Welcome to the second annual Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, a collaborative event sponsored by Bard College at Simon’s Rock, celebrated county-wide in the month of March, Women’s History Month.
From popular and familiar writers like Ruth Reichl and Francine Prose, to less well-known but no less talented poets, performers and writers in a variety of genres, nearly 100 women of all ages and from many backgrounds will be sharing their talents this month at more than 40 Festival events, including readings, lectures, workshops, performances and screenings, held at Berkshire County venues from Sheffield to Williamstown.
The Festival is a continuation of the decade-long series of annual International Women’s Day conferences held at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, co-sponsored by Berkshire Women for Women Worldwide. This year we’ll celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 18 with a day-long mini-Film Festival, co-sponsored by the Berkshire International Film Festival and the Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series.
From a dance performance by Olga Dunn and Julie Webster, to new play at the New Stage Theater by Iranian-American playwright Yasmine Beverly Rana, to a special Made in the Berkshires performance by Hilary Somers Deely and Barbara Sims, there will be something for everyone at this year’s Festival!
We’ll end the month on a high note with a Gala Finale hosted by Michelle Gillett, Nina Ryan and Alison Larkin at The Mount, former home of one of our most illustrious Berkshire women writers, Edith Wharton, and bridge into National Poetry Month with a special poetry reading on April 1 by a group of women contributors to Orion Magazine.
Please browse this website for complete listings, including biographies of all the participants. You’ll find all kinds of events featuring talented women writers, each one more intriguing and inspiring than the last. Most are free and open to the public, thanks to the generosity of our participants, venues, donors and collaborators.
We look forward to seeing you at many of the outstanding Festival events this year, and invite you to consider participating actively in next year’s Festival, as a speaker, workshop facilitator, host, donor or co-sponsor.
Enjoy!
The Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Organizing Committee:
Dr. Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez (chair), Erin Connor, Hannah Fries, Alice Myers, Anna Myers, Judith Nardacci and Claudette Webster
Major funding for the 2012 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers is provided by the John A. Sellon Charitable Trust, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and local cultural councils of the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, including the towns of Alford-Egremont, Dalton, Great Barrington, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Marlborough, Pittsfield, Richmond, Stockbridge, Washington and West Stockbridge.
Web design and graphic design provided by Anna Myers.
