Aspen Words

AWN May Meeting: The State of the Publishing Industry With Super-Agent Alia Hanna Habib
2025-05-15 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Denver) | Colorado
Thursday, May 15 at Bonfire Coffee from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The State of the Publishing Industry With Super-Agent Alia Hanna Habib
Third Thursday – May 15, at Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St., Carbondale), 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Alia Hanna Habib is a literary agent and Vice President at The Gernert Company, which she joined in 2017 after starting her publishing career as a publicist at HMH and working as an agent at McCormick Literary.
Among the New York Times-bestselling and prize-winning clients she represents are Clint Smith, Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times’ 1619 Project Book Series, Nathan Thrall, Merve Emre, Adam Serwer, Judy Batalion, and Hanif Abdurraqib. Her authors have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the LA Times Book Prize, among many others, and have been shortlisted for the Edgar Awards, PEN Awards and National Book Award.
She is on the board of n+1 literary magazine and on the creative council of Aspen Words. She was profiled by New York Magazine for their special issue on “The 49 Most Powerful New Yorkers (You’ve Never Heard Of).”
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AWN June Meeting: Member Readings
2025-06-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Thursday, June 19 at Bonfire Coffee from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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Member Readings with Optional Feedback
Third Thursday – June 19, at Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St., Carbondale), 6:30-8:30 p.m.
This month’s meeting is one of the more important ones in our schedule. It provides the opportunity for you to support your fellow writers and/or be supported. We will be having member readings with optional feedback.

Reading Rules:
· Sign up in person at the meeting
· Readings are 4 minutes max (yes, we enforce this). Please practice and time yourself.
· Constructive feedback (1 minute max) per reviewer = what you liked best + one area you suggest the writer take another look at.

AWN July Meeting: Summer Soiree
2025-07-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Thursday, July 17 at Bonfire Coffee from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Summer Soiree & Agent AMA (Ask Me Anything)
Third Thursday – July 17, at The Village Smithy – only 530 ft down Main St. from Bonfire Coffee (26 S 3rd St, Carbondale, CO 81623), 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Featuring power agent Seth Fishman for an in-person AMA.
Head of the Los Angeles office, Seth is a Vice President and agent at The Gernert Company, which he joined in 2010 after beginning his career as an agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Born in Midland, Texas, he graduated from Princeton University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.
His interests are wide-ranging, but in particular he represents authors with a new voice, an original idea, an entirely breathtaking creative angle in both fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children, and is the author of the award-winning picture book, “A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars”, along with “Power Up” and “The Ocean In Your Bathtub”, as well as two YA books
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AWN August Meeting: Craft Workshop
2025-08-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Thursday, August 21 at Bonfire Coffee from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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Award-winning author Daryl Gregory will be in person to talk about surviving the ups and downs of publishing.

