Writer in Residence Event: Sunil Yapa
2016-05-17 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
Writer in Residence Sunil Yapa will read and discuss his novel, Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist, one of the most talked-about debuts of 2016.BIO
Sunil Yapa is the author of Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist, a debut novel, which was named Most Anticipated Book of the Year for 2016 in the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and BuzzFeed, among other publications. He received an MFA in Fiction from Hunter College in New York City in 2010, where he worked with two-time Booker Prize winning author Peter Carey, and the 2009 National Book Award winner (Let the Great World Spin) Colum McCann. While at Hunter Sunil was also awarded the Alumni Scholarship & Welfare Fund Fellowship, which is given to one fiction student every three years, and was twice selected as a Hertog Fellow, working as a research assistant for Zadie Smith (Changing My Mind), as well as Ben Marcus (The Flame Alphabet).
He is the recipient of the 2010 Asian American Short Story Award, sponsored byHyphen Magazine and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York, and has received scholarships to The New York State Summer Writers’ Institute, The Norman Mailer Writers’ Center in Provincetown and The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.
The biracial son of a Sri Lankan father and a mother from Montana, Yapa has lived around the world, including time living in Greece, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, China, and India, as well as, London, Montreal, and New York City.
CATCH & RELEASE BOOKSFree copies of Sunil’s book will be available in advance of the event in an effort to familiarize the community with his work. Starting the week of May 9, stop by the Red Brick Building in Aspen or the Woody Creek Community Center to pick up your free copy. Read it, pass it along to a friend, and join us on May 17!

Writer in Residence Event: Tom Bouman
2016-06-14 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
TOM BOUMAN is a former book editor and musician who lives with his wife and daughter in Pennsylvania, where he studies law. He is the author of the novel Dry Bones in the Valley, which won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and an Edgar Allan Poe Award.
Residency plans: “Dry Bones in the Valley is the first novel in the Henry Farrell series of mysteries set in rural Pennsylvania. I have two more in the series under contract, and with any luck I’ll be working on the third book by the time I arrive in Aspen. I may take that month to get reacquainted with short fiction as well.”
CATCH & RELEASE BOOKSFree copies of Dry Bones in the Valley will be available in advance of the event in an effort to familiarize the community with his work. Starting June 1, stop by the Red Brick Building in Aspen or the Woody Creek Community Center to pick up your free copy. Read it, pass it along to a friend, and join us on June 14!

Writers in Residence: Lesley Nneka Arimah
2016-10-18 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. Free and open to the public.
Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer living in Minneapolis. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, GRANTA, and other publications. She is a recipient of a Commonwealth Short Story Prize and her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation and other organizations. What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky, a short story collection, is forthcoming from Riverhead Books in 2017.
*Private reception for National Council and Aspen Writers’ Network members to follow. Contact Nicole Stanton with questions or to RSVP.

Writer in Residence: Lija Fisher
2017-05-16 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. While these events are free and open to the public, donations at the door are encouraged.Lija Fisher was born in Istanbul, Turkey and raised in the mountains of Colorado. She received her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder and has performed on stages across California, Colorado, New York and Alaska. She has lived in London, LA, and NYC but currently calls Colorado home. The first book in her debut middle grade series Clivo Wren and the Fall of the Phoenix will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2018.
Catch & Release books are not available for this event.

Writer in Residence: Grant Faulkner
2017-07-18 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. While these events are free and open to the public, donations at the door are encouraged.Grant Faulkner is the executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the cofounder of 100 Word Story. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including The Southwest Review, 14 Hills, Green Mountains Review, and Puerto del Sol. His essays on creativity have been published in The New York Times, Poets & Writers Magazine, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. He recently published a collection of one hundred 100-word stories, Fissures, two of which are included in The Best Small Fictions 2016. His book of essays on creativity, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo, is forthcoming from Chronicle Books in the fall of 2017.
FREE copies of Fissures are available through our Catch & Release program. Pick up a copy from the Aspen Words office in the Red Brick Building at the beginning of the month. Read it, pass it along to a friend, and come meet the author at their public event!

