Kael Alford – Visual Storytelling. Kael Alford is a photographer, writer, and educator. Her work explores legacies of political violence, our relationship to the ecosystems that sustain us and our tenuous relationships to others. She develops photography-based projects that bring individual stories into dialogue with public discourse, backed by extensive research and long-term commitment to topics and subjects. Her photographs have been widely exhibited in North America and Europe and are held in the permanent collections at the High Museum of Art (Atlanta) and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (New Orleans) and in private collections. She lives in Denton, Texas.
Workshop – Photography as Witness in the Virtual Era. In an age when images flashing across your screen may look like photographs but might be entirely computer generated, what is the role of photography? How do visual journalists use photography to tell authentic stories that are valuable to society and perhaps to the future? In this workshop, we will reflect on the history of photography as a witness to the human experience and consider how visual storytellers add to the stream of images that help define us. Bring your cell phone camera and be ready to photograph.
Ben Baby – Journalism / Sports Writing. Ben Baby is a Cincinnati-based NFL reporter for ESPN. He has covered the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019. Previously, he covered college football for The Dallas Morning News. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas and is from Grapevine.
Workshop – Modern Sports Writing: Blending Old and New.For decades, sports writing existed in the confines of newspapers and magazines. While new mediums such as podcasts, vlogs and short-term content have grown in popularity in recent years, the old methods still matter. In this workshop, we will go over how traditional reporting techniques can help enhance modern sports writing to craft strong and compelling narratives. Using real-life examples from the NFL, students will learn how one piece of audio or video can be transformed for the modern media landscape.
Lizzie Combs & Sarah Galaro – Marketing. Sisters Sarah Galaro and Lizzie Combs are Dallas-based writers and marketers. Together, they have formed Tabletop Marketing. Sarah has over a decade of experience as a brand marketer and quarterback of national campaigns. Complementing her is Lizzie, combining experience as a strategist at a New York-based agency with a background in the arts. Tabletop offers full-stack marketing, crafting comprehensive solutions with a special emphasis on strategic planning and brand development. In addition to their work as marketers, Sarah and Lizzie are involved in the Dallas Arts community. Sarah regularly contributes to Arthouse Dallas’ creative writing and poetry workshops. Lizzie has had several original plays and monologues featured in local and national festivals.
Workshop – Short and Sweet: Crafting Micro-Stories for Brands. In this hands-on session, “Short and Sweet: Crafting Micro-Stories for Brands,” students will discover the power of concise storytelling for brand marketing. They’ll explore how to create impactful brand narratives using intentional language, tone, and word choice—crafting messages that capture attention in just a few words. Through exercises and group activities, students will practice turning a brand’s essence into a micro-story that resonates with its target audience, proving that sometimes, less really is more. Whether it’s for social media, advertising, or personal branding, this workshop will teach you how to tell compelling stories in the shortest form possible.
Bubba Flint – Visual Storytelling. Award winning Editorial Cartoonist and artist for over many years. Mr. Flint’s work has been published worldwide in many different publications. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University. His editorial cartoons have appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, White Rock Lake Weekly, Katy Trail Weekly and several other publications. Mr. Flint has illustrated 15 children’s books, his paintings are in galleries worldwide, and his work has appeared on several television programs.
Workshop – The World of Editorial Cartoons. The workshop will describe what an editorial cartoon is and how it affects our society. The students will get a firsthand lesson on editorial cartoons and have an opportunity to create their own editorial cartoon based on subjects that are important to them.
Mag Gabbert – Poetry. Dr. Mag Gabbert has a Ph.D. in English, with a focus in creative writing, from Texas Tech University, an MFA in creative writing from The University of California at Riverside, and a BA in English from Trinity University. Her debut full-length poetry collection, which was published in 2023, won the Charles B. Wheeler Prize in Poetry from The Ohio State University and the Writers League of Texas Book Award in Poetry. Her awards also include a 92NY Discovery Award from the 92NY Unterberg Poetry Center, a Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from The Kenyon Review Writers’ Workshop, Idyllwild Arts, and Poetry at Round Top. She teaches at Southern Methodist University and currently serves as Poet Laureate for the city of Dallas.
