Loading…
Type: Fiction clear filter
Friday, May 23
 

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
avatar for Hillary Leftwich

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

10:15am MDT

Story Map Workshop Part 1 TICKETED
Friday May 23, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Mapping Your Novel
Take your Pantsing and Planning to the next level and become a Mapper instead. In this two-part seminar, writing coaches Doug Kurtz and Dan Manzanares will introduce you to the Story Map, their breakthrough tool that helps novelists of all stripes and skill levels unlock the full potential of their books. Part 1, Orientation, is an introduction to the Story Map and how to use it, followed by an open Q&A session. Part 2, Implementation, is a hands-on workshop in which participants will explore the holistic landscape of Story that underlies craft and begin the Story Mapping process. Novelists in any genre, at any stage of the writing process are welcome.

Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

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 →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

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

12:30pm MDT

Story Map Workshop Part 2 TICKETED
Friday May 23, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm MDT
Mapping Your Novel
Take your Pantsing and Planning to the next level and become a Mapper instead. In this two-part seminar, writing coaches Doug Kurtz and Dan Manzanares will introduce you to the Story Map, their breakthrough tool that helps novelists of all stripes and skill levels unlock the full potential of their books. Part 1, Orientation, is an introduction to the Story Map and how to use it, followed by an open Q&A session. Part 2, Implementation, is a hands-on workshop in which participants will explore the holistic landscape of Story that underlies craft and begin the Story Mapping process. Novelists in any genre, at any stage of the writing process are welcome.

Speakers
avatar for Dan Manzanares

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 →
avatar for Doug Kurtz

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 12:30pm - 1:30pm MDT
2 King Room

1:45pm MDT

Drafting the Novel with David Wroblewski and Shelley Read TICKETED
Friday May 23, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MDT
Novelists David Wroblewski (Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Familiaris) and Shelley Read (Go As A River) 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
avatar for David Wroblewski

David Wroblewski

David Wroblewski is the author, most recently, of the novel Familiaris, a 2024 Oprah Book Club pick and follow-up to his internationally bestselling debut, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, also an Oprah Book Club pick, and selected as one of the best books of the year by numerous magazines... Read More →
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read’s international bestselling debut novel, Go As A River, is translated into thirty-four languages and appears on bestseller lists worldwide. Winner of the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, Go As A River is also... Read More →
Friday May 23, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MDT
2 King Room

3:00pm MDT

A Play in Two Hours Part 1 TICKETED
Friday May 23, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MDT
Yes, you can write a complete, short play...in two hours! Acclaimed playwright, actor, and Western Colorado University Theater Director, Steven Cole Hughes guides you in the basics of playwriting, dialogue, history, and writing exercises.

Steven Cole Hughes is an award-winning playwright and Associate Professor of Theatre
at Western Colorado University. His full-length plays include: Indiana, The Bad Man
(2011 Denver Post Ovation Award for Special Achievement), Billy Hell (2008 Ovation
Award for Best New Work), Slabtown, cowboyily, and Battleground State. His plays for
young audiences are: The Presidents!, The Wright Stuff, and The Geography of
Adventure. His plays have been produced at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, the
Coterie Theatre, Creede Repertory Theatre, Curious Theatre Company and the Denver
Center for the Performing Arts. His short play A Brief History of Banned Books was
published in 2024 in an anthology called We Can See into Another Place: Mile High
Writers on Social Justice. He has a BA in theatre from Indiana University and an MFA
from the National Theatre Conservatory.
Speakers
avatar for Steven Cole Hughes

Steven Cole Hughes

Steven Cole Hughes is an award-winning playwright and Associate Professor of Theatre at Western Colorado University. His full-length plays include: Indiana, The Bad Man (2011 Denver Post Ovation Award for Special Achievement), Billy Hell (2008 Ovation Award for Best New Work), Slabtown... Read More →
Friday May 23, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm MDT
2 King Room

4:15pm MDT

A Play in Two Hours Part 2 TICKETED
Friday May 23, 2025 4:15pm - 5:15pm MDT
Speakers
avatar for Steven Cole Hughes

Steven Cole Hughes

Steven Cole Hughes is an award-winning playwright and Associate Professor of Theatre at Western Colorado University. His full-length plays include: Indiana, The Bad Man (2011 Denver Post Ovation Award for Special Achievement), Billy Hell (2008 Ovation Award for Best New Work), Slabtown... Read More →
Friday May 23, 2025 4:15pm - 5:15pm MDT
2 King Room
 
