Saturday, November 10, 2 p.m.

Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO

Denver theater group Stories on Stage has selected my work for this season's single author showcase! Actors will present "Mixed Company," featuring my stories and satire. After there will be a Q&A and milk and cookies for all! Tickets are $26.

Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and on Zoom (hybrid), October 22 - November 12

In this four-week craft class—ideal for writers who've mastered the basics—we'll discuss some trickier craft moves in fiction, including multiple-timeline narratives, multiple-perspective stories, and ways to incorporate humor and social justice themes in our fiction. Writers are invited to help shape the class by letting the teacher know what tricky fiction craft moves they would be interested in learning.

Sign up here!

Saturday, September 21

I will be chatting and signing books from 1-1:45 and 3-3:30, and in between, from 2-3, I will be discussing the wonders of short stories with fabulous writer Claire Boyles. Read all about the many wonderful events scheduled for the festival here.

September 23 - October 14

This four-week craft class will give you an overview of essential techniques for a solid writing foundation in any genre of fiction. We'll cover how to create fictional characters with authenticity and verve, how to build suspense and maintain tension, how to make classic story structures fresh, and microstructure techniques to maintain momentum and pacing. This class is ideal for busy people—homework will be light, with some optional stories to read. This class is hybrid--register for in-person or Zoom!

Frame: A Literary Salon

I’m looking forward to participating in the Frame Literary Salon at East Window Gallery in north Boulder (4550 Broadway), alongside writers Elizabeth Robinson and Charly Fasano, from 7 to 9 p.m. As always, Frame is hosted by The Literary Ladies, Sarah Elizabeth Schantz and Toni Roxanne Oswald. It’s free, so come on out!

I’ll be teaching an 8-week online fiction class for Jesuit Media Lab, “Writing Techniques Inspired by Catholic Fiction.” We’ll meet asynchronously on the Wet Ink platform, and I’ll also host a couple of optional Zooms so we can get to know each other. Each student will receive in-depth feedback on a short story from me! We’ll be reading and learning from such authors as Kirstin Valdez Quade, Claire Luchette, Lucia Berlin and more. (Plus, the cost is only $250—which is less that I usually charge for a story critique with no class attached.)

You've been polishing your writing, and now you're ready to submit it for publication. Just how do you do that? We'll delve into a quick overview of three different pathways to publication through literary journals, websites, magazines, and books. We'll discuss cover letters, query letters, and do's and don'ts for submissions. And we'll investigate ways of tracking your submissions and useful websites for researching publications. By the end of this class, you'll be armed with a thick-anti-rejection hide and a list of publications to submit your work to.

How do you query editors to find those first jobs, and how do you make the first assignments lead to more? We'll discuss Neil Gaiman's rules for freelance writers, learn how to find venues open to new writers, study examples of query letters and write some of our own, and figure out how to establish yourself as a specialist so that eventually, editors will seek you out! The instructor has been a freelance writer of essays and articles about books, music, sports, and travel for decades and looks forward to addressing the particular interests of each student.

Panelists Include: Jenny Shank, Radha Marcum, Jenèe Skinner, Angie Chuang

Book contests with publication as a prize are a major way that all kinds of books make it into print, especially story collections, poetry, unconventional memoirs, and hybrid books. Artist residencies can increase your writer profile and lead to new opportunities. From reading series to juried workshops, there are more ways than ever to get your writing in front of those who can help make a career. Hear from authors with diverse experience in the literary world on how achieving a writing career isn’t a straight line but a journey with lots of day trips, rest stops, and double-booking.

The oldest story forms provide potent templates for structuring new work. Learn about the elements of a classic devil story and how contemporary writers such as Emily St. John Mandel and Colson Whitehead have incorporated its charms. Study notable features of ghost stories and see how writers such as Jesmyn Ward and Silvia Moreno-Garcia have crafted haunting fiction. We'll examine several folk and fairytale forms and use these as guides toward writing own new classics.

Sometimes, there's one perfect perspective through which to tell a story, but other times, a story requires multiple angles to convey the whole picture. Multiple perspectives can open up a story's possibilities, showcase a writer's range, and build suspense and tension. However, they can also confuse or annoy the reader or slow the story's pacing if not incorporated with care. We'll study examples of multiple-perspective magic by Alice Munro, May-Lee Chai, Tommy Orange, and Yoon Choi and learn how to craft our own stories.