Workshop – Building with Concrete: Replacing Abstract Language with Sensory Details in Poetry. In this generative, 45-minute workshop we’ll work to transform concepts—such as anger, liberty, beauty, and greatness—into poems that feature tangible and sensory details. We will determine the texture, the smell, and the shape of these concepts in order to bring them to life on the page. After discussing one or more examples from poems written by contemporary poets, each participant will be invited to choose their own concept and to share ideas about the physical qualities they might assign to it. We will end the workshop by allowing a few minutes for everyone to begin working on their own “concrete concept” poems. A handout will be provided; participants are additionally asked to bring a pen or pencil and scratch paper.
Sonia Gensler – Fiction. Sonia Gensler is the award-winning author of Ghostlight, The Dark Between and The Revenant, all from Alfred A. Knopf/Random House. Weird and dreamy from birth, Sonia grew up in a small Tennessee town and ran with a dangerous pack of band and drama geeks. As an adult, she experimented with a variety of impractical professions-museum interpreter, historic home director, bookseller, and perpetual graduate student-before finally deciding to share her passion for stories through teaching. Sonia taught literature and writing to young adults for ten years and still thinks fondly of her days in the classroom. She currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband and cat.
Workshop – Body Horror in Fiction and Film. Prepare to be fascinated, terrified, and possibly nauseated? The Body Horror genre, which has entertained and repulsed fans since the 1950s, features characters who experience unnatural transformation, degeneration and/or destruction of the body. Body Horror narratives can be subtle, outrageous, and/or downright disturbing, but we will endeavor to keep the content appropriate and illuminating. Our discussion will include classic and current body horror novels and films. We also will consider the differences between Body Horror on the screen vs. the page.
George Getschow – Non-Fiction. George Getschow is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for National Reporting and winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for distinguished writing about the underprivileged. He has earned numerous other awards for his writing and was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2012 for “distinctive literary achievement.” He spent 16 years at The Wall Street Journal as a writer, editor, bureau chief and Mexico correspondent. In 2007, he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in Writing, Creative Nonfiction, from Spalding University, Louisville, KY. He spent 12 years serving as writer-in-residence and co-founder of the nationally renowned Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. During that same period, he teamed up with Larry McMurtry to conduct writing workshops in McMurtry’s hometown of Archer City, TX. After McMurtry’s death in 2021, Getschow curated and edited Pastures of the Empty Page, an acclaimed literary anthology about Larry McMurtry’s epic life.
Workshop – Telling Your Story: How to Craft Distinctive Personal Essays for College Applications and Beyond. Writing a personal essay that will attract the attention of college admission officers isn’t as easy as it sounds. It involves a lot more than laying out your unique qualities, achievements, and goals. It’s about telling your personal story in a way that’s engaging, surprising and memorable. To turn a personal essay into art requires a heightened attention to detail that allows readers to see, hear and witness, as if at first hand, what the writer has experienced. The challenge involves using a variety of literary techniques – metaphor, pacing, interior monologue, reconstructed dialogue, and other aesthetic strategies of fiction to enable your personal essay to resonate with your readers.
Paula Goldberg – Screenwriting. Paula Goldberg is a storyteller, educator, lover of coffee and salt and someone who is fiercely optimistic that at 52 percent of the population, women can be a political and artistic force. She has worked in corporate America, academia and artistically as a content writer, actor, screenwriter, producer and director. Credits include the feature screenplay for The Perfect Family starring Kathleen Turner and Emily Deschanel, Writer and Director of Daily short pick of the week, Perfidy with Julie Benz and Sasha Roiz (2020), the short screenplay of Kleen starring Melora Walters (premiered at the LA International Short Film Festival, July 2019,) writing and directing 2 micro shorts with XV Anthology, directing the 3rd season of the Roland Joffe produced MTV series, Undressed, creating the original web series, Inappropriate Workplace and most impressively, raising a 16 year-old son. Her most recent screenplay, Unimaginable, was selected to The Women’s List 2024 and was a semi-finalist in the Dallas International Film Festival’s Screenwriting competition.
