The Nook Farm Writers Collaborative is a summer creative writing apprenticeship at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut under the guidance of writing teachers Victoria Nordlund and Jamie Pisacane, program coordinator Grace DiModugno, and the museum’s Associate Director for Education Dr. Erin Bartram. The program is inspired by Mark Twain’s life as a working writer, someone who wrote in a variety of genres and cultivated a range of skills in order to sustain a career in a challenging publishing world.
Each summer, participants learn from a wide range of guest writers and editors. We were fortunate to welcome these guests during the Summer 2026 program.
Cori Diaz, playwright
Andrea Ezerins, novelist
Christine D. Gagnon, executive, speaker coach and organizer of TEDxCatawba
Erin Gonyeau, writer, comedian, and actor
Melanie Lieberman, travel writer and editor, Managing Editor for Global Features at The Points Guy.
Kristi Petersen Schoonover, writer and editor at 34 Orchard
Elizabeth Thomas, poet laureate of East Hartford