VOICES FOR THE WEST
WRITING WORKSHOPS & COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
FEBRUARY 21-23, 2025
We're thrilled to announce our third-annual workshop series on the edge of Zion National Park! VOICES FOR THE WEST Writing Workshops will take place Friday, February 21 through Sunday, February 23, 2025, in Springdale, Utah. Join us in the heart of redrock country for an inspiring, unforgettable weekend!
Study nonfiction with Craig Childs, poetry with Chris La Tray, or fiction with Shelley Read at the doorstep of Zion National Park during this three-day workshop. 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 during the day, and enjoy public events and readings with the award-winning instructors in the evenings. Plus, each attendee will gain insider knowledge into the publishing world with Torrey House Press Publisher Kirsten Johanna Allen and Executive Editor Will Neville-Rehbehn.
Each workshop will have a maximum of 15 attendees. A limited number of tuition scholarships will be awarded to attendees on the basis of financial need (scholarships do not cover lodging or travel). Early bird pricing is $650 through September 15.
MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
CHRIS LA TRAY
POETRY
CHRIS LA TRAY is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His third book, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, was published by Milkweed Editions on August 20, 2024. His first book, One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High Plains Book Award. His book of haiku and haibun poetry, Descended from a Travel-worn Satchel, was published in 2021 by Foothills Publishing.
Chris writes the weekly newsletter "An Irritable Métis" and lives near Frenchtown, Montana. He is the Montana Poet Laureate for 2023–2025.
CRAIG CHILDS
NONFICTION
CRAIG CHILDS is known for following ancient migration routes on foot throughout the Southwest. He has published more than a dozen books of adventure, wilderness, and science, including the award-winning Tracing Time: Seasons of Rock Art on the Colorado Plateau and Virga and Bone: Essays from Dry Places.
He has won the Orion Book Award and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, the Galen Rowell Art of Adventure Award, and the Spirit of the West Award for his body of work. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Men's Journal, High Country News, and Outside. The New York Times says "Childs's feats of asceticism are nothing if not awe inspiring: he's a modern-day desert father."
He has a BA in Journalism from CU Boulder with a minor in Women's Studies, and an MA in Desert Studies from Prescott College and has taught writing at University of Alaska in Anchorage and the Mountainview MFA at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives outside of Norwood, CO.
SHELLEY READ
FICTION
SHELLEY READ's internationally bestselling debut novel, Go As A River, is being translated into thirty-four languages and has been optioned for film by Mazur Kaplan in partnership with Fifth Season. A Sunday Times and American Booksellers Association bestseller, Go As A River is the winner of the 2024 Reading the West Book Award for Best Debut, a High Plains Book Award Best Fiction finalist, a 2023 Amazon Editor's Pick Best Debut, a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist, and a Colorado Public Radio Best Book of the Year, among other national and international accolades.
Shelley was an award-winning Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades where she taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and honors.
Shelley is a mom, mountaineer, world traveler, and fifth generation Coloradan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope.
ABOUT OUR HOST
With a convenient location right across the river from Utah’s first national park, CABLE MOUNTAIN LODGE offers first-class amenities, majestic sights, and conference rooms for workshops and presentations.
Workshop attendees will receive discounted room rates at 20% discount using a code given after acceptance.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
TO APPLY |
Please submit a writing sample of 1,000-3,000 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).
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. Scholarships are available.
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Workshop Pricing: $650 early bird to be paid by September 15 | $750 rate after September 15
If you need to cancel for any reason, you may request a full refund of your tuition payment by December 1, 2024. Cancel by January 1, 2025 for a 50% refund. No refunds will be given after January 1, 2025.
MORE PRAISE FOR VFTW
"I'm returning from the Voices for the West workshop feeling both shifted and grounded. Working, even briefly, with a community of writers committed to both creative practice and issues of place, space, and environment has challenged and invigorated my writing beyond expectations. If your writing engages with environmental advocacy, human relationships with place, and/or land: the structure, focus, and community Voices for the West provides will benefit you and your work—period."
"The best part of attending Voices for the West was being surrounded by a community of writers that use their words to tell the stories of the places they love and want to protect."
"Whether you are a beginner or long-time practitioner, if you like writing you will love this conference."
"The attendees, the faculty, the Cable Mountain Lodge staff, and the Torrey House Press crew were all such a special part of the weekend. This workshop is perfect for writers who are looking to tap into new (or renewed) inspiration, connections, and perspectives while honing their craft. And every writer who feels a connection to the people and places of the west should attend -- this workshop is steeped in the kind of energy that will call your words home."
"I took a course in fiction to step outside my non-fiction comfort zone. Writing in community alongside the Virgin River was inspiring and expanding, an experience I will carry forward with my words for quite some time.
"Being in a different part of the country than where I am usually, experiencing the different terrain, seeing how interaction with the land can positively influence my writing, gaining a new appreciation for the land, its history, and what it can show us. I live in the midwest and I usually attend writing workshops elsewhere. It was also great to meet and work with other writers, many of whom are based in the west."
"The best part of attending Voices for the West was the companionship, the wise instruction of the workshop leaders, and just the feeling of being a part of something inspiring and wonderful. Folks should attend at any point in the writing process. This was useful to me at the idea generation phase, and I got so much out of it."
"In the past week, I've approached two manuscripts with renewed energy and focus, drawing on strategies and approaches I learned from my workshop leader and other workshop participants."