Indigenous Perspectives in Genre Fiction
Just three years ago, the Los Angeles Times published a profile of an author whose new novel was, as they put it, "one of only a handful of thrillers by an Indigenous author." How quickly things have changed, as evidenced by this panel of Native…
Historical Fiction: The American West
The sweeping landscapes of the American West offer writers a broad canvas on which to set epic stories. Three masterful storytellers will transport us through the rich and complex history of California and Colorado as only the best fiction can.…
Craft Chats: A Child’s Perspective
As Sadie Jones has written, "Writing is a leap of faith, and never more so than when writing childhood." It's undeniable that we were all once children, but that doesn’t mean it's child's play for writers to center the voice and perspective…
Story Time: Family and Heritage
Come one, come all for a cozy picture book story time centered on family relationships and self-discovery! Bay Area–based illustrator Minnie Phan presents The Yellow Áo Dài, a heartwarming generational story celebrating Vietnamese culture…
Middle Grade: The Magic of Story
From breathtaking magic to adrenaline-pumping action, this session celebrates the epic power of storytelling! Award-winning author Brian Young returns with Heroes of the Water Monster, in which water monster guardians Nathan and Edward are tasked…
Fiction: Encounters with Myths and Spirits
At times in these accomplished writers' fiction, the boundaries between the spirit world and the "real world" grow porous or indiscernible, in ways that expand realities and excite readers' imaginations. In her latest collection, The Gods of…
The Art of Suspense
Not even the rarified realms of art are safe in the imaginations of these writers, where intrigue lurks even in the concert hall or the museum. Classical violinist Brendan Slocumb soared onto the literary scene with the bestselling The Violin…
Horror: History That Goes Bump in the Night
History—both personal and otherwise—comes back to haunt the living in these chilling tales of psychological and mythological horror. In Jessica Johns's Bad Cree, a young woman can manifest dreams in the waking world—and as they grow nightmarish,…
A New Thanksgiving Story (Activity)
Alexis Bunten's Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story (cowritten with Danielle Greendeer and Anthony Perry) is the inclusive Thanksgiving story today's parents, teachers, and children have been waiting for. This story is narrated by a…
Native Voices: Essayists from the 2023 Graton Student Writing Program
The Graton Writing Project is a series of writing workshops open to middle- and high-school Native students from Sonoma, California, that culminates in a published youth anthology. This year, students were asked to write on the theme of imagining…