Have you ever been hooked by a surprise twist in a story, felt immersed in the sensory world of a book, or cheered a protagonist's wins and mourned their losses? We'll examine insights from neuroscience and psychological studies that shed light on why certain aspects of stories hook us as readers. We'll learn how to evoke emotions in our readers while avoiding emotional clichés. We'll learn about filtering and how to avoid it, when to use internal dialogue, and how to effectively deploy sensory detail.

Mondays, November 13 - December 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Denver

3844 York St, Denver

In this four-week craft class, ideal for writers who've mastered the basics, we'll discuss some trickier craft moves in fiction, including multiple timeline narratives, multiple perspective stories, and ways to incorporate humor and social justice themes in our fiction. Students are invited to help shape the class by letting the teacher know what tricky fiction craft moves they would be interested in learning.

Sign up now on the Lighthouse website!

Sunday, October 8, 3-6 p.m.

Nederland Community Library

Author and journalist Tracy Ross has put together a great event to benefit the Nederland library. Tracy will lead three panel discussions with three sets of local writers. There will be live music, wine tasting, and books for sale. Admission is $10 and you can use that as a credit toward $10 off the book of your choice. Register by October 4 on the library website.

Saturday, September 30, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Counterpath Press, Denver

7935 East 14th Avenue

Could this be the Denver literary event of the fall? Yes, I think it will be. Powerhouse local author Hillary Leftwich has invited all the local authors publishing with small, university, or experimental presses for a grand day of book sales, readings, networking, and even a dance party a the Indie Author & Press Bookfair. I will swing by in the afternoon and join the reading at 5:30. Learn more in Westword.

This four-week craft class will give you an overview of essential techniques for a solid writing foundation in any genre of fiction.

Mondays, August 14-September 11, skipping Labor Day, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Denver, 6:30-8:30

At the Mile High MFA summer residency, I'll be reading with Erika Krouse and Mathangi Subramian on July 25. It’s free and open to the public, at Regis University’s Claver Hall, 5-6 pm (Denver).

Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum’s Some Kind of Wonderful Literary Jamboree on Thursday, July 27 at River Bar and Gallery, Denver, 7-9 pm, free

Building Your Own Emotional Thesaurus, Saturday, June 10, 9:00am - 11:00am

Getting Published: Stories, Essays, Articles, and Books, Saturday, June 10, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

And Then I Woke Up: Writing Endings for Short Fiction and Nonfiction, Sunday, June 11, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

When News Breaks in Your Backyard: How to Craft and Pitch a Timely Essay, Wednesday, June 14, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Seeing the Big Picture: Techniques for Revising Books, Thursday, June 15, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

• On Friday at AWP Seattle, I'll be signing copies of Mixed Company at the Texas Review Press table #601 in the Book Fair from 2-3 p.m.

• On Saturday morning at AWP Seattle, I’m proud to moderate the panel “Writing the Real West: Diverse, Urban, and Contemporary,” starring fabulous writers Erika T. Wurth, Jonathan Evison, Leland Cheuk, and Sameer Pandya. The panel will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 9 a.m. (Rooms 338-339, Summit Building, Seattle Convention Center, Level 3).

• On Saturday afternoon at AWP Seattle, I'll be hanging out at Regis University's Mile High MFA table T835 in the Book Fair from 2-3 p.m. Come say hello!

Women Writing Colorado with Rachel King (Bratwurst Haven), Wendy J. Fox (What if We Were Somewhere Else), and Claire Boyles (Site Fidelity), and Jenny Shank at the Tattered Cover Colfax on February 10, 6 p.m.

Women Writing Colorado with Rachel King (Bratwurst Haven), Wendy J. Fox (What if We Were Somewhere Else), and Claire Boyles (Site Fidelity), and Jenny Shank at the Boulder Book Store on February 9, 6:30 p.m.

I have just been invited to interview illustrious Canadian author Miriam Toews as she kicks off her paperback tour for her most recent novel, Fight Night, at the Tattered Cover Colfax on Monday, January 30 at 6 p.m. Let me know if you have any questions for her!

