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Welcome to Lit Fest, eight days dedicated to you, our literary community.
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Friday, June 7
 

9:00am MDT

Getting Published: Stories, Essays, Articles and Books
Friday June 7, 2024 9:00am - 11:00am MDT
You've been polishing your writing, and now you're ready to submit it for publication. Just how do you do that? We'll delve into a quick overview of three different pathways to publication through literary journals, websites, magazines, and books. We'll discuss cover letters, query letters, and do's and don'ts for submissions. And we'll investigate ways of tracking your submissions and useful websites for researching publications. By the end of this class, you'll be armed with a thick-anti-rejection hide and a list of publications to submit your work to.
Speakers
avatar for Jenny Shank

Jenny Shank

Instructor
Jenny Shank's short story collection, Mixed Company, won the George Garrett Fiction Prize and is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award (General Fiction). Jenny Shank's novel, The Ringer, won the High Plains Book Award in fiction, was a finalist for the Mountains & Plains Independent... Read More →
Friday June 7, 2024 9:00am - 11:00am MDT
Beacon Hall

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Agents 101
Friday June 7, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Have you ever wondered how an agent reads the slush pile? Are you querying to no avail? Or just curious about how it all works? Join four agents as they tell the candid story of what they do. They’ll share tips and strategies for successfully targeting and querying agents and give you insights into what not to do. Each agent will share one thing you absolutely must know; you’ll leave with an understanding of the inner workings of publishing and how you can best begin your publishing journey.
Speakers
avatar for Paige Terlip

Paige Terlip

Agent
Paige Terlip represents all categories of children’s books from picture books to young adult, as well as select adult fiction, including thrillers/psychological suspense, fantasy/sci-fi, horror, upmarket fiction, romance, and mysteries. Regardless of genre, she is seeking inclusive... Read More →
avatar for Mira Landry

Mira Landry

Agent
Mira Landry is an Associate Literary Agent with Corvisiero Literary Agency. She’s dedicated to building writing and literary communities through events and educational programming, and co-hosts a podcast analyzing recently published books using Literary Forensics called Writers... Read More →
RS

Rebecca Shaevitz

Agent
Rebecca Shaevitz is a literary agent at Verve Talent & Literary Agency, a full service Entertainment and Publishing agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles. On the nonfiction side, Rebecca specializes in narrative and platform-driven works, and on the fiction side she’s... Read More →
avatar for Renée Jarvis

Renée Jarvis

Agent
Renée Jarvis is an agent at Triangle House Literary. Born and raised in New York City, she graduated from Brooklyn College with a BFA in Creative Writing. She previously worked as an assistant and agent at MacKenzie Wolf Literary and spent two years as a writing teacher at the non-profit... Read More →
avatar for Shana Kelly

Shana Kelly

Instructor
Shana Kelly started her career as a literary agent at the William Morris Agency in New York and London, where she sold foreign and British rights for the agency for ten years. Shana was the signing agent for many successful authors, including New York Times bestseller Curtis Sittenfeld... Read More →
Friday June 7, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:00pm MDT

Hopeful Monsters
Friday June 7, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
In evolutionary biology, a “hopeful monster” is an aberrant organism flawed by the usual norms of its species but with the potential to be unexpectedly well-adapted to the world into which it is born. This term can help us to challenge received notions about what "good writing" should do and turn the workshop into a laboratory where we explore, reconsider, and give functional meaning to newness. Through the reading of texts by Amos Tutuola, Philip K. Dick, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, we'll explore notions of malformation and mutation and interrogate the relationship between "structure" and "form." This talk will urge you to build completed pieces from your abandoned or unwanted works and spend time revisiting "monsters" and mistakes.
Speakers
avatar for Alexandra Kleeman

Alexandra Kleeman

Visiting Author
Alexandra Kleeman is the author of the novel Something New Under the Sun, Intimations, a short story collection, and the novel You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine, which was awarded the 2016 Bard Fiction Prize and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. In 2020, she was awarded the... Read More →
Friday June 7, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

6:15pm MDT

Advanced Weekend Workshop Orientation
Friday June 7, 2024 6:15pm - 6:45pm MDT
Writers taking workshops with Alexandra Kleeman, Vanessa Hua, Jane Hirshfield, and Sloan Crosley, join us on Friday evening for quick introductions to your instructor and fellow classmates and a tour of the Lit Fest campus. Stay for the New Fiction Showcase: Our Yesterdays, Today!

