Below, you'll find a complete Fiction writer's guide to Lit Fest 2024. Choose intensives, seminars, and events á la carte, or sign up for one of our festival passes for the full experience. A note on class format: courses marked “Virtual” are held entirely via Zoom. All participants and the instructor will be attending virtually. Virtual courses are fully participatory. Courses marked “Livestream” will be available virtually as an option, but there will be many attendees in person, and the instructor will be lecturing in person. Participation is more limited in this format, though moderators will do their best to relay questions from the chat.
*Strike-through workshops are sold out! For up-to-date info on what classes/events still have space, check out the Lit Fest Cheat Sheet '24.
Two-Day Intensives
June 8-9, 9:00-12:00 PM MST
TWO-DAY INTENSIVE: THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR—A RANGE OF REASONS
Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Study the different types of the unreliable narrator and discover how unreliability is often the only way to assess the “truth.”
June 8-9, 1:00-4:00 PM MST
TWO-DAY INTENSIVE: TWO-DAY STORY/ESSAY
Erika Krouse
In this generative intensive, we’ll write a short story or essay over two days. Using targeted exercises and a few insider tricks, we’ll work on particular elements of short stories/essays (both traditional or nontraditional) to form new characters, settings, story arcs, dialogue, action, interiority, and more!
June 8-9, 1:00-4:00 PM MST
TWO-DAY INTENSIVE: MODULATION—YOUR VOICE AND HOW TO USE IT (V)
William Haywood Henderson
In this intensive, we’ll steal from excellent examples, add layers and new tricks to your voice, and learn how to modulate your voice for pacing, mood, variety, and complexity.
Craft Seminars, Business Panels, and Evening Events
Friday, June 8
Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MST)
- CULTURALLY EXPANSIVE APPROACHES TO PLOT AND STORY STRUCTURE with Annie Chuang (1 seat left)
- NARRATIVE STRATEGY IN FICTION AND MEMOIR with William Haywood Henderson
- TAPPING INTO YOUR WEIRDNESS (V) with Alexander Lumans
- FICTION FOR NONFICTION WRITERS with Andrew Hernández
- TO MEANDER, SPIRAL, EXPLODE with Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: AGENTS 101 with Shana Kelly, Renèe Jarvis, Mira Landry, Paige Terlip, Rebecca Shaevitz
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- THE EXQUISITE IS IN THE DETAILS with Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
- SLAYING THE YA NOVEL (V) with Olivia Chada
Early Afternoon Session (4:00-6:00 PM MST)
- DRAFT A SHORT STORY IN TWO HOURS with Amanda Rea
STEALING FROM SUSPENSE with Tiffany Quay Tyson- HOPEFUL MONSTERS with Alexandra Kleeman
Evening Session (7:00-8:15 PM MST)
- NEW FICTION SHOWCASE: OUR YESTERDAYS, TODAY with David Wroblewski (Familiaris), Wendy Chen (Their Divine Fires), and Joel Morris (All Our Yesterdays: a Novel of Lady MacBeth)
Saturday, June 9
Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MST)
- CLOCKING IN: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT JOBS (V) with Alexander Lumans
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: DEBUTS with Joel H. Morris, Christine Lai, Gina DeMillo Wagner, Minda Honey, Elizabeth DeMeo
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- DESIRE AND POWER with Dino Enrique Piacentini
- THE BURNING HEART: FINDING THE ENERGY IN SHORT FICTION (V) with Karen Auvinen
- THE FIRST TWENTY PAGES with Andrea Bobotis
- SHARPENING YOUR SENTENCES with John Cotter
Early Evening Session (4:00-6:00 PM MST)
- SWITCHING GEARS, JUMPING GENRES with Nazil Koca
Evening Session (7:00-8:15 PM MST)
Sunday, June 10
Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MST)
- THE NECESSITY OF DARKNESS with Trent Hudley
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: CONTESTS, RESIDENCIES, AND MORE—WAYS TO GET OUT THERE with Jenny Shank, Radha Marcum, Jenèe Skinner, Angie Chuang
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- MILIEU: THE WORLD OF YOUR STORY with Dino Enrique Piacentini
- BIRTH OF STYLE with John Cotter
Monday, June 11
