Voices for the West 2025: Writing Workshops and Community Conversations

Torrey House Press announces Voices for the West: Writing Workshops February 21-23, 2025. 

Generate new work, take risks, and learn from experienced instructors and fellow writers in a supportive and intimate space. The stunning redrock scenery of Springdale, Utah, provides inspiration for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writers -- writers of all levels are welcome. Hone your craft at writing workshops during the day, and enjoy public events and readings with the award-winning instructors in the evenings. Each workshop will have a maximum of 15 attendees. A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to attendees on the basis of financial need. Please specify in your submission whether or not you would like to apply for a scholarship and a scholarship form will be emailed to you. 

To apply:

Please submit a writing sample of 1,000-2,500 words (if applying for fiction or nonfiction workshop) or three poems (if applying for poetry workshop) in a single Word document. Please name the file with your last name and the writing track you are applying for (i.e.: Lastname_Poetry). Your application will be reviewed within a few days and you will be notified via email. 

TUITION:

This year, we are offering two full days and an additional morning of workshop time, along with a Publishing 101 course taught by the Co-Executive Directors of Torrey House Press to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Evening events are open to the public. Lunches and light breakfasts will be supplied all three days.​

• Workshop Pricing: $750

If you need to cancel for any reason, cancel by January 1, 2025 for a 50% refund. No refunds will be given after January 1, 2025.

Workshop Descriptions:

NONFICTION WORKSHOP WITH AMY IRVINE

More than Dino Bones Down There: How to Tap Bedrock for a Story's Soul. A good story is horizontal—it moves across space and time. But a good story also goes vertical—it needs heat that's extracted from subterranean substrates not even visible to the reader. In this workshop, we will explore the vivid, visceral details that are essential to a good story—but we won't stop there. We'll drill down to the bones, and pump to the surface the emotional fuels needed for combustion and propulsion. All of this, through exercises designed to help you dig a little deeper, along with playful scene set-ups that help us see through fresh eyes what lacks energy, detail, and context on the page. Also, we'll dissect and discuss a few short scenes by some of our finest western authors; I'll send them beforehand for you to read, as advance inspiration for your own deep dive!

FICTION WORKSHOP WITH SHELLEY READ

Writing your best fiction depends on a slew of well-crafted elements, but nothing matters so much as your firm belief that you hold stories no one else can tell. Together we’ll dig into the most authentic spaces of your creative imagination and practice generating deeply original, meaningful new work. We’ll also apply this fresh lens to your ongoing project and make abundant space for writerly discussion. This supportive, interactive workshop is designed to bolster your confidence and creative energy while offering plenty of practical advice on the writing, revising, and publishing process.

NONFICTION WORKSHOP WITH CRAIG CHILDS (A FEW SPOTS HAVE OPENED UP) 

More Than Human: Writing About Animal Encounters

How can a creature with opposable thumbs, who writes with pen and keyboard, see through the eyes of a muscular, rubbery cephalopod, or feel through the whiskered lens of a cat's face? We all encounter animals, and writing about them is a terrific, mind-opening challenge. In this three-day session, we will use a variety of prompts and sketches relating to animal encounters, and turn them into words on the page. You will leave with material and ideas you can work with. A packet of readings will come to you ahead of time, not excessive, I promise. Please give it a good read. Bring your animal memories and blank paper and we'll take it from there.

PS – keyboards are allowed in the workshop, just don't clatter on them like an ape!  

FULL! ACCEPTING NO MORE APPLICATIONS FOR THE POETRY WORKSHOP WITH CHRIS LA TRAY 

The practice of poetry mirrors the spiritual life of an Anishinaabe person: which is to say, if one lives an Anishinaabe life, with particular attention to the seven guiding principles of the Seven Grandfather teachings–Humility, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Truth, Respect, and Love–then every footstep becomes a prayer. If one approaches poetry in a similar fashion, recognizing that everything that happens may be viewed as a poem, and that every moment in life is an experience best paid constant and careful attention to, then every footstep becomes a poem. This workshop will be an exercise in observation, stillness, and community with the human and more-than-human world, and what that might look like on the page.