Workshops, Events, & Consulting

Upcoming Workshops & Events with Joy

Outline Your Novel: Building a Story With Solid Bones 
3 Hours: Saturday, March 13 (1 - 4pm EST)
Online at Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop (via Zoom)
Learn More / Register

Introduction to Flash Fiction: Creating Tiny Universes
4 Weeks: Wednesdays, March 24 - April 14 (6 - 8pm EST)
Online at Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop (via Zoom)
Learn More / Register

Advanced Flash Fiction Workshop
6 Weeks: Wednesdays, April 21 - May 26 (6 - 8pm EST)
Online at Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop (via Zoom)
Learn More / Apply

ONGOING: Community Writing - First/Third Friday of Every Month (6 - 8pm EST)
Online, at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop (via Zoom)
Supportive, generative writing sessions, with prompts & inspiration
Free & Open to All! Learn More / RSVP

---

Manuscript Consulting & Editing 

As a former literary magazine editor and current manuscript consultant, I have a lot of experience reading and assessing book-length works and short fiction on both a micro level (word choice, grammar, syntax, sentence-level mechanics, etc) and a macro level (characters, plot, story logic, big-picture themes and ideas), and I bring this same attention to all facets of my one-on-one consulting work. I love dissecting stories from a technical, craft-based perspective in order to help writers understand what's working, what could be working better, and most importantly, what is the particular piece trying to be and how can it get there. I am a strong proponent of strengthening the work from the sentence level up, including helping writers understand and internalize principles and mechanics of stronger sentence-level writing. I love a wide array of styles and genres, though I'm particularly drawn to speculative-literary fiction as well as writing that boldly embraces plot, stakes, and has some sense of innovation, daring, and risk-taking to it. I also love helping writers better understand the world of literary magazines and the process of submitting their work, query letters, finding an agent, as well as all the other aspects of publishing and career. Contact me for rates and to learn more!

UPDATE: I have no availability right now, but I will have room to take on select new clients beginning in February 2021. If you're interested, get in touch through the "Contact" page and tell me about you and your project(s). 
​

Testimonials

"I am LOVING working with you, Joy...Your enthusiasm, your commitment, your deep interest in process and craft and creative impulse make working with you feel great. I will be signing up for more classes this summer."
- Erika Higgins Ross

"I have only superlatives when it comes to describing my working with Joy. When I discovered her profile, I instinctively knew she was my person. Her immediate positive response to my project propelled me to finally bring a work begun decades ago to where it should be. I can safely say that it is entirely because of her that an agent is extremely excited about helping me find a publisher. All along the way, her intelligent and sensitive reading helped me organize, restructure and make my story work. It meant so much to me that she really felt the emotion in the memoir, and we worked so well together! I loved the Google Doc system, and found our back and forth over highlighted sections was brilliant. She was tough when she needed to be, and held her ground when I tried to argue a point! I especially was touched at how involved she was with my query process, and finding an agent. She really went the extra mile and I will be forever grateful. Already, imagining how I will thank her in my acknowledgements." 
- Julie Scolnik, Founder/Director of Mistral Music

"Joy gave me extremely thorough and helpful feedback, both in conversation and in written comments. I’m so excited to have worked with her because not only is this story much better, I learned so many things I can apply to my next stories. Working with Joy was a great investment!"
​- Sam Ruhmkorff, short story editing/consultation

"Joy's feedback was, unsurprisingly, very useful and specific. It's the sort of editorial eye writer's always hope for - someone who can recognize big picture ideas and structure, but also provide very specific notes on lines, characters, dialogue, and style."
- Emily Everett, Managing Editor of The Common

​"Joy provides invaluable feedback! She has a knack for interpreting a writer's intentions. She knows the story you're trying to tell. She knows its strengths and its weaknesses. Her expert advice will help you fix things in your story that are broken, as well as things you didn't even know needed fixing. She is a brilliant mind, a great communicator, and a very sweet person. I'll definitely be sending my future projects her way."
-Drew Rogers, short story editing/consultation

"Joy has a keen editor's eye and a thorough instinct as to what is needed to improve a flash fiction piece, in my case. She doesn't hold back from offering radical changes when necessary. I respect her for that, and always enjoy working with her to improve my writing."
- Stephanie Shafran, short story editing/consultation

" Joy is an amazingly thoughtful and astute reader and editor. Best of all, she is incredibly encouraging and positive. Though she gives specific feedback on where to improve, it is always constructive and helpful. She gave me some of the most methodical and specific edits on a short story I wrote, which made a world of difference to the piece. Thank you Joy!"
- Hayley Phelan, short story editing/consultation

"Joy is an exceptional reader and editor. Not only is she thorough with grammatical edits, but she's also terrific in critiquing my stories from a craft perspective. Be it character motivation, the veracity of dialogue, stakes, overarching themes, or other aspects of story-building, she has a keen sense of what works and what doesn't, and my stories are so much stronger for her feedback."
-Maria Lioutaia, short story editing/consultation

"I enthusiastically recommend Joy's skills as an editor, having presented her with a sprawling, 25-page short story I'd been working on for a long time...Joy's work on the story helped tip me in the direction of turning this dense and confusing piece into what it wants to be: a novel. I'm keeping her notes and questions in front of me as I now proceed to write it."
-Maureen Henderson, short story editing/consultation

"The atmosphere was really calm and inviting. Questions were welcomed and my classmates were great! All the information I received, though overwhelming, was broken up in a way that seemed possible for me to tackle in the future. That's thanks to Joy! She is a wonderful teacher, super friendly, and incredibly open to the needs of her students. I'm grateful!"
- Rachel Bowen, attended The Path to Publishing Your Fiction, at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop

