Saturday, September 30
In-Person at Pitkin County Library
120 N Mill St, Aspen, CO

Registration for this workshop is now closed, all available spots have been filled. Please reach out to Mallory.Kaufman@aspeninstitute.org to add your name to the waitlist. 

Cost for AWN members: $20; cost for non-members $50. 

WORKSHOP DETAILS
When we talk about (and teach) creative writing we often speak in terms of the rules of craft. While it is important to have a knowledge of what has worked time and again to create compelling stories, in order to write a truly singular story you will need to move beyond convention. Often students of creative writing are so aware of how a story is supposed to be told that they fail to hear the wisdom that is already present in their own writing; its subtle whispers about how it wants to be told. In this one day intensive, through close readings of unconventional narratives, generative writing prompts, and an in-depth discussion of our own projects, we will deepen our understanding of the voice, the shape, and the themes that our work seeks to articulate. Whether you come to our meeting with just an idea of the story you want to tell or you have a full rough draft in your desk, our time together will embolden you to take the next step—from getting the first pages written to embarking on a needed revision—with a deeper connection to the material and a greater authority, moving you beyond crafting a story to making it your very own.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate Milliken is the Iowa Award winning author of the short story collection "If I'd Known You Were Coming" and the novel, "Kept Animals," which was long listed for the 2020 First Novel Prize and hailed by the New York Times Book Review as a novel of “deft insights and gorgeous, sensual description.” Kate has written television and commercial advertising and taught on behalf of UCLA, the University of Michigan, and The Center for Fiction. Her work has appeared in O, the Oprah Magazine, the Santa Monica Review, Zyzzyva, and Fiction, among others and her work has been supported by Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, Sewanee Writers Workshop, and the Ragdale Foundation. Kate is currently a freelance editor and writing coach and she lives with her family in the Midwest.