Story Catcher workshop and festival set for June 5-8

Registration is still open but limited spots remain. The cost for the retreat is $350, which includes lodging, meals, and activities during the week, as well as membership to the Sandoz Heritage Society. The cost for students is $300 and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, visit www.storycatcherworkshop.org.

The writer’s retreat will be at Fort Robinson State Park for the third consecutive year. Participants in the retreat share the old officer’s quarters and Workshop Director Dr. Matt Evertson said writers benefit from the true spirit of a retreat by doing many activities together, including gathering in the dining room for workshops and preparing meals together.

“We also encourage hikes and communing with nature and having the beautiful landscape and historic setting inspire the writers to produce original work,” Evertson said.

The writer’s retreat features faculty from the University of Wyoming – Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Nina S. McConigley and H.L. Hix – and CSC Assistant Professor Markus Jones. The faculty plan to lead morning sessions focused on crafting and improving writing, followed by afternoon sessions designed to give participants a chance to create new work and receive personalized feedback from attendees.

The three faculty members from the University of Wyoming are all published authors. Hix won the T.S. Eliot Prize, McConigley won a Barthelme Memorial Fellowship in Non-Fiction, and Lookwood has earned a Pushcart Prize for his essays. Jones nominated for a Pushcart Prize for a short story and his first novel was recently published.

The retreat culminates with a festival June 8 at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center Chicoine Atrium on the Chadron State College campus. The festival is free and open to the public and Hix, Lockwood and McConigly will give readings.

Festival sessions will include a panel discussion featuring the writers in residence, an open mic for workshop attendees to share their works, a session by the Mari Sandoz Emerging Writer, and public readings beginning at 6 p.m. The readings will be followed by a book signing.

More information, contact Evertson at mevertson@csc.edu.