Workshop – The Screenplay.Screenwriter Paula Goldberg introduces the basics of visual storytelling for film and television including idea generation, character, dialogue, structure, theme and screenplay format. This will be an interactive workshop exploring all the elements needed for creating visually compelling and goal driven stories.
Michael Gomez – Songwriting. Michael Gomez is a Dallas-based songwriter, composer, performing artist and producer. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, Michael focused on guitar and performance at the London Music School (LMS) in London, England. As an artist, he has collaborated on multiple recording projects with notable producers and musicians such as Chris Bell (Erykah Badu, U2, Eagles), Warren Huart (Aerosmith, The Fray, Mutemath), Gary Parks (Wall of Orange) and drummers Blair Sinta (Alanis Morrissette, Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks), David Palmer (ABC, Rod Stewart) and in 2025, Alex Torjussen (Niall Horan). In 2009, Michael founded RoomFour Guitar Studio which provides students of all ages and abilities the chance to explore guitar, songwriting, and production in a positive learning environment.
Workshop – Telling Stories With One Line. In this workshop, we will look at a few examples of powerful song titles and attempt to get to the root of their impact. We’ll also talk about what it takes to search for the words that so perfectly express not only what we want to say but that connect a seemingly wide world into a single audience. Students are encouraged to bring a pencil and paper for a writing exercise.
Benji Harris – Songwriting. Benji Harris is one of Nashville’s most talented and versatile mainstay musicians. His original trio ‘Scarletta’ has had a Top 30 hit on Country Radio, and a popular music video in high rotation on CMT. He has played for country music stars on arena tours across the country, and has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Benji has performed with SongDivision for numerous Fortune 500 clients and has a vast knowledge when it comes to communicating clients’ core values and purpose using music. With years in the music business and the meetings & events industry, Benji brings a high degree of passion, professionalism, and creativity to each and every client with whom he works.
Workshop – The LitFest Anthem – Interactive Songwriting Experience. In this fun and interactive session, the entire audience will create a memorable song together that celebrates the 30th Anniversary of LitFest. Led by HP Alum and Nashville songwriter Benji Harris, the group will be taught the fundamentals of songwriting before working together to craft their own lyrics. Benji will then bring the song to life onstage with an exciting live performance of the original song.
Martha Jackson – Podcasting. Martha Jackson is a storyteller at heart, a podcast host, lover of her community, and advocate for sharing authentic voices. As the creator and host of The Bubble Lounge Podcast, Martha has spent six years celebrating the people, businesses, and stories that make Highland Park and University Park unique. Her podcast has become a cherished part of the community, offering insights into parenting, education, local traditions, and the triumphs and challenges of everyday life. A proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Radio-Television-Film, Martha initially aspired to work behind the scenes in media. However, her journey took an unexpected turn when she launched The Bubble Lounge Podcast. Despite her initial fears of being on camera and sharing her voice, Martha embraced the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Through her podcast, she has not only entertained and informed but also empowered others to embrace their creativity.
Workshop – Finding Your Voice: How to Start a Podcast and Overcome the Fear of Putting Yourself Out There. Starting something new can be both exciting and intimidating, especially when it involves putting yourself out there for the world to see (or hear). In this workshop, Martha Jackson, host of The Bubble Lounge Podcast, shares the practical steps to creating a podcast and the lessons she learned about overcoming fear along the way. Discover how to find your unique voice, build an audience, and embrace the challenges that come with stepping outside your comfort zone. This session will inspire and equip you to start something meaningful, whether it’s a podcast or another creative venture.
Matt Lyle – Fiction / Comedy Writing. Matt Lyle is a playwright and comedy writer living in Dallas, Texas. He’s a graduate of the Second City Training program and was the host and head writer for The City Life Supplement, named a Top 5 Comedy Show in Chicago (NEWCITY 2013). His sketches have been seen in Dallas in A Brief Endless Love at the Dallas Comedy House, Gold, Frankincense and Credit Card Debt in Theatre Too, and Adulthood: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ken Burns at FunHouse Theater and Film and currently in Most Likely Forever yours at the Wyly Theatre. Matt’s plays, The Boxer, Barbecue Apocalypse, Big Scary Animals, Raptured!, Hello Human Female, A 3D Adventure, A Dance of Joy, and The Better Doctor, have been produced in DFW and across the U.S. In 2018 Matt was honored as a Distinguished Alum of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre. His work is published by Broadway Play Publishing.