AWN September Meeting– Flex Your Creativity & Expand Your Skill + A Free Journal
2025-09-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
September AWN Meeting – Flex Your Creativity & Expand Your Skill + A Free Journal
Third Thursday – September 18 at Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St., Carbondale), 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Writing prompts are a fantastic way to expand your creativity, explore new genres, and find your unique voice. So, whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith or just dipping your toes into the world of writing, come expand your artistic chops. Sharing is optional.
All attendees will receive a free journal! It’s bright red and full of blank pages to inspire you!
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AWN October Meeting - Annual Halloween meeting
2025-10-16 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
October 16 – Annual Halloween meeting. Patrick Kitson will be conducting a talk on: How to build more tension in your writing.
Patrick has been a lifelong student of the macabre, the satirical, and the intellectually dubious. Born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley, he coined the term “Valley Horror” in reference to his particular brand of homebrewed speculative fiction, which largely takes place in and around the snowy climes of Colorado. He has published three short story collections and has a novel coming out soon.
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FALL WRITING WORKSHOP WITH PETER MOUNTFORD
2025-11-02 10:00 - 15:00 | Colorado
JOIN US FOR AN ALL-DAY FALL WRITING WORKSHOP WITH PETER MOUNTFORD
MAKING MEANING IN YOUR PERSONAL ESSAY
Sunday, November 2, 2025 | 10AM to 3PM
Pitkin County Library
120 N Mill St, Aspen, CO 81611
REGISTER HERE
This all-day workshop with award-winning novelist and essayist Peter Mountford runs 10 AM–3 PM, with a lunch break from 12–1 PM.
Attendees will learn the most difficult and important skill in personal essay writing: how to make your personal story relevant to a perfect stranger. Hilary Mantel, on the difficulty of writing about oneself, said: “If other people are to care about your life, art must intervene.”
“Aboutness” is fundamental to a successful essay, yet both literary and general-publication editors frequently complain of receiving writers’ essays that don’t seem to be “about” anything. In this workshop, attendees will figure out how to select a topic, then focus and refine an essay to arc toward theme and meaning.
In the morning, the workshop will focus on choosing an essay’s seeds. These ideas should be inherently engaging from a story standpoint but also contain focused opportunities for rich thematic meaning. We will generate new writing for a few topics. Attendees will assess different ideas and talk about what each might offer in terms of story and meaning.
In the afternoon, the workshop will focus on developing one or two ideas further into a publishable work that appeals to readers. Specifically, we’ll work toward making meaning—how to write/revise toward your essay’s “aboutness.” Attendees will learn how there are several different approaches for seeking and demonstrating meaning, as we work through ideas generated in class. We’ll also learn secrets to successful essay structure.
Come prepared to brainstorm new essay ideas, bring ones you’ve been mulling over, or essays you’ve written that just aren’t working. Attendees will look at examples of how other authors have done this, including Melissa Febos, and Leslie Jamison. We will look at the first draft vs the published draft of the instructor’s Modern Love essay.
About the Instructor:

Peter Mountford is the author of A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism (winner of the Washington State Book Award) and The Dismal Science (a New York Times Editor’s Choice), as well as the short story collection Detonator. His essays and fiction have appeared in The New York Times (Modern Love), The Paris Review, The Atlantic, The Sun, and more. He teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s MFA program and through Mountford Writing.

AWN November Meeting
2025-11-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
November 20 – Lucinda Halpern will be conducting a talk on: Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author.
Lucinda Halpern is a literary agent and the founder of Lucinda Literary, based in New York. She has worked with all major publishers, including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, and Scholastic, and currently represents New York Times and internationally best-selling authors in the categories of business, personal growth, popular science, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and upmarket fiction.
Her classes and coaching programs have been taught to hundreds of writers worldwide, and became the inspiration for her new book Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author (Hay House; February 6th, 2024).
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AWN Holiday Party
2025-12-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
December 18 – Holiday party and book exchange
Join us for a festive and fun gathering! Choose a beloved book from your shelf to share with other members, or support a local business by visiting Alpenglow Books in Glenwood Springs (a new store!), White River Books in Carbondale, or Explore Booksellers in Aspen to purchase one. Dedicate the book with your most valuable piece of writing advice, and wrap it up to share at the exchange. Attendees will also have the opportunity to share quotes or sayings that inspired and encouraged them on their writer’s journey.
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Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting: Integrating Romance Into Your Story of Any Genre – By Elizabeth Boyle
2026-02-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting: Integrating Romance Into Your Story of Any Genre – By Elizabeth Boyle
February 19 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Including romance in your story without it feeling forced or sounding clunky can seem difficult and even terrifying for non-romance writers. During the next AWN meeting, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle will share guidance on this complex issue. Come learn how to make your romance elements both natural and compelling.
Elizabeth Boyle is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 25 novels, as well as a respected writing teacher. Her debut novel, “Brazen Angel”, won the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA® award. Romance Times gave their coveted Reviewer’s Choice award to “No Marriage of Convenience”, “Mad About the Duke”, and “The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane”. “Stealing the Bride” and “Love Letters from a Duke” have made Booklist’s annual Top Ten Romance lists. https://elizabethboyle.com/
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
March 19 and April 16

