Lit Fest 2025

Lit Fest 2025

9:00am MDT

Create Your Novel's Bible LighthouseJan Thomas Writing Beyond Walls: Resilience and Difficult Subject Matter LighthouseHillary Leftwich Tuning In: Using Music and Playlists to Develop Character in Prose LighthouseAnthony D'Aries Words that Woo: Literary Activism (V) ZoomEllen Blum Barish The Art of the Crónica (V) ZoomJavier Sinay Three Paths to Publishing Your Poetry Book LighthouseRadha Marcum In Retrospect LighthouseAustin Segrest Author Websites 101: Your Guide to Designing, Branding, and Launching Your Successful Site LighthouseHR Hegnauer

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Beyond Big Book Publishing—Hybrid, Indie, Self LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Beyond Big Book Publishing—Hybrid, Indie, Self (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

Welcome to the Sh*t Show: Your Inciting Incident LighthouseErika Krouse Queer(ing) Images for Our Futures LighthouseKanika Agrawal Erasures, Lacunae, and Voids: Writing What's Not There LighthouseSasha Geffen Creating Our Personal Language (V) ZoomOso Guardiola I'll Follow You Into the Dark: Letting the Unknown Drive Your Personal Narrative LighthouseGina DeMillo Wagner Structure and the Art of Not-Knowing in the Creative Nonfiction Book LighthouseClaire Dederer Structure and the Art of Not-Knowing in the Creative Nonfiction Book (Livestream) ZoomClaire Dederer The Art of Condensary LighthouseAlyse Knorr Site/Visit: Writing with the Land LighthouseCass Eddington

4:00pm MDT

Dynamic Scenes LighthouseErika Krouse Write a Happy Story LighthouseNick Arvin Developing Writing Habits LighthousePoupeh Missaghi Vocational Poetics: Working, Writing, Calling Out LighthouseCass Eddington The Importance of Gaps (V) ZoomKaren Auvinen "Tell Me What You Really Think: Writing Dialogue" LighthouseAlexander Lumans Asking Questions (V) ZoomElizabeth Robinson A Talk Against Goodness LighthouseSolmaz Sharif

5:00pm MDT

Writing in Color/Queer Creatives Welcome Hour LighthouseMultiple Instructors

6:15pm MDT

Advanced Weekend Workshop Orientation LighthouseMultiple Instructors

7:00pm MDT

Turn the Page with Colorado Matters and Kristin Koval LighthouseMultiple Instructors

8:30am MDT

Advanced Weekend Nonfiction Intensive: In Pursuit of the Story with Nicole Chung LighthouseNicole Chung Advanced Weekend Poetry Intensive with Solmaz Sharif LighthouseSolmaz Sharif

9:00am MDT

Art of Creative Research (V) ZoomLadane Nasseri Managing the Middle: How to Not Lose Readers Along the Way LighthouseKristin Koval When Everything Changed: Writing Your Marker Story (V) ZoomEllen Blum Barish Oracle Poetry: Pushing the Veil Between the Spirit Realm and Our Writing (V) LighthouseHillary Leftwich Two-Day Intensive: Breaking the Surface—Revision LighthouseWilliam Haywood Henderson Two-Day Intensive: Strange Story Structures LighthouseErika Krouse Two-Day Intensive: Finish It! Perspective and Persistence (V) ZoomKhadijah Queen Two-Day Intensive: Experiments in Form—Audre Lorde LighthouseSuzi Q. Smith

10:00am MDT

Queer Creatives Brunch LighthouseMultiple Instructors

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Your Agent Itinerary: Tips for Representation (V) ZoomMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Your Agent Itinerary—Tips for Representation LighthouseMultiple Instructors

1:00pm MDT

Two-Day Intensive: Defining the Indefinable—Learning Description from Samantha Harvey's Orbital LighthouseAlexander Lumans Two-Day Intensive: Asking The Oracle | Divination As Discipline LighthouseSarah Elizabeth Schantz Two-Day Intensive: "I Read it in One Sitting"—On Pacing LighthouseAnna Qu

1:30pm MDT

Facing Fears: Flash Fiction, Prose Poetry, and Hybrid Forms LighthouseJuan J. Morales ChatGPT Is My Secretary (V) ZoomErika Krouse Scansion Blast LighthouseDavid Rothman Advanced Weekend Nonfiction Intensive: Fighting Overwhelm with Claire Dederer LighthouseClaire Dederer Advanced Weekend Fiction Intensive: Writers and Readers with Katie Kitamura LighthouseKatie Kitamura

4:00pm MDT

Everyday Objects, Luminous Things LighthousePeter Markus Cultivate Your Metaphors LighthouseTeow Lim Goh Learning Craft Techniques from Literature in Translation LighthousePoupeh Missaghi Rhyme: Crime or Sublime? LighthouseDavid Rothman How to Build Your Niche as a Poet (V) ZoomYuyutsu Sharma