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: SELLING YOUR BOOK—THE QUERY LETTER, ELEVATOR PITCH, AND MORE with Anna Qu, Sarah Gerard, Jan Thomas, Elissa Bassist, Abby Walters, and Marin Takikawa
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- (RE)WRITING HISTORY: THE QUESTIONS, CONUNDRUMS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DELIGHTS OF WRITING FICTION ABOUT THE PAST with Claire Messud
- FUNNY IS THE NEW DEEP: HOW TO HARNESS YOUR COMIC IMPULSE with Steve Almond (5 seats left)
- SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS with Paula Younger
- GETTING THE KIDS IN with Daniel Levine
- BAD TO THE BONE: WRITING VILLAINS AND NEFARIOUS CHARACTERS with Erika Krouse (1 seat left)
Early Evening Session (4:00-6:00 PM MST)
FAULT LINES with Paula Younger- TIME TRAVEL: WRITING FLASHBACK AND BACKSTORY with Erika Krouse (1 seat left)
- TACKLING THE “S” WORD: WRITING YOUR BOOK’S SYNOPSIS with Cynthia Swanson
Tuesday, June 12
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: LITERARY JOURNALS—THE INSIDE SCOOP with Dino Enrique Piacentini (moderator), Angela Flores (Poetry), Jenny Wortman (Colorado Review), Allison Wright (Virginia Quarterly Review), Alexander Lumans (American Short Fiction/ Copper Nickel), Allison Wright
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- THE EXCAVATION AND ANIMATION OF HISTORICAL FICTION with Wendy Chen
EVERYTHING BUT PLOT: BUILDING SUSPENSE ON THE LINE LEVEL with T Kira Māhealani Madden(Livestream available)- THE MESSY MIDDLE with Erika Krouse (1 seat left)
- NATURE WRITING with Amitava Kumar
- LONG NIGHT'S JOURNEY INTO DAY: WRITING ABOUT SERIOUS ILLNESS (V) with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Early Evening Session (4:00-6:00 PM MST)
- TIME MACHINE: CRAFTING TIME IN FICTION (V) with Clementine Guirado
IN THESE FLEETING MOMENTS: BUILDING DRAMATIC TENSION with R. Alan Brooks- IN OTHER WORDS: NARRATIVE STYLES with Erika Krouse (2 seats left)
- GETTING TO THE FINISH LINE with Cynthia Swanson
Evening Session (7:00-8:15 PM MST)
Wednesday, June 13
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
- LUNCHTIME BUSINESS PANEL: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY with Shana Kelly, Dean Bakopoulos, Danielle Bukowski, Kayla Lightner, Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Allison Wright
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- DEATH AND LIFE with Andrew Hernández
- HOW TO MAKE PLOT YOUR FRIEND with Steve Almond
- HIGH BEFORE THE LOW with Paula Younger (4 seats left)
- ON DEFAMILIARIZATION: A LESSON IN 10 SENTENCES with Jenny Offill (5 seats left)
Early Evening Session (4:00-6:00 PM MST)
- TIME MACHINE II: CRAFTING TIME IN FICTION (V) with Clementine Guiardo
DEEPER CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS with Paula Younger- PSYCHOANALYSIS AND LITERATURE with Poupeh Missaghi
Evening Session (7:00-8:15 PM MST)
Thursday, June 14
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- USING YOUR CHARACTERS TO BREAK WRITERS BLOCK with Kase Johnstun
- CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH CONTRAST with Danielle Evans
- HOW TO SURVIVE WRITER'S BLOCK with Steve Almond
- REVISING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE (V) with Angelique Stevens
- COLLAGING THE DRAFT with Nazli Koca (3 spots left)
- WRITING DESIRE AND SEXUALITY with Poupeh Missaghi (2 spots left)
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- EMBRACING THE SHADOW (V) with Courtney Morgan
- TIME MACHINE III: MODELING MARY GAITSKILL'S TIME CRAFT (V) with Clementine Guiardo
- THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT: USING FOLKTALE FORMS TO STRUCTURE YOUR WRITING with Jenny Shank
EXPERIMENTAL PROSE with Poupeh Missaghi- WRITING WITH IMAGES (V) with Christine Lai
Evening Session (7:00-8:15 PM MST)
Friday, June 15
Lunchtime Session (12:00-1:00 PM MST)
Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MST)
- HOW TO WRANGLE A CLOUD with Maurice Carlos Ruffin
- STORY IN A FLURRY with Nick Arvin
TWO-FACED: THE ART OF MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES with Jenny Shank- COLLABORATIVE WRITING with Poupeh Missaghi
- EVOKING OUR HAUNTS: ON PERSONS, PLACES, AND FINDING VOICE with Hillary Leftwich (2 seats left)
- MINING MEMORIES (V) with Alysee Knor
