Writing Your West Virginia Story | Writing Workshop with Ned Dougherty

Join award-winning playwright Ned Dougherty for a two-part creative writing experience!

On Friday, November 7, enjoy an evening of readings and reenactments from Ned’s original plays about life in West Virginia, followed by an informal Q&A on storytelling, theatre, and Appalachian identity.

Return on Saturday, November 8, for a hands-on workshop where Ned will guide participants through playwriting and story development exercises, helping each writer plant the seeds of their own story.

Open to writers of all levels and backgrounds, come be inspired to tell your own West Virginia story.

About the Instructor:
Ned Dougherty is an award-winning playwright and writing teacher based in Green Bank, West Virginia. A 2025 Creative Entrepreneur Fellow with the WV Creative Network, Ned’s plays have been performed throughout Appalachia and as far as New York, New Mexico, and Ireland. He is the founder of the Appalachian Ode Project and teaches at-risk youth in Pocahontas County, where he lives with his family.

West Virginia Creative Network Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship Exhibition is presented with support from the Bernard H. & Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation, Daywood Foundation, The Elliot Family Foundation, Fund for the Arts, and Herscher Foundation, Inc. The Clay Center’s performing and visual arts offerings are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.

This program is free to attend, but tickets are required as seating is limited. Attendance at both sessions is not required but encouraged, as each complements the other.