Monkey Press in December 2023. Dorval's poems, short stories, and articles have been published in The Offering, The Lowell Connector, The Shirley Volunteer, The Sixpence Society Literary Journal, The Creative Zine, The Quabbin Quills Anthology, The Long Dark Winter, Creative Connections, and Words From The Burg. A proud member of The Authors Guild, Dorval also co-founded The New Dawn Writers Group in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. In 2009, Dorval graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Creative Writing from UMass Lowell, where best-selling author Andre Dubus III served as her mentor. When she's not writing, Dorval enjoys thrifting, reading, and crafting. She is blissfully engaged to poet Simon Hunt.
Fred Gerhard leads the Poetry Workshop, and is one of the open mic hosts for the New Dawn Writers’ Group. His books include Drifting to “Hello” (Khotso Publishing, 2023) and Lilacs Still Bloom in Ashburnham: Songs of Spring (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2023). His poems appear in numerous magazines including Entropy Magazine, Friends Journal, Pif Magazine, POETiCA REViEW, and Sylvia Magazine. A 2023 winner of Poetry in the Pines, and 2024 winner of Art on the Trails, he is also an editor at Quabbin Quills and Smoky Quartz. Visit his virtual reading room at FredGerhard.com
Kevin Scott Hall is the author of the highly regarded memoir A Quarter Inch From My Heart (Wisdom Moon) and the self-published novel Off the Charts!. He is also a singer/songwriter and recording artist; his music can be heard on streaming platforms, including YouTube, where he also has a few music videos. Hall taught theater, writing, and literature for 17 years at two City University of New York campuses. He holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from The City College of New York.
All three have deep local roots: Dorval grew up in Gardner and currently lives in Leominster; Gerhard lives in Ashburnham with his wife and son and his work was recently featured at Creative Connections in town; Hall attended Oakmont Regional High School and relocated to Ashburnham in late 2020 after spending over three decades in New York City.
Interested writers can follow @NewDawnWriters on Twitter.