5:30pm MDT

Faculty Showcase LighthouseMultiple Instructors

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading: Nicole Chung, Claire Dederer, Katie Kitamura, and Solmaz Sharif LighthouseMultiple Instructors Visiting Authors Reading: Nicole Chung, Claire Dederer, Katie Kitamura, and Solmaz Sharif (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

9:00am MDT

Art Writing, Writing Art (Livestream) ZoomKatie Kitamura Art Writing, Writing Art LighthouseKatie Kitamura Writing Food LighthousePoupeh Missaghi Intimate Strangers: Writing the Family (V) ZoomLadane Nasseri Equanimity and the Long-Lined Poem (V) ZoomSawnie Morris

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Truth of Writing About Our Families, Friends, and Other Real People—Permission and Consequences LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Truth of Writing About Our Families, Friends, and Other Real People—Permission and Consequences (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

Drama-rama: Conflict and Dramatic Questions LighthouseErika Krouse Perchance to Dream: Crafting Our Dreams Into Poems (V) ZoomSawnie Morris

5:00pm MDT

Advanced Weeklong Workshop Orientation LighthouseMultiple Instructors

6:00pm MDT

Lit Fest Kickoff Party LighthouseMultiple Instructors

9:00am MDT

Literary Lightning: Finding the Poetry in Your Prose (V) ZoomEllen Blum Barish Advanced Weeklong Workshop Lighthouse

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Getting Past the Gatekeepers LighthouseJenny Shank • Multiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Getting Past the Gatekeepers (Livestream) ZoomJenny Shank • Multiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

How to Create Unforgettable Characters (Livestream) ZoomSteve Almond How to Create Unforgettable Characters LighthouseSteve Almond The Laundry Line (V) ZoomNatalie Hodges Borderless: Writing Against Containment LighthouseKanika Agrawal So You Want to Go Indie LighthouseCynthia Swanson Symbolism and Metaphor: They Aren’t Just For Fiction (V) ZoomAngelique Stevens Tragedy Plus Time: Writing Traumedy LighthouseElissa Bassist My Own Alphabet LighthouseSarah Elizabeth Schantz Just Two Poems LighthouseLynn Wagner Practical Publishing: Journals as Models for Your Work LighthouseHillary Leftwich

4:00pm MDT

Writing in Color Presents: Finding the Ghost LighthouseIngrid Rojas Contreras Writing Thrillers LighthouseCarter Wilson Building the Writer's Notebook LighthouseJenny Shank Channeling Palimpsest in Your Writing LighthouseMalinda Miller The Big Voice: How to Amplify Your Narratives LighthouseSarah Elizabeth Schantz Writing the Self: Considerations of Character, Perspective, and Scene (V) ZoomKaren Auvinen The Art of Iteration: How to Revise Your Poetry Manuscript LighthouseRadha Marcum Lament (V) ZoomElizabeth Robinson

4:30pm MDT

First Draft Live: The Debut Journey LighthouseMultiple Instructors

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading: Mat Johnson, Alex Marzano-Lesnevitch, and Elizabeth McCracken LighthouseMultiple Instructors Visiting Authors Reading: Visiting Authors Reading: Mat Johnson, Alex Marzano-Lesnevitch, and Elizabeth McCracken (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

9:00am MDT

The Radical Four-Act Eastern Storytelling Structure (V) ZoomHenry Lien Advanced Weeklong Workshop Lighthouse

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Perfect Pairing LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Perfect Pairing (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

The Murder Book: A Roadmap to Writing Killer Fiction LighthouseBarbara Nickless The Power of Description LighthousePaul Harding Diving Into the Wreck—Finding Your Obsessions LighthouseWilliam Haywood Henderson The Art of Literary Submission LighthouseJenny Shank Letter to a Stranger LighthouseAlexander Lumans How to Be Less Afraid of Omniscient Point of View LighthouseAndrea Bobotis The Power of Description (Livestream) ZoomPaul Harding Say Less: Reading and Writing Minimal Poems LighthouseKanika Agrawal

4:00pm MDT

Beyond First and Third: Playing with Perspectives LighthouseJenny Shank Short Stories Explained LighthouseMary Robinette Kowal Place-Based Writing (V) ZoomKaren Auvinen How to Write Riveting Scenes LighthouseSteve Almond Find Your Unique Style LighthouseWilliam Haywood Henderson To Outline or Blast Ahead? That is the Question LighthouseCynthia Swanson The Rhetorical Hallway LighthouseMatthew Zapruder Two-Day Intensive: Word, Sound, and Power (V) ZoomAndré O. Hoilette

4:30pm MDT

Lit Fest Fellows Reading LighthouseMultiple Instructors

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading: Steve Almond, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Eduardo Corral, and Paul Harding LighthouseMultiple Instructors Visiting Authors Reading: Steve Almond, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Eduardo Corral, and Paul Harding (Livestream) ZooomMultiple Instructors