Saturday, May 24
 

9:00am MDT

Agent Advice Workshop POPULAR
Saturday May 24, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
You've got questions, they've got answers! Literary agents Maria Whelan and Kimberly Peticolas describe the agenting and acquisition process and take audience questions. On the road to publication, the agent process can be arduous, but being attending this session that demystifies the steps to publication can only help clarify your next steps as a writer. 
Speakers
avatar for Kimberly Peticolas

Kimberly Peticolas

Kimberly Peticolas is a literary agent with the Rudy Agency, as well as an experienced editor, writing coach, and ghostwriter. She works with authors across many genres, including business, leadership, self-help, history, sci-fi/fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction, YA, and... Read More →
avatar for Maria Whelan

Maria Whelan

Maria graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in English and Drama, then obtained her Masters in Modern Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She moved from Dublin to New York in the hopes of pursuing a career in publishing. Before joining InkWell, she worked as... Read More →
Saturday May 24, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
2 King Room

1:00pm MDT

The State of Wildlife in the West POPULAR
Saturday May 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
It is a rare occurrence to have 5 panelists who have the depth of knowledge and information in the same place at the same time. Listen to the the West's leading thinkers discuss what the future holds for wildlife in our fragile ecosystems impacted by growth and caught between conservation and development. 
Speakers
avatar for Dan Flores

Dan Flores

Dan Flores is a Santa Fe-area writer originally from Louisiana who spent much of his career at the University of Montana. His essays have been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Time Magazine. Along with appearances on the History Channel... Read More →
avatar for Sara Dant

Sara Dant

Dr. Sara Dant is an award-winning writer, historian, distinguished professor emeritus, and avid outdoor enthusiast currently residing in the Galisteo River Valley outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her most recent book is Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West (2023... Read More →
avatar for Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, the Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, High Country News, and many other publications. He is the author of Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, named one of the best... Read More →
avatar for Kevin Grange

Kevin Grange

Kevin Grange is a former National Park Ranger and the award-winning author of Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton, along with Beneath Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World. His newest book, Grizzly Confidential... Read More →
avatar for Michael Engelhard

Michael Engelhard

Trained as an anthropologist with a degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Michael Engelhard worked for twenty-five years as a wilderness guide and outdoor instructor in Alaska and on the Colorado Plateau. The editor of four anthologies and author of Ice Bear, a cultural... Read More →
Saturday May 24, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
5 Kinder-Padon Gallery

3:30pm MDT

Nonfiction Discussion-Journalism Journeys-From Article to Book
Saturday May 24, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm MDT
Sometimes a story is too good to be limited to a single article. Both longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award, Ernest Scheyder (War Below) and Rebecca Boyle (Our Moon) discuss the their work and reporting and how sometimes a good idea can grow into a great book.

Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., Rebecca is a contributing editor at Scientific American, a contributing writer at Quanta Magazine and The Atlantic, and a columnist at Atlas Obscura. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Smithsonian Air & Space, and Popular Science. Her work has appeared in Wired, MIT Technology Review, Nature, Science, Popular Mechanics, New Scientist, Audubon, Distillations, and many other publications.
Rebecca’s work has been anthologized multiple times in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series, and she is the recipient of multiple writing awards throughout her career. As a daily newspaper reporter, Rebecca interviewed presidents and presidential candidates, state and local lawmakers, and covered major criminal court cases. Rebecca got her start in a small newsroom, but attending Space Camp in 6th grade is really what set the course of her career.

Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters. "The War Below," was also longlisted for the Financial Times/Schroders Business Book of the Year and earned praise from The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Science. Scheyder has covered the U.S. shale oil revolution, politics and the environment. He is a graduate of Columbia School of Journalism.
Speakers
avatar for Ernie Scheyder

Ernie Scheyder

Senior Correspondent, Reuters
Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters covering the green energy transition and critical minerals, as well as the author of the forthcoming book The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power our Lives. He previously covered the U.S. shale oil revolution... Read More →
avatar for Rebecca Boyle

Rebecca Boyle

As a journalist, Rebecca Boyle has reported from particle accelerators, genetic sequencing labs, bat caves, the middle of a lake, and the retractable domes of some of Earth’s largest telescopes. Her first book, OUR MOON: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet... Read More →
Saturday May 24, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm MDT
3 Hawk Room

4:45pm MDT

Poetry Workshop-Elemental Landscapes-Writing with the Language of Snow with CMarie Fuhrman TICKETED
Saturday May 24, 2025 4:45pm - 5:45pm MDT
Elemental Landscapes: Writing With the Language of Snow

Workshop Focus: Multi-genre exploration of snow, drawing on sensory experience, personal memory, and the connection between snow and the natural world (including its importance to salmon). Using the formation and melting of a snowflake as a metaphor for the writing and revision process.

