My mother began reading to me from a very early age. I loved books and how you could escape into them. There are so many that I remember, but one that stands out is when I was alone in the library, bored and in 7th grade when I found a book called The Girl Who Owned A City. It blew me away how strong and smart the female character was portrayed. It is now a book I recommend reading to my own children.
I try to wake up before everyone else on a Saturday and Sunday, grab a cup of coffee, curl up in a blanket with my little pug Winnie on my lap and carve out a few hours of reading time. The problem is when a book is really, really good those hours can turn into an all day event.
ALL.
It has been an interesting switch coming from someone who read only for pleasure and who is now looking underneath the covers so to speak of the “mechanics” of writing now that I”ve been involved with the workshop for so many years. I can see patterns, brilliance and form and I love knowing that I am in good writing hands.
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez. When you read a master of writing it takes you to a whole new level of engagement with the novel. She’s a MASTER of her craft. Style, intelligence, humanity and her writing style is uniquely hers.
Madelin Parsley grew up in the panhandle of Nebraska. She holds an M.F.A. in fiction from Vanderbilt University, and her short stories have appeared in Ploughshares and Narrative Magazine. She’s currently working on a novel about five siblings, two small towns, and a family dynamic that is shaped and reshaped
Instructor Michael Belanger is an author and high school history teacher. His debut novel, The History of Jane Doe, was a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award and received a Kirkus starred review. More recently, his writing has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Pigeon Review, Bright Flash Literary Review, and the 2025 Connecticut Literary Anthology.