Friday June 7, 2024 6:15pm - 6:45pm MDT
Beacon Hall

7:00pm MDT

New Fiction Showcase: Our Yesterdays, Today
Friday June 7, 2024 7:00pm - 8:00pm MDT
The middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin in 1919; the Chinese countryside in 1917; the realm of the Scottish nobility in the 11th century: three new books immerse us in these sweeping histories, peopled with complicated characters, making the past feel present and alive. Join authors David Wroblewski (Familiaris), Wendy Chen (Their Divine Fires), and Joel Morris (All Our Yesterdays: a Novel of Lady MacBeth) to read from and celebrate their new novels, and share a thought or two about why yesterday matters today.
Speakers
avatar for David Wroblewski

David Wroblewski

Instructor
David Wroblewski is the author, most recently, of the novel Familiaris, his followup to the internationally bestselling The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle, an Oprah Book Club pick, Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of the Colorado Book Award, Indie Choice Best Author Discovery award, and Midwest Bookseller Association's Choice award, in addition to being selected as one of the best books of the year by numerous... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Chen

Wendy Chen

Instructor
Wendy Chen is the author of the novel Their Divine Fires (Algonquin) and the poetry collection Unearthings (Tavern Books). She is the editor of Figure 1, associate editor-in-chief of Tupelo Quarterly, and prose editor of Tupelo Press. Her poetry translations of Song-dynasty... Read More →
avatar for Joel H. Morris

Joel H. Morris

Panelist
Joel H. Morris is the author of All Our Yesterdays, his debut novel. He has worked most recently as an English teacher and, for the past twenty years, has taught language and literature. He is the recipient of a year-long Fulbright Research Scholarship for archival research in Germany... Read More →
Friday June 7, 2024 7:00pm - 8:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Saturday, June 8
 

10:00am MDT

Queer Creatives Brunch
Saturday June 8, 2024 10:00am - 11:30am MDT
It’s brunch! Come celebrate Lit Fest with food, cocktails, mocktails, and community building with your fellow LGBTQIA+ writers and creatives. After we eat, we'll have an informal info session where you can learn and ask questions about our annual Queer Creatives Fest.
Saturday June 8, 2024 10:00am - 11:30am MDT
Beacon Hall

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Debuts
Saturday June 8, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Hear several debut authors with recent first book publications talk about their journeys from page one to page done. What’s it like to finish and publish a debut work in the contemporary literary landscape? What do published authors wish they knew when starting out? What mysteries still remain going forward? Discussion will also take on recent trends in publishing, what makes a stand-out debut, and what writers can learn from debuts that have blown up.
Speakers
avatar for Elizabeth DeMeo

Elizabeth DeMeo

Agent
Elizabeth DeMeo is an Editor at Tin House, where she acquires and edits books of fiction and literary nonfiction. Books she's edited have won the Pacific Northwest Book Award and CALIBA Golden Poppy Award; been short- or longlisted for the LA Times Book Prize, Carol Shields Prize... Read More →
avatar for Joel H. Morris

Joel H. Morris

Panelist
Joel H. Morris is the author of All Our Yesterdays, his debut novel. He has worked most recently as an English teacher and, for the past twenty years, has taught language and literature. He is the recipient of a year-long Fulbright Research Scholarship for archival research in Germany... Read More →
avatar for Gina DeMillo Wagner

Gina DeMillo Wagner

Instructor
Gina DeMillo Wagner is the author of Forces of Nature: A Memoir of Family, Loss, and Finding Home. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Memoir Magazine, Modern Loss, Self, Outside, CRAFT Literary, and other publications. She is a Yaddo fellow... Read More →
avatar for Minda Honey

Minda Honey

Instructor
Minda Honey’s (she/her) essays on politics and relationships have appeared in Harper’s Baazar, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Oxford American, Teen Vogue, and Longreads.Her work is featured in “Burn It Down: Women Writing About Ange... Read More →
avatar for Christine Lai

