WORKSHOPS AT BOOKFEST: The Oct. 19-21 bookfest in Casper has a whopper of an official title: “The ARTCORE/Casper College Literary Conference presents the Equality State Book Festival.” That’s a mouthful, so “bookfest” will do in a pinch. The literary conference (“litconf”) part of the three-day event features writing workshops on Thursday and Friday (Oct. 19-20) by members of the University of Wyoming M.F.A. creative writing program: Alyson Hagy, Vicki Lindner, Jeff Lockwood, and Craig Arnold. These four writers have published scores of books and have received many honors, including NEA and WAC writing fellowships, and the Rome Prize. If that weren’t enough, on Saturday morning (Oct, 21), WAC fellowship judge Rosemary Daniell will conduct one of her lively Zona Rosa Writing Workshops. I’m an alumnus of one of these workshops held a few years ago in Laramie. Rosemary has a way of encouraging writers to dig deep for those themes and impulses that can radically improve any piece of writing. Zona Rosa boasts a fine list of alumni, mostly from the South and a few of us who claim mixed heritage (Western and Southern). She also conducts workshops annually in Europe. Keep all this in mind as you register for the litconf workshops that you’ll have to pay for but will be well worth it. Also look for Rosemary’s book, “Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives,” set for release later this month. FMI: Michael Shay, WAC, 307-777-5234.
- posted by Michael Shay @ 8:57 AM