Writers in Residence

Thursday, August 18 @ 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. |
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623) & Virtual 

Tiffany Tyson will be teaching the workshop virtually. Both in-person and virtual attendees will be able to join. 

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
Dialogue can be a powerful tool for characterization, motivation, plot advancement, and emotion, or it can be a clunky thing that bogs down the action and takes the reader out of the story. How can you be sure your dialogue elevates rather than deflates? We’ll look at examples of effective dialogue, discuss what makes these examples work, and use what we learn to practice writing dialogue on our own. In the process, we’ll explore subtext, rhythm, pacing, attribution, and more. Students should bring their preferred writing tools.

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are welcome to join at the meeting. 

All attendees must upload their proof of vaccination in advance on the ReturnSafe app. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tiffany Quay Tyson will lead this workshop virtually. AWN members are invited to participate online or in-person at Bonfire Coffee Company in Carbondale.

Thursday, September 15  @6:30 - 8:30 p.m. |
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

Short readings from members' work will fill the first hour.  To read at this meeting (not required), either email aspenwritersnetwork@gmail.com or signup when you arrive. Readers can receive feedback from the group if desired; indicate your preference when you sign up. The second hour will be personal writing time. 
Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided.  

Non-AWN members are welcome to attend their first meeting to see if they want to join.

All attendees must upload their proof of vaccination in advance on the ReturnSafe app.  

Thursday, Nov. 17 @ 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

The first hour will be a conversation with memoirists Courtney Maum ("The Year of the Horses") and Adrienne Brodeur ("Wild Game") about their careers and writing life. They will be joining us virtually. 
The second hour will be for AWN members to connect. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided.  

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are  welcome to join at the meeting.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Courtney Maum is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide "Before and After the Book Deal" and the memoir "The Year of the Horses," chosen by The Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach and educator, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. You can sign up for her publishing tips newsletter and online masterclasses at CourtneyMaum.com

Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir, “Wild Game,” which is in development for film. During her 15 years in the publishing industry, she founded the literary magazine “Zoetrope: All-Story” with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, was an acquiring editor at Harcourt and HMH Books, and served as a judge for the National Book Award, among other literary contests. Her essays have appeared in Glamour, O Magazine, The National, The New York Times, Vogue and other publications. She has been with Aspen Words since 2013.

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are  welcome to join at the meeting.

All attendees must upload their proof of vaccination in advance on the ReturnSafe app. 

Thursday, January 19 @ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. | 
 at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

Rachel Weaver will provide a short, targeted craft workshop virtually for the first hour. The second hour will be personal writing time. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided. 

WORKSHOP DETAILS

7 Ingredients for a Compelling Plot: so often as writers we get loads of feedback on small sections of our novels or memoirs. But what about how the book is working as a whole? It’s easy to get lost in the trees and not be able to see the forest. This class will give you the tools you need to take a step back, see the book as a whole, and begin to identify where the tension is sagging, where your reader will start thinking about all that laundry they should probably get started on, and what to do about it. We’ll talk about seven key ingredients that work to create a book a reader has a hard time putting down. Whether you have a lot or a little plot in your novel or memoir, this is a class that will help you strengthen that through thread.

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are welcome to join at the meeting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Weaver is the author of the novelPoint of Direction which Oprah Magazine named a Top Ten Books to Pick Up Now. She is on faculty at Regis University’s low-residency MFA program, and at Lighthouse Writers Workshop where she won the Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018. 

Thursday, February 16 @ 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.  
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

Gillian Blake, SVP, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Crown and Currency will be in-person at this meeting to discuss the state of the publishing industry. Hear from a longtime publishing professional on the state of the industry in 2023. Moderated by Adrienne Brodeur, author and Executive Director of Aspen Words. Q&A will follow. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Gillian Blake is SVP, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Crown and Currency. Previously she was Editor-In-Chief at Henry Holt. She also acquires and edits select titles. Her editorial focus is on narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, science, current events, popular culture, and biography. She has edited many prize-winning and bestselling authors, including Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Kolbert, Matthew McConaughey, Susan Cain, Tina Brown, Adrian Nicole Leblanc, Ai Weiwei, Andy Cohen, Elton John, Jaron Lanier, Peggy Orenstein, Pamela Paul, Steven Johnson, Bari Weiss, Russell Brand, Rob Lowe, Brandi Carlile, Kate Walbert, Anthony Doerr, A.J. Jacobs and Harold Bloom.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir, “Wild Game,” which was a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, NPR, People, and the Washington Post and is in development as a Netflix film and the novel “Little Monsters,” which will publish in July 2023. She founded the literary magazine, “Zoetrope: All-Story” with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, was an acquiring editor at HMH Books, and served as a judge for the National Book Award. Her essays have appeared in Glamour, O Magazine, The National, The New York Times, Vogue, and other publications. She has been the Executive Director of Aspen Words since 2016.

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are  welcome to join at the meeting.

Thursday, March 16 @ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. |
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

From 6;30 - 7:30 p.m. Janklow & Nesbit literary agent, Melissa Flashman will ZOOM in to discuss the how to's of a non-fiction book proposal. Q&A will follow. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided. The second hour will be personal writing time.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Flashman is a literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit representing award-winning and best-selling fiction and nonfiction. In nonfiction, she is particularly interested in conversation-changing books including journalism, science, technology, business/finance/economics, memoir/narrative, essays and cultural criticism. Melissa’s authors have won numerous awards including the Pulitzer, the National Book Critic Circle Award, the Whiting Award, the Windham Campbell Prize, the Rona Jaffe Award, the Hugo Award, n + 1 writer’s fellowship, The Robert B Silvers Prize, and The Nation’s Ridenhour Prize among others.

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are welcome to join at the meeting.

Thursday, April 20 @ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. 
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

Short readings from members’ work will fill the first hour.  Slots are limited. To read at this meeting (not required), either email Mark Tompkins (MarkLTom@icloud.com) signup when you arrive. Readers can receive feedback from the group if desired; indicate your preference when you sign up.

The second hour will be personal writing time. 

Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided.  

Non-AWN members are welcome to attend their first meeting to see if they want to join

Thursday, May 18 @ 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 
In-Person at Bonfire Coffee Company (433 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623)

This is a great opportunity to practice talking about your work. Even if you are not ready to pitch your book/essay/poem to publishers/agents, developing a pitch is a great way to determine what is most important in your writing project, which helps you with editing and even finishing the work. Snacks, coffee, tea, beer, and wine will be provided. 

This meeting is for AWN members only; interested writers are  welcome to join at the meeting.

Thursday, June 15 @ 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.  
In-Person at Village Smithy (26 S 3rd St, Carbondale, CO)

Come together with fellow AWN members to celebrate the accomplishments of local writers and enjoy a summer evening. More details to come! 

Thursday, August 17 @ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. 
In-Person at The Village Smithy
(26 S 3rd St., Carbondale, CO)

Join us for an in-person author talk featuring Brittany Penner, an Indigenous Métis writer and family physician at Village Smithy in Carbondale (26 S. 3rd St.). Brittany will be in conversation with Daniel Shaw, local writer and program partner.

This event is free and open to all. Registration is requested. 

DOORS: open at 6:00 pm.; conversation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

SEATING: On the porch of the Village Smithy, seating is first come, first served. 

Thursday, September 21 @ 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
In-Person at TACAW
(400 Robinson St, Basalt, CO)

Details to come!