8:30pm MDT

Reading Den at Lit Fest Lighthouse

9:00am MDT

Non-Linear Structures from Non-Western Storytelling (V) ZoomHenry Lien Advanced Weeklong Workshop Lighthouse

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Book Launch, Behind the Scenes LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Book Launch, Behind the Scenes (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

Novel Whispering: How To Finish a Novel LighthouseMat Johnson A Premise is Not a Promise: Thriving After the First Sentence LighthouseAlexander Lumans Write Livelihood: Making a Living as a Writer (V) ZoomCaryn Mirriam-Goldberg Close, Close (Close) Third Person LighthouseErika Krouse The Situation and the Story (V) ZoomNatalie Hodges How to Hook a Reader in Your First Ten Pages LighthouseRachel Weaver Story as Scrapbook: Structuring Prose with Documents, Letters, Journal Entries, and Articles LighthouseJenny Shank 10 Photos and a Dog LighthouseEileen Myles Poems for Garden and Forest LighthouseLynn Wagner Why Rhyme (V) ZoomJodie Hollander

4:00pm MDT

Create a Moment, Create a World LighthouseHelen Phillips Fiction Stuckshop LighthouseAmanda Rea The Animal Kingdom (V) ZoomDaniel Levine Freelance Writing: Getting Started and Building your Career LighthouseJenny Shank Endings: How to Wrap Things Up LighthouseMary Robinette Kowal Up Front: Exploring and Making Poem Titles LighthouseLynn Wagner Two-Day Intensive: Comedic Memoir LighthouseElissa Bassist

4:30pm MDT

The Book Project Showcase Lighthouse The Book Project Showcase Lighthouse

7:00pm MDT

Writing in Color Trivia Night with Black People Know Things LighthouseMultiple Instructors

9:00am MDT

Live in the Layers: Mindfulness and Writing (V) ZoomCaryn Mirriam-Goldberg Advanced Weeklong Workshop Lighthouse

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Late-Breaking Publishing World LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Late-Breaking Publishing World (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

Writing into the Time-Space Expanse: A Psychedelic Lit Seminar LighthouseHillary Brenhouse Gravity: Thinking About Physicality in Fiction LighthouseElizabeth McCracken Gravity: Thinking About Physicality in Fiction (Livestream) ZoomElizabeth McCracken How to Write Sex Scenes without Shame LighthouseSteve Almond Writing the Law LighthouseGloria J. Browne-Marshall Imagination Station LighthouseErika Krouse Sell Essays that Boost Your Book's Potential LighthouseAmanda McCracken Using the Epistolary to Jumpstart the Poem LighthouseEmily Pérez

4:00pm MDT

Story Machine LighthouseAmanda Rea Story Machine LighthouseAmanda Rae Story Structure and Shape LighthouseDino Enrique Piacentini What Carver Teaches us About Storytelling LighthouseTony Tulathimutte Writing Cinematically: Using Moving Pictures to Tell Your Story (V) ZoomKaren Auvinen Writing Fight Scenes (V) ZoomDaniel Levine Two-Day Intensive: The Problem with Evil (V) ZoomJohn Cotter

4:30pm MDT

Poetry Collective Celebration LighthouseMultiple Instructors Poetry Collective Celebration (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

7:00pm MDT

Visiting Authors Reading: Helen Phillips, Eileen Myles, Tony Tulathimutte, and Matthew Zapruder LighthouseMultiple Instructors Visiting Authors Reading: Helen Phillips, Eileen Myles, Tony Tulathimutte, and Matthew Zapruder (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

8:30pm MDT

Reading Den at Lit Fest Lighthouse

9:00am MDT

Advanced Weeklong Workshop Lighthouse

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Lit-Mag Landscape LighthouseMultiple Instructors Lunchtime Business Panel: Lit-Mag Landscape (Livestream) ZoomMultiple Instructors

1:30pm MDT

In the Trenches with Historical Fiction LighthouseTerri Lewis How to Publish A Book While Staying (Reasonably) Sane LighthouseJenny Shank Taking it Off the Nose: Using Dialogue to Show Conflict and Develop Character (V) ZooomKaren Auvinen Details That Matter LighthouseWilliam Haywood Henderson Finding the Agency in Your Memoir LighthouseAnna Qu Making the Personal Universal: Five Ways to Connect Your Story to a Wider Audience LighthouseGina DeMillo Wagner Writing Family Members as Characters LighthouseAlex Marzano-Lesnevich A Circle Is God Saying Yes: Strategies for Rethinking Revision LighthouseEduardo Corral

4:30pm MDT

Community Book Fair and Reading LighthouseMultiple Instructors

5:30pm MDT

Closing Party LighthouseMultiple Instructors

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