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Lit Fest 2025
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Friday, June 13
 

9:00am MDT

Advanced Weeklong Workshop
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 11:30am MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Advanced weeklong workshops include those with Steve Almond, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Eduardo Corral, Paul Harding, Mat Johnson, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Elizabeth McCracken, Eileen Myles, Helen Phillips, Tony Tulathimutte, and Matthew Zapruder.
Friday June 13, 2025 9:00am - 11:30am MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  All Genres

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Lit-Mag Landscape
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Countless writers have gotten their start by publishing in literary magazines, from university-run journals to flagship publications. How do you join their ranks? Our panel of editors will survey the state of lit mags and how you can navigate the landscape confidently, and with hope. You’ll learn about the submission process, how to choose the right publications and deal with rejections, and ways to improve your chance of getting noticed. You’ll leave better informed and ready to submit.
Speakers
avatar for Alexander Lumans

Alexander Lumans

Instructor
Alexander Lumans was awarded a 2018 NEA Creative Writing Grant in Fiction. He received fellowships in 2015 and 2024 for expeditions with The Arctic Circle Residency and he was the Spring 2014 Philip Roth Resident at Bucknell University. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in... Read More →
avatar for Paul M. French

Paul M. French

Editor
Paul M. French is the editor and founder of Denverse Magazine, a local print and online quarterly dedicated to showcasing Mile High arts and culture. He is the former executive editor of Innovation & Tech Today, and his work has been featured in Wired and the Denver Quarterly... Read More →
avatar for Hillary Brenhouse

Hillary Brenhouse

Instructor/Editor
Hillary Brenhouse is a Montreal-based writer and the editor and publisher of Elastic, the print magazine of psychedelic art and literature, which debuted in March 2025 with support from Harvard and UC Berkeley. She was previously the editor-in-chief of Guernica magazine and the editorial director of Bold Type Books. Much of her career in books and magazines has... Read More →
avatar for Lena Valencia

Lena Valencia

Editor
Lena Valencia is the author of the short story collection Mystery Lights (Tin House Books). Her fiction has appeared in BOMB, The Baffler, Electric Literature, Ninth Letter, Epiphany, the anthology Tiny Nightmares, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a 2019 Elizabeth George Foundation... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Chen

Wendy Chen

Editor
Wendy Chen is the author of the novel Their Divine Fires (Algonquin) and the poetry collection Unearthings (Tavern Books). Her poetry translations of Song-dynasty woman writer Li Qingzhao are published in The Magpie at Night from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She is the editor of Witness... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Publishing/Career

12:00pm MDT

Lunchtime Business Panel: Lit-Mag Landscape (Livestream)
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Zoom
Register
Countless writers have gotten their start by publishing in literary magazines, from university-run journals to flagship publications. How do you join their ranks? Our panel of editors will survey the state of lit mags and how you can navigate the landscape confidently, and with hope. You’ll learn about the submission process, how to choose the right publications and deal with rejections, and ways to improve your chance of getting noticed. You’ll leave better informed and ready to submit.
Speakers
avatar for Alexander Lumans

Alexander Lumans

Instructor
Alexander Lumans was awarded a 2018 NEA Creative Writing Grant in Fiction. He received fellowships in 2015 and 2024 for expeditions with The Arctic Circle Residency and he was the Spring 2014 Philip Roth Resident at Bucknell University. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in... Read More →
avatar for Paul M. French

Paul M. French

Editor
Paul M. French is the editor and founder of Denverse Magazine, a local print and online quarterly dedicated to showcasing Mile High arts and culture. He is the former executive editor of Innovation & Tech Today, and his work has been featured in Wired and the Denver Quarterly... Read More →
avatar for Hillary Brenhouse

Hillary Brenhouse

Instructor/Editor
Hillary Brenhouse is a Montreal-based writer and the editor and publisher of Elastic, the print magazine of psychedelic art and literature, which debuted in March 2025 with support from Harvard and UC Berkeley. She was previously the editor-in-chief of Guernica magazine and the editorial director of Bold Type Books. Much of her career in books and magazines has... Read More →
avatar for Lena Valencia

Lena Valencia

Editor
Lena Valencia is the author of the short story collection Mystery Lights (Tin House Books). Her fiction has appeared in BOMB, The Baffler, Electric Literature, Ninth Letter, Epiphany, the anthology Tiny Nightmares, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a 2019 Elizabeth George Foundation... Read More →
avatar for Wendy Chen

Wendy Chen

Editor
Wendy Chen is the author of the novel Their Divine Fires (Algonquin) and the poetry collection Unearthings (Tavern Books). Her poetry translations of Song-dynasty woman writer Li Qingzhao are published in The Magpie at Night from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She is the editor of Witness... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 12:00pm - 1:00pm MDT
Zoom
  Publishing/Career

1:30pm MDT

In the Trenches with Historical Fiction
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
In historical fiction, you want to stay true to the period but resonate with modern readers. To feel like life, not a history book. So, how do our characters’ words capture the era? How does society decree they will relate to each other? Can you create an accurate world without overwhelming description? We'll explore shaping dialogue, choosing vocabulary, and making the best use of our research. Whether you have an idea or a first draft, bring your characters to the workshop and be prepared to write.
Speakers
avatar for Terri Lewis

Terri Lewis

Instructor
Terri Lewis fell in love with medieval history in college. Not the dates or wars, but the mysterious daily lives of the people. Building on this love, she read and traveled widely, and finally, two sentences in a book bought at Windsor Castle led her to write her debut novel, Behold... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Fiction

