Mountain Words Festival: Full Schedule

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9:00am MDT

Uncovering the Unspoken: A Generative Memoir Writing Workshop TICKETED

Friday May 23, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT

In this generative writing workshop, we’ll tap into the transformative power of memoir.
We’ll explore how personal experience, imagination, and desire can shape meaningful narratives, while connecting to the collective moment. Through guided exercises, we’ll reflect on our vulnerabilities, complexities, and intuitions—both personal and shared. Together, we’ll dive into the challenge of expressing what often feels inexpressible. We’ll push boundaries, taking creative risks as we engage with difficult emotions and explore the messy, sometimes uncomfortable truths of our experiences.This workshop will encourage you to confront, tackle, and embrace the full spectrum of your story.

Speakers

Hillary Leftwich

Hillary Leftwich is a multi-media writer and the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (Agape Editions, 2023), Aura (Future Tense Books, 2022), and Saint Dymphna’s Playbook (forthcoming from Limit Zero, 2025). She teaches creative writing, business writing, and... Read More →

Friday May 23, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
2 King Room 606 6th St

Workshop

10:15am MDT

Story Map Workshop Part 1 TICKETED

Friday May 23, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MDT

2 King Room

Speakers

Dan Manzanares

Dan Manzanares’ passion is helping novelists professionalize their writing process. The Story Map, a holistic storytelling model he co-created in a Costa Rican jungle, transforms writers to authors, people committed to connecting with readers. Working relationally, instead of structurally... Read More →

Doug Kurtz

For nearly three decades Doug Kurtz has taught writers in every context from universities and nonprofits to international retreats and his own coaching business. He is the co-creator of the Story Map, a holistic methodology that helps novelists of all stripes and skill levels write... Read More →

Friday May 23, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
2 King Room 606 6th St

Workshop

12:30pm MDT

Story Map Workshop Part 2 TICKETED

Friday May 23, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm MDT

2 King Room

Speakers

Dan Manzanares

Doug Kurtz

Friday May 23, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm MDT
2 King Room 606 6th St

Workshop

1:45pm MDT

David Wroblewski and Shelley Read TICKETED

Friday May 23, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MDT

2 King Room

Novelists David Wroblewski and Shelley Read discuss the deep work involved in drafting the novel. From character to plot, these veteran writers peer into the murky depths where fiction comes from.

Speakers