Grand Mesa Writers Symposium

08/28/2026

Listen to Craig Childs - the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium's featured non-fiction author on the Emerging Form Podcast.

Craig talks with Co-hosts and Writers' Symposium authors Christie Friesen Aschwanden and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer about how to invite intuition and surprise into your writing, creative ways to take words from a page and bring them to life, and how a journaling practice helps inform a writing practice.

Listen in on the link below, or listen on KVNF radio Tuesday, September 1st at 5:30 pm.
https://emergingform.substack.com/p/episode-172-craig-childs-on-writing
KCFR-FM (90.1 FM, CPR News), KVOD (88.1 FM, CPR Classical), and KVOQ (102.3 FM, Indie 102.3)

Then be sure you have your weekend passes to see Craig in person at the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium coming to the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center September 11th - 13th!

“Make this your worst draft.” That’s what Craig Childs will often say to students when they first sit down to write.

08/27/2026

You don't want to miss the Closing Keynote - Sunday, September 13th at the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium! 11:00 am the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center theater!

Sunday morning Closing Keynote: How to build a creative practice when life interferes - 11:00am

Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and author and essayist Christie Friesen Aschwanden host Emerging Form, a podcast (also heard on KVNF radio) about creative process. In this final keynote, they will talk about their own creative practices and what they’ve learned from talking to more than 100 creative professionals over the seven years they’ve been doing the show. The discussion will explore strategies to build a creative practice amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Rosemerry has been writing a daily poem for more than 20 years, and Christie has blogged at Last Word On Nothing for more than 15 years. This discussion will build on the workshops and talks from the previous days.

Weekend passes are on sale now at www.grandmesawriters.org

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is a poet, teacher, speaker and writing facilitator who co-hosts Emerging Form, a podcast on creative process. Her daily audio series, The Poetic Path, is on the Ritual app. Her poems have appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, PBS News Hour, O Magazine, Washington Post’s Book Club, and Carnegie Hall stage. Her recent collections are All the Honey and The Unfolding. In 2024, she became poet laureate for Evermore, helping others explore grief and love through poetry. Since 2006, she’s written a poem a day, sharing them on her blog, A Hundred Falling Veils. One-word mantra: Adjust.

08/26/2026

Sunday morning, September 13th - things kick off at 8:30 am for the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium for breakfast and Open Mic!

Come together at Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center for coffee and light breakfast offerings before joining in on the Writers' Symposium Edition of the Spoken Word Open Mic - When Words Become Breath!

Rene' Janiece will be your host as participants share their work. You are welcome to read an existing piece, or perhaps offer a reading of something inspired from the weekend's workshops.

Sign up will be available upon check-in the weekend of the Symposium.

Get your weekend passes now! www.grandmesawriters.org

Rene’ Janiece is fascinated with the play and power of words - how they string together, how they hold space, how they resonate, how they hang in the air when they are offered the opportunity to breathe. She has released two music albums with her husband, Wayne McKinzie, as part of the duo Bittersweet Highway, and she is the host of the monthly Spoken Word Open Mic - When Words Become Breath at Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center. Her poetry chapbook, Rosemary and Rust, was released in July of 2025.

08/25/2026

Saturday night, September 12th at the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium - Keynote: Writing With A Sense of Place 7:00 - 8:30pm
at the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center theater.

Join your host Christie Friesen Aschwanden as she moderates a conversation between the writers about how a sense of place informs their writing, the genesis of their featured creative works, and the ins and outs of their creative process. Paolo Bacigalupi, Kierstin Bridger and Craig Childs will each read a selection from their latest books and offer insights into how they created these works.

A book signing will take place immediately following this event.

This Keynote is available to attend as a stand alone event, or is included in the Symposium's weekend pass for September 11th - 13th. Find full details at https://www.grandmesawriters.org/

08/24/2026

Do you have your reservations for a weekend of writing, inspiring authors, encouraging writers, and engaging readers?

Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center is excited to be bringing you the 2nd Annual Grand Mesa Writers Symposium, the weekend of September 11th-13!

✒️ What makes GMWS unique is our focus on community. This is a welcoming place to convene with other writers and readers. Our presenters aren't just speaking from the stage, they're also active participants in the less formal social activities. Join us in building a community of word lovers on the Western Slope.

📚Featured Authors-
Craig Childs
Kierstin Bridger
Paolo Bacigalupi
* Closing Keynote-
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

📖 There will be several workshops offered on Saturday and a Bookstore to browse for your reading pleasure!