Workshop – Writing Better Comedy than ChatGPT: A Workshop. This workshop focuses on what makes you and your friends laugh and how to spin that into making complete strangers laugh. We’ll talk all things funny and then dive into creating some easy, fun examples.
Katherine McMahon – Fiction. K.E. Davenport graduated from HPHS in 2000 and went on to study film, storytelling, and animation at NYU and later at The University of Texas, where she graduated in 2004. She worked as a distance learning coordinator, a controller for JP Morgan, a home remodeler, and a teacher before becoming a full-time author. She has also volunteered as an animal rescuer, transporting and fostering animals on behalf of local shelters, as well as running social media for one of her favorite rescue groups. During the last five years, K.E. has immersed herself in learning the world of independent publishing while releasing her science fantasy trilogy: The Moon Travelers. Currently, she’s in the process of developing two new series that will be released in 2025. K.E. spends most of her leisure time with her husband, kids, and pets. When she’s not daydreaming, writing, or editing, she can be found hiking or having fun outdoors with her family.
Workshop – Creating a Story: Plotting vs. Pantsing & Choosing the Right Voice. Students will learn about two very different writing processes, “plotting” and “pantsing,” and how to use various brainstorming techniques when developing a work of fiction. We’ll also discuss the importance of choosing the right narrator for your story and follow this up with an exercise that playfully explores several narrative styles. At the end, students will be invited to share their work.
Michael Merschel – Writing and Creativity. Michael Merschel’s three decades in newspaper journalism included 12 years as books editor for The Dallas Morning News. He’s also the author of the novel Revenge of the Star Survivors, which won the Texas Institute of Letters’ award for best middle-grade book in 2018. Before that, he contributed to public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion and composed an out-of-office reply that was mentioned in The New York Times and featured on NPR. He now writes about cardiovascular health for American Heart Association News. Learn more at merschel.net.
Workshop – Everything I Need To Know About Writing, I Learned From the Beatles.What can the world’s most beloved band teach us about writing? Plenty, it turns out. This workshop will use the Beatles’ music and lyrics as a guide to understanding the creative process.
Michael Mooney – Non-Fiction Journalism. Michael J. Mooney is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Life and Legend of Chris Kyle. He’s a regular contributor to The Atlantic, GQ, ESPN the Magazine, Texas Monthly, and Politico. His stories have appeared in multiple editions of The Best American Crime Reporting and The Best American Sports Writing. His GQ story about a 21-year-old man who convinced an entire Texas town that he was a 15-year-old orphan — and then became the star of the high school basketball team — is currently in pre-production with producer Andrew Hevia, who won an Oscar for Best Picture with Moonlight. Mooney’s Atlantic feature about a married mother who ran a prison dog program, fell in love with a convicted murderer, and then helped him escape, was recently optioned by Warner Bros. Television Studios. He’s been interviewed as a subject-matter expert on Dateline NBC, and on a variety of shows on CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, and Investigative Discovery. He lives in the Dallas area.
Workshop – Why We Love Murder Stories.While actual crime rates have been declining for decades, true crime has never been more popular. Documentaries, podcasts, books, magazine stories — few topics attract more eyes and ears than murder. In this session, we’ll talk about a real-life local crime — involving a seemingly boring married couple, $32 million in missing money, and a series of comically inept hitmen — all while examining why crime stories are so compelling.
Taylor Moore – Fiction. Taylor Moore is the author of Cold Trail, Ricochet, Firestorm, and Down Range, which was nominated for the Barry Award for Best First Novel, named a Strand Magazine Best Mystery of 2021, and selected for the Texas Library Association’s Lariat Reading List. He is a sixth-generation Texan who grew up on a farm and ranch northwest of Houston and is a former CIA Intelligence Officer who worked in both analysis and operations and later consulted for the Department of Defense on military intelligence issues. He now lives in the Texas Panhandle with his wife and two children, where he is a full-time author and screenwriter.