Christine Lai

Instructor
Christine is a novelist and essayist based in Vancouver, Canada. She holds a PhD in English literature from University College London in the U.K. Her debut novel, Landscapes, was published by Two Dollar Radio in September 2023, and was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness... Read More →
Saturday June 8, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

Sharpening Your Sentences
Saturday June 8, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
In this two-hour seminar we'll talk about ways to structure our sentences for maximum impact, how to trim adjectives without losing your meaning, how to make verbs do the work, and the ways punctuation can push a point home. There's music in good prose writing, as we know, and that music is what this class is all about.
Speakers
avatar for John Cotter

John Cotter

Instructor
John Cotter is the author of a memoir, Losing Music, forthcoming from Milkweed Editions, and Under the Small Lights, winner of the Miami University Press novella contest. His essays, theater pieces, and fiction have appeared, or will appear soon, in New England Review, Raritan, Georgia... Read More →
Saturday June 8, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

5:30pm MDT

Anthology Release Celebration and Reading—We Can See Into Another Place: Mile-High Writers on Social Justice
Saturday June 8, 2024 5:30pm - 6:30pm MDT
Help Lighthouse faculty and contributors celebrate the publication of the new anthology, We Can See Into Another Place: Mile-High Writers on Social Justice.
Saturday June 8, 2024 5:30pm - 6:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading and Conversation: Jane Hirshfield, Vanessa Hua, Alexandra Kleeman, and Sloane Crosley
Saturday June 8, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Hear your favorite visiting author perform their recent works. Shop at the Lit Fest pop-up bookshop operated by The Bookies and get your book signed afterward. (Sloane Crosley replaced Meghan O'Rourke as of March 2024 due to a last-minute scheduling conflict.)
Saturday June 8, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Sunday, June 9
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Contests, Residencies, and More—Ways to Get Out There
Sunday June 9, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Book contests with publication as a prize are a major way that all kinds of books make it into print, especially story collections, poetry, unconventional memoirs, and hybrid books. Artist residencies can increase your writer profile and lead to new opportunities. From reading series to juried workshops, there are more ways than ever to get your writing in front of those who can help make a career. Hear from authors with diverse experience in the literary world on how achieving a writing career isn’t a straight line but a journey with lots of day trips, rest stops, and double-booking.
Speakers
avatar for Angie Chuang

Angie Chuang

Instructor
Angie Chuang is an associate professor of journalism at University of Colorado Boulder who writes and teaches a wide range of nonfiction forms. Her memoir, The Four Words for Home (Aquarius Press/Willow Books, 2014),won an Independents Publishers Award for Multicultural Nonfiction... Read More →
avatar for Jenny Shank

Jenny Shank

Instructor
Jenny Shank's short story collection, Mixed Company, won the George Garrett Fiction Prize and is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award (General Fiction). Jenny Shank's novel, The Ringer, won the High Plains Book Award in fiction, was a finalist for the Mountains & Plains Independent... Read More →
avatar for Radha Marcum

Radha Marcum

Instructor
Radha Marcum, MFA, won the 2023 Washington Prize for her forthcoming collection, Pine Soot Tendon Bone (2024). She was also awarded the New Mexico Book Award in 2018 for her first collection of poems, Bloodline (3: A Taos Press), about her grandfather's work building the first atomic... Read More →
avatar for Jenee Skinner

Jenee Skinner

Instructor
Jeneé Skinner is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She also went abroad to the University of Oxford to study Renaissance Literature and the Italian Renaissance. Her work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Catapult, Roxane Gay’s The Audacity, Missouri Review, and elsewhere... Read More →
Sunday June 9, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

Lattice as Ladder
Sunday June 9, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
This seminar will focus on the way that certain early and usually intuitive decisions in writing a poem (grammatical voice, verb tense, tone, choice of form or structure) create specific invitations that guide and affect whatever will come next to the page. A haiku does different work than an elegy, even though both can embody profound emotion. A poem looking backward in time will carry a different set of possibilities than one looking into an imagined future. After exploring a set of model poems for some sense of how this happens, participants will write (perhaps more than once, depending on time) to an invitation lattice they've consciously chosen. Note: Each participant should bring one contemporary poem (by someone else; not over a page in length at most) they are currently thrilled by.
Speakers
avatar for Jane Hirshfield

