The Dream Away Reading Series, 4pm-5pm

Serena Burdick is the USA Today, Toronto Star and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES. She is the author of the novel THE STOLEN BOOK OF EVELYN AUBREY, FIND ME IN HAVANA, GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON, and A PROMISE TO ARLETTE. Her books have been translated into multiple languages and published in twelve territories to date. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, holds a Bachelors of Arts from Brooklyn College in English literature and an Associates of Arts from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in theater. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Dori Ostermiller, MFA, is the founding director of Writers in Progress.  A native Californian, she moved to Western MA to earn her MFA at UMass Amherst in 1992. Her debut novel, Outside the Ordinary World (MIRA, 2010) was an Indie Best pick and an MLA must-read. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Bellingham Review, Alligator Juniper, Bellowing Ark, Peregrine, Calliope, Roanoke Review, Chautauqua Literary Journal, The American, The Massachusetts Review and Rumpus, among others. Dori has worked for over two decades as a professional editor, has midwived dozens of books, and has taught literature and writing at many area colleges and universities. She is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist’s Fellowship and a Tobias Wolff Fiction award, among others.  She lives in Florence, MA with her family and is working on a memoir.

Jon Wynn is a professor of sociology at UMass Amherst and a first-time novelist. Whether fiction or academic work, his writing focuses on the strange and complicated relationship between cities and culture, and a recent reviewer of all his work dubbed him a "sociological detective."

Colin McGrath, 7pm-9pm

Colin’s music welcomes the mystical in the the everyday. His songs function like pictures in a sketchbook: they note observations and lessons learned, recount stories, play characters, all while gently reminding his listener to stay alert and open. 

McGrath has won numerous awards, including first place in The Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival Competition, and The Wildflower Songwriting Competition in Richardson Texas (the prize for which was the Gallagher guitar that he now plays) and the Listening Room Retreats Songwriting Competition.

Colin has been a finalist in many similarly prestigious events, such as The Kerrville and Telluride Folk Festivals. He has performed at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, opened up for artists like Martin Sexton, and Jill Sobule, and had music licensed by Converse and Bill Moyers. 

As and educator, he has worked as a Teaching Artist with The Lincoln Center Institute, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Brooklyn Philharmonic and The New York Philharmonic. He currently teaches choral and general music to K-5 students in Scarsdale, NY.