The word essay famously stems from the French essai, or “to try”—a poignancy many short form writers can’t help but indulge. Short form writing is, at its core, a series of attempts, and many of the best short stories and essays draw their power from their refusal of closure. Join Samantha Hunt and Jenny Shank, both writers of multiple short forms, as they discuss the magic of short pieces of writing: what they accomplish, and what they refuse. Preceded by a casual happy hour, and followed by an audience Q&A and book signing, we promise you’ll walk away from this event inspired to keep trying.
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Samantha Hunt is the author of The Unwritten Book, essays about death and literature; The Seas about a girl who might be a mermaid; The Dark Dark, short fictions; Mr. Splitfoot, a ghost story; and The Invention of Everything Else about Nikola Tesla. Hunt’s work has been translated into thirteen languages. She is a Guggenheim Fellow. Her short film The Yellow was selected for the Toronto International Film Fest. Hunt won a Bard Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner. She teaches at Pratt Institute.
Jenny Shank is the author of the short story collection, Mixed Company, and novel, The Ringer, both winners of multiple awards and honors. Her stories, essays, satire, and reviews have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Prairie Schooner, Alaska Quarterly Review, McSweeney's, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Poets & Writers Magazine, Bust Magazine, and several anthologies. One of her stories was listed among the "Notable Essays of the Year" in Best American Essays and another received Special Mention in the 2018 Pushcart Prize anthology. She has won writing awards from the Center of the American West, the Montana Committee for the Humanities, the Society of Professional Journalists, SouthWest Writers, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She is on the faculty of the Mile High MFA at Regis University in Denver, and she lives in Boulder with her husband, daughter, and son.
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Join us July 26-27 for Short Form Fest, a weekend celebration of short stories, essays, flash prose, and prose poetry. To explore craft seminars and events, purchase passes, and learn more about the festival, click here