For additional information and to purchase your tickets, please visit- https://www.grandmesawriters.org/

✨ As a bonus, preview the flip-book program to see all of the events during the symposium at- https://heyzine.com/flip-book/7cac50613b.html

You won’t want to miss this very special event!

08/21/2026

Remember to sign up now for Dinner Discussions, Saturday, September 12th during the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium.

Small groups will gather at Cat's On Main to enjoy a specially prepared meal and discussions about writing, inspiration, craft and anything the day's workshops might have sparked!

Seating is limited, so be sure to get your weekend passes now!

For full Symposium details and to purchase weekend passes, please visit www.grandmesawriters.com

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08/19/2026

Take a break, but continue the conversation during the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium! Saturday, September 12th, at 5:45 pm - between the workshops and the evening's Keynote Feature at Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center.

Dinner discussions- 5:45 - 7:00pm Cat's on Main

Optional: Sign up for a small dinner group to socialize and discuss the day’s work. Each group is a reserved table for six, with a designated conversation host (workshop instructors and designated friends of the Symposium). Signups are first come, first serve. A form will be sent to ticket buyers in advance.

Note: Cost of dinner is not included in Symposium registration, and will be paid at the restaurant.

Get your weekend passes, and sign up today! www.grandmesawriters.org

08/17/2026

Saturday, September 12th at 4:00 pm, the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium is offering a selection of workshops: On Building a Career and Creative Life in your genre

Join our speakers in informal discussions about how their careers and creative lives unfolded, important milestones along the way, and lessons they’ve learned about how to build a fulfilling creative life. These conversations will include ample time for you to ask the speakers your burning questions about their careers, work and creative advice.

1 Poetry - Kierstin Bridger and Wendy Videlock | Moderator: Rene' Janiece - River Burch Gallery

2 Non-Fiction - Craig Childs and Amy Irvine | Moderator: Emily Sinclair - Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center

3 Fiction - Paolo Bacigalupi, Claire Boyles and Shelley Read | Moderator: Arvin Ram - Feels Like Coming Home- Gift Shop

Weekend passes and full details are available now at www.grandmesawriters.org

08/14/2026

Saturday, September 12th at 2:00 pm, the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium is pleased to welcome back Shelley Read who will be offering the Fiction workshop Wandering & Wondering: Perception & Place in Fiction

How can you most authentically collect and express essential details of place, and how can this practice anchor your fiction in new ways? This workshop examines place as a rich tapestry of historical, cultural, personal, and sensory particulars that can deeply enhance your stories. Join bestselling author Shelley Read as she shares all she's learned about the power of place-based writing, why it's much more than mere setting, and why readers crave it.

Remember that workshop seating is limited, so be sure to purchase your weekend passes and choose your workshops now! www.grandmesawriters.org

Shelley Read’s debut novel, Go as a River, is an international bestseller that has sold over a million copies worldwide, has been translated into thirty-four languages, and is currently in development for film with the Mazur Kaplan Company. Winner of the High Plains Book Award, the Reading the West Book Award, and le Prix de l’Union Interalliée, Go as a River is also a Sunday Times bestseller, a Goodreads Choice Award finalist, an Amazon Editors’ Pick Best Debut, an Indie Next Pick, and a Colorado Public Radio Books We Love selection, among other national and international accolades.

Shelley taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and honors at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades. She is a mom, mountaineer, world traveler, and fifth-generation Coloradan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of Colorado’s Western Slope.

08/13/2026

Saturday, September 12th at 2:00 pm, the Non-Fiction workshop offered at the Grand Mesa Writers' Symposium is Micro-Memoir with Emily Sinclair.

Micro-memoir: Looks like the love child of a poem and a short story. Feels like a spring breeze, sounds like a jazz riff. Leaves behind an odor of cinnamon and dreams. It asks who you are but answers a different question. It tells the story of a moment, what was found, what was lost, and what never was. And then it gallops off, leaves you staring at the hills, wanting more.

In this 90 minute class, we’ll explore working in very short forms, with special attention to engaging the mystery of what arises when we write. Writers will leave our class with a sense of delight and possibility. I’ll bring some readings; you bring your favorite writing technology and a sense of curiosity.

Weekend passes are on sale now! www.grandmesawriters.org

Emily Sinclair is a writer, teacher, and bookseller. Her fiction and nonfiction have
been published in numerous literary journals and has been acknowledged by Best
American Essays and Best of the Net.