"I enjoyed everything: Joy's energy, breadth of knowledge about the topic, the variety of exercises, the pace, the built-in breaks, the ineffable community-building that Joy creates among the group members."
- Stephanie Shafran, attended Flash Fiction Intensive, at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop

​"A truly excellent class. Joy is wonderful. Her teaching is very clear and allows all involved to be included in discussion and clarification when needed."
- Dot Wentworth, attended The Art of the Ending at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop

"Joy has a great attitude. She offers her skill and experience in every aspect of the editor-author relationship. Grateful for her hard work!"
-Christina, novel editing/consultation

"Joy's knowledge and her ability to transfer this knowledge is exceptional. A confident communicator and facilitator, she effectively achieves the goals of the session through the interplay of the participant's ideas and concepts."
- Jim Spencer, attended The Art of the Ending, at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop

---

Past Events 

Teaching: Hooked from the First Line: The Art of the Opening 
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
May 24, 2020

Teaching: Creating Tiny Universes: Flash Fiction Intensive 
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
May 16, 2020

Novelists' Check-In & Support Group
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
May 2, 2020

Reading/Host: Spring Fiction Reading featuring Mary South, Debra Jo Immergut, Jennifer Rosner, & Sara Rauch
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
April 30, 2020

Launching Your Novel: Queries, Agents, & Publishing
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
April 18, 2020

Ask the Editors: The Path to Publishing Short Fiction (with Emily Everett)
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop - ONLINE
April 11, 2020

Teaching: Creating Tiny Universes: Flash Fiction Intensive
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
December 7, 2019

Vermont Studio Center Residency/Fellowship, Johnson, VT
October 27 - November 22, 2019

Teaching: Embracing the Strange - Writing Speculative Fiction
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, Williamsburg MA
October 12, 2019

Yaddo Residency/Fellowship, Saratoga Springs, NY
September 5 - 27, 2019

Teaching: The Path to Publishing Your Fiction
@ Grub Street, Boston MA
August 17, 2019

Teaching: Embracing the Strange
@ Smith College, in the Young Women's Writing Program
July 8 - 19, 2019

Teaching: Flash Fiction Intensive
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, Williambsurg, MA
June 1, 2019

2nd Annual Strange Theater: A Fabulist Reading at AWP
March 28, 2019

Teaching: The Art of the Opening & The Art of the Ending workshops
@ Grub Street, Boston MA
November 3, 2018

Reading: with Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
@ University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Hampden Gallery
October 21, 2018

Reading: H.I.P. Lit Summer Series / Brooklyn Book Fest
@ Nowadays in Brooklyn, NY
September 12, 2018

Scholars Reading at Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, Little Theater
August 17, 2018

Reading: with David Wanczyk of New Ohio Review 
@ Amherst Books, hosted by Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
June 11, 2018

Teaching: The Path to Publishing Your Fiction
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, in Williamsburg MA
June 3, 2018

Reading: PEN America's Lit Crawl NYC - with Tin House candy issue contributors
April 21, 2018

Teaching: Flash Fiction Intensive
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, in Williamsburg MA
March 18, 2018

Teaching: Intro to Fiction - 6 Weeks - Online
@ Grub Street
February 6 - March 20, 2018

Teaching: Hooked from the First Line: The Art of the Opening
@ Grub Street, in Boston MA
February 3, 2018

Teaching: Less Is More: The Secrets of Flash Fiction and Flash Memoir
@ Write Angles Conference, at Mt. Holyoke 
November 18, 2017

Teaching: The Art of the Ending
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop, in Williamsburg MA
November 16, 2017

Teaching: Flash Fiction Intensive
@ Grub Street, in Boston MA
November 3, 2017

Teaching: All About Character
@ Northampton Center for the Arts
October 29, 2017

Reading: Ditmas Lit 
in Brooklyn, NY
October 18, 2017

​Moderator: Forbes Library Author Panel On Process, with Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
October 7, 2017

Teaching: Flash Fiction Intensive 
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop in Williamsburg MA
August 19, 2017

Teaching: Flash Fiction Workshop
@ Writers in Progress
June 3, 2017

Teaching: Flash Fiction Crash Course
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
March 16, 2017

Teaching: How to Write Reality-Bending Fiction That Works
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
March 2, 2017

Teaching: Hooking the Reader from the First Line: The Art of the Opening
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
February 16, 2017

Teaching: Surprising, Yet Inevitable: The Art of the Ending
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
January 26, 2017

Teaching: Flash Fiction Crash Course
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
January 12, 2017

Teaching: Secrets of Writing Dialogue
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
December 15, 2016

Teaching: Place: Intro to Effective World-Building
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
December 1, 2016

Manhattanville Reading Series (featured author)
@ Unnameable Books in Brooklyn NY
November 30, 2016

Teaching: Plot and Structure Boot Camp
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
November 17, 2016

Teaching: All About Character: Details, Development, Motivation
@ Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
​October 20, 2016
​

- Connect -

- Upcoming Virtual Events -

Outline Your Novel: Building a Story With Solid Bones 
3 Hours: Saturday, March 13 (1 - 4pm EST)

Introduction to Flash Fiction: Creating Tiny Universes
4 Weeks: Wednesdays, March 24 - April 14 (6 - 8pm EST)

Advanced Flash Fiction Workshop
6 Weeks: Wednesdays, April 21 - May 26 (6 - 8pm EST)
​
Community Writing at Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop
Ongoing: First/Third Friday of Every Month (6 - 8pm EST)
Free & Open to All!