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LIT FEST

A month-long virtual workshop literary festival

Winter

GENRE FEST

GENRE FEST is a month-long literary virtual event full of workshops hosted by talented genre writers in the literary world to raise funds to help us with expenses for AWP. Instead of just creating a fundraiser, we wanted to give back to the literary community in ways we knew would be helpful (and affordable!) to all writers. Each workshop is $10, so if you are interested in only attending one or two, you can add them a la carte. Each workshop will last 45-90 minutes. We’re extremely excited to kick off this month-long fundraising event and hope you can join us!

Workshops Schedule

She Doesn’t Smile for You: A Woman’s unfiltered body through confessional poetry

Taught, by Em Fullenwider, this workshop will dive into the genre of confessional poetry and how it works. We will be looking at specific poems on a woman’s body that show it in the way media refuses to acknowledge or present praise or kindness towards. We will look at poets who are well known for being women who write about their own body or other women’s bodies in a striking way. Then discuss how the form of a confessional poem relates and blooms this topic. Some of the poets in discussion: Sharon Olds, Lucille Clifton, Anne Sexton, etc.

2.9 | 2pm CST

Exploring Divine Desire and Erotic Ecstasy

Taught by Isra Cheema, this workshop will dive into the intersection of erotica and the divine/religion. Poetry and erotica have always worked in tandem, but how do we as writers weave godly themes into our fantasies? We will be examining poems by Sappho, Lucille Clifton, Rumi, Mary Oliver, Ibn Al-Arabi, Pablo Neruda, and more. Then, we will work through generative exercises to write our own poems of religion, ecstasy, religious ecstasy, and everything in between.

2.16 | 7pm CST

Shapes of Horror

Taught by Kolton Ammerman, this generative workshop will cover the foundations of contemporary and literary horror. From the importance of strong characterization to the utilization of the "uncanny," we will discuss the narrative shapes used in horror fiction, and review horror genre cliches to subvert them into something more personal. There will be generative exercises for writers of all levels to learn from. So come join us in exploring the dark!

2.10 | 7pm CST

Still Spooky: Modernizing Gothic Tropes

Taught by Rebecca Cuthbert, this workshop is designed to cover the Gothic aesthetic with a look at settings in Gothic texts, including Jane Eyre, The Hacienda, and Sundial. In addition, it will cover gothic tropes, must-haves for gothic works, and generative writing time and discussion. 

2.17 | 7pm EST

Once Upon a Time: Making Fairy Tales New

Taught by Charlie Tobin, this workshop will focus on discussing and writing contemporary fairy tales. Looking at excerpts from contemporary writers, we will discuss some of the formal elements of fairy tale (both contemporary and classic), how fairy tale can be explored through different interpretive lenses, and ways we can lean into and/or subvert fairy tale tropes as we create new stories. All styles and genres welcome. 

2.11 | 10am CST

Monstrous Fiction: Crafting Human Stories

Taught by Mike Zendejas, this generative workshop seeks to discover everything monsters can
teach us about being human. From Frankenstein to The Shape of Water, these creatures have
much to say about the virtue of disobedience and our right to be imperfect. Writers of all levels
are encouraged to join as we explore ghosts, ghouls and goblins, and learn what they can offer
our stories!

2.18 | 12pm EST

Meet The Workshop Leaders

RSVP for Workshops
* a la carte 

(All times are in CST or EST. To view specific times, click on each event.) 