Writer in Residence: Chigozie Obioma
2017-08-15 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. While these events are free and open to the public, donations at the door are encouraged.
Chigozie Obioma is a Nigerian writer from Akure, Nigeria. The Fishermen (Little, Brown, 2015), his debut novel won numerous awards, including the FT/Oppenheimer Awards and an NAACP Image Awards, and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book award. The novel has been translated in 26 languages and is being adapted into a stage play. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska where he is a professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
FREE copies of The Fishermen are available through our Catch & Release program. Pick up a copy from the Aspen Words office in the Red Brick Building at the beginning of the month. Read it, pass it along to a friend, and come meet the author at their public event!

Writer in Residence: Tatjana Soli
2017-09-19 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. While these events are free and open to the public, donations at the door are encouraged.
Tatjana Soli is a novelist and short story writer. Her bestselling debut novel, The Lotus Eaters won the James Tait Black Prize, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2010, and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. Her second book, The Forgetting Tree, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2012. Her third novel, The Last Good Paradise, was a Millions Most Anticipated Book for 2015. Her stories have appeared in Zyzzyva, Boulevard, and The Sun. Her work has been twice listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories.
Soli will hand in the final draft of her forthcoming novel, The Removes, to Farrar, Straus & Giroux on October 2 for a publication date of June 2018. She will spend her September residency making the last tweaks to the manuscript.
FREE copies of The Last Good Paradise are available through our Catch & Release program. Pick up a copy from the Aspen Words office in the Red Brick Building at the beginning of the month. Read it, pass it along to a friend, and come meet the author at their public event!

Writer in Residence: Erica Bauermeister
2017-10-24 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. While these events are free and open to the public, donations at the door are encouraged.
Erica Bauermeister is the bestselling author of three novels, The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. Her fiction has been published in over 25 languages. She is also the co-author of two non-fiction works, 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide and Let’s Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Washington and has taught there and Antioch University. She lives in Port Townsend, WA.

Spring Workshop: How to Write Great Dialogue
2018-05-16 17:45 - 18:45 UTC | CO
Pitkin County Library in Aspen
Learn the essentials of crafting compelling dialogue in a one-hour workshop presented by award-winning novelist Tiffany Quay Tyson, who will join us via Skype from Denver, where she teaches at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. The session will include lots of practical advice as well as hands-on exercises.

Agent/Editor Consultations at Summer Words
2018-06-19 17:00 - 2018-06-21 20:00, 2019-06-18 08:00 - 2019-06-20 17:00 UTC | CO
The Gant in Aspen
Featuring representatives from the top publishing houses and literary agencies. Each spring, AWN members receive information on how to sign up for a private consultation and how to submit their work.

Publishing Talk with Novelist Amy Meyerson
2018-07-19 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | CO
Bookbinders in Basalt
Novelist Amy Meyerson will discuss everything you need to know about what happens after you finish writing your book–but before it’s published. She’ll talk about what’s it like to work with an agent + editor and how to market a book as a first-time author, among other topics.

Fiction Writing Workshop with Daryl Gregory
2018-10-13 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | CO
Pitkin County Library in Aspen
Award-winning author Daryl Gregory’s college acting teacher once told him that you can’t play running from a bear—you can only run to what’s going to save you: the tree, the shotgun or that spot just past your slower brother Louie. In this workshop you’ll learn how to create compelling stories by focusing on the essence of drama: characters who want something specific and fail to get it–or realize it’s not what they needed after all. Through exercises and discussion you’ll learn practical techniques for creating dynamic plots, believable characters and scenes that matter.

How to Promote Your Writing
2019-02-28 17:30 - 19:00 UTC | CO

Practice Your Pitch
2019-05-21 17:30 - 19:30 UTC | CO
Aspen Institute Campus
This session is for anyone who’s interested in the art of talking about and selling a book, whether you’re just beginning to think about the publishing industry or want to meet with an agent at Summer Words this June. Members discuss tips for crafting and delivering the right message, while also taking the opportunity to practice their own pitches with Aspen Words Executive Director Adrienne Brodeur and local author Scott Laser.

