At a Big 5 publisher, over sixty people help bring a book into the world. For academic, small press, and self-publishers, the hands may be fewer but the volume of work remains the same. Book publishing expert Brandi Larsen demystifies the publishing process and shares how a book is made and what you can do to get in the pipeline—from manuscript to bestseller to perennial backlist and beyond.

The sestina is a complicated breath of fresh air. It is ancient and modern. It conveys wit and candor while telling a story. In this workshop, you will learn tips for mastering the sestina and leave having crafted one of your own. Along the way you will strengthen your language skills and learn formal techniques that will help you improve no matter kind of writing you do. This is for intermediate/advanced writers.

Trying to find the "life" of a character you're working on? A plot idea you need to "see" on it's feet? This workshop will address these and other craft questions using Improv Theatre games and exercises that focus on spontaneity, collaboration, and the joys of bringing your unique voice to your work. We will collaborate as a class to support ideas, choices, and create a sense of play. Whether you’re a performer, banker, comedian, graphic designer, public speaker, sales rep or lawyer, improv is a terrific tool for thinking quickly on your feet and taking risks in your seat.

This class will provide a glimpse into what it means to be a memoir writer. What are the tools memoirists use to turn their lives into stories? How do you compassionately write about your family? What do you do when you don’t remember what happened or don't 100% trust your memory? Finally, and most importantly, does everything you write have to be true? This overview will leave you with ideas to help guide your writing and a reading list for exploring more.

UPDATE: The instructor for the session 1 workshop Practical Principles for Writing Poems is no longer able to facilitate the class, so we have replaced it with one similar in content. DESCRIPTION: Poetry is as deeply pervasive as dark matter, as universal as light and found simply in a chicory blossom growing from cracks in sidewalk concrete. This craft talk will help us notice the poetry always around us and how to take note of what we notice. It will include examples of how the numinous exist in the ordinary and will also include some writing prompts. Come prepared to have your mind blown