Jane Hirshfield

Visiting Author
Jane Hirschfield's ten poetry books include the newly published The Asking: New & Selected Poems (September, 2023); Ledger (March, 2020), The Beauty, long-listed for the 2015 National Book Award; Given Sugar, Given Salt, a finalist for the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award... Read More →
Sunday June 9, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

5:00pm MDT

Advanced Weeklong Workshop Orientation
Sunday June 9, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Writers taking workshops with Steve Almond, Emily Rapp Black, Mark Doty, Danielle Evans, Amitava Kumar, T Kira Māhealani Madden, Claire Messud, Beth Nguyen, Jenny Offill, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin, join us on Sunday afternoon for quick introductions to your instructor and fellow classmates and a tour of the Lit Fest campus. Stay for the Lit Fest Kickoff Party!
Sunday June 9, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Monday, June 10
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Selling Your Book—The Query Letter, Elevator Pitch, and More
Monday June 10, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
How do we turn the labors of our hearts into something that can be bought and sold? What happens when the book you've written isn't quite the book you can sell? How do you manage suggestions—in both fiction and nonfiction—that fly in the face of your original draft? Join publishing professionals and writers as they discuss the tools you need for submission (query, proposal, pitch), how to be successful in a competitive marketplace, and tips and tricks to cut down on rejections and make your work stand out.
Speakers
avatar for Marin Takikawa

Marin Takikawa

Agent
Marin Takikawa is an associate agent and the audio rights coordinator at The Friedrich Agency. Born in Tokyo and raised in Singapore and NYC, she joined TFA in early 2021 after getting her start as an assistant to three agents at Foundry Literary + Media, following internships at... Read More →
avatar for Abby Walters

Abby Walters

Agent
Abby Walters is a Literary Agent at leading publishing and entertainment agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Walters is based in the New York office and creates publishing opportunities across all agency departments. Some of her clients include Thao Thai, Honor Levy, Zoë Eisenberg... Read More →
avatar for Elissa Bassist

Elissa Bassist

Instructor
Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and author of the tragicomic memoir Hysterical, a semifinalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, she’s written cultural and personal criticism since the website... Read More →
avatar for Anna Qu

Anna Qu

Instructor
Anna Qu is a Chinese American writer. Her critically acclaimed debut memoir, Made In China: A Memoir of Love and Labor, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice pick. Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, Lumina, Kartika, Kweli, and Vol.1 Brooklyn, among others. She was... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Gerard

Sarah Gerard

Instructor
Sarah Gerard is the author, most recently, of the novel True Love. Her essay collection Sunshine State was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and was longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Her novel Binary... Read More →
avatar for Jan Thomas

Jan Thomas

Instructor
J.E. Thomas spent her early summers stuffing grocery bags with books at the local library, reading feverishly, then repeating the process week after week. So it's not surprising that she thinks books + imagination are the best streaming service around.  J.E. is an award-winning... Read More →
Monday June 10, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

(Re)Writing History: The Questions, Conundrums, Responsibilities, and Delights of Writing Fiction About the Past
Monday June 10, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there," wrote L.P. Hartley. Peter Carey once described writing historical fiction as "a science fiction of the past," implying that creating the past in fiction is no less a matter of world-building than creating the future. Is deep historical research a boon or a confusing constraint? What do we owe to the historical record? To what extent are we free to invent?
Speakers
avatar for Claire Messud

Claire Messud

Visiting Author
Claire Messud is the author of six works of fiction. A recipient of a Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her family.
Monday June 10, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:30pm MDT

Lit Fest Fellows Reading
Monday June 10, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Help us celebrate the exceptional talent among this year’s Lit Fest Fellowship finalists and winners.
Monday June 10, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

6:00pm MDT

Writing in Color Happy Hour
Monday June 10, 2024 6:00pm - 6:30pm MDT
Join us for a casual evening of drinks and community building. This happy hour is intended to be a space for writers of color to come together and connect over their passions and creative interests. Come make new connections as we gear up for the 2024 Writing in Color Fest! Drinks and light appetizers will be provided.

