Schedule

Friday September 11

Chill Switch Wines Social Hour 6:00 - 7:00pm

Voices from the Grand Mesa Writer’s Symposium - 7:00 - 8:00pm

Come meet and mingle with our Symposium speakers at this kickoff event. During the social hour, you will have a chance to informally meet with speakers and attendees, with light snacks and drinks.  At 7pm, our Symposium speakers will do short readings from their works. 

 

Bookstore Open Friday 6:00 - 8:00pm

 

Saturday September 12

Workshops 9:00 - 10:30am

1) Bill Wright: Where Poetry Can Come From and Where It Can Go

2) Craig Childs: This is Really Happening

3) Claire Boyles: Writing As Play

 

Workshops 11:00 - 12:30pm

1) Kierstin Bridger: Meet Me at the Corner of Memoir and Verse

2) Amy Irvine: Joy is the River to Run

3) Laura Resau: The Alchemy of Character: How to Bring Imaginary People to Life,

 

12:30-2pm LUNCH BREAK

 

Workshops 2:00 - 3:30pm

1) Wendy Videlock: Rhythm, Poetry and Wild Animal Wisdom

2) Emily Sinclair: Micro Memoir

3) Shelley Read: Wandering & Wondering: Perception & Place in Fiction

 

Workshops 4:00 - 5:30pm

On Building a Career and Creative Life in your genre

Join our speakers in informal discussions about how their careers and creative lives unfolded, important milestones along the way, and lessons they’ve learned about how to build a fulfilling creative life. These conversations will include ample time for you to ask the speakers your burning questions about their careers, work and creative advice.

1) Kiersten Bridger and Wendy Videlock Moderator: Rene' Janiece

2) Craig Childs and Amy Irvine Moderator: Emily Sinclair

3) Paolo Bacigalupi, Claire Boyles and Shelley Read moderator: Arvin Ramgoolam

 

Dinner discussions- 5:45 - 7:00pm  offsite restaurants

Sign up for a small dinner group to socialize and discuss the day’s work. Each group is a reserved table for six, with a designated conversation host (workshop instructors and designated friends of the Symposium). Signups are first come, first serve at check-in.

 

Keynote: Writing With A Sense of Place 7:00 - 8:30pm

This headline event showcases our three keynote speakers — Paolo Bacigalupi, Kierstin Bridger and Craig Childs. Each author will read a selection from their latest books and offer insights into how they created these works. Christie Aschwanden will moderate a conversation between the writers about how sense of place informs their writing, the genesis of their featured creative works and the ins and outs of their creative process. 

A book signing will take place immediately following this event.

 

Bookstore open Saturday:  8:30am - 5:00pm and 7:00 - 9:00pm

 

Sunday September 13

Open Mic 9:00-10:45am  - Theater

Coffee and pastries available, doors open at 8:30am.

 

Sunday morning Closing Keynote: How to build a creative practice when life interferes - 11:00am

Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and author and essayist Christie Aschwanden host Emerging Form, a podcast (also heard on KVNF radio) about creative process. In this final keynote, they will talk about their own creative practices and what they’ve learned from talking to more than 100 creative professionals over the seven years they’ve been doing the show. The discussion will explore strategies to build a creative practice amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Rosemerry has been writing a daily poem for more than 20 years, and Christie has blogged at Last Word On Nothing for more than 15 years. This discussion will build on the workshops and talks from the previous days.

Theater

 

Bookstore open Sunday 8:30am - 1:00pm