Workshop – Your Setting is a Character. A setting is more than just a scene or location, it’s a stage where your characters will jump out of the pages and come to life. And the right setting is a catalyst for conflict, which is an absolute necessity in any great work of fiction. “Your Setting is a Character” will provide students with the tools to infuse physical, spiritual, and emotional characteristics into their novels and screenplays through vivid description, historical context, and world building. Writers will also learn how to utilize personification, as well as unique challenges that are geared to specific story themes, which will ultimately result in an audience who is as captivated with the setting as they are with the characters.
Cary Pierce – Songwriting. An HP Dad, Cary is a Grammy-Nominated Songwriter, Perfromer and Producer. His songs and co-writes have been streamed over 40 Million times and he’s had record & publishing deals with Universal, Capitol and Warner Brothers. He’s toured the world and shared stages with John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band and many others. He has appeared on Conan O’Brien, countless other national and local TV shows and has written songs with artists as diverse as Katy Perry & Chris Tomlin. Cary & Jack O’Neill founded the band Jackopierce as SMU theater majors. After spending 5 years relentlessly recording & releasing music and touring the country they were signed to major label A&M Records. For 37 years now, Jackopierce has toured the world in 48 states, 10 countries, on 3 continents and they’ve sold about 500,000 albums. They play about 50 shows per year and will be at the Granada in Dallas Friday, Apr 4. He lives in Dallas with his HP grad wife Cara and three *HP boys: Jordan ‘19, Jaron ‘26 and Elijah ‘28.
Workshop – “40 Million Streams Later” – How I Wrote Songs, Got Signed, & Toured the World. Ever wonder how a song gets written? Recorded? Released? And Streamed millions of times? Want to be entertained by a guy who’s played 2,000+ shows to millions of people all over the world? Then my fun, energetic, inspired & inspiring workshop is for you. I’ll bring my guitar, sing some songs and talk about my 37+ year career in the music biz. We’ll go back to my humble beginnings as a student at SMU, to my band getting courted by all the major labels in LA and New York – to writing songs that got millions of streams and two Grammy nominations. I’ll talk about what’s working and what’s not – especially in this “New Music Business” where social media has become almost as important as the music itself. (+ maybe you’ll be in our next post 😉
Ashley Schumacher – Fiction. Ashley Schumacher is an author of whimsical and romantic books for teens and adults with a degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas. A full-time writer, she feels more than a little vindicated for having spent lots of math classes reading beneath her desk. When Ashley isn’t working, you’ll most likely find her playing cozy video games, planning trips to far-off places, leafing through the folklore and fairytale anthologies she is always acquiring “for research”, or traipsing about her North Texas home with her husband and son.
Workshop – Do It For The Plot. One of the questions authors get asked most is, “Where do you get your ideas?” And while everywhere is the most common answer, it’s not exactly helpful. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to ethically steal ideas from our favorite books and movies, the world around us, and our own lives. Students will walk away with a worksheet of their own personal “rabbit holes” they wish to explore further in their writing, as well as strategies to turn those interests into fully realized characters, scenes, and plots.
Nellie Sciutto – Non-Fiction. Nellie Sciutto is an actor/writer/TV personality. Her book, 50 Moments: Faking It, Making It and Taking It in Hollywood as a Working Actor, illustrates life in the film and television industry and the struggles artists face, whether funny, tragic or just poignant. As a writer, she has written for several TV shows and currently has a docuseries that she executive produced and wrote airing on AMC, the Sundance Channel and Amazon. Her focus is non-fiction in Hollywood but her underlying theme is about being an underdog, which all of us are in some aspects of our lives.
Workshop – Turning Your Story into a Book or TV Series. How to share your story as a book or TV series.
