The Washashores Writers Collective is a diverse and vibrant sisterhood of Martha’s Vineyard–connected writers. T. Elizabeth Bell recently spoke with Washashores’ co-founders Brenda Horrigan and Elisa M. Speranza about the group’s origin story.
T. Elizabeth Bell: How did you two meet?
Brenda Horrigan: In spring 2021, I was feeling worn down by COVID-induced isolation, and my creative writing desperately needed … something. Workshops hadn’t filled the void (and were expensive). What I needed was community. Toodling around on social media (I did it all back then—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, ad nauseam), I stumbled across author Jami Attenberg’s 1000 Words of Summer, where participants vowed to write 1,000 words daily for two weeks. Too much, I warned myself. You’ve got a full-time job. A family. You like your sleep. But 1000 Words came with its own Slack channel — instant community. I jumped in with both feet. Right above my own Slack introduction, I saw this message: “I’m originally from Boston, so a special hello to all my fellow Massholes in the group. Anyone else on Martha’s Vineyard doing #1000Words?”
I immediately typed back: “Hello, fellow Masshole!”
Elisa M. Speranza: That was a promising reply. We exchanged messages, learned we were in neighboring towns, and agreed to meet up for a cocktail. One drink. Not a meal.
BH: Because you never know about people you meet online!
ES: We met at the Lookout in Oak Bluffs, ordered a glass of wine, then a second round, and ended up talking for hours. I bemoaned how I’d been flinging agent query letters into the void, mostly to no avail. My World War II novel-in-progress, “The Italian Prisoner,” had been a finalist for the prestigious Faulkner-Wisdom Writing Competition — and Brenda’s, coincidentally, was shortlisted in the same competition. I was contemplating publishing it on my own, but didn’t want people to look askance at the book because I didn’t have an agent or a traditional publisher.
BH: I told her to go for it! I had a roadblock of my own to deal with: Though I’d lucked out in the agent department, my novel hadn’t sold. I knew I needed to revise, but how to start? Elisa told me about her amazing developmental editor, Allison Alsup, of the New Orleans Writers Workshop.
ES: Right away, we could see the value of sharing resources, ideas, and feedback. It made us both wonder: Were there more Vineyard writers yearning for this type of collaboration?
TEB: Then what happened?
BH: We started reaching out to the few writers we each knew. And those writers knew a few others …
ES: We talked to an author after her book talk at Martha’s Vineyard Museum. I had a friend from corporate days, an Oak Bluffs summer person like me, who was writing a memoir. We consulted with local booksellers. We talked to writers wherever we met them: library events, poetry events, writing workshops like Nancy Aronie’s Chilmark Writers Workshop. All had been seeking the same thing as us: community.
BH: The way the group grew was random and serendipitous. Within six months, we’d built a vibrant network of local, professional women who write, and christened it the “Washashores Writers Collective.”
ES: It helped that Brenda and I shared similar values, and neither of us wanted to create anything too stuffy or formal. So: no bylaws, no governing documents, no officers, no committees, no membership dues. We put a “manifesto” together so new members would understand what we were about and what we were not about. There are other opportunities on the Island for more structured “critique”-based writing groups. We wanted something different — a community of like-minded women writers with an Island heart.
TEB: The group is very diverse on a lot of levels, right?
ES: Yes. We knew from the beginning it would be a more vibrant and dynamic group if we were intentional about that. We are teachers, journalists, ex-lawyers, recovering corporate executives, professors, and more. We are diverse in age and race, and that most defining of Vineyard social criteria: up-Island and down.
BH: Some of us are relative rookies working on our first projects; others are best-selling novelists finishing their third book. We write poems, essays, memoirs, novels, stories, and biographies. Some have agents and traditional publishers, others prefer the hybrid or self-publishing route. Or write purely for the joy of it. It’s all good.
TEB: Can you give some examples of how members of the Washashores have helped each other?
BH: The group is a generous, supportive “hive mind” for solving writing-related challenges. Need a lawyer to get your rights back from an unresponsive publisher? Need someone to help you remember the layout of that DC Metro stop for the climax in your thriller? There always seems to be a Washashore who has the answer.
ES: We’ve shared expertise in marketing, discussed the use (and usefulness) of social media and AI, and helped organize workshops on Scrivener and Substack. We’ve volunteered to be beta readers, proofreaders, and accountability partners. We show up at each other’s book talks and literary events, cheerleading every success; every “aha!” moment when talking through a problem generates a breakthrough idea.
TEB: The group has spun off a number of projects — can you talk about some of those?
BH: I’m one of four Washashores who created a collaborative Substack, “The Creative Current,” where we share stories about our creative work that’s in some way inspired by our Vineyard lives. We’ve also participated on panels and led workshops at Islanders Write.
ES: We’re so grateful for the partnership we’ve forged with Featherstone’s Literary Arts Program. The director, Mathea Morais, is a published novelist herself and a member of our group. Mathea had the idea of putting together a literary journal, and we asked members of the Washashores to contribute short essays, poems, and fictional pieces about the Vineyard. Mathea and I edited it, and the Washashores Review was published in August. In September, at Featherstone, most of the 24 contributing authors read from their work to a lively crowd. Featherstone’s CEO, Ann Smith, has supported every wild idea we’ve proposed, including serving as publisher for the Washashores Review.
TEB: The group has capped membership — what would you say to people reading this who are interested in joining the Washashores?
BH: We were getting too big to fit in one room during our Saturday-morning get-togethers, so we hit the pause button on new members. We do have a waiting list, but we encourage people to start their own network. Writing can be so solitary, even if you’re not based year-round on the Island. A writing community not only alleviates solitude but can also provide the accelerant to fuel your creative output. Plus, you’ll make friends with people you otherwise wouldn’t have met.
ES: It’s not that hard, if you’re willing to take a little risk and reach out to other writers you meet. Invite a couple of people to coffee, ask them to include another writer friend. It helps to have someone to organize things, a few loose rules, and a common understanding of your purpose and shared values.
TEB: What’s next for the Washashores?
BH: I’m here year-round, and so are quite a few of our members. So, we’ll keep up the Saturday meet-ups; many of us also do the Sunday-afternoon quiet writing hours at Featherstone from 1 to 3 pm (which are open to everyone, not just Washashores).
ES: On October 20, Brenda and I were be guests on Sylvie Farrington’s fabulous “True Vineyard Colors” podcast. And we’re planning volume two of the Washashores Review. And, of course, we’ll keep writing! People can follow us on Instagram to see what we’re up to.
TEB: Any final words?
BH: Before the Washashores, I never imagined what a community of writers could mean to me, both as a writer and personally.
ES: Ditto. To any writers out there, just set up that coffee date. You won’t regret it.
T. Elizabeth Bell is the author of three novels (“Goats in the Time of Love,” “Counting Chickens,” and “Sheepish”) set on and inspired by her love of Martha’s Vineyard.
Brenda Horrigan is a year-round Tisbury resident and a writer and editor — and guest curator for the current show at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, “The Lost History of Innisfail.”
Elisa M. Speranza is an Oak Bluffs summer resident and the author of the historical novel “The Italian Prisoner” and of “The Bricklayer’s Daughter” newsletter on Substack.
