Join us Saturday, July 19th at the Marathon Center for Performing Arts in Findlay for a FREE creative writing workshop with a focus on “genre fiction”: Science-Fiction/Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, and Romance (among others)!
This workshop is a free in-person event and open to all writers High School and older.
Schedule:
- Morning: Craft talks with Writing Prompts
- 11am-1pm: Lunch on own in downtown Findlay, with time for writing!
- Afternoon: Facilitated small-group workshops, followed by an open mic
For more information or to register, contact Dave Essinger, essinger@findlay.edu.
Presenters:
Jennifer Pullen holds a PhD in Creative Writing from
Ohio University, as well as degrees from Eastern
Washington University and Whitworth University. Her books
include A Bead of Amber on Her Tongue and Fantasy
Fiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology, the first
comprehensive history of fantasy and craft guide. She
grew up running wild in the forests of Washington State.
She has since been sufficiently domesticated to become
an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio
Northern University.
“Gandalf Never Attended Hogwarts: Creating Multiple Dimensional Characters in Invented Worlds”
Dave Essinger’s second novel This World and the Next is available now from Main Street Rag Publishing Company. His first book, Running Out, was released in 2017. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is General Editor of the AWP Intro Journals Project, and teaches creative writing and edits the literary magazine Slippery Elm at the University of Findlay. See more at https://dave-essinger.com/.
“World-building: Making the strange familiar, and the familiar strange” How do we create worlds that are fundamentally different from our own, and make our readers feel at home in them? We’ll talk about the rules and expectations of major genres, and weaving in exposition while avoiding the dreaded “info dump,” with generative exercises.
Melanie Dusseau is a multi-genre writer, scholar, and creative writing professor from Toledo, Ohio. She holds an MFA from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and is the author of a poetry collection, The Body Tries Again, available from Word Poetry. An associate professor of English at the University of Findlay, she teaches literature as well as craft workshops in poetry, creative nonfiction, playwriting/screenwriting, and writing contemporary romance. Her short play, A House of Uncanny Repute, was selected for the 2025 Toledo Voices playwriting project at the Repertoire Theater. Currently, she’s seeking representation for her debut novel, a genre-bending supernatural romance. https://www.melaniedusseau.com/
“Trope-tastically Yours: Originality in the Romance Genre”
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: an ancient, grumpy fae soldier falls for a sunny, free-spirited book nerd in this magical retelling of Insert Fairy Tale. The genre of romance is driven by tropes—rivals to lovers; fated mates; forced proximity; fake dating; opposites attract—however, following the groove of an existing archetype does not mean that the story you want to write need be formulaic. This interactive craft talk will offer strategies for reading like a writer, satisfying audience expectations, understanding the beats that drive romance plots, and using setting and character arcs to create an original story idea that could only be penned by you.
Harl
ey Ferris received his master’s and doctorate from the University of Louisville, where he also served as Assistant Director of Creative Writing and received the Sarah-Jean McDowell Award for Excellence in Fiction. He composes both academic and creative work, with poems and stories published in The Aquarian, the Florida English Journal, and Word Riot. Also a musician, his full-length album, Long Time Coming, was released in March of 2023. Harley currently resides, writes, teaches, and sings in Findlay, Ohio.
“A Taste of Fear: Using the Five Senses to Build Worlds That Bite Back”