After the happy hour, Writing in Color will be hosting a Storytelling Through Jazz night with Dazzle Denver which you can register for here.
Monday June 10, 2024 6:00pm - 6:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

6:30pm MDT

Writing in Color Presents: Storytelling Through Jazz with Dazzle
Monday June 10, 2024 6:30pm - 9:00pm MDT
As writers, we’re constantly influenced by other art forms, and many of us find solace and inspiration in listening to music while we write. Music, just like our writing, tells a story and aims to bring listeners closer to the human experience. In collaboration with Dazzle Denver, join us for an evening of music-inspired readings with Lighthouse instructors and jazz performance by a BIPOC+-led trio from Dazzle.
This event is open to all who identify as BIPOC+ and to allies of BIPOC+ communities. Attendees who identify as BIPOC+ are welcome to join us for a Writing in Color happy hour before the performance.
Writing in Color is a program focused on building community for BIPOC writers, and includes monthly meet-ups that aim to connect writers of color with peers to share ideas, inspirations, new work, successes, challenges, and resources to foster a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive writing community in Colorado and beyond.
Producing unique musical experiences, Dazzle Denver provides the stages upon which artists share their craft, reflecting the beautiful diversity that Colorado has to offer. The roots lie in jazz, but expands to other genres, with a variety of national and international touring acts spicing up the calendar.
Monday June 10, 2024 6:30pm - 9:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Tuesday, June 11
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Literary Journals—The Inside Scoop
Tuesday June 11, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
You’ve made your story, essay, or poem the best it can be, and now you’re ready to get it published in a literary journal. How do you catch the eye of an editor? Our panel of journal editors from Poetry, Copper Nickel, Colorado Review, Virginia Quarerly Review, and more will chat about the submission process, what they look for in a piece, and mistakes to avoid when you’re sending out your work. You’ll leave better informed and inspired to submit.
Speakers
avatar for Angela Flores

Angela Flores

Editor
Angela Flores is a trans writer, editor, and Tin House scholar. Her work has appeared with Ploughshares, Academy of American Poets, and The Normal School. She currently serves as the assistant editor for Poetry magazine, and before joining Poetry, she served on the editorial board... Read More →
avatar for Allison Wright

Allison Wright

Editor
Allison Wright is the executive editor and publisher of the Virginia Quarterly Review. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, the Guardian Saturday Magazine, CNN, VQR, Popular Mechanics, the Texas Observer, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. She teaches media ethics and journalism... Read More →
avatar for Alexander Lumans

Alexander Lumans

Instructor
Alexander Lumans was awarded a 2018 NEA Creative Writing Grant in Fiction. He was also awarded a fellowship to the 2015 Arctic Circle Residency and was the Spring 2014 Philip Roth Resident at Bucknell University. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Paris Review, Electric... Read More →
avatar for Jenny Wortman

Jenny Wortman

Panelist
Jennifer Wortman is the author of the short story collection This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love (Split/Lip Press, 2019) and a recipient of a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Her fiction, essays, and poetry appear in TriQuarterly, Glimmer Train, Copper... Read More →
avatar for Dino Enrique Piacentini

Dino Enrique Piacentini

Instructor
Dino Enrique Piacentini grew up in Los Angeles, lived in San Francisco for twenty years, and has also, at various times, set down stakes in Houston, Oaxaca, Champaign, and Prague. His writing has been published in Gulf Coast, Confrontation, Pembroke, The Globe & Mail, The Atticus... Read More →
avatar for Harrison Fletcher

Harrison Fletcher

Instructor
Harrison Candelaria Fletcher is the author of the essay collection, Descanso for My Father, the memoir, Presentimiento: A Life in Dreams, and his newest, Finding Querencia: Essays from In Between. Recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, Autumn... Read More →
Tuesday June 11, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

Everything But Plot: Building Suspense on the Line Level
Tuesday June 11, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
In this generative session, we'll engage in close readings of work in all genres and ask: what keeps us reading and moving forward? What delivers a chill? We'll investigate constructions of the line and the paragraph, asking after subtext and staging, POV and time shifts, dangling questions, and form. Come ready to experiment.
Speakers
avatar for T Kira Māhealani Madden

