Gary Provost, (pronounced "Provo") was the author of 24 books, thousands of stories, articles and columns (including humor pieces and celebrity profiles), which have appeared in national, regional, and local publications.

Gary was born in Boston in 1944, the seventh son of a seventh son. Known for his warmth, wit and wisdom, Gary had an uncanny ability to simplify the complex into easy-to-absorb, step-by-step instruction.

Provost had been a popular speaker at writers' conferences around the country. For his instructional articles and work as contributing editor and regular columnist for Writer's Digest Magazine, his ten-day WRITERS RETREAT WORKSHOP, his WRITE IT/SELL IT SEMINARS and his books and tapes for writers, Gary was often called "The Writer's Writer."

His books for writers include Make Your Words Work (Writer's Digest Books) which combines two of his previous WD Books Make Every Word Count and Beyond Style: Mastering The Finer Points of Writing; How to Write and Sell True Crime and from New American Library, The Freelance Writer's Handbook and 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing.

Provost's Video Novel Workshop, a kit which includes three two-hour VHS tapes, workbook and reference guide, is the first comprehensive course for writers of novels and narrative non-fiction on videotape. Additional products for writers include Gary Provost's Writing To Win Video Workshop and his Audio Novel Workshop.

Because of his versatility, Provost was dubbed the "Dustin Hoffman of the typewriter." He wrote love stories for Silhouette, sports "how-to," and four award-winning children's novels. For Bradbury Press, a division of Macmillan, he wrote The Pork Chop War. Also for Macmillan, he and his wife, Gail, co-authored Good If It Goes (winner of the 1985 National Jewish Book Award), and Popcorn; and for JPS, the couple wrote David and Max, which was nominated for twelve prestigious awards, including the Newbury Medal. Out of a field of 12,000, Provost was selected as a finalist in the national search by the Chicago Sun-Times to replace advice columnist Ann Landers. Gary ghost-wrote and doctored books for Morrow, NAL and Avon and authored five true crime books: Fatal Dosage (Bantam), which became the CBS television movie Fatal Judgment, starring Patty Duke; Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator (Crown, hardcover; Pocket Books, paperback); Without Mercy: A True Story of Obsession and Murder Under the Influence; the "Instant Original Paperback" Across The Border: The True Story of the Satanic Cult Killings in Matamoras, Mexico; Perfect Husband: The True Story of the Trusting Bride who Discovered Her Husband Was A Cold Blooded Killer (all from Pocket Books). Without Mercy was optioned for a major motion picture and Perfect Husband was optioned for a television movie.

Other books by Gary include: Into Their Own Hands (Bantam) a collection of true stories of revenge in America, and, from Dutton, a business book entitled High Stakes: Inside the New Las Vegas. For Dutton, Gary wrote Bogart on Bogart with Humphrey Bogart's son, Steven. Additionally, Gary sold three novels to Berkeley, including Baffled In Boston, the first in his Jeff Scotland mystery series. At the time of his death, Gary was writing So Far, the autobiography of Kelsey Grammer, also for Dutton.

When he wasn't traveling around the country with his workshops and seminars, he lived with his wife Gail in Lancaster, Massachusetts in an antique colonial home where they wrote, enjoyed games of basketball and watched a lot of movies.

Tragically, in 1995, Gary passed away. But his indomitable spirit endures.

And at WRW his legacy lives on.

The ten-day workshop continues to offer an unforgettable experience, one that is a challenging and enriching adventure.