Madwomen in the Attic 30th Anniversary Celebration

Today, Madwomen in the Attic will celebrate three decades of writing workshops for women with readings by and in honor of founders Ellie Wymard and Marilyn P. Donnelly and Jane Candia Coleman, the program’s first director.

In 1979, writer Tillie Olsen gave a reading at Carlow College (now Carlow University) and was mobbed by students with questions afterward. Recognizing the need for writing workshops for women, Wymard, Donnelly, and Coleman started Madwomen in the Attic.

The program, housed at Carlow and open to the public, has grown significantly over the years. Currently, they offer six different workshops that meet throughout the week on Carlow’s campus. More than 60 students enroll in each twelve-week session. Students can choose workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction.

“The Madwomen workshops have expanded because of the dynamic leadership and nurturing talent of the three directors: Jane Coleman, Patricia Dobler and Jan Beatty,” said Wymard, who is now the director of Carlow’s MFA program in Creative writing.

“I am most proud that Madwomen workshops have given about 500 Pittsburgh women the satisfaction of writing a worthy poem, a fine short story, a heartfelt memoir,” she added.

The event takes place March 23 at Carlow University’s Kresge Theater and beginning at 7:30pm. It is free and open to the public.

Get all the details of the event (click image).

Read more about the history of the Madwomen in the Attic.