T Kira Māhealani Madden

Visiting Author
T Kira Māhealani Madden is a hapa-Kanaka Maoli writer, photographer, and amateur magician. She is the Founding Editor of No Tokens, a magazine of literature and art, and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Hedgebrook, Tin House, DISQUIET, NYSCA/NYFA, and Yaddo. Her debut memoir... Read More →
Tuesday June 11, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:30pm MDT

Poetry Collective Graduation and Celebration
Tuesday June 11, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Come and celebrate the hard work of the Poetry Collective graduates, hear some of their final work, and learn more about the year-long program.
Tuesday June 11, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading with T Kira Māhealani Madden, Claire Messud, Jenny Offill, and Rowan Ricardo Phillips
Tuesday June 11, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Hear your favorite visiting author perform their recent works. Shop at the Lit Fest pop-up bookstore operated by The Bookies and get your book signed afterward.
Tuesday June 11, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Wednesday, June 12
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: State of the Industry
Wednesday June 12, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Publishing and television continue to be industries facing rapidly changing trends and challenges, so what does the landscape look like now? Join four industry experts as they discuss the latest industry news and what it means for authors and screenwriters, published and aspiring alike.
Speakers
avatar for Raluca Albu

Raluca Albu

Panelist
Raluca Albu is the communications director of the Authors Guild, the oldest and largest professional organization for published writers. They advocate for the legal rights of authors by supporting fair publishing and freelance writing contracts, copyright protection and free speech... Read More →
avatar for Kayla Lightner

Kayla Lightner

Agent
Kayla is an agent at Ayesha Pande Literary. Before joining the APL team in 2020, Kayla started her career at Liza Dawson Associates. She also managed APL’s subsidiary rights department for two years before transitioning to full-time agent. Her client list includes multi-award-winning... Read More →
avatar for Amy Bishop-Wycisk

Amy Bishop-Wycisk

Agent
Amy Bishop-Wycisk (why-zick) joined Trellis Literary Management in 2023 after eight years with Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. She represents a wide-ranging list in fiction, nonfiction, and YA. Across the board, she has a special interest in underrepresented voices, especially from the... Read More →
avatar for Danielle Bukowski

Danielle Bukowski

Agent
Danielle Bukowski is a literary agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, representing award-winning, critically-acclaimed, nationally bestselling fiction and nonfiction.She is looking for literary fiction, upmarket fiction, nonfiction and SFF. She particularly wants to hear from writers... Read More →
avatar for Dean Bakopoulos

Dean Bakopoulos

Visiting Author
Dean Bakopoulos is the author of the novels Please Don't Come Back from the Moon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), My American Unhappiness (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and Summerlong (Ecco/HarperCollins). The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship and NEA fellowships in both fiction and creative... Read More →
avatar for Shana Kelly

Shana Kelly

Instructor
Shana Kelly started her career as a literary agent at the William Morris Agency in New York and London, where she sold foreign and British rights for the agency for ten years. Shana was the signing agent for many successful authors, including New York Times bestseller Curtis Sittenfeld... Read More →
Wednesday June 12, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

On Defamiliarization: A Lesson in 10 Sentences
Wednesday June 12, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
“Art exists to help us recover the sensation of life; it exists to make us feel things, to make the stone stony again. The end of art is to give a sensation of the object seen, not as recognized.
Victor Shklovsky
In this craft seminar, we'll explore how to describe the world around us without resorting to commonplace imagery or received sentiments. Our intent will be to make the familiar unfamiliar through acts of careful attention. We'll look at the process of defamiliarization at both the sentence and the paragraph level, and then use these images and descriptions as springboards for our own writing.
Speakers
avatar for Jenny Offill

Jenny Offill

Visiting Author
Offill's 2020 novel, Weather, is the story of confronting, both directly and less so, looming climate catastrophe . The book was described as “emotional, planetary, and very turbulent, “ by the New York Times, “utterly exhilarating in its wit and intelligence” by the Boston... Read More →
Wednesday June 12, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:00pm MDT

ABCs and 123s: Making the Personal Matter
Wednesday June 12, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
We’ll explore strategies for integrating research into our own first-person writing to answer some burning questions about creative nonfiction. How do essayists use “real” experiences to make stories that move? How do they create context that matters, turn personal anecdotes into universally applicable meanings, and write fresh perspectives into experiences and topics that are age-old: culture, travel, death, or love? What is the best way to build context and to shape essays so that they have momentum and meaning? In other words, how do we make meaning?
Speakers
avatar for Emily Rapp Black

