New Winslow started as the first words of an audio drama script, typed into my phone in November 2018 in the attic waiting room of my son’s Early Intervention playgroup. It was snowing outside, and I had about forty minutes to write as much as I could. So first came the scene with a cheerful bartender dashing between customers on a Friday night to the tune of a country song he fucking hates. Then on to other characters weaving throughout that crowded bar. And from there, it evolved from script to serial, stretching over years and platforms. I’d outlined the first season, with vague ideas for the future. And I knew who these characters were, at least as well as I could at the beginning. The first episodes went out in May 2019 and the little serialized experiment I was hoping might reach a few people beyond my own circle has now reached thousands of readers all over the world, a number that stops me in my tracks if I think too hard about it.

And now it’s finally wrapping up with Season Eight. 

If you’ve ever spoken to me or read anything I’ve written (New Winslow and otherwise), then you know how much I love the Massachusetts area. And if you’ve ever heard me get going on my fascination with the history of the Quabbin Reservoir in Central Massachusetts, then what a lucky day you had. To put it quickly, back in the late 1800s, early 1900s, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts realized that Boston did not have enough drinking water to sustain its population. And the solution they found was to dam up the Swift River seventy miles away. This would give Boston the water it needed, but it would also flood four Central Massachusetts towns, meaning everyone living there would have to leave and their homes would be destroyed. You can imagine how people felt about this out in the Swift River Valley, but they were overruled in the state legislature. And in the 1930s, the flooding came to pass.

New Winslow is deeply influenced by this history, as well as the overall history of the commonwealth in general. And all those links from the area’s past that have been scattered throughout New Winslow in its first seven seasons will all make their way into the present soon enough, just like they always do.

As someone who has spent most of her life in Central Massachusetts, I wanted to celebrate lesser-known parts of the state and explore the tension that exists between Boston and these areas. None of the characters are based on anyone I know (Really, I mean it), but so many elements of the series are just in the ether of this area. For instance, I was a solid ways into Season One before I found out that a “House of Pizza” is not really a thing outside of New England. And I think I need the opposite of a thank yous page for all my friends who cyber bullied me about the term “ripping butts” but I’ll work on that later.

And on a more universal level, this is all about love and our responsibilities to others. This theme grew and twisted as the storyline became more clear to me. But faith, devotion, consequences, and redemption are such an integral part of love.

New Winslow has been part of my life for a lot longer than five and a half years. I had ideas for this series popping up years earlier. Things I wanted to see in the stories I read and listened to, stylistic choices I thought would be fun to explore. And, like with any major project, I can’t really believe it’s over. I’m not leaving the world of New Winslow forever, there are other elements I want to explore and I’m sure you’ll notice some room for new stories as this final season unfolds. But this story, the story of a small town, its curse, and the way it pulls everyone back in to face their pasts, the answers and ending are coming. 

And I owe so many thank yous for all of the support I’ve gotten over the years. Whether it’s answering technical questions for me, buying paperbacks or supporting my work on Patreon, or providing the foundation of support and kindness that made me feel like this was really something I could achieve, so many people have been there throughout. So I’m going to wrap up this part and present my thank yous.

Thank you so much to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their financial support via their Cultural Sector Recovery Grants for Individuals. I was honored to be a 2023 recipient and this grant partially funded my work on New Winslow. 

Thank you to the Leominster Public Library, the Newton Free Library, the Boston Public Library, the Thayer Memorial Library of Lancaster, the Quabbin Visitors Center, and the Swift River Valley Historical Society for their resources and comfortable writing locations.

And thank you to all of the following people. I’m positive I’m missing names, but you’ve all helped me along the way and I’m so grateful for that.

Barbara McSweeney, Frank McSweeney (we miss and love you), Cait McSweeney, Jess Chiaravollati, Rachel McSweeney, Anthony Geehan, Conor, David Cisek, Kathryn Leeber, Kathy Schad, Sonya Lawson, The entire Geehan crew, Andie Biagini, John Fenton, Muhammad Seven, Kristin Cook, Dawn Baker, Wil Williams, Bob Raymonda, Anne Baird, Felix Trench, Charlie, Carmen Ishizaka, Chris Magilton, Brandi Terry, Bobbie Parker, Tera B., Lisette Alvarez, Reggie Schroeder, T.H. Ponders, Louise Phaneuf, Jeff Van Dreason, Nightfoot, Mike Walsh, Matthew Betley, Alexander Danner, Henry Beguiristain, Tau Zaman, Ely Fernández Collins, Susanne Stohr, Jordan Stillman, Darcy Kennedy-Ellis, DJ Sylvis, Kelsey Birk, Eddy Yeung, Whitney Johnson, Kyle Bergeron, Sarah Bod, David Reinstrom, Grace Bannasch, Therin Stapp, Mary O’Reilly, Cat Moy, Libby Thomas.

And you, the reader. Like I said after Season One, thank you for giving this little experiment a chance. Let’s wrap this up.

-Amanda

June 2024