Women Writing the West
Registration is now open for the 30th Anniversary Women Writing the West conference at the Hilton Garden Inn, Denver Tech Center in Denver, Colorado on October 10-12, 2024. The theme, “Through a Woman’s Eyes,” honors the perpective of women—both stories and women writers who write the stories of the West in all genres. To register or learn more, visit www.Womenwritingthewest.org/conference.
Address
Hilton Garden Inn, Denver Tech Center, 7675 E Union Ave, Denver, CO 80237
10th annual Rocky Mountain Literary Festival
The Rocky Mountain Literary Festival is an annual gathering of authors and readers to provide scholarships for local high school seniors in pursuit of their educational dreams. This year’s festival, to be held Oct. 12, is the tenth annual event. Tickets on sale now. To learn about speakers and how to get tickets, visit https://www.rockymountainliteraryfestival.org
Address
Mount Vernon Canyon Club, 24933 Club House Circle, Golden, CO 80401
Crestone Poetry Festival
This annual four-day celebration of the spoken word includes readings, workshops, open mic opportunities and “lots of time for poets from around the region to get acquainted. The event is intended to help grow and sustain a community of poets, writers and literature enthusiasts in the mountains and high deserts of Colorado and New Mexico, with a special emphasis on the Sangre de Cristo region.” For a full list of participating poets, the festival schedule and workshop, visit https://www.poemfest.com/.
Address
Various venues in Crestone
Lighthouse Queer Creatives Fest
Join Lighthouse Writers Workshop’s annual Queer Creatives Fest, a weekend of writing intensives, craft seminars, business panels, community event and more. This year’s theme, “We’re Here!” celebrates the importance of Queer voices and stories. Open to all LBGTQIA+ writers and creatives, as well as allies and those exploring their identities. Live and open for registration. To view the catalog of classes and events, and to register, visit: https://lighthousewriters.org/queer-creatives-retreat
Address
Various locations
Stories on Stage presents “Mixed Company” by Jenny Shank
Stories on Stage’s single-author shindig on Nov. 10 showcases the work of 2022 Colorado Book Award and George Garrett Fiction Prize winner Jenny Shank and her story collection, Mixed Company. Actors will perform stories and satire, followed by an author Q&A and milk and cookies for all. Tickets are $26.
Address
Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO 80204
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Newsletter Updates
Briefly Noted
The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir
Film actor and author Griffin Dunne’s Colorado connection, briefly noted in his charming, disarming and satisfying family memoir, is that he honed his acting skills as a teenager at the Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs where he “knocked it out of the park” as Jerry in Edward Albee’s Zoo Story and was changed by the experience. Dunne was forced to leave the next semester after getting caught smoking hashish in the dorm the night before he was due to perform in Othello. This brief misadventure mirrors many others in young Dunne’s developing years as he relocates from coast to coast, rubs elbows with his parents’ Hollywood coterie, is best friends with Carrie Fisher and constantly adores his eclectic and glamorous parents, brother Alex and sister Dominique. Dominique’s 1982 murder at the hands of an abusive ex-boyfriend and the subsequent, highly publicized trial of her killer become the focus of much of the book’s second half. Dunne’s book rises well above the category of celebrity memoir to a true family memoir, unwaveringly honest and filled with moments of despair as well as laughter as the Dunnes pull together and fall apart, like most families, in the face of tragedy.