Emily Rapp Black

Visiting Author
Emily Rapp Black is the author of four books of nonfiction: Poster Child; The Still Point of the Turning World, which was a New York Times bestseller, Editor's Choice, and a finalist for the PEN USA award; Sanctuary, a New York Times Editor's Choice; and Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg... Read More →
Wednesday June 12, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Author Reading with Dean Bakopoulos, Mark Doty, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Amitava Kumar
Wednesday June 12, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Hear your favorite visiting author perform their recent works. Shop at the Lit Fest pop-up bookstore operated by The Bookies and get your book signed afterward.
Wednesday June 12, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Thursday, June 13
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Online Landscape for Writers
Thursday June 13, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Amidst the death throes of print media, the overnight rise and fall of legacy websites, trend-chasing on social media, and the proliferation of subscription-based newsletters, it’s as difficult as ever for authors to know where to put their energy and what to avoid. Join three writers and an agent for a conversation on the different ways of being online and how they can benefit you during different stages of your career, from learning about what agents are looking for to spreading the word about your work.
Speakers
avatar for Simone Stolzoff

Simone Stolzoff

Panelist
Simone Stolzoff is an author and journalist from San Francisco. A former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO, his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and various other publications. His debut book The Good Enough Job: R... Read More →
avatar for Mitzi Rapkin

Mitzi Rapkin

Podcaster
Mitzi Rapkin is the host and producer of the literary podcast, First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing.  This June marks the 11th anniversary of the show.  First Draft features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essay writers.  Rapkin and her guests explore literary craft, the decisions... Read More →
avatar for Robbie Couch

Robbie Couch

Panelist
Robbie Couch writes young-adult fiction. If I See You Again Tomorrow, his New York Times bestselling third novel, has received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Robbie's debut, The Sky Blues, was a Barnes & Noble... Read More →
avatar for Courtney Maum

Courtney Maum

Panelist
Courtney is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, Before and After the Book Deal and the memoir The Year of the Horses, chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health... Read More →
avatar for Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth

Erika T. Wurth’s publications include three novels, White Horse, Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend, and You Who Enter Here, two collections of poetry and a collection of short stories, Buckskin Cocaine. A writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she teaches creative writing at Western... Read More →
avatar for R. Alan Brooks

R. Alan Brooks

Instructor
R. Alan Brooks teaches graphic novel writing at Regis University, and is the writer/creator of The Burning Metronome graphic novel, a supernatural murder mystery with social commentary. He also hosts the popular “MotherF**ker In A Cape” comics podcast, which focuses on marginalized... Read More →
Thursday June 13, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

Characterization Through Contrast
Thursday June 13, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
In this craft seminar, we'll explore complex characterization through a series of brief readings and short writing exercises on developing character through contrast. We’ll consider various kinds of passing and performance: when does a character understand themselves to be putting on an act? What kinds of structural or personal relationships compel performance? What can a character’s performance for an external audience tell us about characters themselves, the settings they inhabit, and their potential narrative arcs?
Speakers
avatar for Danielle Evans

Danielle Evans

Visiting Author
Danielle Evans is the author of the story collections The Office of Historical Corrections and Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self. Her first collection won the PEN American Robert W. Bingham Prize, the Hurston-Wright award for fiction, and the Paterson Prize for fiction; her... Read More →
Thursday June 13, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:30pm MDT

First Draft Live: Literary Friendship, Craft, and the Writing Life
Thursday June 13, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Join Mitzi Rapkin for a live recording of her podcast: First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing. us for a conversation between friends and fellow writers Claire Messud and Amitava Kumar as they discuss what literary friendship means, how fellow writers discuss craft and art through the lens of their personal connection, and how their friendship influences the creative work they each pursue. The conversation will be recorded as a special episode for First Draft, a literary podcast now in its 11th year of production, which now has more than 450 interviews in the archive.
Speakers
avatar for Amitava Kumar