  • Sun, Nov 19
    Virtual Event
    Nov 19, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
    Virtual Event
  • Sat, Oct 21
    Virtual Event
    Oct 21, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM CDT
    Virtual Event
  • Thu, Mar 09
    Blarney Stone Pub
    Mar 09, 2023, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
    Blarney Stone Pub, 1416 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
    Join us at Blarney Stone to hear from a panel of talented prose and poetry writers brought to you by two Houston-based literature and arts organizations, Defunkt Magazine and Bloomsday Literary.
  • Sat, Feb 18
    Online Workshop
    Feb 18, 2023, 12:00 PM EST
    Online Workshop
    Taught by Mike Zendejas, this generative workshop seeks to discover everything monsters can teach us about being human.
  • Fri, Feb 17
    Virtual Workshop
    Feb 17, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
    Virtual Workshop
    This workshop is perfect for writers of all stages interested in gothic writing, from the must-haves to gothic tropes to generative exercises.
  • Thu, Feb 16
    Virtual Workshop
    Feb 16, 2023, 7:00 PM CST
    Virtual Workshop
    Taught by Isra Cheema, this workshop will dive into the intersection of erotica and the divine/religion.
  • Sat, Feb 11
    Virtual Workshop
    Feb 11, 2023, 10:00 AM
    Virtual Workshop
    Taught by Charlie Tobin, this workshop will focus on discussing and writing contemporary fairy tales.
  • Fri, Feb 10
    Virtual Workshop
    Feb 10, 2023, 7:00 PM CST
    Virtual Workshop
    Taught by Kolton Ammerman, this generative workshop will cover the foundations of contemporary and literary horror.
  • Thu, Feb 09
    Virtual Workshop
    Feb 09, 2023, 2:00 PM CST
    Virtual Workshop
    Taught, by Em Fullenwider, this workshop will dive into the genre of confessional poetry and how it works.
  • Sun, Feb 05
    Virtual Reading
    Feb 05, 2023, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
    Virtual Reading
    Join us for our first-ever virtual chapbook reading and hear from the 3 chapbook winners of our 2022 contest---Daniel Rodriguez, Robyn Groth, and SG Huerta. All three will read from their books with a Q+A at the end to answer any questions you may have.
  • Fri, Oct 28
    Houston
    Oct 28, 2022, 7:00 PM
    Houston, 711 Heights Blvd suite b, Houston, TX 77007, USA
    This hybrid in-person and virtual event will be a fantastic time! There will be readings from three incredible writers: Aris Kian Brown, Natasha Carrizosa, Jennifer Sperry Steinorth and an open mic available to all to read their work!
  • Mon, Oct 24
    Online Workshop
    Oct 24, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    BtVS executes dreams in a fascinating way, including memorable nonsensical characters like The Cheese Man. In this workshop, we will move through a few short prompts to culminate in writing a longer dream sequence inspired poem.
  • Fri, Oct 21
    Online Workshop
    Oct 21, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This generative workshop will take inspiration from monster of the week style of episodic television. We will use cryptids for inspiration to have a ready-made setting and character. We will move through a few prompts to explore where a cryptid can take writing.
  • Thu, Oct 20
    Online Workshop
    Oct 20, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This workshop centers around queering characters, plot, subject, form, and dialogue. For this workshop and the viewer’s own usage, the word “queer” defines anything that goes against “normal” conventions and heteronormativity.
  • Tue, Oct 18
    Online Workshop
    Oct 18, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This workshop will consider how breaking a traditional form can make room for those often excluded from literary cannons. We will learn the form and discuss Choi’s “Hangul Abecedarian”s to create our own meaning through breaking the form.
  • Mon, Oct 17
    Online Workshop
    Oct 17, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This generative workshop will consider self portrait poems by Chen Chen, t a greathouse, etc. We will discuss these works and their approach to creating an image of the self through words. After, we will move through a few prompts to culminate in pieces of a portrait poem.
  • Thu, Oct 13
    Online Workshop
    Oct 13, 2022, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This workshop is designed to teach writers how to blend the Fantastical, Magic, and Paranormal elements into their works and discuss how this can be beneficial to your storytelling and overall messaging. We will take a look at the works of Carmen Machado, Karen Russell, Megan Milks, etc.
  • Tue, Oct 11
    Online Workshop
    Oct 11, 2022, 6:30 PM
    Online Workshop
    This workshop will consider how breaking a traditional form can make room for those often excluded from literary cannons. We will learn the form and discuss Choi’s “Hangul Abecedarian”s to create our own meaning through breaking the form.

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