1:30pm MDT

How to Publish A Book While Staying (Reasonably) Sane
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
If you’re ready to publish your book, but have no idea how do that, this is the class for you. We'll discuss different pathways for publishing a book; including finding an agent or working without one, submitting your manuscript to publication contests, or self-publishing. We'll learn how to query agents and publishers, how to find comp titles for your book, when you need to write a book proposal, and share useful websites and resources that will support you along your journey to publication.
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 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Fiction   Nonfiction/Memoir   Publishing/Career

1:30pm MDT

Taking it Off the Nose: Using Dialogue to Show Conflict and Develop Character (V)
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Zoom
Register
Great dialogue is more about what is not said than what is said. This workshop explores how to listen to conversations, reveal character, and leave intentional gaps to make your dialogue something that doesn’t simply explicate or move plot. We’ll explore a few good examples and practice a bit. Intermediate or above. Nonfiction and fiction writers welcome. Plan to practice writing.
Speakers
avatar for Karen Auvinen

Karen Auvinen

Instructor
Karen Auvinen (she/her/hers) is poet, mountain woman, life-long westerner, writer, and the author of the memoir Rough Beauty: Forty Seasons of Mountain Living, a finalist for the 2019 Colorado Book Award. Her body of work traverses the intersection of landscape and place, examining... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Zoom
  Fiction   Nonfiction/Memoir

1:30pm MDT

Details That Matter
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Is the sofa in your story gold or green? Does it matter? Yes, it actually does. In this seminar, we’ll work on creating specific details that add meaning and depth to your story. Specificity leads to subtext. Subtext leads to richness. The sofa is gold for a reason. Everybody wins!
Speakers
avatar for William Haywood Henderson

William Haywood Henderson

Instructor
William Haywood Henderson earned a BA in English from the University of California at Berkeley, an MA in creative writing from Brown University, and attended Stanford University as a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing. He is the author of three novels: Native, The Rest of... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Fiction   Nonfiction/Memoir   Poetry   Hybrid   Dramatic Writing

1:30pm MDT

Finding the Agency in Your Memoir
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
One of memoir’s biggest challenges is managing the relationship between our voices now and who we were in the past. We spend years playing with the ideas in our memoirs, writing, rewriting, but when we get to the end we realize that the memoir we’ve written isn’t the book we wanted to write. This craft seminar will explore strategies for staying engaged in our own journeys, and doing that hard thing that the best memoirists have mastered: aligning who “you” are now with the “you” of the past on the page.
Speakers
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Nonfiction/Memoir

1:30pm MDT

Making the Personal Universal: Five Ways to Connect Your Story to a Wider Audience
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
When you're writing personal essays and memoir, you want to make sure the story resonates with readers whose experiences aren't identical to your own. You need to create entry points and moments of recognition that keep people connected and turning the page. In this craft seminar, we'll walk through five strategies to connect your work with a wider audience. We'll look at relevant examples and work through a few writing prompts.
Speakers
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 →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Nonfiction/Memoir

1:30pm MDT

Writing Family Members as Characters
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Who, reading Melissa Febos's memoirs, could fail to imagine her storytelling, seafaring, nightmare-plagued father? Who, reading Meredith Talusan, can forget her doting grandmother? When we write memoir, our characters are often drawn from the people we love, the people we know best—those about whom we may have said our whole lives, “They’re such characters!” So why is it that sometimes those characters appear the blurriest in our drafts? Is it possible that how close we are to someone might be the very thing that complicates turning them into an effective character? Drawing from work by writers like Sarah Broom, Kiese Laymon, Alicia Elliot, and more, we’ll analyze how they achieved the distance necessary to bring their all-too-real family members to life as characters on the page and discuss writing exercises useful for rendering our own.
Speakers
avatar for Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Visiting Author
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich is the author of The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, which received a Lambda Literary Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the Grand Prix des Lectrices Elle, the Prix des Libraires du Quebec, and the Prix France Inter-JDD. It has been translated into 11 languages... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Nonfiction/Memoir

1:30pm MDT

A Circle Is God Saying Yes: Strategies for Rethinking Revision
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
In this craft seminar, we’ll enlarge and complicate what we mean when we say “revision”. Revision isn’t just reworking language, it’s part of the poet’s practice. One should never be satisfied with the first gift: the language that arrives first. Poets should aspire to more surprising imagery and phrasing. During our conversation, we’ll put pressure on notions of attentiveness, notebooking, reading, the poetic line, sentence patterns, imagery, and language itself. How do we notice and internalize the things of the world? How can we be more attentive to our attentiveness? We’ll practice a few revision strategies during our time together and discuss the importance of wonder and bewilderment in a poet’s life.
Speakers
avatar for Eduardo Corral

Eduardo Corral

Visiting Author
Eduardo C. Corral is the son of Mexican immigrants. Graywolf Press published his second book, Guillotine, in 2020. His first book, Slow Lightning, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. His poems have appeared in Ambit, New England Review, The New Republic, Ploughshares... Read More →
Friday June 13, 2025 1:30pm - 3:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  Poetry

4:30pm MDT

Community Book Fair and Reading
Friday June 13, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Speakers
MI
Friday June 13, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  All Genres

5:30pm MDT

Closing Party
Friday June 13, 2025 5:30pm - 7:30pm MDT
Lighthouse
Register
Speakers
MI
Friday June 13, 2025 5:30pm - 7:30pm MDT
Lighthouse 3870 York Street Denver, CO 80205
  All Genres
 
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