Amitava Kumar

Visiting Author
Amitava Kumar is a writer and journalist who has published several works of nonfiction and three novels. His most recent title, The Blue Book: A Writer's Journal, is a collection of drawings and journal entries. Kumar's writing has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Harper’s... Read More →
avatar for Claire Messud

Claire Messud

Visiting Author
Claire Messud is the author of six works of fiction. A recipient of a Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her family.
avatar for Mitzi Rapkin

Mitzi Rapkin

Podcaster
Mitzi Rapkin is the host and producer of the literary podcast, First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing.  This June marks the 11th anniversary of the show.  First Draft features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essay writers.  Rapkin and her guests explore literary craft, the decisions... Read More →
Thursday June 13, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading with Steve Almond, Emily Rapp Black, Danielle Evans, and Beth Nguyen
Thursday June 13, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Hear your favorite visiting author perform their recent works. Shop at the Lit Fest pop-up bookstore operated by The Bookies and get your book signed afterward.
Thursday June 13, 2024 7:00pm - 8:15pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
Friday, June 14
 

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Perfect Pairing
Friday June 14, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
As the publishing industry continues to change, the relationship between an author and her agent can make or break a career. Join authors Wendy Chen and Shelly Read and their agents, Sarah Bowlin and Sandra Bond, as they talk about how they’re navigating the choppy waters of publishing together.
Speakers
avatar for Sandra Bond

Sandra Bond

Agent
TV deprived growing up in the 60s, Sandra and her two siblings read books. Voraciously. The big event was going to the library once a week. As an adult, she wanted to be involved in the wondrous business of discovering and bringing stories to the world and, not a creative writer herself... Read More →
avatar for Shelley Read

Shelley Read

Shelley Read's internationally bestselling debut novel, Go As A River, is being translated intoover thirty languages and has been optioned for film by Mazur Kaplan in partnership withFifth Season. An instant Sunday Times bestseller, Go As A River is also a 2023 AmazonEditor's Pick... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Bowlin

Sarah Bowlin

Agent
Sarah Bowlin is a senior agent at Aevitas Creative Management which she joined in 2017. Before becoming an agent, she was an editor of literary fiction and nonfiction at Riverhead Books and Henry Holt & Company where she edited the acclaimed writers Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Sheila Heti... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Chen

Wendy Chen

Instructor
Wendy Chen is the author of the novel Their Divine Fires (Algonquin) and the poetry collection Unearthings (Tavern Books). She is the editor of Figure 1, associate editor-in-chief of Tupelo Quarterly, and prose editor of Tupelo Press. Her poetry translations of Song-dynasty... Read More →
avatar for Shana Kelly

Shana Kelly

Instructor
Shana Kelly started her career as a literary agent at the William Morris Agency in New York and London, where she sold foreign and British rights for the agency for ten years. Shana was the signing agent for many successful authors, including New York Times bestseller Curtis Sittenfeld... Read More →
Friday June 14, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

1:30pm MDT

How to Wrangle a Cloud
Friday June 14, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
This craft seminar will be a discussion of all the techniques and serendipities that go into bringing a story idea from the initial burst of inspiration to the finished product. We’ll cover how to find and develop good material in the face of uncertainty, time constraints, and a lack of confidence. Special emphasis will be placed on the writer's experience of joy while writing, and plenty of time will be available for questions and answers throughout the course of the seminar.
Speakers
avatar for Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Visiting Author
Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s most recent book is the story collection, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You (One World, 2021), a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and longlisted for the Story Prize. His first book... Read More →
Friday June 14, 2024 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:30pm MDT

Lighthouse Faculty Showcase
Friday June 14, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm MDT
Grab a refreshment and hear readings from recently published works by Lighthouse faculty members.
Friday June 14, 2024 4:30pm - 5:30pm MDT
Beacon Hall

4:30pm MDT

Lighthouse Faculty Showcase
Friday June 14, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Grab a refreshment and hear readings from recently published works by Lighthouse faculty members. 
Friday June 14, 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall

6:00pm MDT

https://lighthousewriters.org/workshop/lit-fest-closing-party
Friday June 14, 2024 6:00pm - 8:00pm MDT
Help us toast the closing of another year of Lit Fest with delicious food and drinks with new and old friends.
Friday June 14, 2024 6:00pm - 8:00pm MDT
Beacon Hall
 
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