Schedule

Monday, August 14

Morning

7-8:45 am: Breakfast

7:15-7:45 am: Grounding meditation with Sarah

9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)

Afternoon

Noon-1 pm: Lunch

Noon-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open

Think of it as your favorite coffee shop. Browse books, engage in conversation, grab a bottle of wine to share, write, and relax. This space and time are reserved for spontaneous conversation, meet-ups, writing time, or just relaxing in the convention center.

1:30-3 pm: Writing Toward Hope

How do writers sustain their faith that literature can restore and re-story the earth in this day of climatic problems, contentious politics, and the lingering consequences of a global pandemic? How do we maintain optimism when the future of the world and her inhabitants appears bleak?

Join various faculty members and workshop director CMarie Fuhrman for a discussion about the role of hope and maintaining it in ourselves and contemporary environmental and nature writing.

3:30-5 pm: Every Lectern is a Stage: Techniques for Performing Your Poetry and Prose with Marc Beaudin

An interactive craft talk designed to develop the skills and methods of bringing your work off the page and into the hearts and minds of a live audience. Both performance-based issues and technical considerations will be addressed to deliver readings to be remembered.

For many writers, having to read and discuss their work with a crowd is the worst part of the job. Stage fright, feelings of inadequacy and unpreparedness, or shyness about baring one’s soul to strangers can make the experience a painful chore. Others may enjoy it, but their audiences might not. Monotonous delivery, unintelligible mumbling, or volume and pacing issues have the audience nodding off or scanning the room for the closest exit.

Participants are encouraged to bring a short poem or very short piece of prose (300 words max) to practice reading live.

Evening

Dinner on your own

7-8 pm: Faculty Reading with Marc Beaudin, CMarie Fuhrman, and Sterling HolyWhiteMountain

8-9 pm: Elk River Books table open with author signings

8:30-10 pm: Student readings, Garden Pavilion

Tuesday, August 15

Morning

7-8:45 am: Breakfast

7:15-7:45 am: Grounding meditation with Sarah

9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)

Afternoon

Noon-1 pm: Lunch

1-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open

1:30-3 pm: Writing through Trauma with Maggie Anderson and Brad Orsted, moderated by Andrea Peacock

3:30-5 pm: Is it Appropriate? Appropriation? Led by Sterling HolyWhiteMountain

Students who are curious about literary appropriation can participate in this discussion, facilitated by Sterling Holy White Mountain. In the spirit of understanding, this talk will try to give different definitions of the word “appropriation.” We will also talk about the challenges and rewards of writing and reading from different voices and points of view. This panel is not a question-and-answer session; rather, it is a question-and-wonder session.

Evening

Dinner on your own

7-8 pm: Faculty Reading with Sean Hill, Laura Pritchett, and J. Drew Lanham

8-9 pm: Elk River Books table open with author signings

8:30-10 pm: Student readings, Garden Pavilion

Wednesday, August 16

Morning

7-8:45 am: Breakfast

7:15-7:45 am: Grounding meditation with Sarah

9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)

Afternoon

Noon-1 pm: Lunch

Noon-4 pm: Elk River Books & Lounge open

1:30-3 pm: Special Event (TBA)

3:30-5 pm: Literary Ancestors: A Conversation between Doug Peacock and J. Drew Lanham

We keep an ear out for their voices. We’ve always wanted to be inspired by them. Just as others seek out their ancestors’ voices, their great-great-grandfathers, and errant second cousins, writers often mine the literature, looking at how these various voices have inspired and sustained us. They aren’t our blood ancestors, but they are our literary ancestors, which, at least to our writing, is as important.

Join two beloved nature writers as they discuss their literary lineages, what has been passed down to them, and how to be a good literary ancestor. Moderated by CMarie Fuhrman.

Evening

Dinner on your own

7-8 pm: Faculty Reading with Sean Singer, Debra Magpie Earling, and Jamie Ford

8-9 pm: Elk River Book table open with author signings

8:30-10 pm: Student readings, Garden Pavilion

Thursday, August 17

Morning

7-8:45 am: Breakfast

7:15-7:45 am: Grounding meditation with Sarah

9-Noon: Workshop (with break and snacks)

Afternoon

Noon-1 pm: Lunch

1:30-3 pm: Visuals and The Verse with Drew Lanham and Clay Bolt

When we shake up and vary the ways in which we experience the world, new truths and insights may be revealed. Actions as simple as choosing to take a new path home or venturing out at a different time of day can reveal new sides to the familiar. In the arts, when we combine different practices to examine a subject, even one that we’re intimately familiar with, new sides of the story emerge.

In this workshop, we’ll explore ways of using photography and writing to develop a deeper understanding of the prairie. The goal isn’t to create award-winning images or verse, but to illustrate how a change in approach can enrich our connections with the land and the species therein. Drew and Clay want to help you to grow the way you experience the world, no matter where that may be.

Participants of all experience levels are welcome and encouraged to join this class regardless of the photo gear they own. DSLR or iPhone: the principles we’ll explore will apply to all.

Materials:
A camera of some type (iPhone, DSLR, point-and-shoot, all welcome), a journal, field clothes, hiking boots, and a lightweight jacket.

3:30 to 6 pm: Free time to write, hike, explore, fish, etc.

Evening: Gala!

6-6:45 pm: Cocktails, hearty appetizers, and silent auction

7 pm: Silent auction ends, closing remarks from J. Drew Lanham

7:15-8 pm: Live auction with celebrity auctioneer Rich Hall

8:30-10 pm: Live music, dancing, and farewell cocktails

Friday, August 18

8 am: Miller Mountain Transport shuttle departs Chico for Bozeman airport (Reservations required – contact Andrea Peacock through Submittable for details)

Check out and depart