My friend Chip Livingston has edited a volume of letters between our teacher Lucia Berlin and her dear friend, accomplished opera librettist and poet Kenward Elmslie. The Lighthouse Writers Workshop will help us celebrate the release of Love, Loosha by the University of New Mexico Press with a Zoom event on December 14. Stay tuned for more details.

The Mile-High MFA program is partnering with Tattered Cover to host a quarterly reading series that celebrates the work of our faculty, students, and alumni. I will read with my colleague Traci L. Jones and my former student, now twice-published author Hillary Leftwich. We’ll read at the Westminster Tattered Cover on November 1 at 6 p.m.

• I'll talk about how art influences my fiction and discuss the history of Denver's graffiti artists in the '80s and '90s at the new Bob Ragland Branch of the Denver Public Library on Friday, August 5 at 4:30 p.m.

• It's the summer residency for the Mile High MFA! It will be our first time in-person in two years. There will be lots of events in-person and on Zoom for all graduates and current students.

• The award ceremony for the 2022 Colorado Book Awards sponsored by Colorado Humanities at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at 5 pm. Watch the replay on Youtube here.

• Lit Fest classes are open for registration! I'm teaching a bunch at Lighthouse HQ (3833 Steele St., Suite 1438, Denver, CO):

• The Psychology of Story, Friday, June 10, 9:00am - 11:00am 

• Faculty Reading w/ Jenny Shank, Nick Arvin, Joy Sawyer, Harrison Fletcher, and Traci Jones, 7:30 p.m., free

• Mixing Life Up: Contemporary Memoir Structures, Monday, June 13, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

• Building the Writers' Notebook, Monday, June 13, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

• Getting Published: Stories, Essays, Articles and Books, Wednesday, June 15, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

• Laughing for Change: Funny Stories with Serious Purpose, Saturday, June 18, 1:30pm - 3:30pm 

• Personal Essays with a Twist, Saturday, June 18, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

• Navigating the Lows of Your Writing Career: Panel Discussion, Sunday, June 19, 12:00pm - 1:00pm

• I'll be reading with the finalists for the General Fiction and Anthology categories for the 2022 Colorado Book Awards at BookBar in Denver on May 20. 

 "Finding Joy in Mixed Company:  How Spending Time with Thompson Prize Winner Jenny Shank and Getting Acquainted with Her New Book Could Offer a Remedy for Our Nation's Current Calamities in Communication."

 A Center of the American West event with MacArthur "genius grant" winner Patricia Limerick. The first 40 people to RSVP to events@centerwest.org will get a free copy of Mixed Company! The event will be held at Humanities 250 on the CU Boulder campus and via Zoom at 6 pm. Register for the Zoom version of the event here. At the in-person event, food & drink will be provided.

I will be reading and signing copies of Mixed Company on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Tattered Cover Colfax. I hope to see you there!

Mixed Company is the December selection for the KGNU & Boulder Book Store Radio Book Club! Tune in to KGNU at 9 a.m. on December 23 to hear the discussion, or check it out anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Book celebration during the Mile High MFA Winter Residency with Shannon Blair, Meca'Ayo Cole, and Jenny Shank, 5-6 p.m., free on Zoom. 

I am so happy to celebrate a triple book launch with two of my former students!

• Mile High MFA reading with Suzi Q. Smith, Addie Tsai, and Kathryn Winograd, Tuesday, July 27, 5:30 p.m.

Lighthouse Writers' Workshop's Lit Fest classes are open for registration now! I'm teaching four online classes:

• Fierce Remix: Writing the Multiple Timeline Book, June 4, 1:30-3:30 p.m. 

• Fierce Remix: Writing the Multiple Timeline Book, June 6, 4-6 p.m.

• Getting Published: Stories, Essays, Articles and Books, June 10, 9-11 a.m.

• City, Town, Countryside: Making a Place's Story Your Own, June 13, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• My story "The Sit-In" appears in the Spring 2021 issue of the Santa Monica Review, and I and the other contributors will celebrate the issue launch with an online reading on Sunday, April 18 at 5 p.m. PST. Tickets are available here.