Mark Sullivan – Keynote Speaker – Fiction. Mark is the acclaimed author of over 18 novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling “Private” series, which he writes with James Patterson. His beloved book, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, based on the epic tale of forgotten war hero Pino Lella, has resonated deeply with audiences everywhere. Mark’s newest powerful historical novel, All the Glimmering Stars, is inspired by a true story of two teens kidnapped by an African warlord who find salvation and healing through love. Before becoming a celebrated novelist, Mark was a correspondent at Reuters and a reporter at States News Service, where he served as a backup reporter to the D.C. bureaus of the New York Times, Newsday, and the New York Daily News. He later became an award-winning investigative reporter at the San Diego Tribune, where his unique journalistic style focused on the cultures of the things he was investigating. His first novel, The Fall Line, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the year, a rare honor for a debut author. Later, his breakout novel, The Purification Ceremony, made bestseller’s lists all over the world.
Workshop – Writing from the Heart versus the Head. Mark will compare and contrast what he considers the two main methods of fiction writing. As a mystery-suspense novelist, he learned to write from the head. As a historical novelist, he learned to write from the heart. Great works of fiction, he believes, come from being able to tell stories from both places, and Mark will explain how it works in a dynamic class that offers fresh perspectives on creating unforgettable characters and plots that sing.
Bill Thompson – Fiction.If variety is the spice of life, author Bill Thompson’s life so far has been spicy for sure! Over the years, and in no particular order, he’s been • an international insurance broker • a mayor • head of a state prison board • a stockbroker • a newspaper reporter • a Bourbon Street piano player • a corporate entrepreneur • presented to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip • in jail (briefly … and wrongly!) • a goat herder • a church organist and choir member • a real estate broker • a world traveler • president of an animal shelter • a husband, father and grandfather • an observer at a knighting in Westminster • a fluent Russian speaker • a passenger on the Concorde • a caregiver • a lifetime dog lover • an award-winning novelist.
Workshop – The Art & Business of Indie Authorship. How an independent author publishing on Amazon can make $100K or more selling books. How focusing on marketing, building a solid following, turning out high-quality, award-winning work and staying in touch with readers can make you successful. This class will go in-depth on the positives and negatives of indie vs. traditional publishing.
Kurt Voelker – Screenwriting. Kurt Voelker was born and raised in Dallas, graduated from Harvard and went to graduate film school at USC. He has since written feature screenplays for Warner Bros, Paramount, Disney, Fox, Sony, MTV Films, Screen Gems and more. His work includes the Warner Bros release SWEET NOVEMBER, starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves, and Lionsgate/Huayi Brothers’ animated feature ROCK DOG. Kurt also wrote and directed the award-winning, independent features PARK and THE BACHELORS, starring J.K. Simmons and Julie Delpy. He is currently writing a limited series about Mary Wollstonecraft and a feature about Olympic speedskater Irving Jaffee. He is also attached to direct the feature film SCRATCH.
Workshop – Just Great Screenwriting!Sometimes a screenplay is written that is the perfect blueprint for a phenomenal movie. In 1976, Rocky took the world by storm and walked away with the Oscar for Best Picture. In this interactive workshop, we will discuss the specific elements of the screenplay that laid the foundation for the film’s extraordinary success. It is highly recommended that attendees watch the film, but it is not required.
Glenna Whitley – Non-Fiction and Journalism. Glenna is an award-winning investigative reporter. Whitley’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, More, The New York Times, Texas Monthly, Penthouse, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, Town & Country, and many more. She is co-author of Stolen Valor, a non-fiction book published in 1998 about the Vietnam War. The book received the 2000 William E. Colby Award for non-fiction writing on military affairs. It received acclaim from news outlets as diverse as ABC’s 20/20, NPR’s This American Life with Ira Glass, and Naval Proceedings, and popularized the phrase “stolen valor” to describe military pretenders. She has discussed her stories on numerous television programs such as Dateline, NBC News, The Hunt with Jon Walsh, ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, Snapped, and Discovery Investigates. Whitley is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she earned a degree in journalism.
