Seahawk Athletics
Dodge PerformingEvents for 2026
In addition to the following lectures and craft talks, participants can enjoy readings by our esteemed faculty, who will share their published and in-progress work throughout the week. A special mid-week Participant Reading also gives workshop participants an opportunity to share their own writing. See the schedule for details.
The Art of Practice
Karen Leona Anderson
Writers of all stripes are always looking for ways to kickstart and keep up their writing momentum. This craft talk will discuss the how of writing practice: what are the ideal ways to spur and catalyze your writing through dry spells, busy seasons, and, perhaps most challenging, your most inspired moments. We’ll do a number of different exercises that will get you thinking about how your everyday practices as a writer express both your aesthetics and may help you define more clearly what it is you most want to express.
On Paying Attention
Randle Browning
In a world dominated by screens and short-form video, what is our attention worth? We’ll look at writing from some of nonfiction’s closest observers of their worlds, and end with a generative writing exercise to help us access the power of our own focus and attention.
How to Plot a Novel
Matt Burgess
As a group, over the course of an hour, with much second-guessing and argument, we will plot an original novel from start to finish.
Food and Feeling
Jennifer Cognard-Black
For Michelle Zauner, kimchi is grief. For Kwame Onwuachi, chicken curry is salvation. For Maya Angelou, caramel cake is healing. For Ruby Tandoh, blackberries are joy. And for Nigel Slater, peach melba is desire. In this craft talk, we’ll consider how and why food writers invest certain ingredients, dishes, and foodstuffs with such strong feelings. We’ll also practice how the seemingly simple act of eating can become a complex act of writing, turning the raw stuff of our own culinary emotions into all-consuming stories.
Plotting (and Over-Plotting) in the Drafting Stages
Jerry Gabriel
Plot gives narratives momentum and force; what would drive the second half of Huckleberry Finn if Jim and Huck hadn’t missed Cairo in the fog? But plot is not always your ally in the early stages of a work. As we draft, probably feeling overly responsible to initial ideas of the story’s arc, we can ask too much of events to pull the narrative along. This impulse often results in predictable characters and stock situations—or worse, dead-ends. In this hour, we’ll talk about where the impulse comes from, as well as some ways it might be remedied.
Making an Artful Life
Crystal Oliver
We’ll begin the week considering the artful commitment to a writer’s life, exploring the power of curiosity, trusting your voice and vision, and cultivating a personal “algorithm’ for creative fulfillment. Find and focus on what inspires you, keep a notebook, embrace your passions (even Stevie Nicks!), and prepare to make your time at this conference—and your writing—truly transformative.