Upcoming Events: Where You Can Find Us
Here’s a look at our upcoming online events, plus third-party event where you can find our authors and editors! [You may also view past events by using the month view and scrolling back.]
- This event has passed.
HippoCamp Minis: CRAFT – 5 CNF Writing Topics in a Flash
August 10 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm EDT
Registration closes two hours before start time.
Some conferences call these fast-paced events lightning round talks. In honor of the short CNF subgenre, we call them flash sessions! These have always been a popular and fun part of our in-person HippoCamp conference and, this year, we’re once again bringing their magic online.
In our Satuday HippoCamp Minis sessions, you’ll hear from five speakers who will share bite-sized wisdom with practical takeaways on a topic they’re passionate about, all related to writing creative nonfiction.
Note: This is ONE OF FOUR events we’re hosting the weekend of Aug.10-11! Read about all of them here.
This webinar session will feature:
Session description: A short session focused on honoring (and raising!) the stakes, characters, and themes in YA nonfiction. Participants will learn new strategies for character- and world-building, pitfalls to avoid, and how to repurpose memories and life events with integrity.
About the speaker: Jiordan Castle is the author of Disappearing Act, a memoir in verse. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Rumpus, The Millions, Taco Bell Quarterly, and elsewhere. She is a contributor to the LA-based food and culture magazine Compound Butter. Originally from New York, she has an MFA in poetry from Hunter College and lives in Philadelphia.
Session description: Writers will leave this quick-witted workshop with tools to help them determine when and how to incorporate humor into their creative nonfiction. We’ll discuss guiding questions to ask while writing and explore using rhetorical devices to craft humor. This is for writers of all levels who are looking to find more funny in their stories.
About the speaker: Maryann Aita (rhymes with beta) is a writer and performer in New York City and the author of Little Astronaut: A Memoir in Essays (ELJ Editions, 2022). She is also the nonfiction editor for Press Pause Press, a journal with zero social media presence. She has three cats.
Session description: A rapid-fire workshop with journalism tips and tricks to bolster writers pursuing creative nonfiction and/or memoir. Participants will learn some journalistic methods of researching, sourcing, interviewing and editing. Participants will leave the workshop with new skills and strategies to enhance their own writing.
About the speaker:
Molly Bilinski is an award-winning journalist and storyteller based in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. She writes on the environment and science beat for LehighValleyNews.com, but her byline has also appeared in the Reading Eagle, The Press of Atlantic City and The Morning Call. She was the first-place winner of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s 2022 Diversity Portfolio.
Molly earned her master’s of fine arts in creative nonfiction in June 2024 from Wilkes University’s Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing. She is Hippocampus Magazine’s articles editor, in charge of the CRAFT and WRITING LIFE columns.
Session description: In this session, we’ll explore a few of the many ways you can invite play and spontaneity into your writing life. Play increases problem solving skills, fosters more innovative thinking, and reduces stress. It’s a core part of the creative process! Discover how to nurture and keep play in your practice.
About the speaker: Jennifer (Jenny) Hill is a published poet, circus performer, and arts educator who has worked as a teaching artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for 24 years. Everything she does begins with play. You can find more about her online at actsofjennius.com.
Session description: Creative nonfiction and poetry share a long and undefended border. Many craft elements —immediacy, lyricism, arresting imagery, and others — enjoy dual citizenship. But there is still much the CNF writer can learn from a visit in the land of poetry and, once back on her side of the border, adapt to her own needs and purposes.
About the speaker: Doug Van Gundy directs the Low-Residency MFA program in Creative Writing at West Virginia Wesleyan College. His poems and essays have appeared in many journals, including Poetry, Guernica, Poets & Writers, and The Oxford American. He is the author of a book of poems, A Life Above Water and co-editor of the anthology Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Contemporary Writing from West Virginia.
TICKET OPTIONS
Events will be recorded and all registered attendees will get video link.
You may reserve a ticket for just this event ($25) or purchase a package for the entire weekend ($75); choose your option below. Note: First, select quantity using (+) sign and then add to cart.
