Aspiring authors and avid readers of fiction in central Nebraska are invited to participate in a two-day fiction-writing conference, entitled “Fiction Writers at Work,” at Hastings College on Thursday, September 24, and Friday, September 25. Authors Meagan Cass, William Kirby, and Eric Tucker, who is also a Hastings College Instructor of Communication Arts and English, will read at The Lark in downtown Hastings and then hold a joint workshop for interested students and community members, which ends with a sampling of the participants’ new work.
The full schedule and bios for Cass and Kirby are below. All events listed are free and open to the public.
“Seeing what published writers work on, working with them on one’s own writing and listening to the final results of that work—these are the most inspiring and insightful experiences a budding fiction writer can have,” says Dr. Antje Anderson, Professor of English at Hastings College and an organizer of the event. “Our Creative Writing Fiction course this fall prompted us to put together this conference for the the students in the class and for all other interested writers on campus and in the community who want this kind of experience.”
This conference was made possible with funding from Hastings College’s Artist Lecture Series Committee.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 24
Fiction Reading
Meagan Cass, William Kirby and Eric Tucker will read from their recent works. The public is invited to this free event. A reception will follow the readings.
6 pm at The Lark (809 W. 2nd Street)
Friday, September 25
Fiction-Writing Workshops
After a brief opening event with Cass, Kirby, and Tucker, the workshop will divide into three concurrent 2-hour fiction-writing sessions with different emphases.
Interested community members should register for the workshop by e-mailing Antje Anderson, aanderson@hastings.edu, by Wednesday, September 22. Participants will choose between the three sessions after the opening.
2 pm-5 pm at Hazelrigg Student Union Rooms A, B and C (705 E. 9th Street)
Fiction “Speed Reading” by Workshop Participants
Workshop participants are invited to read short (3-minute) samples from their workshop projects. Cass and Kirby will judge the readings. There will be book prizes!
5-6:30 pm at Perkins Library (705 E. 7th Street)
Bios
Meagan Cass is the author of Range of Motion (Magic Helicopter Press, 2014). Her fiction has appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Pinch, DIAGRAM, PANK, and Puerto del Sol, among other places. She is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Illinois Springfield, where she founded the Shelterbelt Reading Series. She also serves as assistant editor for Sundress Publications, where she edits fiction for the Best of the Net anthology. Over the last ten years, she has done editorial work for a range of national literary journals, including Stirring, Harpur Palate, and Rougarou, of which she is a founding editor.
Blog: meagancass.wordpress.com
William Kirby has been writing since 1993, when Ace/Berkley picked up his Science fiction novel, Iapetus. He has written for local newspapers as well as national publications such as Mental Floss. Irrationally attempting to defend historic landmarks against Denver’s urban sprawl, he wrote and researched the multiple Heartland Emmy-winning video series Legends and Oddities. His new mystery novel, Vienna (TOR/Macmillan), was just released, and William is on a reading tour of Colorado, Texas, and Nebraska. William makes his home in Louisville, CO, with the world’s most patient wife and the world’s most destructive cats.
Twitter: @WS_Kirby
Blog: wskirby.com