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Member Readings with Optional Feedback | June 18
2026-03-04 08:00 - 17:00 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
Member Readings with Optional Feedback
One of the more important Meetings in our schedule – it provides the opportunity for you to support your fellow writers and/or be supported. Audience feedback on your reading is optional.
April 16 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
July 16 | Summer Soiree

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Flash Fiction with Grant Faulkner | March 19
2026-03-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
Flash Fiction with Grant Faulkner
Exercise your writing muscles with flash fiction. Short prose where every word counts is a great way to tighten up scenes and build the ‘voice’ of your work.
March 19 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
April 16 and May 21,

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Perfect Your Pitch a.k.a. Find the Heart of Your Story | April 16
2026-04-16 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
Perfect Your Pitch a.k.a. Find the Heart of Your Story
Identifying and being able to clearly articulate the heart of your story is key to writing and finishing your book, as well as selling it (to a publisher or the public). This workshop will help you tighten up your narrative arc to make your story more readable and more publishable.
April 16 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
May 21

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | May 21
2026-05-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
May 21 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Come and commune with other writers. Sacks and drinks provided. All writers welcome: fiction, nonfiction, short story, memoir, essay, poetry. Topic to be announced.
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Member Readings with Optional Feedback | June 18
2026-06-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Member Readings with Optional Feedback

One of the more important Meetings in our schedule – it provides the opportunity for you to support your fellow writers and/or be supported. Audience feedback on your reading is optional.

June 18 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
July 16 | Summer Soiree

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Summer Soiree | July 16
2026-07-16 18:30 - 20:30 | Colorado
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
Summer Soiree
July 16 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

It’s celebration time! Celebration of all of you, your impressive creativity, your dedication to writing, and your commitment to supporting other writers. Our Summer Soiree is always a lot of fun.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings

August 20 | State of the Publishing Industry

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | State of the Publishing Industry | August 20
2026-08-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Bonfire Coffee, 433 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado, 81623
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
August 20 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

State of the Publishing Industry
An up-to-the-minute presentation on the trends and challenges in publishing. A lengthy Q&A period will follow, so you can get your questions answered.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings

September 17 | Flex Your Creativity and Expand Your Skill

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Flex Your Creativity and Expand Your Skill | September 17
2026-09-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Bonfire Coffee, 433 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado, 81623
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
August 20 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Flex Your Creativity and Expand Your Skill
Writing prompts are a fantastic way to expand your creativity, explore new genres, and find your unique voice. So, whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith or just dipping your toes into the world of writing, come expand your artistic chops. Sharing is optional.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings

October 15 | Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy with Mary Robinette Kowal

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy with Mary Robinette Kowal | October 15
2026-10-15 18:30 - 20:30 | Bonfire Coffee, 433 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado, 81623
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
October 15 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy with Mary Robinette Kowal.

Why is SFF hugely popular? Writers of all genres can improve the appeal of their writing by applying SFF techniques.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
November 19 | Writing fiction with Laura Zigman

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Writing fiction with Laura Zigman | November 19
2026-11-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Bonfire Coffee, 433 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado, 81623
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
November 19 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Writing fiction with Laura Zigman

Author Laura Zigman (THE AUTHOR WEEKEND, SEPARATION ANXIETY) will teach the key elements of fiction.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings
December 17 | Holiday Party & Book Exchange

Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting | Holiday Party & Book Exchange | December 17
2026-12-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Bonfire Coffee, 433 Main St., Carbondale, Colorado, 81623
Aspen Writers Network Third Thursday Meeting
December 17 | Bonfire Coffee (433 Main St, Carbondale) | 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Holiday Party & Book Exchange
Join us for a festive and fun gathering! Choose a beloved book to share with other members.

Become an Aspen Writers Network member today!
Upcoming Third Thursday Meetings

2027 Meetings will be announced soon!
