We all have experiences that shape our writing, but how can we most effectively draw from them for maximum literary impact? Don’t miss our next meeting on September 11 at Harry’s Hofsbrau at 6pm. Our guest speaker will be Rebecca Lawton, an author, geologist, and former Colorado River guide whose books include the San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area bestselling essay collection Reading Water: Lessons from the River and the WILLA award-winning novel Junction, Utah. Her second novel, 49 North, is set in Alberta, where she was a 2014 Fulbright Scholar.
Rebecca’s talk on truth telling will inspire you to spin your goldmine of experience into irresistible fiction and creative nonfiction through a mix of strong voice, engaging detail, and insightful observation that will rock your reader’s world. Learn to tell the story you were born to tell. You will have an opportunity to write a few samples during the talk.
Rebecca has published in Aeon, Brevity, Hakai, Orion, Shenandoah, Sierra, THEMA, Undark, and many other journals. She is the author and co-author of seven books, and her writing honors include the Ellen Meloy Award for Desert Writers, a WILLA for original softcover fiction, the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, three Pushcart nominations, a Best American Science and Nature Writing nomination, and residencies at Hedgebrook, The Island Institute, and Playa. Rebecca is completing her eighth book (second novel), drafted while she was a 2014 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Alberta. At our next meeting, she will discuss her experiences and help us unlock our own.
by Jamal Khan