Workshop – Writing True Crime: From the Investigation to the Page. What makes a good true crime story? What tools do you need to investigate what really happened? How do you get people–victims, law enforcement, perpetrators–to talk to you? Once you know the facts, how do you tell the tale in a compelling manner? The tips are the same whether you are writing on the page or doing a podcast.
Rusty Williams – Non-Fiction. Author Rusty Williams writes about history through the stories of the people who lived it. He is the author of six nonfiction books, five on Texas topics. His latest book, Texas Loud, Proud, and Brash, How Ten Mavericks Created the Twentieth-Century Lone Star State (Rowman & Littlefield) tells how Texas earned its outsized reputation. Deadly Dallas: A History of Unfortunate Incidents and Grisly Fatalities (The History Press) is recommended as a “must-read for anyone who approaches Dallas history with a sense of humor, however dark.” Rusty is also the author of Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle (Texas A&M Press), winner of the Oklahoma Book Award, and My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans (University Press of Kentucky), honored with the Douglas S. Freeman Southern History Award. Rusty regularly speaks on historical topics nationwide and writes articles for magazines and journals.
Workshop – The Writer’s Toolbox: Collecting the Implements Necessary for a Successful Writing Career.The professional writer is a craftsperson who must bring their own tools to the job. We’ll have an interactive discussion of the tools you have, the tools you’re developing, and the tools you’ll need to acquire in order to excel as a professional writer.
Karl Wimer – Visual Storytelling. Karl Wimer is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, published in books, magazines, and newspapers across five continents. Karl’s been a syndicated cartoonist for WoodyPaige.com, Mile High Sports Magazine, Denver Business Journal, and Central European Business Weekly. His cartoons have won multiple 1st Place Awards (Society of Professional Journalists, Colorado Press Association, and others), and have been featured extensively in the Best US Editorial Cartoons of the Year, in USAToday, NPR, Fox News, and in economics textbooks. Karl’s background (BA History/Yale, MBA/Kellogg, Grad Degree/London School Economics), business experience (29 years as a successful marketing executive), sports bonafides (2-sport college athlete: football, All-America in lacrosse, successful coach at many levels), and international interest (several years living and working in places as varied as Prague and Bangkok), all find their way into his art.
Workshop – Editorial Cartoons & Illustration: Visual Storytelling That Matters.Editorial cartoons and illustrations have for centuries provided an engaging alternative for commenting on the issues of the day, and when done right deliver real impact. This workshop will provide students with a broad understanding of the world of editorial cartoons and illustration, including historical context and recent implications, rounded out by some hands-on cartooning. Areas covered: – A short history of the craft, illustrated by examples leading to where the field stands today. – The many challenges of being a cartoonist/illustrator in today’s ever-evolving media landscape. – How visual storytelling can drive businesses and other organizations – Attendees will be taught creative tools in an interactive cartooning session.
Joaquin Zihuatanejo – Poetry. Joaquín Zihuatanejo was recently named the inaugural Dallas Poet Laureate for 2022-2024. Hailed as “The People’s Poet” by The Dallas Morning News, Joaquín credits his Abuelo, who was the first person to place a book in his hands and challenge him to read aloud, as his first teacher and the source of his poetic inspiration. He received his MFA in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His work has been published in Southwestern American Literature, Yellow Medicine Review, Sonora Review, among other journals and anthologies. His poetry has been featured on HBO, NBC, and on NPR in Historias and The National Teacher’s Initiative. His new collection of poetry, Occupy Whiteness, is out now from Deep Vellum Publishing. Joaquín was recently named a Poet Laureate Fellow by the Academy of American Poets and received a $50,000 prize in honor of the outstanding work he has done in Dallas as their first poet laureate.
Workshop – Hybrid Erasures: What They Are, How They Work & Why I Had to Create Them. In his latest collection, Occupy Whiteness, Inaugural Poet Laureate of Dallas, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, creates hybrid erasures. This workshop defines what they are while challenging student writers to create one in class. Sound intimidating? It won’t be as World Poetry Slam Champion, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, is there to guide you along the way.
HP LitFest would like to thank HP Arts & PC Tag for sponsoring our Student Workshop Day.