CMarie Fuhrman is the author of Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return, Camped Beneath the Dam: Poems and the co-editor of Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, and Poetry and Native Voices: Indigenous Poetry, Craft, and Conversations. She has published poetry and nonfiction in numerous magazines, including Terrain.org, Emergence Magazine, The Ex-Puritan, Northwest Review, Yellow Medicine Review, Poetry Northwest, and various anthologies.  CMarie is an award-winning columnist for the Inlander and the Director of the Elk River Writers Workshop. CMarie is the Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, where she teaches poetry and nature writing. CMarie is the host of Colorado Public Radio's Terra Firma podcast. She is a former Idaho Writer in Residence and lives in the Salmon River Mountains of Idaho.
CMarieFuhrman.com


Speakers
avatar for CMarie Fuhrman

CMarie Fuhrman

CMarie Fuhrman is the author of Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return, Camped Beneath the Dam: Poems and the co-editor of Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, and Poetry and Native Voices: Indigenous Poetry, Craft, and Conversations. She has published poetry and nonfiction... Read More →
Saturday May 24, 2025 4:45pm - 5:45pm MDT
3 Hawk Room
 
Sunday, May 25
 

9:00am MDT

Poetry (YA) Workshop-Possibility of Poetry: Considering Verse in MG&YA Novels TICKETED
Sunday May 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
The Possibility of Poetry: Considering Verse in MG & YA Novels

Are you intrigued by all the novels in verse that are finding their way into the marketplace? Author and poet Megan E. Freeman will explore a variety of middle grade and young adult verse novels and their broad appeal to reluctant and enthusiastic readers alike. Megan will give a behind-the-scenes look into how verse novels are crafted, and will provide all participants with an annotated bibliography, a deeper understanding of the differences between verse and prose, and resources to support you as a reader, a writer, or in your classroom.

Megan E. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week to teach poetry, and she has been a writer ever since. Her New York Times bestselling novel in verse, ALONE, won the Colorado Book Award, the California, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Vermont Children’s Book Awards, is an NCTE Notable Verse Novel, and is included on over two dozen "best of" and state reading lists. Megan is also a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, and her poetry chapbook, Lessons on Sleeping Alone, was published by Liquid Light Press. Her latest novel, AWAY, was an instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller and is a companion novel to ALONE, told in hybrid formats. Megan used to live in northeast Los Angeles, central Ohio, northern Norway, and on Caribbean cruise ships. Now she divides her time between northern Colorado and the Texas Gulf Coast.
Speakers
avatar for Megan Freeman

Megan Freeman

Megan E. Freeman attended an elementary school where poets visited her classroom every week to teach poetry, and she has been a writer ever since. Her New York Times bestselling novel in verse, ALONE, won the Colorado Book Award, the California, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Kentucky... Read More →
Sunday May 25, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
3 Hawk Room

10:15am MDT

Mining Your Life for Fiction with Olivia Chadha TICKETED
Sunday May 25, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
Join Mountain Words favorite author Olivia Chadha for a deep dive into finding topics and a voice for the story that connects to your life to deepen the quality of your writing.  

Olivia writes science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and literary novels for MG, YA, and adult audiences. She has a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing and her research centers on the history of exile, India’s Partition, precarious borders and boundaries, global folklore and fairy tales, and the relationship between humans, machines and the environment. BALANCE OF FRAGILE THINGS is her debut adult literary novel. RISE OF THE RED HAND, her YA debut, was awarded the Colorado Book Award for Young Adult Literature. Book two of The Mechanists Series, FALL OF THE IRON GODS was released April 2024. She is a contributor to the YA folk horror anthology THE GATHERING DARK (Page Street), the desi anthology MAGIC HAS NO BORDERS (HarperTeen), and the STAR WARS anthology, Return of the Jedi: From A Certain Point of View. She lives in Colorado with her family.
Speakers
avatar for Olivia Chadha

Olivia Chadha

Olivia Chadha writes science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and literary novels for MG, YA, and adult audiences. She has a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing and her research centers on the history of exile, India’s Partition, precarious borders and boundaries, global folklore... Read More →
Sunday May 25, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MDT
2 King Room

11:30am MDT

Fiction Workshop with Shelley Read TICKETED
Sunday May 25, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
Join author Shelley Read for a fiction driven workshop. 
Speakers
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read’s international bestselling debut novel, Go As A River, is translated into thirty-four languages and appears on bestseller lists worldwide. Winner of the 2024 High Plains Book Award for Fiction and the 2023 Reading the West Award for Best Debut, Go As A River is also... Read More →
Sunday May 25, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm MDT
2 King Room
 
Mountain Words Festival
From $0.00
Share Modal

Share this link via

Or copy link

Filter sessions
Apply filters to sessions.