How to Write a Page-Turner: A Workshop for Fiction, Memoir + Narrative Nonfiction Writers
2019-10-19 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | CO
Red Brick Center for the Arts
High tension is probably the No. 1 reason readers keep reading. Whether you’re writing fiction, memoir or narrative nonfiction, if you can keep your reader on the edge of his or her seat by creating and maintaining tension throughout scene after scene, that reader will stay up way too late reading your book and tell all his friends to go out and buy it. In this workshop, we’ll delve into the interplay of all the elements that raise tension and create conflict and explore how to craft your story to capitalize on each within scenes as well as across your entire plotline. The workshop will include short readings, craft discussion and lots of writing prompts.
Special price for Aspen Writers’ Network members: $40. Non-members: $95.
Registration is closed and the workshop is at capacity. Please email Ellie Scott to be added to the waitlist.

Writing is Rewriting (Virtual Workshop)
2020-05-11 18:00 - 20:30 UTC | CO
Are you lost in the hazy fog of revision? Not sure what to do next? Have you been cutting and pasting, rewriting and moving things around and moving them back? It’s easy to get caught in addressing surface problems rather than evaluating the backbone of the story from a crafting standpoint. The most difficult part of writing is often revisions. In this spring workshop, Rachel Weaver (“Point of Direction”) will discuss concrete stages of revision, help you figure out where you are and what’s next, and discuss solid techniques to make your revisions as efficient and effective as possible. You will leave class with a long checklist of things you’ve done, and things you’ve got left to do.

The Life of a Book (Virtual Panel)
2020-06-09 17:30 - 18:30 UTC | CO
It takes a village to publish a book. This presentation will offer a behind-the-scenes look at everything that goes into turning a manuscript into a book — from the acquisition process to selecting a cover, distribution channels and the thousand other decisions that are essential to publishing a book.
Presenters: Becky Saikia-Wilson, SVP, trade associate publisher at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  + Lauren Wein, editorial director at Avid Reader Press.

Personal Essay Workshop (Virtual Workshop)
2020-09-22 18:00 - 2020-09-29 19:00 UTC | CO
Led by award-winning author Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, this generative workshop explored the powerful possibilities of memory, experience and reflection inherent in the personal essay. Through a close study of traditional and more experimental expressions of narrative, participants worked towards creating and workshopping original work that was nuanced, complex and effectively written. The group looked at work from writers like Maggie Nelson, Rebecca Solnit, Gloria Anzaldúa and others for inspiration. Participants were asked to look closely at their own lives to find the tremendous potential hidden in their stories.

AWN – Third Thursdays Zoom Writing Meetups
2020-10-31 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | CO
Writing is a solitary endeavor that can leave us feeling isolated. What has this meant for you in your writing life during this time when we’ve all been asked to isolate and stay at home?
The theme for these 60-minute informal gatherings is “Communing”. We ask that writers (that are comfortable) to share 1-3 ways that they’re nourishing their creativity and writing practice with the group. Feel free to bring a beverage!

Self Publishing Zoom Workshop
2021-05-20 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | CO
Self-publishing workshop with editor, typographer and designer
Barbara Scott (Be). Engage in a conversation about the process and design stages of taking your project from manuscript to finished book, via Amazon. This workshop is intended to answer writers’ questions about what it takes to self-publish a book.

Practice Your Pitch
2021-08-03 17:30 - 18:30 UTC | CO
Red Brick Center for the Arts
To help prepare for the upcoming agent, editor meetings at Aspen Autumn Words we are hosting “Practice Your Pitch” at the Red Brick Center for the Arts (Dance Studio space). This session is for AWN members who are interested in the art of talking about and selling their book, whether you’re just beginning to think about the publishing industry or have a meeting scheduled with an agent or editor at Autumn Words this fall. We’ll practice with one another, go over some tips and hear some input from Adrienne Brodeur, executive director of Aspen Words and former editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Members should reach out to Marie Chan (marie.chan@aspeninstitute.org) to indicate your interest and confirm your AWN membership is up to date
